Sometime  in the autumn, Freedom reminds me of the color of the leaves. Especially when the sun lights up his coat — or in this case, his two perfect ears. I have to get a photo of him in front of one of the fabulous red Maple trees because he would blend in perfectly. This year Freedom has gotten a bit short changed in the riding department. Zelda is by far the steadiest of my two horses. Freedom has a very good, “Yikes! Exit Stage Left!” type of spook and I haven’t had been willing to put my left ankle to the test. However, when I ride him I’m always struck by two things: how amazingly balanced he is and how, even at 20, he wants to GO! While Zelda could amble along forever (perfect rehab horse), Freedom can’t wait to canter. And because he’s so smooth and collected, why not? Readers may remember that Freedom has had some on/off lameness issues with his hind end that made it hard for him to pick up his left canter lead. Lyme, SI joints are the most likely culprits. However, with the light riding I’ve done, he’s felt pretty good so far. Maybe we can recuperate together.