[HowlingHooves]

Username: Laurara
Show Name: Disenchanted Delusions
Barn Name: Merlin
Gender: Stallion
Height: 18 hh

Sire: Foundation
Dam: Foundation

Phenotype: Silver Blood Bay
Genotype: Ee Aa ZZ
Eye Color: --
Breeding Notes:
- Dominant for Silver.

[Lavellan]

Holy cow, look at that colour! I can't wait to get into this event! cx

Show Name: Disenchanted Delusions
Barn Name: Merlin
Eye Color: Blood orange

[Lavellan]

Required Daily Objective
Link an image of a single Flaxen/Silver horse

Here

Optional Daily Objective
List one fact about Flaxen/Silver in horses

The gene responsible for the silver dilution in horses, PMEL17, has also been linked to multiple congenital ocular anomalies, which affect the horses' eyes and eyesight!

Optional Event Objectives
Write a haiku

Coat as red as blood,
Mane and tail shine like silver,
Merlin the bay Raj.

[Lavellan]

Required Daily Objective
Link an image of a small group or herd of horses

When you try to sneakily open a bag of treats but everyone hears you

Optional Daily Objective
Link to the first Flaxen/Silver Rajarshi Draft.

Here!

Optional Event Objectives
Personality playlist:

From Now On - The Greatest Showman

Chosen for his longing to better himself.
Humility - Gorillaz

The chill vibe of the song reflects his easygoing attitude, and the lyrics reflect his love for family and spending time with others.
John Wayne - Lady Gaga

His love for speed and high-octane action is reflected through this song, showing his love for kicking up dirt.
To Break In A Glove - Dear Evan Hansen

Seeing himself as the younger Evan, this song represents his love for his older mentors in his youth and how much they influenced him to be the horse he is today.

Write a tale

With a pin of his ears, the stallion snorted, lashing his creamy tail against his blood-red sides. He hated being in this infernal trailer. He knew that he'd be showing eventually, that they'd arrive at the showgrounds and he'd get his chance to show off but ugh, he hated travelling.
Travelling alone, especially. If he had companions - especially pretty mares - in the trailer with him, it would be somewhat bearable, but this time he was alone. Nostrils flaring, the impatient stallion shoved his nose to the shut window between the trailer and the cab, hoping to gain some attention from the humans driving, but nope, nada.
Sighing and attempting to settle down, he tried to doze, but the constant movement of the trailer didn't allow that to happen. Groaning softly, the stallion resided to just standing as still as he could, daydreaming about all of the pretty mares that he might meet at this show. He was far more patient now than he had been as a colt, but gosh, he still hated travelling. The constant pelting of rain off the tin of the trailer was somewhat soothing, and he soon found his mind moving into a narrative.

Lost in a daydream filled with foals, flowers and food, the stallion was jolted back to the real world by the trailer tipping. Panic rose itself from his throat as a scream as the entire trailer slammed to the ground, bouncing him off the wall as it made an impact with the dirt beneath it. He screamed again, scrambling to his feet, bruised but otherwise unharmed. The soft tin of the wall of the trailer where he was standing buckled beneath his heavy hooves as he stamped around, panic overriding his brain and telling him that he needed to get out of this situation, and now. The rail hopping off the trailer was no longer soothing, rather harassing his eardrums as he attempted to hear an answer to his Shooting backwards, the door of the trailer moved beneath the pressure of his push and soon gave in, hitting the ground with a thud as the stallion escaped.
Without being able to think, the stallion’s prey instincts kicked in, and he turned and fled, no idea of where he was going but knowing that he needed to get away from trouble.

Voices crossed his mind, dogs barked, birds sang, but Merlin ran until he could move no longer. At that stage, his once show-ready, shiny coat was covered in a cocktail of mud and sweat. When he stopped, he suddenly realised the gravity of this situation that he found himself in - he was well and truly lost. Hunger bit at his stomach, thirst scratching at his throat. His pale tail, dyed darker by mud, lashed against his sides as anxiety nipped at his mind.
What was he going to do?

Snorting lightly, instinct kicked in, and the stallion began to move almost on autopilot, determined to find water. He came across a small creek, the water barely flowing, but he drank what he could from it, soothing his throat somewhat. From there, he lowered his head, snatching some mouthfuls of grass from the recently rain-soaked ground. There wasn’t enough to fill his belly, but it gave him the strength to move on.

Eat. Drink. Move along. Try to find home. Eat. Drink. Move. Find home.
Three days passed as the stallion chanted this mantra. He found nothing to help point him in the direction of home. He had almost accepted his fate, sure he would be a wild horse until the end of his days...

“Hey now, boyo, whoa...” A soft voice caught his attention one afternoon as he grazed in the watery sun, his ears and eyes suddenly snapping to a young woman in running gear, pulling earbuds out of her ears as she held back her eager dog, who tugged on his leash. He eyed the dog uneasily, but when the woman produced a treat from her pocket, he eagerly approached.
“Are you Merlin?” She mused, running her fingers through his forelock in an attempt to detangle a mat. “I’ve seen you all over social media, my boy. Someone really misses you. We’d better get you home”
He regarded her, intense eyes watching her for a moment, brightening as she mentioned ‘home.’ She unclipped her dog’s leash, looping it around the stallion’s neck gently, to stop him from leaving.
But he wasn’t going anywhere, she’d get him home.
Lowering his head to graze as she made a couple of phone calls, the stallion followed the woman with a puppy-like intensity as she led him out of the wood, onto a small dirt road and down towards a main road.

