Hehe you called me love <3Thank you so much <3 Gourgeous beautiful aaaack I don't even know what word to use! And don't worry about it, real life can get super busy this time of year <3 Thank you for finding the time to make my beautiful babydoll.
Username: Dominikov's StalkerShow Name: Dancing On Water
Barn Name: Sephora
Gender: Mare
Height: 17.3 hh
Genotype: Ee/aa/Zz/nT
Task 1 - Done! 516 words
I stood outside the barn, wringing my hands anxiously as I debated going in. What if the horse and I didn't get along? What if was too wild? A thousand what-ifs flashed through my brain as I walked into the barn, I walked through the barn, looking for the one that had the number 560. After a bit of searching, I finally found it and my heart stopped. Inside was the beautiful blue taffy tobiano mare I'd always dreamed of, drinking some water. She was gorgeous. I slipped into the stall and closed the stall door behind me and gently called out to her. She ignored me, and I felt a bit disheartened. I pulled an apple out of my bag and offered it to her. "Hey there beautiful, you like apples?" I asked her, not expecting a reply. She lifted her head and looked at it, then me. She yawned at me before gently plucking the apple from my hand and eating it in a few chomps. I reached out and patted her face while she did so. She didn't really seem to care either way, too busy enjoying the apple-y aftertaste. I pulled some grooming supplies out of my bag and began to kurri comb her fur. After I'd brushed her fur with the kurri comb, I ran the hard brush over her, though she didn't seem to care. After finishing with the hard brush I began to run the soft brush over her neck, sides, legs, belly and the rest of her body. Though she didn't seem to care, she did shift a bit, towards me. I took this as a sign that she liked the soft brush and kept brushing the rather stone-faced mare with the soft brush, though I knew I had to keep grooming her. I put away the soft brush and got the hoof pick, leaning down and lifting one of her legs. I cleaned her hoof quickly and carefully, then worked my way through the other 3. I patted her butt gently then got the comb and began to go through her tail and mane. Before long, she lifted her back hoof and slammed it down, barely missing the end of my boot. I sighed, stopping. "You don't like that, huh? Well there are nicer ways to say so." I put the comb away. I rubbed her neck gently before going and grabbing the halter I'd brought, a
muted blue-green color and a matching lead rope. As I approached with the halter, I could see the gears turning in her head. Before I could stop her she bolted past me, slamming me into the wall and exiting the stall as fast as she could. She began to gallop down the barn walk way. I could hear some other trainers snickering and whispering. I sighed, miserably, knowing I was in for quite the struggle to catch that mare, not to mention the back pain that I was suffering from that would surely worsen. I collected myself quickly, holding the lead rope and halter tight as I walked after the mare.
Task 2 - Done! 559 words
A few minutes into the drive, I heard something that made my blood run cold. Sephora was screaming. She was panicking and screaming and kicking as if her life depended on it. I pulled over the truck and sprinted around to the back and threw it open and there she stood. Sephora looked at me and stopped, flicking her tail to smack at a fly. I walked in and began checking for injuries or wounds and found none. I rubbed her forehead and cooed to her "It's okay Sephora. Please don't do that again, you almost gave me a heart attack." Sephora blinked, leaning away from my touch. I gave her a long stroke down the neck before going back to the truck. I started driving and within minutes she was back to it, screaming that blood-chilling scream. I pulled over again, rushing back once again to check on her. Just as before, she stopped immediately and showed no signs of injury. I gritted my teeth as I sighed, rubbing Sephora's face. She yanked it away, letting out a"How dare you" huff. I leaned against the wall of the trailer, thinking. How was I gonna drive home like this? I couldn't possibly ignore her screaming, it sounded like she was being eaten by wolves! Suddenly an idea came to me. I called a friend and quickly told them my plan. They, reluctantly, agreed, and I sat and waited. Within 10 minutes they'd arrived. We talked briefly then they closed the trailer with me in it. I sat down, a safe distance from Sephora, and the trailer started moving. Sephora started kicking and screaming and I quickly calmed her down with some gentle words and I stood, holding onto the wall and moved to her, slowly, and offered her an apple. She quietly eyed it then took it from me, eating it. I patted her neck and quickly returned to my spot. She stood still and nommed on her apple as I watched her. Maybe I should install a bucket into the wall and fill it with apples or some other kind of yummy treat, though then she might get a bit chubby. So maybe I could fill it with something healthier, maybe hay. I shook my head from my rambling and looked over at Sephora who had started to drift to sleep. I watched as she swayed a little, her eyes drooping and her mouth yawning. She began to lower her head, before getting stopped by the leadrope. She kept it as low as she could, her eyes closing fully and her breathing evening out, the heavy breathing caused by her panicking melting away. I smiled to myself as she fell asleep, apple bits still on her mouth. Awhile later, we got to my farm. I glanced over at the still-sleeping yearling and wondered how I was gonna wake her. Before I got the chance though, she snapped to attention as we stopped. She looked around, blinking. I chuckled and patted Sephora's neck. My friend opened the back of the trailer and I untied Sephora and led her out. She blinked sleepily. I led her over to the quarantine pasture, and let her out into the pasture. She walked away slowly, then walked over to a tree and fell asleep in its shade. I smiled as I walked away.
