Rehabiltation 3.1

[Demeter Carr]

Demeter picked up a box that had been sitting in the corner of her office since it had arrived the week before. On top of the box, she balanced the folders that belonged to the six horses that she had brought to the Academy for the class that would be starting in. The veterinarian checked her watched and her eyebrows flew up. Oh, in five minutes! The woman shook her head as she balanced the box on her hip, opened her office door and hurried out toward the yards.

The air was beginning to warm up, hinting the approach of spring and warmer weather. The light smattering of snow around the outside of the Equine Clinic, as Demeter made sure that she shovelled it even with the ground's-men working hard to keep the area as snow-free as possible. The woman's eyes swept across the yards; ten of which were filled. Five of them had the rehabilitation horses, then there was Fingal, Rose, Gem, Beauty and the two Mustang fillies - who shared a yard. She smiled as she looked at the two youngsters who were looking back at her with their eyes bright and ears pricked forward.

Moving her attention away from the animals in the yards and walked over to the area just by the barn door, where she told her class of four she would meet them for the first session. This would give her a chance to explain a little more about their charges and set down the ground rules. She placed the box on the ground and used her keys to slice through the tape. Opening the box, she revealed the notebooks was supplying for the girls to use to keep their journals on the horse's progress. Each of them had an attached pen.

Student Notebooks(click)
Cara-Jean Kitchi - Red
@chey2 - Yellow
@harley - Blue
Miranda Florin - Olive/Green
Rose Hoff - Black

[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

Cara stepped out from under the shower in the gym and quickly towelled herself off and dressed. She had forgotten to pick up her thermals that morning so she had nothing warm to wear under her jodhpurs, which probably just meant that she was going to be cold while working with the Dales Pony cross today, but that was no-one's fault but her own.

Leaving the gym, she circled her left shoulder, trying to remind herself that it could move, even if it did feel like her shoulder was going to spontaneously combust at any moment. Part of her knew that she should tell the coach how much pain she was in when working on the bars, but she had spent so much of her life working through her pain that she just pushed it all to the back of her mind and dealt with it later.

She hurried across the campus and through the gates that led directly to the yards out the back. Pushing her hand into her pocket, she pulled out a handful of alfalfa cubes and offered them to Fée and Tanya as she walked passed and out of her other pocket, she took a carrot that she held out to Beauty. She then made her wait over to the designated meeting area and gave the waiting veterinarian a bow of her head as she stood and waited for the others to arrive. She knew that this spot had been chosen as there were a number of up-turned barrels for people to sit on, but she chose to stand.

While she waited, she looked across the yards until she found the Brown Tobiano that she had chosen to work with, and watched the mare as explored her way around her yard, seeming to try and find something that wasn't there.

[Rose Hoff]

Rose pat Vintage's neck after putting the mare's rug back on. She'd just finished taking her on a short hack in the snow. Vintage didn't like the snow as much as Eleanor did, but she didn't mind it too much, and Rose had wanted to take her out on a more relaxing ride, which was sort of rare. She'd been surprised when Eleanor wasn't nervous about the snow, and rather, the mare was really curious about it, and actually seemed to enjoy it. She figured it was because Eleanor was used to the snow from living in the Netherlands. It was sort of interesting how both of her mares had lived in Holland at one point, and Rose only hoped that she'd be able to take a trip there soon. She loved anything dutch, and eventually hoped to live there.

Leaving Vintage's stall, she quickly wiped hand sanitizer over her hands and pulled on her mittens, ready to go to her Rehabilitation class. She's been a part of last year's session, and she'd really enjoyed it. Today she was very excited to meet the mare she'd be working with for the first time. When she reached the equine clinic, she immediately made her way over to where they were supposed to meet, and smiled in greeting to Dr. Carr and Cara. She took a seat on one of the barrels and crossed her ankles, only sitting on the edge.

Training her gaze over to the yards, she looked over the horses that inhabited them. Many she'd never seen before, and was very interested. She soon found the pony she assumed was Fly, with her distinctive grey appaloosa markings, and smaller size. The mare's ears were pricked, and she was clearly very interested and bright, but when her neighboring horse neared their shared fence, her ears shot back in warning. Turning her attention back to Dr. Carr, she smiled, eager to begin and learn more about the mare she'd be working with. She had high hopes for their work together, and could only hope that things would go as planned.