After about an hour, a familiar trailer appeared around the corner, and the stallion brightened, soft vocalizations and eager tugs on the makeshift leadrope meant just one thing - this was his family coming to get him.
His owner had leaped out of the cab before the thing had even stopped properly, wrapping her hands around his thick neck and burying her face in his blood red fur.

After almost an hour of thanks, his owner slipped his own headcollar over his nose, and the sensation was more than welcome to the stallion. The women hugged one final time before his owner tried to load him.
The stallion hesitated as she tried to put him back into the trailer from where all of this began, but her soft words and kind touches urged him back into the trailer.

Sighing lightly, the stallion raised his head from the soft hay of his stable, delighted to finally be home. His feed was sweeter than he remembered, his bedding softer, his stable warmer.
He wasn’t planning on leaving for a long, long time.
971 words


Haiku (about story)

Survived accident,
Lost for days within the woods,
Saved by kind lady.

[Lavellan]

Required Daily Objective
Link an image of a mare and foal.

Here

Optional Daily Objective
List full instructions for a DIY younger children’s activity

So, I'm not sure if you want a strictly horse-y activity, but I've made DIY 'lava lamps' with a few classes of elementary/kindergarten aged kids in the past and it's pretty fun!


You Will Need: Empty plastic bottle - any size, screw on cap (like a coke bottle) works best, I've found the sports-drink like bottles don't work as well, and clear plastic gives the best results; food colouring; water; cooking oil, any kind but I always use vegetable; super glue; glitter (totally optional but it makes it more fun!); Alka-Seltzer or other effervescent tablet (Optional, but again, fun!).

Instructions:

1. Pour the cooking oil into the bottle. The amount you pour entirely depends on the size of the bottle, but I've found that about 1.5-2" (or a finger's width!) of oil covering the bottom of the bottle is best!
2. Add glitter! Adding it at this stage gives best results, I've found!
3. Add water. Fill the entire bottle, leave about an inch at the top if you use the effervescent tablet but, if not, don't leave any air bubbles!
4. Add food colouring.
5. Add effervescent tablet, and watch what happens! (be prepared for overspill, depending on the size of tablet!) Don't add the lid now, as the tablet creates gas!
6. When the tablet has worked its magic, glue the lid onto the bottle and make sure it's secure. Leave for 2-3 minutes to allow the glue to dry fully.
7. Shake!

The oil and the water remain separate, so when the bottle's shaken, the globs of oil rise to the top making the lava lamp effect! The glitter normally makes a layer between the oil and the water, and so adds a cool element, and sometimes will drop to the bottom due to the weight of 'clumps' of glitter! It's one of my favourite things to make with kids, and they really love them! c:

[Lavellan]

Required Daily Objective
Link an image of an in-hand draft horse

Here (I think this is what in-hand means >.< )

Optional Daily Objective
Write a short story in your Raj’s point of view.

The day he met his best friend, Vaughan.

The familiar scents and sounds of home reached my mind before I even realized that morning. The quiet hustle and bustle of the stable's morning routine became obvious to me as the soft, cascading sound of breakfast being poured into the feedbuckets brought me to full awakeness.
I shot my ears forward as footsteps approached my stable door, and, dragging my heavy body to my feet, I saw my owner approaching with the glorious feedbucket! Delight filled my soul as I enjoyed the tasty meal, setting my day up for a good start.

"Hey, buddy..." the soft voice hit my ears, and I looked up with a mix of curiosity and disgust as I spotted the halter and leadrope in her hands. That always meant work.
The woman talked for the whole journey to the indoor arena, and I only half-listened. She spoke of a young stallion, just arrived on the farm. He was nervous, or something, and couldn't settle. I sighed, lowering my head lightly as I plodded along beside her.
Typical. She liked to use me as an introduction to the farm. I mean, sure, I'm an absolute charmer, but sometimes it's monotonous. It's just a horse in need of a friend in a new environment. Then they realize that it's not bad here at all, and then they make friends with others closer to their age than I was.
Young'uns.

As I was brought into the arena, my eyes fell on a paint stallion, younger than I but no colt, whirling around the arena, clearly distressed.
Lowering my head almost instinctually, I kept away from him, giving him time to calm. But, before I realized what was happening, a huge force slammed into my shoulder.
Okay what?!

Whirling to face the stallion, who, apparently, felt the need to challenge me, I pinned my ears. No way this cheeky kid was going to start a fight with me.
And win.

Lunging towards him, teeth clamping on whatever part of him I could reach, I snorted, hoping that would end it. He whirled, lashing out with his hind legs, but missed by a hair. Using my hind legs to propel myself forward to catch him, the pair of us whirled around the indoor arena, occasionally landing a blow or bite, trying to stop the kicked up dust from entering our noses or eyes.
It seemed like hours of tension, hours of running and snapping before the other stallion stopped, whirling to face me. We ended up almost chest-to-chest, eye-to-eye as his blue eyes bore into my own. Snorting once, the stallion reached out, touching my shoulder before beginning to groom my pelt. Confused, I returned the gesture, unsure of what had just happened.
After about a minute of grooming, the stallion shoved his shoulder into mine, and with a cheeky squeal, took off around the arena, once again kicking up dirt.
And, like a foolish youngster, I followed, joining in with his game.
494 words

[Lavellan]

Required Daily Objective
Link an image of a horse of your choice!

Here (I like duns a lot)

Optional Daily Objective
Create a personality color palette for your Raj.

Here.


Thank you so much, Hooves, for hosting this event! It was a lot of fun! c: