[Potato.]

username: Gallopinghowl
name: Light Up The Storm // Arashi
gender: Mare
eye color: blue
dam: --
sire: --

[GallopingHowl]

username: Gallopinghowl
name: Light Up The Storm // Arashi
gender: Mare
eye color: blue
dam: --
sire: --
halter color: When the halter introduction is posted this will be the halter that is chosen for this beauty, I would like this please

[GallopingHowl]

✯First Encounter✯

Alice trotted along the trail upon her mare, Kit. She had decided to take Kit out for a smooth trail ride to give the mare a light workout. For the past couple days, Alice had heard rumors of a few wild horses running around the woods, but rumors were rumors. Alice chuckled to herself at the thought, because wild horses normally tried to stay far off from humans and were rarely spotted. Kit easily jumped over a few two foot logs and suddenly slide to a stop. The mare's nostrils flared and her ears were as still as a statue. Still. Silence. The only part moving on the mare was the rapid breathing and flaring nostrils. Alice urge the horse forward by squeezing with her heels, but Kit remained still. "Hey, girl, you ok?"

Silence.

Something rustled in the brushes nearby, causing Kit to slowly back up. Kit rarely ever spooked, and this genuinely frightened Alice. Horses could smell and sense the fear from their rider. Alice took a deep breath and relaxed, trying to reassure Kit as she patted the mare's neck. Then the rustling came again. This time is was louder. And closer.

Alice slowly pulled out the lasso from her saddle bag and quietly listened. She saw two grey perked ears sticking out from above the tall bush. She held back a gasp. This horse was gorgeous. The rumors were true. A wild horse stood in front of her. Kit urged forward. Step by Step. The grey horse threw her head up and curiously stared at the two. Alice urged Kit on further, but Kit seemed to tremble with each step. Suddenly the grey horse reared up and whinnied loudly, preparing to run off. There was no way Alice could miss this chance. Kit leaped into a canter and followed the mare into the brush. Alice threw her lasso to the horse as they got closer to it. "Wow...."

The mare reared up into the mare and smashed onto the ground. Kit whinnied loudly and tossed her head, clearly not happy with the horse. Grey dapples covered the mare's coat, it was stunning. Blue eyes stared at Alice with a sort of death glare. "Well your definitely.. spirited. Your a little fire cracker, aren't you? Your like the lightning in the storm. To most you scare them off, but to me you light up my smile... hmm I like that. Light Up The Storm it is then. Arashi for short, since you are just a little hurricane or storm." Alice laughed quietly and watched the mare. "Shhh...." Trying to calm the mare down, Alice lightly touched the mare's neck and slowly pet it. Arashi seemed to quite down, but that didn't make the journey back any easier. Basically the whole way back included many breaks due to the mare's copious rears and a plethora of reluctant stops. They finally got back, and by this time Arashi was still reluctant to calm down. Alice put her into the round pen and watched her gallop around it. After she put Kit back, she put her tack away and sat down watching Arashi.

[GallopingHowl]

Adjusting

Arashi wasn't a perfect mare, nor even a calm one. The mare paced around the round pen and reared up at Alice whenever near. Alice saw the sorrow and lose in the mare's eyes, but that was mostly covered with anger. Alice had let Arashi out to graze for a bit, but the mare leaped right over the fence and bolted off. Surprisingly, the mare ran straight into the round pen again. Arashi didn't trust many things, and the only place she knew in the area was the place she was fed:the round pen.

"That mare is poison. There is no use training a horse like that." They say. Not one time through all the insults and comments did Alice want to give up though.

Eventually Arashi began to calm down. The rearing began to decrease and a few times she let Alice pet her neck. Arashi let Alice rub her neck, and groom her. Once. Arashi was impatient though. She never stood still for long and always raced around the round pen leaping into the air. Hopefully Alice will be able to get the halter on her soon to begin lunging her. A few close kicks later, Alice was able to clean the mare's hooves. Even with out a halter, the mare began to trust Alice and respect her. No matter how long Arashi let Alice groom her, the mare was still very wild and wouldn't let the halter come near her.

Arashi was adjusting moderately well. The pacing, racing, and leaping wouldn't stop, but the mare had stopped her endless rearing.

[GallopingHowl]

Introduction to the Halter

"Hmm.. I think this halter will look best." Alice decided as she looked up from the halter and up to Arashi. The mare was still. Frozen. Heavy breaths and perked ears. Staring at the halter. The halter was a light blue, grey, and white chevron pattern with silver buckles, but the blue matched her eyes perfectly. Alice always loved how nicely blues went with grey though, it just seemed to fit perfectly.