[Miranda Florin]

Miranda released Sye and Cray into the mares-only pasture, their respectively black and red rugs, hoping that the pair wouldn't cause too much trouble, even with the snow. The palomino Trakhener had been slowly building up conditioning again, something that Miranda was glad about. She couldn't have forgiven herself if Sye had hurt herself while she was racing along the trails, for no reason other than fun. She had spent a bit of time with her in the round pen, watching the mare's gait carefully, and she was thinking that the mare would be ready for riding again.

Leaving the mares to their own devices, Miranda wrapped her jacket around herself and made her way towards the equine clinic, treading the familiar paths. She walked around the main barn, arriving directly at the rehabilitation yards, and smiled at her mentor and the two girls that were already present. Leaving them for a moment, she walked over to Fingal, holding out one of the two carrots that she had grabbed. The grey gelding regarded her approach from the center of the yard, finally deigning to step over, his ears still pricked, and take the carrot. As he crunched on the treat, Miranda ran a hand along his neck, which was still matted with filth. He still wouldn't stand still long enough for her to start brushing him, but he was relaxing around her more than ever, and Miranda didn't doubt she would be able to start with a grooming kit sooner or later in the year.

After Fingal had finished the carrot, Miranda left him and stopped at the fillies' yard, smiling at the mustang twins. Counting backwards, she raised an eyebrow as she realized that the pair was already nearly eight months old. Time had flown with the fillies, in her opinion. After scratching Tanya in her favorite spot, under her chin, Miranda turned away and joined the rest of the class, smiling sheepishly and shrugging as she found a spot next to Cara, perching on one of the barrels. She cast another glance around the yards, nodding as she counted eleven horses. She knew her charge was the one missing, secluded as he was inside. Her eyes rested on the chestnut pony that stood desolately in his yard, looking lonely and lost, as she waited for the last student to arrive, and for Dr. Carr to call the class to order.

[Deleted]

Henri offered her mare one last treat as she shut the stall door. She’d had a beautiful work out with Roxy and the grey was getting much less stiff and bending more for her. The girl was rather satisfied with the little schooling she’d done and they’d even managed more than three feet. Roxy could not jump as high as Hutch, but it was understandable due to the fact she’d been a lesson horse the majority of her life and had really only worked with the beginner kids. Henri smiled slightly, at the memories of them before she’d gotten her own horse. Now Roxy was hers too.

It was a new year however and there was no time to dwell on the past. There was a new horse to care for in the rehabilitation class and the brunette was feeling rather excited to meet ‘Fish’. He had a very interesting name and after reading his bio for a while, Henri found herself liking the gelding even more. He seemed to do show jumping, though she still wasn’t sure if that was under saddle or not. Really, all these horses were a bit unpredictable, though she hoped she’d be able to understand her charge soon.

Henri froze slightly as she realized she’d been daydreaming again. Her watch beeped softly, her little alarm to keep her on top of things. She would have to run or risk getting late. The brunette thanked the universe as she realized the class was near the barn. Waving goodbye to grey, she dashed off, slowing down to a huffed walk as she approached the area. Her eyes went instinctively to the field and caught onto the gelding she assumed to be Fish. The horse was clearly quite adorable, but he didn’t seem that keen on socializing. Henri frowned slightly, but moved on to sit by Rose, and waited for the class to begin. 

[Demeter Carr]

Demeter smiled as each of her girls arrived, she wasn't too surprised when Cara was the first to appear.

She waited until all five were present before she spoke. "Welcome to Equine Rehabilitation. The ponies we have for this intake a little different than the ones we've had in the past. None of them have been physically abused - so to speak - and they are all in good condition. However, they each have their own flaws, as does every horse, and for the six months you have with me, we are, you, are hopefully going to turn their lives around." She looked at each girl in turn as she spoke. "Cara and Miranda, you both know your charges and as part of your veterinary work have already started the bonding process with them. Henri and Rose, your charges are new to you, and you to them."

She bent down and opened up the box she had brought out and pulled out the notebook. "I'm supplying the books this time, and the books will remain in your charge's box unless you are working with the pony or writing in them. You have the choice of five colours; red, black, blue, green or yellow." There were actually two blue notebooks, but she left the second blue one in the box and held them out for the students to select the book they wanted. "As you see, they come with a pen attached."