Task 3- Done! 530 words
I sat on the fence of my arena, and rubbed at my eyes. It'd been a few days since I brought Sephora home, and man was she a handful. I was finally ready to introduce her to my other gypsy mare,
Velvet. I watched Sephora walk around in the arena, sniffing at the dirt every now and then, blowing dirt into her face. I slid off the fence and walked over to the pasture with my less-then-happy mare. Velvet saw me coming and turned around and walked away. I knew why she was miffed. I had to move her into a smaller pasture by herself temporarily while I cleaned out her usual pasture, making sure there was no plants in it that were poisonous to her. "Velvet deaar please don't run from me.~" I called in a sing-song voice. I caught her relativly easily then led her to the arena and let her loose. I sat on the fence and watched. Sephora slowly walked over to Velvet and sniffed her then began grooming her. Velvet seemed abit shocked but quickly returned the grooming, though after a bit she seemed to get tired of the yearlings attention and bit down on Sephora's shoulder. Sephora squealed and bolted away. Velvet walked away, wandering over to the fence. She bent her head down and tried to nibble at the grass on the outside of the arena, though it was just out of her reach. I glanced over at Sephora and saw her trotting towards Velvet, a look of mischief clear on her face. Sephora trotted past Velvet, nipping her rump as she did, then took off at a gallop. Velvet bucked, then chased after the yearling. Velvet caught her easily and nipped Sephora's rump, causing her to kick and squeal as she tried to outrun the older mare. After a few more minutes of chasing, bucking, biting and squealing, the two were buddy-buddy again and both wandered around together, sniffing at various things. Sephora sniffed a rock and then tried to eat it, and seemed quite disappointed when she found out it wasn't some kind of food. I chuckled and caught them, then released them into their pasture. Sephora quickly realized this wasn't her pasture and began to explore, sticking her face in the creek and playing ring-around-the-big-oak, before stopping as she saw it. The apple tree. She took off at a gallop to it and began trying to snap one off the branches but she couldn't reach. Velvet observed, and walked over, then stood by the tree. She gave it one, good solid kick, and several apples fell down. I could see the look of awe on Sephora's face, and I could see the gears turning. I wonder how long it'll take before she learns to do that, too. Velvet picked one of the apples up in her mouth and ate it as Sephora began to eat one of the other ones that had fallen. I smiled, knowing they'd be good friends before long, and maybe, if I got lucky, Velvet would show Sephora she didn't need to be a little punk all the time. Though, I'm not getting my hopes up.
Task 4- Done! 503
Why I decided I wanted a yearling, I have no idea. Sephora may be beautiful but she is the biggest pain in the butt I've ever had, she's even worse then Velvet, though I guess that's just yearlings. As I approached Sephora, she noticed the halter in my hand and promptly "Nope-d" away at a canter. I decided maybe if she saw me leading someone else around by the halter, it would make more sense to her. Velvet can be quite stubborn, so instead I turned to my workaholic Neravontii,
Eko. I slipped a halter onto his head and began to lead him around outside of Sephora's pasture. She watched as we walked back and forth, and even took a few steps towards us at one point, though whether she was getting the message or was just curious about the large green male is yet to be determined. I decided to take it a bit further and coaxed Eko into a jog and we jogged back and forth. After a few minutes I was tired, so I returned him to his pasture and once again went to catch Sephora. This time she came right to me and sniffed at the halter, curiously. It wasn't the one I had used on Eko, and she seemed to realize this quickly, growing bored of it. I slipped the halter onto her head and clipped the leadrope to it. I began to walk and she watched me, standing still until I gently tugged on her lead rope. "Walk On, Sephora." I said. She quickly backed up, almost yanking the leadrope out of my hands. I stroked her face gently, and calmed her down, then began to walk again. This time she followed. "Good girl!" I praised her and patted her neck as we walked. Suddenly I stopped and said "Woah." She kept walking then seemed startled once again when the lead rope was yanked. I calmed her quickly and said "walk on" I waited a few seconds and when she didn't budge, I said it again but this time took a couple steps. She started walking, and I followed. Soon I said "Woah" and stopped and this time she halted almost immediately. I stroked her neck and praised her. It was time for the next step. I began to walk after saying the magic words and she followed. After a few seconds, I began to jog and said "Trot" and giving small, gentle jerks on her lead rope. After about 40 seconds of this she began to trot, slowly, trying to keep from being dragged behind me. After a little bit we slowed to a walk and I rubbed her neck. "Oh you're such a good girl Sephora." I praised her and offered her a carrot, which she took happily. We'd already made so much progress. She may be the biggest pain in the butt, but she's my pain in the butt. I chuckled to myself as I took off her halter and watched her gallop off.