Arashi was a intelligent mare. Always curious with new things, but became very aggressive when she thought things were going too fast or may hurt her. Alice came out every day and worked with the mare in the round pen, and successfully got to run her hand along the mare's forehead. She had noticed Arashi's sweet personality though, no matter how hard the mare tried to hide it. The halter was a different story. Alice had tried roping the mare, but she always dodged the rope or ended up breaking it. When Alice did catch her with the rope, Arashi didn't stop bucking till she was released. Arashi hated being restraint, which is why Alice had tried to push back getting the halter on her.

Alice slowly opened the gate and walked into the round pen. She put the halter behind her back and held out treats in the other. Arashi's nose flared and she slowly approached Alice. Gobbling up the treats quickly, Arashi gleefully devoured the treats and nuzzled her big nose onto Alice's palm. Alice brought out the halter from behind her back slowly. Seeing the halter, Arashi stood there and just stared at it. The mare had probably never seen a halter, therefore didn't even know what it was. She slipped the halter over the mare's head and quickly, but calmly and softly, clipped it shut.

Surprisingly, the dappled mare didn't move nor flinch. She stared at the halter in shock actually. Tosing her head, she galloped around the round pen then reared up. Letting out a loud whinny and rubbing her head on Alice, Arashi seemed to be more confused by the halter then angry or aggressive. "Shh.. It's ok, that's not gonna hurt you. If you keep wearing this your gonna get to have a lot more freedom and things to do. With this we can go on walks or I can lunge you in the ring. I bet your gonna like it." Alice said softly as she combed her fingers through Arashi's mane. It's suprising how much the mare had learned to trust Alice. The two were practically inseparable and Arashi had calmed down a lot with Alice. Alice learned to be patient and Arashi learned to trust. The halter may have only been a small part, but the only reason Alice could get it close to Arashi was because of the bond starting to blossom between them.

[GallopingHowl]

Meeting a Friend

The round pen was separated from the other pastures. Whenever a horse passed by, Arashi always seemed really curious and excited. Arashi must have missed her herd, yet Alice didn't want to put her in with a group of horses till she was trained and trusted. Almost there. Jax, the stable dog, was an exception though. As Alice walked out of her house, Jax snuck by and ran out the door to make his usual daily check-in with the horses. The pup checked in each stall and greeted every horse in the stable, but suddenly froze as he made his way outside.

Jax was a mutt. Some sort of collie, terrier, German shepherd, husky mix. The dog was pretty big, but small compared to the horses. Jax was normally very friendly and excited with the horses, but always careful. Safety before curiosity. Arashi froze was well.

Both of them were frozen.

Alice was inside giving grain to the horses, so she had no clue what was happening or what was about to happen.

Jax snuck under the fence post and carefully trotted into the round pen. Arashi immediately reared up and whinnied loudly to Alice. Both the animals seemed terrified as Jax stared at the horse cowering and Arashi kept rearing up. Alice raced out and held up her hands to Arashi, "Wow, girl, wow. He's just a dog and would never hurt you. You're ok." Arashi seemed to calm down a bit, but flinched every time Jax took a step forward. The horse lowered her head and sniffed Jax's forehead. Then Jax licked Arashi's muzzle. The two were very cautious of each other, but seemed to have some respect. No rearing. No nipping. Both were a lot calmer, but surprisingly Arashi licked Jax's forehead back.

Alice chuckled, "Not so scary after all, right?" She pet the Arashi and Jax and walked back out of the round pen.

Jax and Arashi became almost inseparable. Jax started coming straight to Arashi before doing his check ins and Arashi always waited patiently for him in the mornings. The horse trusted Jax more then Alice now, but Alice was just happy she finally found a friend.

[GallopingHowl]

✯Gaining Trust✯

The mare was confusing. She let Alice pet her and slip the halter on, but Arashi didn't exactly trust Alice. They had a bond, but no trust. Alice let out a deep side and climbed up onto the fence of the round pen. Arashi backed up to the other side of the round pen and watched the girl curiously. Alice took out an apple from her pocket and tossed it towards her. "Like apples, girl?"

Arashi trotted towards the apple and lowered her head. Her nostrils flared, but her eyes sparked up with curiosity and excitement. The sweet smell of the apple definitely caught her attention. She ate the apple quickly and looked back at Alice, waiting for another sweet treat. "Don't think I'm going to turn you into one of those spoiled ponies that only behave for treats. That's not trust, it's bribery." Alice laughed and jumped down into the round pen.

Alice watched the mare for a bit. She noticed everything she flinched at and everything she paid extra attention to. The mare stared at the clouds and watched the gate latch jingle in the wind, but something else was on the mare's mind. Her blue eyes darted to the shelf near the entrance. Where the crops were. The mare flinched and reared up as a crop fell from the shelf when the wind blew it over. Somehow, the mare knew what it was and what it was used for. The entire time Arashi used force to get her ways, and Alice was just being pushed around by the mare. Maybe using force wasn't the way to Arashi's heart...