Once the notebooks were taken care of, she turned to her two vet students. "The two of you are free to tend to your charges." She then turned to the other two girls. "Henri, Rose, and Ellie if you'll follow me, I'll introduce you to Fish and Fly." She led the girls over to the fence between the yards of the thre cross-bred ponies. "I know you have already read about them, but heed my warning. Fly here is quick and learns fast, so no matter what you do with her, she will remember it and store it away for later use. Fish? He just needs someone to teach him how to be himself." She reached out and placed her hand gently on the Connemara cross' nose. "Just remember to take things slow with him. He has been taught to wear a saddle and carry a rider, but as far as I know, that's really as far as his training went. And Lu has a thing with shaking his head, his old owners tried everything, but couldn't handle it any more. He now bucks and spins whenever something it put in his mouth." She flashed the girls a grin. "They each have a plastic box in the tack-room that has a basic grooming kit."

[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

Cara returned Rose's smile with a movement of her lips and gave more of an impression of a smile when Miranda turned up. She then waited silently with the others as they waited for the fourth and final student to arrive, then things would get started.

She listened to Dr Carr as the woman spoke about the ponies they would be working with, her eyebrow lifted when the veterinarian said that she was providing the notebooks, and there was no question in her tone. The girl stepped forward and took the notebook with red elastic and pen - though the ink of the pen was black - and held it against her chest as she waited for the other girls to make their decisions.

As herself and Miranda were dismissed to go to their chosen pony, Cara headed over to the yard where the skewbald mare was still searching her way around her yard. "Grace." She called in a sing-song voice. "Come here pretty girl." Since the Dr Carr had brought the ponies to the Academy, Cara had always made a point of announcing herself and getting the mare's attention before she entered the pony's yard or stall. She didn't like it when equines entered her personal space without permission, and returned the favour by offering them the same sign of respect.

As the mare trotted up to the girl, Cara ducked through the fence and ran her hand down the mare's face. "Uh." She said as Grace snapped at the girl's fingers and Cara pushed the mare's shoulder to make her step away - if Cara had been the one to back away it would have put the mare in control of the situation, as horses were all about making the other move their feet. "There's a good girl." She whispered as the mare allowed her to run her hand down the Dales Pony's nose. "You are quite sweet when you want to be." She ducked back out of the yard as she headed into the barn and through door of the tack room to go and collect the mare's gear. She had already taken the liberty of having replaced all of the basic, borrowed, equipment with everything in pink and blue. The bright colours looked good against the mare's dark brown. All of her tack was a havana brown which seemed to bring out the white in her coat.

Walking back out to the mare, who was still standing exactly where she had been left eyes on the barn entrance, and over to the yard. "Come on pretty girl, let's give you a good brush." She ducked through the fence again and slipped the halter over the mare's nose and buckled the poll strap. "Good girl." She led the pony away from the fence and into the middle of the yard, where she started to run the soft body brush over the mare's thick coat.

Grooming Kit

Halter

[Rose Hoff]

Rose smiled at Henri when the other girl sat down beside her but quickly turned her attention to Dr. Carr when the woman began speaking. She was very intent in putting everything she had into her helping Fly, and that would start with Dr. Carr's first words. She had a tremendous amount of respect for the woman already from working with her before, and was very excited to be part of her class again. She wanted the woman to think well of her, but even more, she wanted to be able to help Fly in every way that she could. She listened to Dr. Carr explain how these ponies were different from past equines they'd had, and she couldn't help but wonder why this had been done.

When the veterinarian showed them the notebooks to choose, she watched Cara take the red one, and then stepped forward herself to take the black one. She probably would have chosen the red one had Cara not chosen it, but she wasn't really bothered by what the color was. She was a little surprised in herself when she chose the black one, as she usually associated herself with light colors, but perhaps it was because she preferred it over the other brighter colors. She wondered whether Dr. Carr would mind if she drew designs on the notebook, and reminded herself to ask the woman afterwards. She had metallic sharpies that would look pretty on the black, but even if she couldn't she didn't mind the plain notebook. Perhaps simplicity would be better in the long run.

When Dr. Carr asked them to follow her after letting Cara and Miranda go off to their own ponies, she followed eagerly, but also a little bit shyly. Her notebook was clutched in her hands, fingers wrapped tight around it so that the whites of her knuckles were brighter than ever. Looking over the mare when they reached the two ponies, Rose was pleased with what she saw. Fly was pretty, and different looking than any pony Rose had worked with. She would certainly end up drawing her at some point. She nodded when Dr. Carr explained that Fly would remember everything. This seemed to be a double edge sword, as it could work in her favor if she was learning good things, but if she ended up making bad impressions on Fly, it was sure to end terribly. She just had to be very careful when working with her to make sure that she was taught everything correctly.