Task 5- Done! 527 words
I rubbed the sleep from my eyes as I watched the pain-in-the-butt yearling sniff at the tack curiously, occasionally taking experimental bites at it. Sephora pranced around the saddle on the ground and then turned around and kicked at it, then spun around as if expecting it to have come to life. I chuckled. "Really, Sephora. It's a saddle, not a snake." After around 10 minutes, she finally lost intrested in it. So I went into the arena and tied her to the fence, then carefully placed the tack on her, bit by bit. Once she was fully saddled, I released her and jumped the fence. Sephora took off at a gallop, bucking and trying to throw the saddle off. She spun around and bit at the stirrups. At one point she reared up and fell over backwards, almost breaking the saddle. I flinched. That had to have hurt. I watched her for half an hour, slowly she began to care less about the saddle on her back and she just began to wander around, sniffing at the ground. Good! Now that the riding gear is out of the way.. Time to introduce her to pulling. I went into the arena, and as soon as Sephora saw me, she danced away. I called to her, sweetly, and walked towards her. She nope-d away and dodged all my efforts to catch her. I guess she doesn't hate the saddle nearly as much as I thought she would. I pulled a carrot out of my pocket and whistled to her, catching her attention. She saw the carrot in my hand and came galloping towards me like a starving wolf. She stopped and took the carrot from me, and I was able to grab her halter just in time. She tried to bolt again but I held her halter tightly, then tied her to the fence again. I took the saddle and tack off and lead her out, back behind the farm, near the pond. There sat a horse-drawn carriage, ready to go. I led Sephora to it and, slowly, began hooking her up to it. Sephora was slightly nervous, though there wasn't a saddle on her back so she seemed to care much less about being hooked up to the carriage. As I finished hooking her up, I stepped back and watched her. She took a few experimental steps before realizing something was holding her back. She began to buck and I quickly calmed her, not wanting her to hurt herself on the carriage. I tugged her halter a bit, tugging her forward. She looked at me like "What, are you crazy?" I kept tugging until she took a few steps, realizing the carriage wasn't nearly as heavy as she thought. I began to unhook her from the carriage and patted her shoulder. "You did good, Sephora. You did good." She sniffed at my pocket to see if I had any more carrots. I fed her one, then led her out to her pasture and let her go. I watched as she galloped over to Velvet, no doubt to tell her about the crazy things I made her do.
Task 6 -Done! 512 words
Oh God. Its the day. Its time to ride the beast. I rubbed my face, trying to prepare myself. I walk out to the pasture and chase down the yearling. Sephora is not happy at all about this, and stops repeatedly as we walk out to the arena. I can tell already, this is not the day to do this. But, its the day we had planned. So, we shall do this! Hopefully I don't get trampled by a horse in the process. I let Sephora loose in the pasture and go to get the saddle. When I return, Sephora comes over and sniffs at it, then takes a few nips and decides she doesn't care anymore. I set it it down and caught the grumpy mare and tie her up, then place the saddle pad and saddle on her and fasten them up, all the while avoiding the stomping hooves, flicking tail, and nips from Sephora. I slipped off her halter and quickly replaced it with a pressure bridle, then led her to the center of the arena. Once there, Sephora huffed in annoyance as she saw me walk to her side. Oh honey, if only you knew what was about to happen. I grabbed onto the saddle horn and a tuft of her mane while holding the reins, put my foot in the stirrup and pulled myself up. Sephora jumped in shock, then swung her head around to look at me. I was barely settled down before she started trying to throw me. I held on tight and whispered soothing words to her. After a few minutes she started to settle down though it was clear she was still not pleased. She snorted as she walked around, with no direction from me, and occasionally bucked or tried to rear. I discouraged all of this and stroked her neck, trying to calm her. "It's okay Sephora. It's okay. We won't be doing much of this anyway." I whispered encouragingly to her. She huffed once again then sniffed along the ground, sniffing at the dirt, blowing it back up in her face. She snorted and shook her head, then walked to the fence and tried to stick her face through it to get at the grass on the other side. I chuckled and tossed a carrot down to the ground. It took her a few moments but she sniffed at it, and realizing it was food, decided to eat it. Now that she was calming down, it was almost time to start her first training lesson, but it wasn't quite time yet. I'm still debating whether to have her first lesson be with the carriage or riding. I hummed to Sephora as I worked my fingers through her mane and tossed another carrot onto the ground for her. She quickly snatched it up in her mouth and ate it, occasionally dropping a horse-drool covered chunk of carrot on the ground. Now that her mood is as good as it can be today, I think its time to start Sephora's first training lesson.
