[teresa8oats]

Katie Cat
#816229

Name: Dance of Destruction "Demi"
Age: 5
Breed: Mustang
Color: Bay
Gender: Mare
Markings: Star, snip, stripe, 3 socks, one stocking
Height: 14.3hh
Vice/Fear/Special: This mare is very smart, and can think of a way to get out of any tricky situation! She will be harder to train because of this!

[P0CKETKNIFE]

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Show name: Dance of Destruction
Barn name: Demi
Gender: Mare
Owner: Lauren Metzger
Personality: Demi is naturally intelligent and uses this fact to her advantage around both horses and people alike. While it's not easy to see through her tricks, she's prone to slipping up when she becomes overconfident, which is her biggest vice. She also tends to be impulsive, and doesn't think before picking fights or making enemies. This fact led her previous owners at BLM to overstall her so that she wouldn't injure herself or others in the pasture. This has caused her to develop cribbing problems and paranoia when she's taken out of the stall for long periods of time.

[P0CKETKNIFE]

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Lauren wiped the sweat off her forehead as she stepped out of her car and into the unpleasantly humid Wyoming air. "How does anyone live like this?" She asked herself as she stared into the vast eternity of hills and never ending cornfields that covered the landscape. It was definitely a huge culture shock from her wintry home back in Minnesota. However, she wasn't going to let a simple change of scenery prevent her from getting what she came here for. She had signed up for the mustang makeover, and she most certainly was going through with it. After all, she'd been looking for a third horse to complete her trio, so why not get a rescue? It would be a bit more work, but it would be worth it in the long run.

After shoving her way through a crowd of over-exited, new horse owners, she finally found her way to the check-in station.
"Lauren Metzger, number eight," she stated, impatiently tapping her fingers against the desk.
"You have number 816229, but be careful. She's a bit of a handful." Lauren raised an eyebrow, but otherwise said nothing to question his statement.

Taking the man's warning to heart, she cautiously made her way through the never ending maze of stalls and searched for her horse's number. Of course buying a mare she'd never seen before was bad idea, but hey, it was the mustang makeover; lots of people were doing it! It couldn't be too hard, or at least that's what she convinced herself.

The first thing she noticed upon reaching the stall was that she definitely had a cribbing problem. The wood around her stall was splintering and covered in bite marks that could only mean one thing. Overstalling. The horse also seemed anxious, and didn't stop pacing for a second in the confined space they called a home. Issue number one that she would eventually need to work out.

"So do I just take her or..?" She asked aloud, but after a quick glance over her shoulder, she realized nobody was there to answer. "Yeah, I'm just gonna do it then," she shrugged and pulled a pale green halter out of her shoulder bag. It originally belonged to her other mare, Delphi, but she figured it would fit her new mustang too. As she clicked open the door of the mare's stall, she finally stopped pacing and cautiously glanced over her shoulder.

"Easy, girl." She whispered, inching forward so she could slip the halter over her ears.

"That wasn't so bad, ri-" But before she could finish, the horse was gone. Bolting out of the stall and down the cramped aisle to freedom. Lauren was stunned, hearing hooves collide with the pavement and tail flapping in the wind as the mustang made her great escape. It was definitely an eventful start.

"Hey, that's my horse!" Lauren finally screamed, dashing out of the stall after her runaway mare. Behind her, she could hear the other horses whinny in confusion and spook inside their stalls. She felt bad for them, but she would feel even worse if she managed to loose her new horse on the very first day.

"Hey!" She yelled again to warn the remaining crowd outside the barn, but they didn't seem to hear her in time. The mare burst out of the barn at full gallop and the crowd scattered into chaos. Luckily, all the commotion caused by her appearance seemed to shock the mare back to her senses. She reared twice before finally calming down and reverting back to her original pacing.

Breathless, Lauren whispered, "oh my God," quickly grabbing onto the mare's halter before she could make another escape. By then, a crowd had gathered and a few judges had begun to question her about the incident. After a bit of clarification and a heartfelt apology, Lauren very carefully led her mare out of the road and into the trailer. She made sure to check the locks twice before stepping into her car, and beginning the long ride back to Minnesota.

[P0CKETKNIFE]

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The entire ride home, Lauren could hear her horse's packing boots rub against each other as she paced back and forth. It was almost midnight now, and they were supposed to be at their first pit stop an hour ago. However, the traffic in South Dakota seemed to be even worse than rush hour in Wyoming.