"Thank you," she spoke when the veterinarian told them about the grooming kits. It seemed as good a place to start as any, so she got it from the tack room before returning to Fly's yard with her halter and lead as well. Remembering that she should be careful about anything the mare could crush her against, she greeted the pony with a pet on the neck before haltering her and leading her to the middle of the yard. "Hello missy," she began speaking as she led the pony, "It's lovely to meet you." She usually talked to Vintage and Eleanor, and hoped that Fly wouldn't mind either. The mare pulled a bit as they were walking over, but Rose stopped her whenever she tried to pulled her away and made her stand before continuing to where she wanted to go. Once they got there, she pulled a body brush from the kit and began to groom Fly, keeping a careful eye on the mare.

[Miranda Florin]

Miranda turned her attention from the lonely pony as Dr. Carr started talking, shifting it to the woman instead. She nodded as Dr. Carr launched into her introduction, listening although she knew most of the information the woman was telling them. As her mentor introduced the journals that she had bought for the class, Miranda looked at the books, picking out the light-green one as the one she would prefer to use. While none of them matched Dynamite's paired stable colours exactly, the green at least looked close to the sage that she had chosen, After Rose had chosen, Miranda pushed herself off of the barrel where she had been perched and walked over to the woman, taking the notebook, "Thanks." She went back to her barrel and ran a finger over the green band that held the tan notebook closed, thinking about the things that she already wanted to record in it. Once Henri had picked her colour, Dr. Carr turned to the vet students. At the woman's words, Miranda nodded and walked towards the barn.

As she entered the dim, quiet space, Miranda heard a bit of shuffling coming from a stall in the back corner. Ignoring the horse hidden by a thick, black curtain that blocked almost all of the light that would otherwise have passed into the stall, the girl walked into the tack room and to the gelding's box. All of the gear was already replaced with things in the gelding's two colours, sage and lavender. Miranda had chosen the sage because the calm, easy colour had seemed like it would contrast with the gelding's nervous-wreck nature. When she had seen a sage halter with a lavender trim, however, she had been sold on the idea of the gelding sporting two colours. Now, everything possible was sage with lavender, although some of the gelding's unused grooming kit was pure sage.

Miranda picked up a folded black cloth, on top of a pile of cloths, each layer getting progressively thinner. She had worked out a way of getting Dynamite slowly sensitized to the light, and the curtains were the first step in that plan. She held the fabric to her chest as she walked down to the gelding's stall, in an effort to get a trace of her scent onto it. While the gelding seemed to be more comfortable in a tiny, dark stall, Miranda wanted to teach him that light wasn't a problem, but if he would associate her scent with the comfort of his stall, she hoped it would help. Reaching up, Miranda hung the second curtain, as quietly as possible, then released the first one, gathering it in her arms. The new, slightly thinner and more see-through fabric hung in place, letting only the slightest amount of light into the gelding's stall. Miranda could hear the gelding kicking out, snorting frantically, and frowned as she leaned against the next stall down. She waited for a few minutes, listening as the gelding quieted again, then left the barn, stopping to drop off the crumpled dense fabric into the gelding's box.

She glanced at the rows of boxes for the various patients, deciding between ways to work for the rest of the allotted time. Deciding that she might as well actually work on one of the 'rehab' horses, she picked up Em's plain halter, as well as a grooming kit. As she walked out into the sunlight, blinking rapidly to get her eyes readjusted, she could see that most of the class was already brushing their mounts. She approached the gelding's yard and put down the grooming kit before she leaned against the fence, loosely holding the halter in one of her hands.

[Deleted]

Henri brought all her attention on Dr. Carr as she began to speak. It was hard to contain her excitement in meeting the new rescue horse, but the brunette piped down and waited for instructions. She nodded unconsciously about the journals; that would save her the headache of losing it and the pen. She grinned at this fact slightly before listening onto what Dr. Carr was saying next. She was very happy to be working with the woman again as she held the upmost respect for her and wanted her to like her as she was rather like someone Henri wanted to be when she grew up.

The brunette watched the other girls grab their notebooks before settling on the blue one. She rather liked the color, though wasn’t particularly bothered with it – it did remind her of a special certain person’s eyes however. Henri shook the thought out of her mind and felt the eagerness to meet Fish surge through her again. Henri nodded as the veterinarian went on to explain about the Connemera. “Thanks Dr. Carr.” she said softly, her big eyes now captivated by the handsome gelding.

