[nimrod.]

Ordered tolter from the tolter taming event.

Username: rook.
Name: Chasing Tomorrow // Charlotte
Gender: mare
Eye color: Green
Dam: --
Sire: --

[rook.]

So pretty omg! Thank you rachie c:

Name: Chasing Tomorrow // Charlotte
Gender: mare

1. First encounter
2. Adjusting to the new home
3. Introduction of the halter
4. Meeting a friend
5. Gaining your horse's trust
6. First time with saddle
7. Ground work
8. First ride
9. Free spot

So sorry for making you look at my crappy art ;n;

[rook.]

First encounter

xx

It was 7 am when my alarm started to go off. Way, way too early for me. I groaned and flopped around on the bed, delaying for as long as possible. Eventually I rubbed at my face and sat up, ready to start my day. I dressed quickly and grabbed a protein bar and some coffee on my way out. I hitched the trailer to my truck and pulled out of my driveway to start the familiar, hour-long drive to Bear Run. I hopped out of the car and headed towards the main barn. I started on the left side, peeking into each and every stall on the way, taking in each horse and their info. I was about halfway down the row when I noticed a stall that seemed empty at first glance. I paused and then backed up to take a closer look. In the far corner, a shape was lying in the straw. Worried, I leaned closer and a sleepily brown and white face peered up at me and blinked pretty sea green eyes.
"Hey cutie pie, are you taking a nap like that?" The little horse nickered softly and got to her feet. Leaning back a moment I checked the info on the front of the stall door. The card read female, 4 years old, healthy. Smiling, I rubbed the pretty mare's nose before moving on down the aisle. I checked out a few more horses but I didn't get much farther than that. With a sigh, I headed back to her stall, knowing it would be useless to check out the other horses. The pretty lady had already stolen my heart.

"Come on cutie, you're gonna be just fine." I coaxed, trying to convince the spooked mare to follow me out of her stall. She took a reluctant step, and then another. "That's it cutie, almost there." Ever so slowly, we made it to my trailer. She had just begun to calm the smallest bit but she spooked again at the sight of the trailer. "What is it cutie? It's just like your stall, I promise." Apparently, she wasn't convinced because she balked again, pulling away. I groaned, "Come on pretty lady, it's okay." Another ten minutes of sweet talking and tugging at her makeshift lead, she hesitantly stepped into the trailer. I breathed a sigh of relief and closed the door behind her. "Finally."

Word count 400

[rook.]

Adjusting to the new home
xx

I pulled into my driveway and almost immediately, the mare started making a fuss. I quickly jumped out the cab of my truck and rounded the trailer. I opened the door and saw the mare straining against her tied lead. "Hey, hey relax cutie. It's ok. You're gonna be ok." The pretty lady was not buying it and practically bolted out of the trailer as soon as I unhitched her. I ran a couple steps to catch up with her and led the freaked horse toward the stables. She pranced nervously as I opened her stall door and led her in. I gently pulled the makeshift halter and lead off her as she backed into the far corner. I backed out of her stall and shut the door behind her. I leaned against the door, watching her warily check out her surroundings. Now for a name. Hm. I glanced around the empty barn for inspiration, then out toward the pasture where my other Icelandic horses grazed peacefully. Something with a C, maybe Caroline? I tried it out, "Caroline? What do you think of that?" The mare huffed and flicked her tail at me. "Ok, guess not. Ooh, Charlotte. How about Charlotte?" She glared at me from under her forelock but I just smiled at her. "Now for a show name, hm?" I shifted my weight and glanced around again. "Uhh... Chasing Horizons? Chasing Sunsets? Chasing Tomorrow?" Charlotte swung her head around to watch me curiously. "Chasing Tomorrow huh? Ok, I like that." I stood there for a few more minutes before getting my butt in gear. I moved around the barn, gathering up the matching halter and saddle blanket that I'd had prepared for my new horse and hanging them up on her stall door. Lastly, I checked the spare bridle and saddle that would be Charlotte's before moving on to my daily chores.

Word count 314

[rook.]

Introduction of the halter
xx

The next morning I woke at my usual time, 8:30. I dressed quickly, eager to check up on Charlotte after her night in the stables with the others. I snagged a banana from the kitchen and headed out. Amora whickered at me as I passed so I paused, placing a kiss on her soft nose. I felt a tug on the banana and looked up to see Ali trying to tug it out of my hand. I laughed and moved over to her stall. "Hey chubby baby, what's up?" I peeled the banana and held out a chunk towards her. She gobbled it up like a starving mare and stared at me expectantly. "No more for you babes." I moved on down the barn aisle to Charlotte's stall in the back, separated from the others. "Hey cutie, how're you doing this morning?" She flicked her tail at me and turned her back. "Ok cutie, I get it. Not a morning lady huh?" I held out the rest of my banana towards her and waited patiently. Eventually, she swung her head back around towards me. She crept forward, eyeing me suspiciously. Finally, she snatched the treat and backed up further in her stall to savor it as I went about feeding and watering.

