[canis,]

We recently got an urgent call from the local authorities. It seems that they were called in after a recent sighting of a very skinny, odd-looking horse left out in the freezing cold. Upon arriving at the scene, they discovered a huge Kleeare stable to be abandoned. The Kleeare were simply left, some in the pasture, some trapped in their stalls. And all extremely emaciated. We responded quickly, arriving at the stable and assessing the condition of each Kleeare. The sight shocked us, but we did not fret. We brought each one of the Kleeare back to our place, where they were evaluated by our veterinarian. Some cases were more extreme than others, but all of them had the chance to be saved. That's where you step in...

This Kleeare is a pretty one. It was found locked in a stall. It walks very stiffly, and will need lots of exercise to loosen its joints and work its muscles.

Username; SkySmoke
Name;
Gender;
Coat Colour; Grullo Min. Splash
Genotype; Ee/Dd/nSpl/FRFR/StRm

[SkySmoke]

Kleeare Name; Beautiful Disaster // Risk
Gender; Stallion

ALL CHALLENGES POSTED BELOW

[SkySmoke]

Kerrigan O'Malley waited impatiently as the trailer pulled slowly into the stable yard. She had been begging her parents to let her rehab a rescue horse for years. They kept saying she wasn't ready, wasn't old enough, didn't have enough experience...the list of why not had gone on forever.

It wasn't that she didn't get to work with horses, her parents ran a training & breeding stable and she had her pick of multiple horses to train and ride; but she wanted her own. And not a baby that her parents bred for her. She wanted to help a horse overcome their past. She wanted to help a horse that needed rescue; to fix something broken.

When she'd seen the news of the Kleeare stables that had been abandoned, she knew she had to help one of the horses. Shockingly, her parents had agreed but there was one condition; they got to pick the horse. They knew Kerrigan would pick the toughest case she could find, and they wanted to make sure she stayed as safe as possible. She agreed and was now standing in the middle of the stable yard anxiously waiting to meet her new horse.

Her dad parked the trailer and got out of the truck. Kerrigan ran up and gave him a hug.

"Thank you!"

He chuckled as he hugged her back.

"Don't thank me yet. He's going to be a lot of work, and he has a long road ahead of him."

"He? Is he a gelding or stallion?"

"Stallion. And he's in no condition to be gelded any time soon. We'll see what his temperament is like once he's healthy and decide from there."

Kerrigan nodded in agreement with her father. She didn't mind stallions, she had been around them her whole life, but she also knew if the horse wasn't fit to breed either because of confirmation or temperament, there was no need to keep them a stallion.

"Alright, go meet him."

Kerrigan jogged to the back of the trailer and dropped the ramp. The horse inside barely lifted his head in acknowledgement. Kerrigan gave him a minute to adjust to the lighting and the new sounds of the stable before stepping inside.

"Hey there...well aren't you a pretty color." Kerrigan spoke softly as she moved towards the horse. He was Grullo with a white stripe down his face and three of his legs had high white markings. His lower legs and feathering were pretty dirty, he was very underweight, and his coat was dull and brittle but Kerrigan could tell he would be gorgeous eventually. He didn't react much when she reached up and untied his lead rope.

"Come on, lets get you to a stall and get you some food."

She stepped up to his head and softly clucked to encourage him to step backwards to back off the trailer. He let out a sigh and took a very hesitant, small step backwards. Kerrigan inhaled sharply as his back leg almost gave out on him and he stumbled sideways.

"Dad? He seems really unbalanced. Maybe I should walk him out forward?"

"Sounds like a good idea." Her dad spoke softly from the end of the ramp.

"Alright buddy, sorry about that. Maybe this will be easier for you."

She shifted positions and encouraged him to walk forward with her. It was easier, but he still took small, awkward steps forward, occasionally tripping. She went slowly and gave him plenty of room so he didn't feel rushed and he seemed as relieved as Kerrigan did when they made it off the ramp and on to solid ground. She patted his shoulder gently.

"Poor guy. You're so stiff and sore."

"The rescue people said he was found locked in a box stall and from the looks of it he hadn't been out in quite a while.

Tears came to Kerrigan's eyes. Most box stalls were only 10x10 and she couldn't imagine a horse being confined to one for very long. She ran her hand down his neck softly.

"Don't worry, you'll never be locked in a stall again, I promise."

The stallion didn't react much except to let out another sigh and slowly swivel his long ears around, taking in the sounds of his new home. Kerrigan wasn't sure if he wasn't looking around because he was the type of horse that didn't care, or if he was too stiff to move much.

"I think I'll give him a warm hose down before I put him in his stall. It might make him feel a little better." Kerrigan informed her father.