"Must have been some accident," she thought to herself. They weren't moving at all, and the constant thumping coming from the trailer was the only thing keeping her awake throughout the ordeal.

"I hate this," she grumbled, closing her eyes for a second in attempt to focus her blurry vision. Then, a sudden crash came from the trailer that could only mean one thing. The mustang was becoming restless, and honestly, Lauren couldn't blame her. A whole day trapped inside a hot car would do that to anybody, Lauren included.

Finally, just when Lauren thought she couldn't take anymore, traffic cleared up and she was able to get back on the main road. This was just great aside from the fact that it was now 1am and her legs were numb from sitting in the car all day. Her mustang constantly kicking the walls didn't help much either, but at least it prevented her from falling asleep.

A few more turns and a narrow dirt road finally led her to her destination. It was an old friend's barn, nothing too special, but at least it was a place to board her horse for the night. Speaking of which, she realized that she had never given that horse a name. And since old Demi Lavato songs seemed to be all that was on the radio at 1am, she thought "Demi" would make a good temp name.

Lauren could feel the blood rushing to her legs the second she stepped out of the vehicle, and she had to lean on the car hood to regain her balance. Once she could walk without stumbling, she approached the back of the trailer and took out a key. While visions of her demon mare dashing out at full speed were all she could think about, she forced herself to turn the lock nonetheless. To her relief, Demi didn't come out sprinting, but rather settled in a corner facing away from the entrance.

"Hey, horse." She whispered to get her attention, and sure enough, it worked. Demi immediately perked up her ears, and spun around to examine her new surroundings. Luckily, she didn't bolt before Lauren could hook her halter to a lead rope and insure that she wasn't getting away. So much for that escape act.

Almost if on cue, Lauren's friend came rushing out of the building to greet her new arrivals.

"Hey, Ren! What took you so long?" She yelled while running over.

"Traffic," she stated bluntly, "at 1am no less. Don't these people ever sleep?"

"Hardly," she responded, examining the new horse. "So this is the mustang? Heard she gave you quite some trouble earlier. The incident made it onto the website."

Lauren groaned. "Don't remind me. Can we just board her up so I can sleep already?" Her friend laughed.

"Sure, why not?" And with that, she look the lead rope from Lauren and led Demi into the main barn. Lauren followed closely behind, keeping an eye on her horse so that she couldn't make another escape. She didn't feel like chasing a runaway mare at 1am, nor did she have the energy to. Once her problem mare was safely secured in a stall, Lauren found a spot on the couch and fell asleep.

[P0CKETKNIFE]

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Lauren awoke at nearly 11am feeling tired, and with a lingering headache from the previous day. And as much as she hated driving, she knew that was exactly what she'd be doing for at least six more hours. She wanted to make it home tonight, as she didn't have any other planned rest areas to visit. That meant she would have to keep driving for as long as it took. Just perfect.

The first daunting task of the day was to actually load her mare into the trailer. Now, this task wouldn't be too hard save for the fact Demi made everything difficult. Being a green horse, Lauren assumed that couldn't be helped. She had been taken fresh out of the wild and put into a stall with only a tiny bit of groundwork for experience. She wasn't exactly one of Lauren's prized show horses either, so her expectations were pretty low.

"Hey girl," Lauren called to get the mare's attention. "It's time to go."

Reluctantly, Demi allowed the halter to slip over her ears and hesitantly made her way out of the stall. Lauren had noticed her reluctance before, and always assumed it had something to do with an overstalling issue. Unlike most BLM mustangs, she wasn't taken directly out of the wild. Instead, she was kept in a stall for two weeks before Lauren's arrival. And with all that was going on that week, Lauren doubted they had much time for turnout. This was a minor setback for her training, but Lauren knew they could make their way around it. Eventually, that is. These things would take time.

After loading Demi into the trailer for the second time, Lauren took her seat in the front and began their long drive back to Minnesota. She just knew Demi was going to love it there. Or maybe that was wishful thinking.

Five hours and two migraines later, Lauren was finally able to leave her metal prison and emerge into the place she called home. The air around her was unusually frigid for a summer afternoon, and strong breezes continuously berated the barren landscape. All tell-tale signs that fall was just around the corner, and soon enough Lauren would have to start prepping for winter. It was a dreaded task for any horse barn, but Lauren supposed it wouldn't be too bad with only six horses boarded here. Still, it wasn't exactly something Lauren could look forward to. Especially since she'd gone over budget with her new horse this month. She worried there wouldn't be enough money to pay for heating bills this time around. "Time to jack up those boarding prices," she mumbled to herself.