With all the other horses out to pasture, I turned my focus back to Charlotte. I stopped in the kitchen and grabbed another banana and apple before returning to the barn. I took Char's halter from where it hung outside her stall and slipped in with her. "Hey cutie, look what I got for you." I showed her the fruit and she took a hesitant step closer. I smiled and showed her the halter. She was not a fan. I peeled the banana and offered her half. As she chewed on the treat, I quickly slipped the halter on. She froze, eyes wide. Char backed up a fast, shaking her head back and forth frantically. "Shh, I'm sorry cutie but you'll get used to it. You'll be okay." I kept whispering sweet nothings to her as she continued to struggle. Eventually, she calmed down enough to take the other half of the banana and sniff at the apple. I smiled, as she took the apple and turned away from me, still looking grumpy. I let myself out of her stall and watched her carefully for a few minutes to make sure she didn't do anything to hurt herself while attempting to get the halter off.

Word count 417

[rook.]

Meeting a friend
xx

Later that same day I decided to let Charlotte out to graze in the far pasture. She was still a little spooked by the halter, but let me lead her past the main pasture to the more isolated one. I let her in the pasture and unclipped her lead, rubbing her forelock before she moved off. I watched her for a couple minutes but than a crash at the main pasture drew my attention. Daydreamer, one of my newer additions, and just hopped the fence and of course, snapped the top rail which I'd have to replace. I groaned and started jogging toward the headstrong stallion. He dodged my attempts to grab his halter and pranced over to Char's pasture. I muttered curses under my breath as I chased after him but he continued to evade capture. "Dream I swear to god, you are not getting any treats for the next month!" Apparently, he saw right through my bluff because if anything, he danced even farther away from me. I could see Charlotte slowly approaching, curious about the strange horse outside her pasture. "Dream, get your butt back here!" He whinnied happily at me and galloped away from the pasture. Mildly relieved that I'd just dodged a horse fight, I jogged after him. Suddenly, he whipped around and started charging toward the pasture fence. "Oh no." I whispered, as he cleared the fence and trotted over to Charlotte. As expected, Char pinned her ears back angrily and flicked her tail with agitation. I moved closer carefully, keeping my eyes on them. Dream nickered at her sweetly and started grazing calmly. Still nervous, I leaned against the fence, debating whether or not I should try to grab Dream now. Slowly, Charlotte lowered her head to graze as well, still keeping a suspicious eye on Dream. I relaxed the tiniest bit and kept watching, worried that the tentative peace between the two horses would snap. They both seemed to fully calm down and begin to sniff at each other. Dream huffed playfully and nudged her. For a second everything seemed to freeze. Then, to my shock and surprise, Char nudged him back and pranced away. They started a game of chase like two foals out in the pasture for the first time. "Wow. Okay. That turned out well." I watched for a few more minutes before heading back to the barn to finish mucking out the stalls.

Word count 404

[rook.]

Gaining your horse's trust
xx

It was just past twelve thirty when I finished all of my chores and got ready to work with Charlotte. I led her out to the indoor ring and unclipped her lead. As always, she skittered away nervously the second she could. I was ready for that and held out her favorite, a green apple. She snatched it up and moved back a little ways, but not as far away as before. "Hey cutie," I cooed, getting comfy on the feed bins. I held out another apple, knowing she'd be chubbier than Ali soon if this kept up. She crept closer, and took the other apple, eyeing me as she munched on her treat. I reached out and rubbed her cute pink nose. She huffed but didn't back away. I slowly stretched out my hand farther to scratch her cheek gently. She flicked her tail impatiently and glared at me. With a sigh, I gave up my last apple. "Here you go cutie." She grabbed it from my hand greedily. "You know, you're going to be waddling soon if you don't ease up on the apples cutie." Charlotte ignored me, finishing up her snack noisily. I hopped off the bins carefully and held out my hand, palm up, towards her. She sniffed it then looked at me curiously. "Cutie, you already ate all the apples. I don't have any more for you." Charlotte flicked her tail lazily, lowering her head to sniff at me. I smiled and ran my fingers through her mane. She watched me out of the corner of her eye as I slowly walked around her, carefully avoiding her hind legs and rubbing her back. A couple of the barn cats raced through the indoor ring and she spooked, backing up again. "Oh cutie, you could smush both of those cats under a single hoof." Charlotte ignored me, sniffing around in the dirt for some food. She must've noticed the leftover hay I had yet to put away because she trotted over eagerly. "Cutie I'm telling you, chubbier than Ali." I warned as I trailed after her. Again, she ignored me in favor of the food. We spent the rest of the day in a similar fashion, me chasing after her as she searched out food. Slowly, she stopped flinching whenever I approached and actually rubbed against my leg a couple times. We were starting to make some progress.

