Day 1; Pick up
I wait in my office at the end of my barn for the trailer to roll in. I've already called the hauler twice, and he said he would be a few minutes late. I check the time, 11:35, he should've been here 10 minutes ago, even with the extra 5 minutes. I am just looking around my office at the multiple pictures of horses and riders, western themed paintings and decorations. The fan blows gently on my face, slowly cooling me until I feel like I am freezing. Finally, just as I turn on my computer to check emails, the trailer slowly pulls into the parking lot. I jump up and walk briskly to the door, stop, turn around to shut off the computer, then continue on my way out. I accidentally slam the door in my excitement, and cringe from the sound. I see a flash of chocolate-brown face with a stripe down it throw its head from the trailer.
The beast inside kicks and lets out a loud whinny as the trailer rolls to a stop. A familiar man hops out of the rig and I smile as we shake hands. "Howdy!" I say.
"Hey Constance! God, you have got to fix the potholes in your driveway! I can't believe that thing" I can't help notice his emphasis on 'thing', "is still alive!" He says.
I shake my head, "Sorry, but that'll have to wait til I have some extra time! Now, how about you pull up and back up to the round pen? This guy doesn't know anything.." I tell him. He nods and climbs back into his truck. I walk over to the roundpen and open the gate, making sure everything is clear from the path of the trailer. I've already set up a little path from the wide entrance of the trailer to the roundpen for the horse. I don't even know what this thing will look like, much less the gender. I'm hoping for a gelding, hopefully with some color, but I'll work with just about everything. As soon as Rick backs up and shuts off the truck, I walk forward. I push a few buttons on the trailer and the ramp lowers, and I can see four white stockings with black on top, leading to slender brown legs. I grow excited, knowing at least this horse has a little bit of flashiness! I nod and a few button pushes later, the bar swings open. I expect the horse to barrel out, but as I look in, it stares back at me with fear and curiosity. It is a gorgeous gelding; a light bay with a paint splotch on his bely and roaning on his entire body, he also has those four white stockings and a dripping blaze on his face.
I sigh and smile, and he bolts out! Its almost too quick for me to react and I pull my head away just in time. He barrels through the channel straight into the roundpen and starts trotting around with his head up as far as he can get it, snorting and letting out short whinnies. Other horses from the fields nearest the roundpen come galloping up as we pull the trailer away and close the gate. Rick helps me dismantle the channel to the roundpen gate, and we stand back to watch. The other horses aren't helping at all, screaming back and forth with the mustang, who is making a show of rearing and running back and forth. I say goodbye to Rick, and he leaves with his trailer, leaving me to watch my new project. I lean on one of the roundpen bars, and rest my head on the one above it. The mustang completely ignores me until I sneeze, which catches him by surprise, as he spins around and stares at me from an angle, huffing. I start talking to him very softly, just utter nonsense and slowly walk around the roundpen. He turns to watch me, not out of respect, but making sure he can watch my every move. When I get to the side where he originally ran back and forth, the mustang charges at me. I back away a few steps as he slams into the side, spooks himself, and tears off to the other side. He does this a few times, and ends up finally standing across the opposite side.
I already have a perfect name for him; Lucifer, or Luke. Lucifer is the name of the devil, and I can already tell that this ex-stud will be a more dominant horse, and probably more aggressive. I leave him to adjust a little bit, and grab a large water bucket, which I carry back to the roundpen. I use a rope to safely lower it in to his pen, which he stares at with wide eyes. I untie the rope and fill it with cool, clear water. I also wet down some hay and throw it in, throw in dry hay, and some fresh grass I had picked that morning. I knew he would eat the hay if he got hungry enough, but I figured that maybe he would prefer fresh stuff at first.
As I walk back to my office, I sigh and the cool air of the room refreshes me. I watch Luke through a window, and he just looks at the hay and water with concern. He is scared of it. I watch him for some time, but he doesn't do much but walk around and sniff everything, and to my relief, he at least samples the water.
I turn my attention to my computer, and look at the papers and stuff that Rick brought with him. Lucifer is 4 years old, which is just about perfect. It means he is pretty much grown, and he is 15hh which is also a perfect height for a western horse. Luckily, he also looks like he has a lot of quarter horse in him, and paint of course, possibly some appy. Apparently he likes to be alone, which is good and bad, but I'll just work with it. I've worked with loners before, but after a while, most of them seem to warm up to people, at least. It'll just be a challenge, since he is completely wild.
-5 hours later-
I head towards the house after filling out some tax forms and doing a bunch of paperwork for the barn, and watch Lucifer in the roundpen. He has obviously calmed down a bunch, and is rolling like a maniac. He flips over nearly every time, almost showing me that he is incredibly athletic. I smile and walk into the house, leaning against the door after I close it. I know I'll go out to feed the horses a little later, and that Luke has already eaten a little of the hay I spread out, so I am content to feed myself first, feeling that he will settle in just fine.