[P0CKETKNIFE]

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Demi seemed to respond well to her new surroundings, and didn't show any signs of discontent as Lauren led her into the round-pen. She intended on starting training early, maybe testing how she'd react under saddle or bit before doing any actual riding. However, a strong whinny coming from the barn changed her mind. If Demi was going to live here, she would have to become acquainted with the horses Lauren already owned. She would be living with them after all, so it was very important to see how they'd get along.

"New plan, girl." She said, changing course and walking towards the paddocks. "We're going to meet the mares."

She didn't necessarily trust Demi in the fields alone, so she called on one of her trusty boarders to watch her while she retrieved one of her mares. Since introducing both horses at the same time would most likely lead to a fiasco, Lauren decided it would be best to introduce one mare before the other. Delphi seemed like the best option to go first.

Demi's ears perked up at the sound of the gate opening, but she seemed more interested in grazing than seeing who had entered. Delphi on the other hand was more than eager to meet this new stranger. Draging Lauren to where Demi stood, she positioned herself directly in front of the other horse. This seemed to get Demi's attention. She lifted her head and proceeded to sniff the other horse cautiously before giving a small kick before excitedly running off to the other side of the enclosure. Delphi followed after, dragging the lead rope out of Lauren's hands and taking off around the pasture leaving Lauren in the dust. "At least they're getting along," Lauren let out an exasperated sigh before running after them to take back the lead rope. There was still one other horse Demi had to meet, and that was the queen.

Now, Biloxi was another story. From the moment she arrived at Pine Ridge, Biloxi automatically claimed the dominant mare status and left no room for debate. Previously, the other horses regarded Delphi as their leader, but she didn't even put up a fight when Biloxi arrived. She was made to lead, and Lauren supposed the other horses knew that too. But Demi didn't know that. What is she tried to challenge her? Would the barn be given a new queen? There was no telling what would go down when Biloxi stepped into the ring.

Biloxi seemed to know what was going on before Lauren even put on the halter. Her stance was proud and her ears were slightly pinned as if to look more intimidating. Lauren took that as a bad sign and unconsciously tightened the grip on her lead rope.

"Demi!" Lauren called, almost as if she were issuing a warning. Demi registered that warning immediately. Her head jerked up and her ears focused in the direction of the gate as she anticipated the mare's arrival. Lauren cautiously opened the gate and began to walk towards where the other mare stood. The two mares had their eyes locked on each other and both seemed to stand their ground. That was until Biloxi was only inches away from the other mare. Without warning, she lunged forward and bit the other horse on the neck. In response, Demi kicked with her front leg and attempted to bite her back. Lauren interfered before that could happen.

"Hey!" Lauren yelled, jumping in front of Demi and scaring her backwards. "Play nice, would you!"

This seemed to briefly stall their conflict, but after a few moments of silence they were back at it. Biloxi made faces, and Demi lunged at her in response. Lauren figured it was time to end their meeting early.

"That's enough," she said, taking the halter off of Biloxi and putting it on Demi instead. She figured it would be best to give the mare some cool down time before leading her back to the stalls, so she left her in the paddock. As for Demi, she would be put in another field far away from her newfound rival. They would have to work it out on another day. However, before Lauren was able to make it to the gate, Biloxi took one final nip at Demi's thigh. This time, Demi didn't fight back, only giving a small snort in response before following Lauren into the opposite field.

[P0CKETKNIFE]

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After yesterday's fiasco, Lauren decided to take Demi's training easy to avoid a potential culture shock. This setting was entirely new to her after all; starting the hard training now would wear her down too early. It would be better to take things slow for the time being.

Once again, Lauren retrieved her mare from the stalls and led her into the barn's home-made round pen. It wasn't exactly ethical, but it was the best she could do under such a small budget. Lauren ran this barn herself, and bills weren't cheap. If she could build it herself, that's what she would do. She had a similar attitude towards training her mustang. She didn't need to hire a trainer; if she could do it herself, she would.

"Alright, let's do this," she announced, picking up a lunge whip and lengthening her lead rope. Demi didn't seem to know what was going on, however, so instead of walking in a circle, she came trotting into the center.

"No, you're supposed to stand over there," Lauren informed her, despite the fact Demi couldn't understand her. A few passive-aggressive pushes on the shoulder and Demi was back on the outskirts of the round pen. Lauren clicked her tongue and raised her lunge whip in attempt to get the mare walking. Instead, Demi remained completely unresponsive and once again started walking into the center.