"He'd probably like that. I'll go put bedding in the big end stall for him. It has the in and out that we can open once he's settled in for a few days."

"Okay, thanks dad."

Kerrigan walked the horse towards the indoor washrooms which had both hot and cold water. It took three times as long to get there as it normally would due to how slowly the stallion was walking, but she didn't mind. She spoke softly to him the whole time, telling him how sorry she was that he was treated so badly and how she promised to take care of him forever.

When they finally reached the washroom the stallion walked in and turned around to be cross tied without any sign of being nervous or upset. Kerrigan guessed he must not have been abused, just neglected, since he didn't seem to be afraid of anything.

She turned on the water and adjusted the temperature so it was warm but not too hot. Starting at his feet, she slowly hosed until she had wet his whole body. She then took the hose and held it on his big muscle groups; his shoulders, along his back, over his rump and down his back legs. As she did, she took a soft curry comb and gently massaged in circles. There were a few times when the stallion sighed and would lean in to her touch, which made her smile.

She hosed and massaged him for about thirty minutes then used a sweat scraper to get him partly dry. She then took several towels and rubbed him down so he was even drier. Towel drying horses wasn't a common practice, but she didn't want him very wet and she figured the extra massage with the towels would feel good.

When she was done the stallion was standing with one hind leg cocked, his ears flopped out to the side, his lower lip hanging loose and his eyes half way close. Kerrigan smiled because he looked so content.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to make sure your stall is ready."

The only response the big horse had was to barely flick an ear in her direction as she walked away.

[SkySmoke]

Kerrigan checked that her dad had put everything the stallion would need in his new stall. She knew he would, but she also knew the horse was her responsibility.

They put him in one of the biggest stalls so he would have room to move around and hopefully relieve some of his stiffness. It was an in and out; the inside box stall portion was 12ftx24ft and the outside portion was 24ftx24ft. There was a door between the two parts and Kerrigan slid it shut. She left the top half open so the horse would be able to see outside, but she wanted to keep him inside, at least over night, until he was settled in.

Her dad had already made sure the inside had deep shaving as bedding and an ample pile of grass hay. They would slowly switch him over to alfalfa to put weight on him, but at first they didn't want to over load his system with rich hay and make him sick. There was an oversized bucket for water, as well as an automatic waterer. Everything looked perfect.

She walked back to the washroom and found the stallion in the same spot she left him, half asleep.

"Come on, lets get you to your new home. I have to think of a name for you too."

She clipped the lead rope to his halter, unhooked the cross ties, and was pleasantly surprised when he walked off a little less stiff than he was when he'd come in. He wasn't cured at all, but it made her feel good that he felt at least a little better. She contemplated giving him some bute to relieve some of his pain, but decided she should leave him alone for a few days to see if just having some more space helped. Bute could be hard on their stomach and she didn't want to throw too much at him at once.

He walked into his stall without any hesitation and stood quietly while she slipped his halter off. She walked out, latched the door behind her, then sat on a hay bale across from his stall to make sure he settled in okay.

He slowly worked his way around the stall, sniffing at everything and grabbing a mouthful of hay before moving to the door. He stuck his head out and slowly turned it from side to side, watching the horses that were out in the pasture. He stood, quietly watching, for about ten minutes before he moved back inside to eat some more hay.

Kerrigan sat on the hay bale trying to think of a name for him. It had to be perfect. She crossed her feet so she was sitting indian style as she absent mindedly pulled pieces of hay out of the bale she was sitting on. She normally came up with names pretty easily and often named many of the foals bred at the farm; but this was different. She had been waiting for this horse for so long she knew his name had to be something special. The phrase Beautiful Disaster kept running though her mind and she felt like it was the perfect show name for him, but his barn name had to be perfect too. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked up other words for disaster. One of them was hazard...which had potential, but wasn't quite right. She clicked on other words for hazard and knew the second she saw the word that it was perfect: Risk.

"Risk. It's perfect, and that's what everyone will see you as for a while. And once you're better, they'll see you were one worth taking."

[SkySmoke]

Risk had been home for a few weeks. Daily hand walking around the property had helped with his stiffness. So had warm hose downs, massaging and regular grooming.

Kerrigan would open the outside portion of his stall during the day and close it at night so he stayed inside and slept where it was warm. During the day he spent most of his time outside sun bathing and napping. They had been slowly giving him more alfalfa and he was up to half alfalfa and half grass hay and was starting to put on a little bit of weight.