Task 7 - Done! 513 words
With carrot still on Sephora's mouth, I scooped up the reins, straightened my back and got serious. I waited for her to finish, then nudged her sides with the heels of my boots. "Walk on." I said. Immediately, Sephora went in reverse, trying to escape whatever was on her sides. I nudged her sides again, abit harder. "Walk on." I said, a bit firmer. This time Sephora seemed to hear me, and seemed to recognize the command as she began to, hesitantly, walk forward. I guided her in 5 loops around the arena, then leaned back, pulling the reins slightly as I said "Woah." Sephora stopped, though she still didn't seem too sure, and she let me know by bucking. I soothed her and we were off again. This time, though, I nudged her sides again and said "Trot." She obeyed, switching to a nice, quick-paced trot. I leaned my heel into her side and used the reins to do a u-turn and she complied, turning around and we headed off in the opposite direction. We practiced for an hour, never going above a trot. I decided it was time to start her training on pulling carriages, as well. I slowed her to a walk, then a stop, then I slid off her back and tied her up. I unsaddled her quickly, and once again dodged the stomping hooves of an unhappy yearling. I fed her a carrot, and led her to the carriage while she enjoyed her snack. I hooked up all the straps and things, then gathered the reins and a whip and got on. "Walk on." I said. She walked slowly, a bit unsure. This is her first time pulling a carriage without me holding her halter. She stopped once, and I quickly got her moving again by dangling the whip off to the side where she could see it. She wasn't sure what it was, all she knew was there was something back there and she didn't like it. Sephora pulled the carriage around the farm at a slow, but steady walk, stopping occasionly but quick to get back on track with some gentle guidance. Suddenly that attitude seemed to show itself and she broke out into a gallop, almost crashing the carriage into a fence. I pulled on the reins, trying to reel her back in but it was no use. She was a horse on a mission. Hopefully said mission is not "kill the human". I held onto the reins and the carriage as she galloped completely out of control, only coming to stop at.. Her pasture. Ah. Okay. I get the message. I had Sephora turn around and we returned to the spot by the pond where I carefully unhooked all the straps, and led Sephora back to her pasture. I opened the gate and put her in and watched her gallop over to Velvet, neighing and throwing up dirt behind her as she ran. I closed the gate and rubbed at my sore palms, then rubbed at my back. I'm gonna be so sore tomorrow.
Task 8 - Done! 505 words
I giggled to myself as I set the giant bucket of paint down and crouched down by the sleeping yearling. Sephora was standing up, out cold, practically snoring. I took a paint brush and began painting her front right hoof bright purple. I then took a small paint brush and dipped it in some black paint and painted pretty black flowers, swirls and dots along her hoof. I quickly moved onto the next and repeated the process. Purple paint, small brush, black flowers, swirls and dots. I did this on all 4 hooves then quickly stood and began to walk away when an idea hit me. I took the small black brush and began painting designs along Sephora's fur. Flowers, swirls, and dots covered her beautiful blue fur as she continued to sleep. I though about what I could do next and I decided. I took the purple paint and smeared it into the white chunk of her mane. I stepped back to admire my work and decided it needed more, even though I was really, really pushing my luck. I painted purple flowers, dots and swirls along her fur, too, curving and blending to melt into the black ones already there, so it looked like it had been pre-planned rather then slapped on at the last second. I added a few black streaks to her tail and mane then grabbed the paint and ran away. I sat on the fence, and waited. A few minutes later Sephora woke up, stretching out her legs. She bent her head down and nibbled at some grass, then she began to walk towards Velvet, who was focused on the apple tree. That walk quickly became a trot, then a canter, then a full on gallop. It was beautiful to watch her gallop on an ordinary day, but covered in such beautiful paintings and markings, she looked like a moving piece of art, her hair flowing in the wind. I could see where some of the paint from her mane had smeared onto her neck fur, but it was okay, she still looked beautiful. She still looked like an angel. I watched as she slowed from a gallop to a walk and then nuzzled Velvet. Velvet looked at her, and even from here, I could see the confusion on Velvet's face. She sniffed at Sephora and snorted, then walked away. Sephora then.. Did.. The unthinkable. She must've sensed, or felt, something was on her, because she rolled. She rolled and rolled in the dirt, until she fur had a brown tinge to it. There was no longer a pretty masterpiece on her fur, just patches of paint and dirt. And then, to add insult to injury, Sephora ran through the creek, and washed a lot of the paint off. Ah.. Oh well.. I guess it saves me from having to give her a bath later. It also saves my fingers from being chomped on! Oh, and don't worry. The paint was non-toxic and animal safe! Paint your pets responsibly!
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Do not actually paint your pets.
