Post by azarni on Dec 11, 2007 23:38:19 GMT -5
It was a perfectly calm day. The sky was a pearly, milky blue, and tiny sparrows were dancing in the air. For weeks Jessie had been building her 2 1/2 - year old filly Solace's confidence around small crossbar jumps. Jessie had a feeling today was the day when Lace would jump for the first time.
The barn was cool and smelled sweetly of hay. Solace, impatient as always, kicked her stall door, demanding attention. Her rival, Finn, squealed and kicked his door louder, snorting victoriously. Calm down, you two! Jessie laughed, grabbing a lead rope as she strode down the barn aisle. Most of the horses were watching her, hoping for a chance to frolic in the field; they knew from experience, though, that Jessie would be letting them out after she had worked with Solace, Finn and the broodmares (Cecily and Daphne).
Solace snorted and tossed her dark bay mane, kicking the wall once more for sake of the last word. Jessie shook her head disapprovingly and muttered As soon as you've gotten completely used to the barn, you'll have to break that nasty habit of yours!. She stepped quietly into the bright stall and slid the leather halter over Lace's head. The filly followed Jessie out of the barn quietly, the lead rope hanging loosely in Jessie's hand. They had been through the routine so many times, they both knew what would happen if either of them acted up - and it wasn't pretty.
The outdoor arena was huge, and filled with 16 jumps of varying sizes. At the far end, where Jessie worked with her stallion Finn, the jumps were reaching 4'. But at the front of the arena, the jumps were tiny crossbars and verticals, all under 1'6".
Solace was completely comfortable with the small but flashy jumps. Some were painted in bright, neon colours, while others boasted complicated patterns or decorative plants. Jessie gave the filly time to sniff and -occaisionally- attempt to chew the bright wood. Finally, after 15 minutes of patient assurance that the filly wouldn't spook at anything unexpected, Jessie scanned the group of jumps for the small, least obstrusive jump. She located a simple blue crossbar that had to be less than 10" tall - short enough for a horse to easily walk over!
At first, Lace wasn't sure what Jessie wanted her to do. She sniffed, kicked and head butted the poles; in fact, she did anything but think of jumping over them. Finally, with Jessie running ahead and Lace following at a brisk trot, Jessie leaped over the crossbar, somewhat dramatically; Lace hesitated for only a second before taking a wary, unnecessarily large hop over the poles.
***
OPEN! PLEASE REPLY!
The barn was cool and smelled sweetly of hay. Solace, impatient as always, kicked her stall door, demanding attention. Her rival, Finn, squealed and kicked his door louder, snorting victoriously. Calm down, you two! Jessie laughed, grabbing a lead rope as she strode down the barn aisle. Most of the horses were watching her, hoping for a chance to frolic in the field; they knew from experience, though, that Jessie would be letting them out after she had worked with Solace, Finn and the broodmares (Cecily and Daphne).
Solace snorted and tossed her dark bay mane, kicking the wall once more for sake of the last word. Jessie shook her head disapprovingly and muttered As soon as you've gotten completely used to the barn, you'll have to break that nasty habit of yours!. She stepped quietly into the bright stall and slid the leather halter over Lace's head. The filly followed Jessie out of the barn quietly, the lead rope hanging loosely in Jessie's hand. They had been through the routine so many times, they both knew what would happen if either of them acted up - and it wasn't pretty.
The outdoor arena was huge, and filled with 16 jumps of varying sizes. At the far end, where Jessie worked with her stallion Finn, the jumps were reaching 4'. But at the front of the arena, the jumps were tiny crossbars and verticals, all under 1'6".
Solace was completely comfortable with the small but flashy jumps. Some were painted in bright, neon colours, while others boasted complicated patterns or decorative plants. Jessie gave the filly time to sniff and -occaisionally- attempt to chew the bright wood. Finally, after 15 minutes of patient assurance that the filly wouldn't spook at anything unexpected, Jessie scanned the group of jumps for the small, least obstrusive jump. She located a simple blue crossbar that had to be less than 10" tall - short enough for a horse to easily walk over!
At first, Lace wasn't sure what Jessie wanted her to do. She sniffed, kicked and head butted the poles; in fact, she did anything but think of jumping over them. Finally, with Jessie running ahead and Lace following at a brisk trot, Jessie leaped over the crossbar, somewhat dramatically; Lace hesitated for only a second before taking a wary, unnecessarily large hop over the poles.
***
OPEN! PLEASE REPLY!