Kerrgian had spoken at length with her parents about how to help him with his stiffness. They told her it would mostly take time, patience and slow reconditioning. Her dad had also mentioned a homeopathic supplement called arnica that was for muscle soreness and bruising. Kerrgian figured it couldn't hurt to try and had ordered some online.

The pills came a few days later and she tried one herself. They dissolved pretty easily under her tongue and had a slightly sweet taste. She smiled because that meant they should be easy enough to mix in to some O & M feed and hopefully Risk wouldn't notice. She started off by feeding him a handful of O & M in his feeder twice a day. He loved it and always licked the bucket clean.

She slowly added a few pills at a time, dissolving them in water and just stirring them into the O & M and feeding it like normal. Much to her excitement Risk didn't seem to notice and continued to lick the feeder clean.

Over the course of two weeks she was able to work up to full dosage and was starting to see a difference during their walks. Risk would lift his head a little higher and look around more. His stride was also becoming looser and longer, he was moving a littler freer and seemed to enjoy their walks rather than just shuffling through them.

As he began to feel better, she started to notice a difference in his personality as well. He started to recognize the sound of her footsteps and would often come hang his head over the door into the barn aisle and watch her clean and work before she came to get him. He also started meeting her at the door to be haltered. Each little step in his progress made her heat swell with pride and she couldn't wait until she was able to ride him.

She hoped soon she would be able to turn him out in one of the small pastures and let him stretch his legs. He watched the other horses in pasture all day long and she was sure he wanted to be out there too.

One day she decided to move her old pony, Puzzle, into the stall next to Risk. Puzzle was an easy going gelding and she thought he would make a good barn buddy, and hopefully eventually they would be able to turn out together.

[SkySmoke]

The choice to put Puzzle in the stall next to Risk had been a good one. Over the few weeks following the move the two horses got to know each other through the fence in the outside portion of their stalls and could often be found napping side by side on the fence line.

Puzzle called to Risk daily when Kerrigan would take Risk out for his walks. One day Risk surprised Kerrigan by lifting his head and softly calling back. She laughed as she pet his shoulder,

"Are you glad you have a friend?"

Risk looked at her and gently rubbed the front of his head against her shoulder before walking on. The simple act brought tears to Kerrigan's eyes; it was the first time he had showed any kind of affection in the six weeks that she'd owned him.

Their walks had gotten longer and slightly more strenuous. Kerrigan would make sure one of the big pastures was empty and would walk Risk up and down the gradual hills. After about a week of that, she started slowly jogging with him for short distances, then longer, then up and down the hills. It was always slow, and she always slowed back down to a walk at the first sign that Risk was sore or tired.

She finally felt like he was up to trying an actual trot, not just the slow jog they had been working on. She waited until they were in a flat part of the pasture and started with a slow jog, then ran faster and clucked to encourage Risk to keep up with her. He lengthened his stride into an actual trot and kept up with her easily, only stumbling once as they reached the end of the fence line. Kerrigan smiled and stroked his neck.

"Good boy! I think you're about ready to start actually working some, huh?"

Risk bobbed his head a few times as if he agreed with her, then tugged on the lead rope so they could get moving again. Kerrigan was happy to see more of his personality showing up and she was pretty sure at least some of it had to do with the fact that he had Puzzle to interact with.

[SkySmoke]

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Kerrigan called down the barn aisle as Risk impatiently pawed at the door.

"Knock it off with the pawing, you'll hurt yourself." She half heartedly scolded him.

The truth was she was happy he was acting up some; it meant he was feeling better. He had been with her for three months and was starting to look like a totally different horse. His coat was shiny and healthy, he was much closer to a normal weight, and he was moving with almost no signs of stiffness.

Their walks had turned in to runs and Kerrigan was more fit than she'd ever been in her life, but it was worth it. The past week Risk had hardly stumbled at all. His trot stride was so long she had a hard time keeping up with him, even over the hills. He was never winded or tired and the past few days was constantly tugging on the lead rope to go faster or farther. She planned on lunging him today after they walked to warm up. She couldn't wait to see his canter and let him get some real exercise so he wouldn't be so restless.

He met her at the door and eagerly dropped his head into his halter and waited for her to fasten it.

"Hey. Manners." She chided and lightly shanked him, reminding him to wait for her to walk out the door before walking out himself. They took their normal twenty minute walk around the big pasture, which was one lap each way. Risk pranced around at the end of the lead rope for the first time ever.

"Just settle down. You're going to get to actually move today."

She walked him into the big round pen and switched the lead rope for a lunge line. She picked up the long whip in the middle of the arena and raised it to encourage him to move away from her. He listened immediately and moved away from her at a slow jog as he looked around the round pen. It was obvious he had been lunged before and Kerrigan praised him as he took several laps at the slow jog.