Alice walked up to the mare and stopped about five feet away. She held out her hand, but didn't move closer. The mare walked up and played her muzzle into Alice's hand.

Suddenly Jax, the stable dog who had been watching, barked loudly and ran after a butterfly, but knocked over a trash can. Arashi reared up onto her hind legs then bucked out. The mare whinnied loudly and reared up again. Surprised by the sudden spook, Alice stumbled back and fell onto the ground. "Aah!" Shouted Alice as she hit the ground.

Arashi calmed down and stared at Alice on the ground. The mare tilted her head, it was almost as if she was saying 'Why are you on the ground? Silly human.' Alice groaned and looked up at the mare. Arashi reached down and sniffed Alice's hair, then began playing with it. "Wow I'm impressed.. Your a hairdresser." Chuckled Alice.

Arashi bent down and laid down next to Alice. Alice considered this "Seeing things from a different angel or perspective". The mare nuzzled her head against Alice's chest then placed her forehead on Alice's.

Suddenly the mare curled her neck under Alice's arm and snuck her snout in her armpit. "Oh.. ok?.." Alice said, feeling very confused. Arashi stood up, bringing Alice up with her on her neck. Alice laughed and Arashi began playing with her hair again and nuzzle Alice's nose. "Love you too, girl. Does this mean.. you actually like me?" Arashi whinnied loudly and nodded her head. Alice laughed loudly against and stroked the mare's nose. "I trust you.." The mare looked at Alice, then closed her eyes then touched forehead's again.

[GallopingHowl]

✯First Time with the Saddle✯

Alice quickly lunged the mare in the round pen. Today was the day. She already picked out the saddle she wanted to use, and of course it was one of the lightest ones she could find. Her favorite saddle though. It was a dark brown saddle she had ordered from France, but Alice loved it a bit too much to use it much. Arashi was an exception.

The mare knew something was different. She could feel her eagerness and excitement already. It could be good or bad though..

Alice picked up the fluffy girth and held it up to the mare, unsure of how she would react. Arashi sniffed it and stared at Alice, even she didn't know how to react. After letting her sniff the tack, Alice hooked a lead rope onto the mare's halter and lead her around a bit until she felt calm and not as tense. She picked up the saddle pad and ran it along her side, causing Arashi is hop to the side and let out a low whinny.

"Shhhh.. your alright. Saddle pads don't bite."

After a while with trying to get Arashi to stop spinning, Alice finally threw the saddle pad on. The funny part was, once it was on Arashi didn't budge. Actually, she didn't put when putting the saddle on and putting a loose girth on. The horse was still.

Alice hooked her onto a lead line and lead her around the arena, but Arashi barely picked her feet up. She sighed and clipped the lead line after the door was closed. Without warning, the mare went into a fury of bucks and rears, falling onto her back and side continuously.

"Sometimes I doubt you were once wild, but you always remind me."

[GallopingHowl]

Ground work

After the saddle incident, Alice slowly worked with Arashi and got her to a somewhat understanding of the saddle.

The mare's progress impressed Alice, so she decided to finally move on to ground work. Alice hoped the mare would enjoy the low key work and would relax and stretch out, but hopefully not be lame afterwards.

Arashi stared at Alice, clearly very confused as Alice lead Arashi into the ring full of cavalettis, ground poles, cones, and an assortment of items. The mare shied away from the bright orange cones, but there was a small glint in her eye. Alice let the mare over to sniff each item individually before she snapped on a lung line. Arashi demonstrated a gorgeous, up-hill trot and a steady canter, even though her strides were gigantic. Her tolting needed a lot of work, since her steps were a bit too high and she constantly tripped. Instead of tolting, she was more tilting over due to having her feet too high.

She let Arashi up to a ground pole and clucked a few times, keeping her trot forward and motivated. About two strides from the pole, she took off and flew over it, yet still managed to buck her legs out in the air. Her jump was huge, yet curved nicely. She was clearly a jumper.

Alice let Arashi figure out her strides to a few tiny jumps at the canter, but Arashi seemed to already know what she was doing. The mare did over jump the jumps, yet her striding, position, and focus were all on track. Alice smiled proudly as she watched Arashi clear a higher jump at about 3 feet and trot confidently back to her. Ground work seemed fine, yet with the big stride and jump, riding would be another chapter.

[GallopingHowl]

First ride

Alice had already tacked up the mare and lunged her, extremely excited for her first ride. Arashi could feel her eagerness and seemed a bit anxious as she pranced across the ring. Alice held onto the reins and slowly moved her towards the mounting block, but kept Arashi straight and forward. Even though she shied back and tried to jump over it, Alice calmed her down and got her lined up. "1..2..3.." Alice slowly mounted up, letting one leg stand on the mounting block and another in the stirrup. Arashi seemed extremely calm, so she slowly lifted her leg over and sat on the seat softly. Arashi pranced sideways, but allowed Alice to sit.