His name will be Kuarei. Kua means apple in Hmong and rei means king in Catalan (according to google translate.)
First Touch
I sat on the fence, watching Kuarei bump into the apple tree in the pasture. For awhile, I couldn't figure out why he was doing it until an apple fell and landed on his head. I giggled to myself as he shook his head, picked it up in his mouth and walked over to my mare, Veratala, and tried to give it to her. Oooh, so he wants to make friends, huh? Well, I guess he knows the way to a mare's heart, because she took it from him and ate it quite happily. I'm glad they get along; now all that's left is for me to befriend him too. I started drifting off until I felt something land in my lap. I blinked and noticed Kuarei standing by me with his head tilted to the side. I glanced down to the apple in my lap. I held it back towards him. "I'm sorry, Kuarei, but I'm not eating an apple that was in your mouth." I said softly as he took it. I petted his face and he tilted his head to the side before rubbing his head into my hand. I continued to rub his head and face as I scratched behind his ear and then rubbed down his neck. Eventually he got bored and pranced off. What a sweet boy.
First Saddle
Kuarei paced in the arena, seeming extremely anxious. I walked over to him and patted him, whispering soothing things to him. I got the saddle and tried to put it on him and he ran to the other side of the arena and cowered, turning his head towards the field. I sighed as I set it down. I grabbed a lead rope and a halter as I walked out of the arena, and returned with Veratala. I tied her and looked over to Kuarei, who seemed to have calmed down immensely. I watched in amazement as he happily jogged over and started sniffing at her before standing there patiently. I slowly grabbed the saddle and lifted it up slowly and put it on his back. He stood still, though he turned his head, curious to the sudden weight on his back. I saddled him up and patted him as he tilted his head. "Good boy," I said to him before putting a halter and lead rope on him and leading him around the arena. After about half an hour he was getting fussy so I unsaddled him and let them both back out in the pasture. I smiled to myself as he climbed up the apple tree and went to sleep.
First Ride
Okay. I admit it. I'm nervous. Okay, that's a lie. I'm terrified. I stared at the trail in front of me and the two impatient nera's stomping and huffing behind me. I brought Veratala because she keeps Kuarei calm, and oh man am I gonna need him to be calm... Why did I think it was a good idea to ride him for the first time on a trail? I started saddling Kuarei up and he stopped fussing. I put his bridle, untied Veratala, and hooked a lead from her halter to Kuarei's saddle. "Please don't freak out." I said softly to Kuarei as I climbed up onto the saddle. His only response was a curious head tilt. "Alright. Lets go." I said to them and gently nudged his sides with my heels. He began to walk, calmly, every now and then reaching his tail over and touching Veratala with it. Our ride went well... For awhile. After about 20 minutes, he got bored and decided we were done. He stopped suddenly and sat down. He refused to get up until I got off, took off his bridle and replaced it with a halter. All three of us walked back to the trailer and returned home.