"Good boy. Nice and easy. Let's not hurt ourselves okay?"

He flicked one long ear towards the sound of her voice and dropped his head to stretch as he jogged. Kerrigan let him pick his own pace for about five minutes then clucked and raised the whip again, asking him to move out into an actual trot. Risk obeyed and seemed to realize he had more freedom to move. He picked up a pretty fast paced trot and his strides were high kneed and animated.

"Don't go crazy."

Kerrigan again let him pick the pace for a few minutes and then asked for the canter by kissing. She left the whip down, the tip resting on the ground. She didn't want to encourage too fast of a pace. At the sound of her kiss Risk stepped into the canter. The first few circles were choppy and uneven. He picked up the wrong lead a few times and Kerrigan would ask for the trot and then have him canter again. He finally settled into a slow canter and his strides evened out as he remembered how to carry himself in the gait.

"Good boy. Whoa." Kerrigan called and Risk stopped immediately, his nostrils flaring. She walked out to the arena rail and patted his neck.

"A little sweaty huh? Does that feel good though? I'm sure it has to."

She turned him around and worked him the same way going the other direction so she worked all of his muscles evenly. By the time they were done he was breathing harder than normal and covered in a light layer of sweat, but he seemed happy and relaxed. Kerrigan took him on a long walk around the property to make sure he was cooled out. He didn't prance or pull on the lead rope at all; he was just content to walk along beside her.

Kerrigan put him away and gave him a little extra arnica to make sure he didnt' get too sore. She went to bed that night with a smile, already dreaming of their first show together.

[SkySmoke]

"Today is the big day." Kerrigan whispered to Risk as she groomed him. He'd been with her for eight months and the Kleeare Association was coming for their final evaluation of Risk. It would determine if she got to keep him or not. She was pretty sure they would pass, but nothing was 100% until it was over.

Risk looked amazing. His Grullo coat shone with good health. His white legs were sparkling clean thanks to his morning bath. In addition to his white markings, his bioluminescent spots had come back to life and during the day they showed as white spots down his neck and shoulder and also from his ear to his eye. At night they were a soft yellowy green and she had seen him flashing them at Puzzle some nights in an attempt to communicate. She hoped if the evaluation went well that her parents would consider letting her get another Kleeare. Maybe a mare...so she could breed Risk. She knew she was getting ahead of herself but he had made her fall in love with the breed. While he had been fairly indifferent towards her at first, over the eight months she had owned him, he was one of the best horses she had ever had. He tried so hard for her, no matter what she asked him to do. He always wanted to be with her and had become very affectionate. He never acted like a typical stallion.

Kerrigan snapped herself out of her daydream of Kleeare foals and finished tacking Risk up. She knew her dad was already waiting with the gentleman from the Kleeare association. She walked Risk outside and used the mounting block outside the barn to mount up then ride to the arena.

Once she had started lunging Risk it hadn't taken him long to get back into good enough shape to be ridden. They had started off with long, slow rides around the pastures and had just started arena work a month ago. She rode into the arena and confidently waved at her dad and the man from the association. She did their typical warm up walk of ten minutes each direction. During this time she left Risk on a loose rein and let him stretch. She then picked up the reins and moved him into a working trot. She rode several figure eights and also made several laps around the arena. She then asked for the extended trot a few times across the diagonal line of the arena. It was something they had just started working on, but she figured she might as well show off.

She let Risk walk a few times around each way before asking for the canter. She cantered a few times around each way before asking for the walk again and letting the reins down so Risk could stretch as he cooled down. She leaned down and patted his shoulders and neck; he had been perfect.

"Good boy!"

Once he was cooled down, she walked over to where the men were sitting.

"Very nice ride young lady. He looks fantastic. Can you untack him please so I can look at his weight and body condition?"

"Of course." Kerrigan smiled and slid down from the saddle. She pulled the saddle and pad off Risk's back and sat them on the arena rail as the man ducked into the arena.

He walked all the way around Risk and ran his hands over his sides and rump. He picked up a font and back foot and looked inside his mouth briefly. Risk stood patiently but looked to Kerrigan for reassurance a few times. She stroked his neck and told him he was fine and he relaxed.

"Well, I have to say you have done an amazing job with him. He looks great, he's moving great, he seems happy and most of all he seems to like you quite a bit. I'm glad he's found such a nice home."

"So...do we pass?"

"With flying colors, he is all yours."

Kerrigan shook the man's hand and then flung her arms around Risk's neck in a hug. He ducked his head, pressing the bottom of his jaw against her shoulder and Kerrigan swore he was hugging her back.