Retrieving Your AISP
"Rose, the adoption agency just called. She's ready whenever you are." Alexander said with a professional tone of voice. I said goodbye and got ready for a drive to Alaska, and then a flight to Poland, all for a new project horse challenge, much like the BLM Mustang Makeover in a few ways.
As I arrived at the adoption agency, I noticed that only a few ponies were left, and the mare I was to train was one of them. I parked and made my way inside to do all of the paperwork. I read the rules of the challenge and signed the rest of the papers. After the paperwork was done, the owner of the agency showed me the mare, who was now separated from the rest of the herd. She stood in the center of the pasture with her blue eyes locked on me. She swished her tail and flicked her ears. I was told that she has been a wild mountain dweller her whole life, her personality is sneaky and smart, and that she has a rather bad talent of getting out of nearly any pen when the chance was given. I was made aware that while she is somewhat used to humankind, she is not trusting enough of them to be touched or groomed. I nodded and clicked to the mare, seeing if I could get a reaction out of her. She put her ears forward and pawed the ground, the took a step curiously toward the 22 year old woman. The owner of the agency fiddled the papers a bit and told me that everything was in order, and I could take the mare when I was ready. I lined the trailer up and opened the gate. The mare flicked her ears and took a step back. I walked to the back of the pasture and chased her into the trailer after a few minutes. I shut the trailer and contacted the vet closest to the airport to have the mare shipped out to Poland. I texted Alexander to tell him we'd be there in about 2 days.
353 Words
Onsite Vet Check
I pulled into the driveway of the barn. The pony kicked the door of the trailer, anxiety setting in the bright colored mare. As soon as I stepped out of the truck, my great uncle, Alexander, and my grandmother, Dorota, immediately greeted me. "Hi Rose! Everything is all set for her. Did they do a vet check on her? Or do I need to?" my grandmother asked. "Hi grammy! Even if they did a vet check, I'd rather be safe than sorry. She's still a little out of it from the plane transport." I replied. "Okay. What's her history? I want to be careful." she added. "She was a wild mountain dweller. They said she's familiar with humans in general, but not trusting enough to to be touched or groomed. So I'm probably going to put her in stall for the checkup, and I'll be ready to handle a very startled mare." I answered. Dorota nodded and walked to get her equipment. I walked to the tack room and grabbed a few lead ropes and a cloth. I picked a stall next to Alexander's horse's and set up some cross ties within it. I then helped my grandmother set up her tools for easy access. As soon as I placed the last tool we needed down, I headed to the trailer. The cremello mare snorted from within the trailer. I dropped down the door and immediately tossed a looped lead rope over her head and tightened it. I took the cloth and placed it over her eyes. She let out a piercing whinny and began to prance in place. With most horses, I wouldn't blind them, but due to her being untrusting of humans and needing a veterinary checkup, it was the safest way to get her from the trailer to the stall. I took another lead and used it to touch her flank when she resisted to move. I got her into the stall with less struggle than I thought, but then again, it wasn't nearly as busy here as it was back home. I clipped the cross ties onto the neck rope and slowly took off the cloth, revealing blue eyes with the whites showing.
My grandmother moved swiftly and touched the yet-to-be-named mare as little as she could while still giving a thorough examination. The Polish woman started with the heart rate, which was unsurprisingly slightly faster than normal. She then checked her breathing, which was also slightly over the average. Dorota then moved to check the mare's temperature, which turned out average. She checked her muscles, her eyes, nose, and mouth, and her ears, none of which showed any problems. "Looks good, the only things that aren't normal are her heart rate and heavy breathing, which is probably due to being nervous.
466 Words
Introducing It To The New Area
I tied two leads together and tossed them around her hindquarters, clipping it to the neck rope, as people did teaching foals to accept pressure. She kicked out and let out another piercing whinny. I unclipped the cross ties and immediately grabbed the lead. The mare attempted to dart off, but I held the lead tightly. I walked in front of her, headed toward the main pasture. I opened the gate and had the pale horse follow me through it. She kept occasionally stopping and rearing up, and trying to turn and run. I stood my ground and kept moving. We walked into the pasture, but I didn't turn her loose yet. I walked her around the first few acres. I walked the mare to the lake, and let her get a drink. Once she was done, I walked the mare to a wooded area. We then moved to look at the shelters, and then the feeding area. The fencing was built up a little to keep her in. I looked at her, seeing some interest in her eyes. One of the barn dogs emerged from the forest, spooking her slightly. I walked her back into the barn while I made sure the rest of the pasture was good to go. "Hey, uncle Alex, is the pasture new horse proofed?" I asked. "Yes, are you going to walk her around the rest of the perimeter?" he replied. "Yes, and while I'm gone, start thinking of what to name her." I added. He nodded and I headed off to the back of the visible area of the pasture. The mare tossed a little buck as we walked across the clear area of the pasture. I stopped at the beginning of one of the smaller mountains, letting her inspect the slope. She pawed at a few rocks, her unkempt hooves clacking against them. "Good girl," I muttered softly. She flicked her ears toward me, a slight look of confusion in her eyes. I turned around and we headed to the corral. I let her sniff around, so she wouldn't be as afraid when we started working on haltering and ground manners. The last thing I showed the light gold mare was the indoor arena. She sniffed around and pinned her ears at the scent of an unknown horse.
386 Words
The Release
I felt that she now had the general idea of the areas she'd be in here. Which meant it was time to turn her loose. I lead her back to the pasture. I undid the lead ropes around her hindquarter, and she put her ears forward for the first time since she was here. I moved slowly toward her and she pinned her ears once more. I drew in the lead as I moved, giving her no choice but to stand still. I swiftly grabbed the rope that was around her neck and slipped it back over her head. As soon as the rope was no longer touching her in any way, she darted off. I left the pasture and watched her from over the fence. She threw a few bucks and galloped toward the mountain. She slowed to a trot and tossed her head. I watched as she moved around freely. While her coat was still unkempt, she was still a beautiful horse. She moved with a bounce in her step. I turned and walked to put the ropes away. Once I had finished, I went back to watching her. She was a wild thing, that was for sure. She kept moving around, as if she was looking for something. She finally began to settle down, and I watched her drop her head to graze on some of the sweet grass. She whinnied and walked around peacefully. She turned toward me, and I could tell she was keeping an eye out for me. She flicked her tail and cantered further into the mountain range, and she was no longer in my range of sight. I sighed, hoping that she wouldn't be a pain to catch later on.
288 Words
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