“Hey there.” she murmured softly, holding out a hand for the horse to inspect. He seemed rather unsure of her and Henri knew her first job was to change that.“How are you today, Fish?” she kept the same soft voice, before moving her hand up to give the gelding a rub on his nose. He puffed out a breath, looking at her with his big, brown orbs. Henri went to go grab the horse’s halter and grooming kit before returning and haltering him and leading him into the middle of the field.

She grabbed a curry brush nearly unconsciously before placing it to his shoulder to begin. Immediately, the gelding shied a bit and Henri felt like smacking her forehead. She’d forgotten to take it slow with everything due to having Hutch.“Sorry bud. It’s a curry comb, promise.” Henri held it up under his nose for him to sniff it a bit before beginning again. He stood still this time and she softly praised him, stroking his neck. She spoke to him as she groomed, little tidbits about life and such, but all in her same soft tone so he could get used to her voice. 

[Demeter Carr]

After she had spoken to Rose, Henri and Eloise more about their charges, the veterinarian left them to it. She headed back into the barn and came out with some printouts that she would give to the girls before they left. The paper briefly went over what their notebook was about and what she required went into the first page and what she hoped to be able to discover when she read through them. Down the bottom of the page, it reminded the students that keeping the journal wasn't optional and if they couldn't keep one up to date, she would have no choice but to fail them at the end of the course, no matter how well they had done with their charges.

The woman sat on top of one of the barrels as she observed her students as they interacted with their charges. She always enjoyed the first day of class the most, as she watched the two worlds collide; a world of competition riders meets a world of the unknown. Unlike the normal horses that she had for her past rehabilitation course, these ones had come from pretty decent background, it was just manners and vices that needed sorting out rather than trying to bring a horse back from the edge, though she had a feeling that most of these horses would have been picked up for dog food if she hadn't snatched them up first. Not many people liked naughty animals.

[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

After Cara had finished grooming the mare's coat to a soft shine, the girl put the brush back into the box and leaving the mare standing placidly in the middle of the yard, she took the grooming box over to the fence before walking back to the paint mare. She stood in front and slightly to the side of the mare and carefully ran her hands over the mare's face.

The mare's information said that she had developed a habit of spontaneously bucking her way around a course of jumps, even if the course had started perfectly, so, the first thing Cara wanted to rule out was anything physically wrong with the mare - she had asked Dr Carr is she could give the mare the full examination herself, since the veterinarian normally did this when the ponies first arrived on the campus. Since the mare hadn't had a traumatic past, there was nothing that gave evidence to a trigger.

Covering the mare's left eye with a blinder, she then then tossed cotton balls into the field of vision of the other eye, nodding when the mare followed the flight of the balls with her uncovered eye, then repeated the process with the other eye.

She then placed a section of garden hose on the ground and walked the mare over it on a loose lead, then repeat with each eye covered. She knew that most horses could see extremely thin objects and stepped over them, which is what the mare did even with either eye covered.

For the next test, she was going to use the shaded corner of the yard. Walking the mare over to the darkened area of the yard, she calmly led her into the shade and then back out into the sun-brightened grass, nodding when the mare didn't shy when going from light to dark, back to light.

For the last vision test, she covered one of Grace's eyes with a blinder again, and waved her hand six inches from the uncovered eye and then repeated the test on the other side. "You are such a clever girl." She told the mare as she removed the blinder once more and tucked it into the waist band of her jodhpurs, making a huge fuss out of the mare and laughing as Grace echoed the girl's excitement and huffed into the small student's hair. Cara mentally crossed a visual problem off her list.

She had already done the hearing tests on the mare. That one was easy, a can full of feed was enough to use for that - Cara had slipped inside the mare's shelter without Grace knowing she was there and when she shook the can, the mare had quickly found her.

[Rose Hoff]

Rose continued to groom Fly carefully, trying not to let herself get too on edge. Vintage had always had a habit of getting a little bit to close and into her personal space, but it had always been affectionate, and usually she was looking for treats. Fly's invasions of her space however wasn't at all friendly, and she seemed to blatantly ignore Rose. Rose knew that she couldn't keep letting her do that, and that she had to start teaching her that is wasn't okay as soon as possible.

This time when Fly stepped into her space, she pushed her back, firmly, but certainly not harshly. She did it again when Fly stepped back a couple of minutes later, this time a bit more firmly. She continued to groom her and managed to go over her entire body with the brush without Fly threatening to step on her again. All of her grooming supplies were black at the moment, but Rose intended to replace them and the rest of her supplies with pale violet-red equipment. She'd chosen the stable color for the mare since she though it looked especially pretty with Fly's pink nose.