Word count 402

[rook.]

First time with saddle
xx

I'd had Charlotte nearly a week now and it was time to introduce her to the saddle. I finished up my chores quicker than usual, leaving me plenty of time to work with Charlotte. I grabbed the bridle, which she'd already been introduced too, and the saddle. I draped them both over the top of her stall door. She came forward eagerly, ears pricked and nostrils flaring to catch the scent of the apple I was holding for her. "You looking for this cutie?" I held the apple out to her and rubbed behind her ears as she bit into the fruit. I let myself into the stall and slipped the bridle on in one smooth, practiced motion. Charlotte let out a sharp, disgruntled neigh but settled down quickly, already familiar with the feel of the cold bit in her mouth. I rubbed her neck soothingly for a few minutes, wanting her to be as relaxed as possible before trying to introduce her to the new piece of tack. I picked up the saddle cloth and watched as she sniffed it disinterestedly. Slowly, gently, I placed it on her back, smoothing it down. She huffed, twisting around to stare at the foreign object on her back. Then, before I could even think of stopping her, she grabbed it between her teeth and pulled it off her back. "No cutie, that's gotta stay on." I picked up the saddle cloth and dusted it off before sliding it back on her. I held it there as she checked it out again and tried to yank it off. "Nope. Nope nope nope. This is staying on you cutie." After about five minutes of fighting to keep the saddle cloth in place, she gave in and faced forward again. "See? It's not that bad. Just a little weird." Keeping one hand on the saddle cloth, I reached over and grabbed the saddle itself. "Ok cutie, now for the main thing." I placed the saddle on her back so slowly it felt like I was hardly moving. She startled at the weight of it and pranced nervously in place. I kept it balanced on her back, knowing that if it fell she'd spook bad at the jangle of metal stirrups. She snorted with irritation, still trying to pulled the saddle and saddle cloth off. "Cutie. It's ok." I pet her neck rhythmically, hoping to calm her down. Slowly, she settled down accustoming herself to the weight feel of the saddle. "That's it cutie, just like that." I picked up the last piece of tack, the girth. Again, I let her check it out before attaching one end to the saddle. She turned at the clinking sound of metal on metal but remained relaxed. Muttering a curse, I realized I'd have to move around to her other side to finish doing up the girth. Moving at the pace of a tortoise with joint problems, I rounded her front and caught hold of the saddle on the other side, breathing a sigh of relief. I reached under her and snagged the other end of the girth. I lifted it and attached it loosely. Over the next few days I repeated this, getting Charlotte used to the weight and feel of both the saddle and girth.

Word count 548

[rook.]

Ground work
xx

Another week had gone by since I'd introduce her to the saddle and she hardly even notice when I put it on anymore. She had since been moved to the main pasture with all the other horses. I dug up the extra long ground work lead and headed over to the pasture. "Hey Charlotte. Cutie it's ground work time!" As always, Charlotte and Daydream were hanging out together, looking like they were getting up to something. Ali, the chubby baby, rushed over searching me for treats. I laughed and handed over her sugar cube before moving on towards Charlotte. "Hey Char Char!" I held out her apple, green of course, and she trotted over happily. While she was distracted with her snack, I clipped the lead on to her and led her out of the pasture. She followed quickly enough and soon we were in the outdoor ring. I moved to the center and picked up the long whip laying there. I flicked it in the dirt behind her and she trotted a few steps before coming to a stop. "Cutie, you've gotta keep moving. That's kinda the point." I flicked the whip again and she started moving. "That's it cutie." I put her through her paces a couple of times and led her back to her stall for a brush down.

Word count 222
it is why too late for research ;u;

[rook.]

First ride
xx

Today was the day for Charlotte's first ride. She was accustomed to her saddle and bridle and was ready for it. As always, I brought her favorite green apple and saddled her up. I led her to the indoor ring and flipped the reins back over her head. She watched me as I led her to the mounting block and stepped up on it. I gradually put some weight on her back, leaning on the saddle. I slowly swung one leg over her back and settled my full weight on to her. She snorted and pranced sideways a few steps. "Shh cutie, it's ok. It's ok." I leaned forward and stroked her necked soothingly. She settled down a little so I squeezed lightly, spurring her on a few steps. She started a slow, hesitant walk. "That's it cutie, that's it." I urged her into a slow trot around the ringing. She was still a little jumpy but after about thirty minutes she calmed down. I dismounted and gave her a kiss and her apple. I led her back to the barn aisle and tied her to the cross ties as I took off her tack. I rubbed her down and turned her out to pasture so she could raise h*ll with Daydreamer.

Word count 212
so tired must finish