Our Community
A collection of art and writings from our community!
TRACKS
Yesterday I went to do my weekly volunteering for Dream Catcher of Los Angeles. It is a group that maintains some nice old horses to provide equine therapy. They have trained leaders who decide what to do and many of us volunteers who help. We walk alongside the horses and make sure the rider is well centered on the horse. We also assist in the maintenance of the horses. The riders range from young children with a variety of problems to veterans from the Westwood VA hospital or patients from the county hospital, Rancho Los Amigos. As Will Rogers said, " The outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man" and this group is proving it. All of this takes place a few miles from here on the west side of the Los Angeles River. The group leases the property from Edison. There are several high metal frameworks marching across the property, connected by many wires, that are taking power to other parts of the county. The east fence lies along a dirt path that borders one of the tree-filled side channels of the river. The group has set up some pipe corrals, a shed to keep the hay dry and a shipping container filled with all the saddles and other gear on neatly labeled stands. There are several arenas to use for the lessons.
As I walked over to get some tools, I looked down at the soft dusty ground. There were lots of tracks, everywhere. People tracks of tennis shoes with variously patterned soles, hiking boots, riding boots, in all sizes. I noticed some dainty bird tracks - probably pigeons, of which there is a good-sized flock as well the tiny sparrow tracks. There were some other tiny tracks - maybe from a squirrel, the soft pads of his feet neatly recorded. There were dog tracks because people sometimes bring their dogs. There can be coyote tracks since a band of them works around the area. I think I saw the neat, rounded prints of a cat's paw. Tracing thru the collection was a snake track. It was a fairly straight line with just a little turn at regular intervals which gave him speed. It made a very smooth indentation in the soft dust, about the size of a pencil. Of course, there were the horse tracks of various sizes from the mini horse tracks, about the size of a large spool of thread, to the big prints of Josie, the Norwegian Fjord horse. She is barefoot, but many of the horses wear traditional horseshoes with their classic print.
Curving over all these tracks are the tire prints of our cars and trucks.
Written by:
Enid Busser
August 22, 2019