She really hadn't dealt with any equine like Fly before, since Vintage had been her first horse, and Eleanor certainly wasn't anything like her. The closest she'd come to Fly was a big pushy warmblood her mother had owned. The horse had been talented, but he wasn't really respectful at all. Rose hadn't ever worked with him, but she'd heard the complaints of her mother. She certainly wanted to be able to help Fly work out of this if it was possible.

[Deleted]

Eloise ran her fingers across the yellow notebook that she picked out with the pen attached to the book to the front. Blue eyes carefully picked out the students in the small little group and she only knew one girl and that was Cara, she smiled and waved toward her, but that was all she did. Ellie might have been an very talkative person, but today she was just going to keep quite so she could listen to Dr. Carr since she was talking about what the class was going to be about and about the horses. Ellie picked up the pen and opened the book up to the first page and wrote the date on it and closed it. She watched as Cara and another girl named Miranda walk away first and stood up when Dr. Carr called her name to follow her. She tucked her notebook into her backpack as she picked it up and put it over her shoulder. She followed Dr. Carr around the yard stopping at each horse talking about each of the horses. When they got to Lu the one that she would be working with her dug her notebook out and wrote down all the information that Dr. Carr was talking about. Ellie shook her head at Dr. Carr when she talked about Lu not liking bits and how he started bucking and spinning from the last owners. Ellie grinned when she remember the hackamore in her tack box and knew that this might help him.

Ellie put her notebook back into her bag and set it down outside the paddock and went to get the grooming box. She sat the box beside her backpack and opened the gate and walked in and watched Lu for a minute. He walked up to her and Ellie smiled and rubbed the chestnut pony cross forehead and then ran her hand along his neck. She didn’t grab the halter the first time as she was trying to get his personality. He was a friendly pony that just needed some help with the bit. Maybe if she got him used to the hackamore and got him riding around she could get a snaffle bit into his mouth and just use the hackamore. She would have to ask Dr. Carr after class and see if that would work out. She walked around the gelding trying to see his personal boundaries. She giggled as he turned his head and watched her with ears forward.You’re a smart boy Lu,” she giggled and left him to go get the halter. He followed her over to the gate as she grabbed the halter and slipped it over his nose and buckled it. She ran the lead rope around his body and around his legs to see if he would pick them up and he did. She never tied the rope to his legs but just loped it so if he did try to get away it would fall and not harm Lu. She put the rope around his left leg and pulled it up and sat it down which Lu stepped forward.Good boy Lu,She said and walked the gelding toward the fence, she didn’t tie him up but grabbed the grooming box and placed it over the fence. She grabbed a soft brush and let him smell it before she rubbed it against his coat.

[Deleted]

Henri groomed with constant, soft chatter – flicking off the dust on the gelding’s coat and taking her time to get places that really needed more attention. He wasn’t in bad shape physically; rather he looked more out of shape than anything else. His coat wasn’t too horrific, and it didn’t take long for the brunette to get it clean. She lowered her eyes, never staring harshly into the dun’s own dark eyes and was careful to do things very slowly. With every tool she used to groom him, Henri introduced them before using them. Fish stood stock still except for his constant ear flicking and alert nostrils flaring.

The brunette watched silently; taking in Fish’s appearance. Perhaps, some sort of relaxing or calming herb in his feed would help him. She noted to ask Cara about such a thing when she got the chance. Her plan for the rest of the time was to simply observe and play around with how much Fish’s curiosity was willing to come and see that she wasn’t going to hurt him. Perhaps, she could show him she simply wanted to be friends. Henri grinned as he picked up his hoof for her – at least he was not lost on the basic things.

The girl finally was done with his coat and his hooves, but she decided to put off doing his tail until later. He didn’t look ready enough for her to do any of the till she gained his trust and Henri was going to go slow with him. She noted future plans down in her journal as she prepared to put the grooming things away. Working with a tarp and raising his confidence was one of the number ones on her list for now. The girl turned to look at Cara; figuring she might as well ask now as she went to go put his things away. Walking up to the girl, she smiled “Hey Cara, sorry to be a bother; I was wondering – Do you know of any herbs that could make a horse more relaxed, or soothed; less tense?” Henri struggled to find a way to put her question, but finished a bit awkwardly.