by ♡Lady Lesednik♡ » Fri Nov 13, 2015 5:52 am
First touch -
I yawned softly as I walked alongside the quarantine pasture, glancing over at Dice occasionally. He seemed content, lying in a tree. I continued walking, checking the fence, making sure there were no gaps or breaks when I heard a loud thump. I glanced over at Dice to see him lying on the ground under the tree. My heart sank as I threw myself over the fence and sprinted towards him. He stumbled to his feet as I approached, which eased my worry slightly. I slowed to a walk and approached him. "Hey buddy.. You took a fall, huh? you okay?" I said to the sweet boy. His response was to lean over and gently sniff at my hair. I began to pet him as I checked him over to make sure he hadn't hurt himself when he fell. Thankfully, all he had was some minor scrapes and bruises. I stroked his neck and face as I spoke softly to him. "Who's a good boy? You are. You're such a good boy."
First Saddle -
I watched Träsk wander around the arena, testing his saddle, running my fingers over Dice's face, gently. I looked at him, nodding a bit. I walked away and got his saddle, placing it on him and cinching it up. Dice stood patiently, not really seeming to care. I petted him and spoke, gently, "What a good boy Dice is."' I placed a kiss on his side and patted his rump, walking out of the arena. I sat on the ground outside the outside arena, watching Dice sniff at the saddle on his back, curiously. Soon, he was wandering about, testing how it felt and moved on him, similar to Träsk. After 20 minutes, both boys were bored and Träsk was even asleep! I unsaddled both of them and put their saddles in the tack room then released them into the quarantine pasture.
First Ride -
I yawned sleepily as I held Dice's lead rope, walking towards my favorite trail as the sweet old boy followed me obediently. "It's too early for this." I thought to myself as I reached up and rubbed my eyes. I glanced at Dice and noticed his head was drooped down, even without eyes I could tell he agreed with me. I reached over and gave his ear a rub and smiled to myself as he let out a sigh and pushed his head towards me. I looked forward again and was surprised to see we'd already reached the trail. "You ready big boy?" I asked him. He tilted his head slightly. I quickly switched his halter for a bridle and climbed into the saddle. Dice flicked his ears back and swung his head around as if to say "What was that?!" I soothed him as I rubbed his neck. After a few moments, he was calm again, and we began our walk down the trail. I ducked below the branches, noting to myself to trim them later. He walked along slowly, his head drooped low and relaxed as he continued along. After about 10 minutes I had him go off trail to a stream, and released his reigns. He drank the water happily. A few seconds after he finished drinking, he let out a groan as he began to lay down. I threw myself off, and away, and quickly returned to his side, checking him over for injuries. I could find none, and it took me a few moments to realize that he had just fallen asleep. I sighed as I patted him. "Alright old man, you win." I chuckled a bit as I laid on the ground beside him, petting him gently as I fell asleep.
I woke up a few hours later to hot air blowing into my face. I opened my eyes a bit and Dice was standing, his head lowered to sniff and snuff at my face. I giggled a bit and rubbed his face gently. "Good morning to you too, handsome." He pushed his head into my hand and then stepped back as I stood. After dusting myself off and giving him a few pats I quickly climbed into the saddle, and we were off, on our way back to Diamond Ridge Ranch. Shortly after though, I noticed him seeming hyper focused on the left side of the path. Every now and then I thought I heard, or saw something. I tapped his sides with my heels gently and he picked up the pace, huffing and snorting in irritation as he did. He quickly decided that no, he wasn't going to run away. My usually kind and gentle nera stopped short, turned to face the left side of the path and screamed at whatever was over that, and something definitely was. Whatever had been following us took off, I could hear it crashing through bushes and branches as it ran. Dice seemed to calm down though, and he was happy to continue walking back to the ranch. On our return, I removed his saddle, got him all nice and clean and then released him into his pasture, while making a mental note to myself to lock up the smaller animals at night for now.
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