WIP!
Doc was a former lesson horse, all riders rode him. Upon the stable's closing, Doc was sold to whom they thought would take care of him. Doc was found with un-kept hair and chipped hooves, we were able to take care of his mane and tail but hes still not quite ready. He's now a bit nervous with people.
Task 1 - Arrival
297 words
In the early morning, I was walking one of the horses in from the fields when I heard a familiar crunching noise. I watch as a trailer pulls into the graveled driveway. I hand the horse to one of the stable hands and rush to the trailer.
"Is this one of the new horses?" I ask loudly.
"Yep," the driver shouts over the engine.
"Which one?" I say, leaning into the window.
"The school horse," he replies.
"Ah, Doc," I murmur to myself. I make my way to the back of the trailer and peek through the window to see a bay horse in the corner of the box. Slowly, I open the door on the side and step in.
"Hi there," I whisper to him as I pick up the halter by the door. I walk to him, talking the whole time. My hand reaches out to stroke him. He pushes his head into my hand. Well, this is going to be one of the easier horses we've taken on. I slip the halter on.
"Someone get the ramp, please," I say. I wait. The ramp comes down slowly. I lead Doc out of the trailer. He seems hesitant to walk. At first I thought it was because he was overwhelmed by this new place, but then I notice him not wanting to stand on a certain foot. Then I noticed his chipped hooves, and the particularly bad one he doesn't want to put weight on.
"We'll get you sorted out boy," I pat his neck, "don't you worry."
For now, he needs to settle in and rest. I take him to a small row of stables away from the main ones, remove his halter and hang it on the hook outside the door. I had some calls to make.
Task 2 - Cleaning
381 words
It's about noon now. I place a box of grooming supplies on the concrete floor outside of Doc's stable. I put his halter back on and tie him outside, the sun shining down on us. He's clean, surprisingly. I expected worse from what I was told, but then again, he was taken care of when he was found. I brush the dirt from his coat. Some old hairs come loose, he was just finishing up growing his summer coat. A few minutes into grooming, Doc starts to rub his head on the door. I scratch his itch. He raises his head.
"Like that, huh?" I laugh. Finished with his body, I get the comb and start on his mane. He looks at me with big, soft brown eyes. Gently removing the knots in his mane, he closes his eyes. Though, he didn't like me touching his tail; he throws his head and snorts, trying to turn around.
"Easy now," I say. It's a bit of a fight working through his tail. Finally, I'm done. I stand back and look at his fresh coat, glistening in the light. I reach for a carrot in the box of supplies and hold it out for him. His velvety lips brush against my palm as he tries to grab the carrot. Crunch. Crunch. I stroke his nose as he happily munches away. The man I was waiting for, our farrier, comes around the corner.
"Hello!" I exclaim.
"Hi," he replies, "is this him?"
"Yeah," I say, "he's got some cracked hooves."
"Let me have a look," he smiles.
He looks down at Doc's hooves. When he tries to pick the front left foot up, the badly cracked one, the horse pulls his leg away.
"Don't like that," he asks, "do you?"
The other hooves there's no problems with, easily trimming them down with a happy horse. But when he comes back to the first hoof, Doc is reluctant to pick it up. With some coaxing, soft words and maybe a sneaky treat, he finally lifts his leg. His ears pin. It's over before he knows it.
"All done," the farrier says, "they should grow back fine now that I've trimmed them."
"Thank you," I answer. I put Doc back in the stable and unhalter him.
Task 3 - Bonding
256 words
It was later that evening. Doc was patiently waiting in his stable along with many other horses, waiting for the the time when we would lead all the horses that had been caught to work on out into the fields for the night. With the help of some stablehands, we led the herd of horses out into the valley. Some helpers had multiple horses to lead that would go into fields together. I just had Doc. His small pasture was the furthest away and uphill, leaving us walking along the path by ourselves. His breathing and hooves were the only sounds that broke the peaceful silence. When we got to the field, I gently brushed his mane with my fingers before removing his halter and letting him run loose. I sat on the rocky wall and watched him gallop. Doc neighed to the horses in the next pasture, running along the fence by them. Eventually he broke away and slowed, soon stopping to roll. After he was done, he simply layed there and watched me with his ears pointed forwards towards me. The sun was setting over the quiet mountains, tinting his coat in faint hues of reds and purples. He stood. Slowly, he made his way over to me and nickered softly. I stroked his head, which he then rested on my shoulder. I reached around underneath him to stroke his neck. I lost track of time, unsure of how long we spent together before he quietly parted from me, wandering back into the field.
Task 4 - Training
306 words
Doc was given time to settle in before training. I caught him in the field and after he was groomed, I lead him into the roundpen. First we did some basic groundmanners and work, which he was happy to do. After lunging him as a warm-up, I tacked him up. The bridle was fine. But under the saddle, he became nervous. I got him moving to get him used to feeling the saddle. Doc was struggling to focus on me. Instead, he was concentrating on the saddle, taking awkward steps to the side and occasionally picking up the pace. I couldn't imagine how long it had been since he had a saddle on his back. It took a while for him to calm down. Even then he wasn't really paying much attention to me, seemingly zoning out as if he'd rather be somewhere else. I was impressed that he hadn't freaked out during the entire time, he must have been a well trained school horse. In an attempt to get his attention, I turned him towards me a few times, eventually it worked.
"You're a good boy," I said, patting his neck.
I gave him a short break before starting to pull on the saddle as if I was going to mount. He anxiously stepped away. Each time I tried to touch the saddle he would turn his rear away from me. It took a few times before I managed to try again. Soon he calmed down. I turned his head so he could watch as this time I mounted him. He started to move without being asked, and was hesitant to halt. I practiced getting into the saddle a few more times before taking him for a ride around the roundpen. It took a few weeks to get him feeling comfortable under the saddle again.
Task 5 - Riding
