[gull.]

Rescued from the event.
For jingle bells.

"This mare was found by a rescue group at an abandoned farm. Her owners had left her there along with a few dogs, the rescue group tried to work with her, but she is very stubborn and they deemed her unadoptable. Which is how she ended up here. From the way she acts it seems that she was kept out in a pasture and hardly ever socialized with others horses or humans. She bites and kicks whenever horses get too close to her, and she's tried to bite the workers at our facility a few times. She doesn't like to be haltered, and refuses almost entirely to be loaded into the trailer. But, she seems to not mind women and children as much. She'll only go into the trailer if a woman is leading her. It will take her some time to get used to men."

Owner: X
Show Name: Inexplicable Enigma
Barn Name: Aria
Gender: Mare
Post: X

The halter will be added only after you complete your tasks, because they will be yours. You may not use them in breedings until they are officially yours.

[kittykass]

bravo!

[jingle bells.]

show name: inexplicable enigma
barn name: aria
halter color: pastel blue

intro
task 1: click
task 2: click
task 3: click

absolutely amazing! love her! i am going to get
started on the tasks as soon as i possibly can!

[jingle bells.]

intro | 912 words

whinny, neigh, shriek, is the only things i heard as my new horse (sveldala equine) was trailered
into my equestrian center. i had been so excited for this moment. i always dreamed of having a horse before,
and now that dream came true. i dreamed of my new horse being perfect and he/she would make all of the
other riders at my barn jealous of my horse, and how lucky i was to have him/her. though i realized that
dream was very out of proportion as i watched my new horse walk out of the trailer she was previously in.

"woah girl, woah," a man with straw in his mouth started leading her out.
hmm, a mare then, i thought to myself. i wasn't always too fond of mares, but this one seemed different.
i liked different.

but, before i could finish my thoughts, i looked up to see that my new mare was rearing on the man leading
her! oh great, what have i gotten myself into? i silently thought and cringed a bit. but, i still rushed over
to the man, offering as much help as i could. though i did stay a distance away from the actual situation.

"are you really sure there is nothing i can do?" i asked him with concern shown on my face.
"yes! completely sure! now stand back before this lunatic horse lands on you!" he yelled as the mare continued
rearing and striking at him.

so i followed his directions and stepped back a bit, cracking my knuckles anxiously. i didn't totally appreciate
him calling my new horse a "lunatic." i believed all horses shouldn't be judged by the way they first act
when arriving to a new place. it makes sense why the horse would be behaving badly. a new place can be
stressful and depressing, especially the first few days or so spent at that said place. and that's not even men-
tioning the ride to that new barn. i also heard this horse also had been through some difficult times before
arriving at my equestrian center. so i wouldn't blame her for her behavior. because of her past she probably
wouldn't be able to trust anyone easily, so everything seems as if it's a threat.

i looked back up again and realized its already been around five minutes and my mare was still not off the
trailer. it looked like as though she had moved back a couple of steps off the ramp of the trailer. i swear
that mare was on the trailer ramp and almost off the trailer a couple seconds ago, i thought and sighed.
this lead or groom or whatever had made no progress with getting my horse off the trailer. i finally decided
that now was the correct time to step in.

"excuse me? yes let me see this," i stated and smugly grabbed the leadrope from his hand then pulled on it gently
and added a cluck.
"hey! i uh-" he was soon cut off as he watched the mare follow behind me calmly and willing as if nothing just hap-
pened. he crossed his arms and smirked. "i suppose she likes her blond country girls, ah?" he said with a heavy southern
accent.
"ha," i faked laughed awkwardly, "i suppose," then smirked a little back.
"well, before you bring her to her stall, here are her papers," he handed a white paper with all of her information
on it to me. "i'm afraid you don't know what you've gotten yourself into young lady," he said and nodded. "well,
good luck! see you probably never again," he laughed to himself and started walking to his car, hands in the pockets
of his jeans.
i looked down at the papers and frowned. "wait! anything else i should kn-" but before i could finish, his car was
already driving away, the trailer following. i sighed and looked down at the papers. "well, lets see," i said.

barn name: aria
show name: undecided
age: four years three months
gender: mare
coat color: palomino roan tobiano
eye color: blue

attributes: behaviorally challenged, neutral personality, nonworking/nonshowing
past: this mare was found by a rescue group at an abandoned farm. her owners
had left her there along with a few dogs, the rescue group tried to work with her, but
she is very stubborn and they deemed her unadoptable. which is how she ended up here.
from the way she acts it seems that she was kept out in a pasture and hardly ever social-
ized with others horses or humans. she bites and kicks whenever horses get too close to her,
and she's tried to bite the workers at our facility a few times. she doesn't like to be haltered,
and refuses almost entirely to be loaded into the trailer. but, she seems to not mind women
and children as much. she'll only go into the trailer if a woman is leading her. it will take her
some time to get used to men.

"hmm, no show name huh? well how about... 'inexplicable enigma,'" i said and smiled. fits you, unable to
explain your behavior and very puzzling you are indeed, i thought. i folded the papers up, stuffed them
in my pocket, then lead my new mare to her new stall. your going to have a new, better life here, i promise,
i thought then looked over to aria and smiled.