"Ughhhh," Lauren sighed, pushing the mare back out for a second time. "Go that way," she said, pointing her whip in front of the horse's nose. This time, Demi seemed to vaguely understand the message. Well, almost. Instead of walking forward, the mare backed up a few steps before turning back into the center. This was starting to get old.

Soon enough, Demi was getting restless, and Lauren was getting impatient. it was time to call it a day. Tomorrow, she thought. Maybe tomorrow they would get somewhere, but today neither of them had the energy to.

[P0CKETKNIFE]

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"I am so exhausted," Lauren groaned, propping herself against the paddock's fence. She could hear the fence creak under her weight, but that was just because it was pretty old. Add that to the list of things she would have to pay for next month. Next to her was one of the barn's trusted boarders, Maria, who by the looks of it was having a long day.

"Tell me about it," she replied, giving Lauren a look of sympathy, "but I guess you have it worse with your crazy mustang and all. Sparta isn't nearly as bad." Lauren seemed to perk up at the mention of Maria's new horse.

"How is he anyway? I saw him throwing a hissy fit yesterday."

"You saw that?" Maria said, feigning embarrassment as she buried her face in her hands. "I don't think he likes the bit. Throws his head around a lot." Lauren chuckled.

"What kind of horse does like the bit? I've been thinking of going bitless for a while, but I don't think they allow that in competitions."

Maria shook her head. "You know what? Enough about Sparta, how's Demi doing?"

"Oh, you know, the same. Refuses to lunge, not sure how she does under saddle either."

"Why don't you try then! It's been a week since she got here, and you haven't done much with her. It's about time you got a saddle on her" Maria reasoned, "I mean, Sparta's green too and he can handle it. Put a saddle on that horse!"

"You really think she's ready?" Lauren asked, looking over her shoulder to watch the horses in the field. Among them was Demi, grazing contently and occasionally looking up to nip at the other horses. Lauren thought back to when Demi first got here, and how being out of stall made her uneasy. It was good to see her finally getting comfortable in the fields and getting used to her surroundings. Maybe it was a sign that her horse was ready to move up in her training.

"Well, duh! Tell you what, let's train together! I'll tack up Sparta, and you can try putting a saddle on Demi. If all goes well, we can go out on the trails."

"I'm not sure she's ready for all of that," Lauren interrupted, "but I am willing to try some groundwork."

"That's the spirit!" Maria cheered, "Get the saddles, we're going training!"

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The outdoor arena was quite spacious compared to the round pen Demi usually used, but it was well suited for riding and light ground work. Perfect for today's plan of action.

"Hey!" Maria called from the gate, somehow balancing a pile of tack on her arm while simultaneously leading her horse into the arena. Not exactly a wise decision on her part, but she had insisted on it and Lauren knew better than to get in her way. Maria was ridiculously ambitious when it came to riding. It was usually better to let her do her thing.

"I still don't see how you can carry all of this out here," Lauren said, taking the pile of tack from Maria's arms. Within that pile was a red saddle-pad, a wither pad, and the same English saddle that Lauren usually used. Propping up the saddle in the sand, Lauren swung the wither pad over Demi's back and pulled it over her withers. Demi's reaction to this was relatively calm, but she did seem a bit shocked by the sudden object on her back. Overall, however, Demi seemed fine with it so Lauren decided to continue tacking. After positioning that saddle pad where it needed to be, Lauren picked up the saddle and made sure Demi could see it before plopping it on her back. It didn't have any stirrups or girth, so it was really just a saddle. They would work up the the real deal later. Thankfully, Demi didn't seem too bothered by the new object, and didn't throw any sort of fit when it was placed on her back. After a few minutes of getting used to it, Lauren took the saddle off and put it back in the sand.

"Woo! Go, Demi!" Maria cheered, clapping her hands to emphasize her excitement. "Sparta here totally threw a fit when I introduced him to the saddle. Your mare is great!"

Lauren chuckled, "You should have seen her when I first got her. Bolted right out of the stall!"

"You've told me," Maria said, patting her horse on the neck. "Anyway, you keep working with Demi. I gotta take Sparta for a ride."

"Will do," Lauren replied, giving Maria a wave as she walked to the other side of the arena. Watching the pair ride together made Lauren wonder what it would be like to ride Demi. Would she learn to jump? Would her gaits be smooth? Would she even let Lauren ride her? Right now, there was no easy way to tell. She'd just have to keep working at it until they got there.

[P0CKETKNIFE]

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work in progress