[jingle bells.]

task 1 | 577 words

a few hours after dropping aria off, i came back to check on her. she appeared to be in the same place as last time.
right on her stall where i left her. "come on girl," i spoke softly before placing my hand out underneath her muzzle
to give her the treat i retrieved from earlier. before heading back to the barn i picked up a book that showed how to show
a horse that you were harmless. it was basically a book about horse bonding and trust. i thought it would help with the
current situation i was in. gaining trust with this mare was the first thing i had to do before getting into her healing
process or rehabilitation journey.

i knew bonding was going to be the hardest part of my journey with her. as my grandpa would say, 'horses can't speak
our language. therefore bonding with them is almost impossible.' but, my grandpa was also a ninety year old fool
who didn't know how to pet a horse. so, keeping my optimistic personality in check, i slipped the halter from off my
shoulder easily and started talking sweetly to aria. "it's ok aria, just focus on me," i said softly while rubbing her
forehead. while having her in what seemed to be a trance, i sneakily slipped the leadrope around her neck. after that i
gave her a treat to remind her that everything was ok and i was always here for comfort. as she sucked the sugar cube out
of my hand, she stopped for a moment and sniffed my arm. she then immediately found that i had a halter and she reared
up. "woah! woah girl! hey!" i screamed and backed out of her stall. i put my arms around my face to protect myself
from anything that might happen.

when i uncovered my face, aria was completely calm and looked as though nothing had happened. i just shook my head and
dropped the halter, keeping the leadrope in my hand. i held out another sugar cube and hid my leadrope. i didn't need what
just happened to happen again. that was a nightmare, i thought as i followed the same procedures as i did last time.
she seemed to work herself up over nothing, why? i couldn't answer that question. while reaching down to grab my halter i
pulled out another treat and spoke softly. when i could feel the halter i kept my eye on aria and stood back up again. this
time with a halter in my hand. "good girl," i said and smiled. this time i could actually get
leadrope around her neck without her flipping a lid. "ok, now i'm going to slide the halter on your head, ok?" i asked her
like she could speak english. so, with a slow and steady movement, still speaking kindly to her, i slipped the halter on her
facewith one eye squinted. as the halter got closer and closer to being finished to being put on, i flinched more and more;
expecting her to strike or rear up at any minute. but, surprisingly, after finishing putting the halter on, aria didn't move at
all. in fact she looked kind of happy and relaxed.

yes! i thought to myself. i finally gained some trust with her," well, my grandpa was wrong. horses can be a bit easier
to train than any human i've ever talked to.

[jingle bells.]

task 2 | 358 words

aria wasn't in too bad of shape, a few cuts and scrapes here and there. but, that didn't mean she was free of all
vet visits. she still needed her coiggns test and worming done. and maybe she needed a wound stitched up, but
that would be decided when the vet arrived. i had already called the local vet and he said he would be here in about ten minutes. so while waiting i spent some extra time with aria. i taught her how to kiss. but i wouldn't
give her the treat until she reached for my cheek.

after what felt like forever the vet finally arrived. i said hello and then he first introduced himself to aria, but
she didn't look too happy from what i was witnessing. i knew she had never been a huge fan of men, but this man
was going to help aria. whether she liked it or not. it was for the greater good, so,it had to be done.

first, the vet had to sample aria's blood for a coggins test. the man stuck the needle into the side of my Marie's
neck. aria reluctantly snorted and the whites of her eyes were showing, but nothing extreme happened. the worst
she did was a tiny rear when the needle was first stuck into her skin. but overall the palomino roan mare was
better than she usually was or how i would think she would be. "ok, i'll have to bring that back to the lab in or-
der to test it.

after the coggins test the vet had to get her worming done. she behaved the worst during this checkup event.
i knew that she would not like worming done but it just had to be done. the vet stuck the small tube inside her
mouth then released the medicine. aria flipped a lid before the vet even touched her, but somehow she got
over it and dealt with swallowing the medicine.

the vet gave me some tips on how to make this process easier, but besides that aria was healthy and happy.
well, hopefully happy that is.

[jingle bells.]

task 3 | 379 words


in the future, aria and i decided that eventing was the best choice for her. since one discipline got boring real
quick to her, eventing was the only way i could show her and still have her happy. her worst event had to be
dressage. aria just wasn't coordinated enough to "dance." but aria seemed to appreciate the fact i chose the
perfect discipline for her. she never reared anymore and neither did she spook much anymore. that is unless
she is actually terrified by something. but, before i actually got to riding her, there is a few memorable mom-
ents of our long journey.

first problem was that aria originally never let me mount her. we spent a whole month just trying to teach her
how to stand still once she walked up to the mounting block. once she finally got that down, the next step was
for me to actually mount her. the first time i attempted to sit on her back she immediately reared and then
continued to buck me off. I was then terrified of getting back on, but I knew that she would never learn anything
by me giving up. so i got right back on and it seemed to click to her brain instantly, and she was perfect.

our next struggle was starting to learn how to jump. aria would either jump over the jump like a deer, or
not jump over it at all. eventually i figured we just had to start with ground poles and trotting through gym-
nastics lines, but eventually she got it. then jumping became a breeze. but sometimes aria still thought she
was in complete control. but she was wrong. she had to learn i was the leader and she had to follow what I
said, even if she didnt like it, it would be better for her that way.

oh and there was many more struggles, but this chat would go a lot longer if i described them all. so let me
just say this, even if your horse may be crazy, just give them time. besides, everyone deserves a second chance.
no matter if your a horse, human, cat, or dog, just give that creature a second chance and they won't seize
to impress you.

[jingle bells.]

.