Always a New Horizon

[Avery Durand]

She hadn't made it out to the barn the previous day, and had in fact been glad she'd managed to find the cafeteria for dinner. Today, though, was a new day, and with Dolent arriving the next, it was time to ensure that his new home was prepared. She'd been happy to find her "I'm not ignoring you, I'm just Deaf" shirt that morning, with the decorative font printed quite large on the back. Stephan had gotten it for her when she'd told him of her fears, of people thinking her snobby at her new school, and she had promised to wear it frequently, especially early on in her school career.

As she entered the barn, Saskia's leash draped in its over-the-shoulder configuration and red vest meticulously cleaned of hair the day before, she had to pause and take in the smell of horses, feeling right at home quite quickly. The moment passed, and she started walking along the aisle of horses, spotting the brass nameplates that seemed to be affixed to each one. As she walked, she checked out each empty stall, looking for the familiar name. Of course, she admired the horses that occupied the various stalls too, but from a distance, unsure of how they would do with Saskia, and not wanting to cause trouble on her first full day.

[Katherine Carr]

Katherine brushed the dust from her hands as she walked through the barn, checking that the stall doors were fastened securely, kick-bolts in place, now that they had finished bringing in the horses from their night outside, and spending the heat of the day in their stalls. She made a mental note to check the water trough in pasture three, as it was essential that they horses who lived outside always had water, even when there was a small creek that ran through the pasture.

Happy that the stalls were as they should be, she knew that there were things that needed to be done in her office, so that was where she headed next. Her plans changed though, when she saw an unfamiliar girl with an even more unfamiliar dog walking through the barn. Her brow dipped as she went through her mental list of things happening, and she remembered one of them was a new student with a service dog. With a smile, she approached the girl. "Avery?"

[Avery Durand]

Avery was continuing her search of the brass nameplates as she felt a cool nose nudge her hand, and then felt Saskia halt and look at and angle from the pair. She turned as well, following the dog's gaze and smiling at the woman approaching. With her left hand, she scratched Saskia's head, praise for a job probably well done, and waited for the woman to speak.

[Katherine Carr]

Katherine's smile deepened as the girl turned to face her. "Welcome to the Barn." She said. "I'm Ms Carr, barn manager. Is there anything I can help you with?" She'd get to the part where she needed to take a photo of the dog for the board in her office, but right now she was at the girl's disposal. "Would you like me to show you where your horse's stall will be?" At least she guessed that was the reason the girl was in here.

[Avery Durand]

Avery paused as the woman asked about things to help with, about to shake her head, before the specific offer of assistance was made. Yes, she could keep looking, but this would be quicker, at least, "That would be great, thank you." She paused, "And since he won't arrive until tomorrow, if you have the time, could I take a look at the FM system you use? It was discussed before my arrival but I'd like to familiarize myself with the system before classes start." Since, if her old lessons were anything to go by, she'd have to be the one teaching the teachers how to use it.

[Katherine Carr]

Katherine's smile deepened as she nodded. "Follow me." She turned to led the way down to the stall she'd had prepared for the gelding's arrival. "The water systems are automatic." She explained, turning to face the girl before she started talking. "If you need to turn it off for any reason, the tap for his stall is here." She pointed to where the tap was hidden inside the wall. "I need you to come to my office so we can get your canine companion onto the safe to be in the barn list, so I can show you the system we use while we're there." May as well kill two birds with one stone.

[Avery Durand]

Avery nodded and followed the woman, smiling as she saw the brass nameplate she'd been searching for. She paid atttention ot the infroamtion about the watering system, nodding as the control was pointed out to her. Hopefully she wouldn't need that too often, save for cleaning, but it was good to know. She glanced around the stall, seeing it already bedded out quite comfortably, and large enough for the Thoroughbred to enjoy his enrichment toys in it on occasion.

At the next comment, Avery raised an eyebrow, but nodded willingly and followed the woman again. Hopefully it would prevent most of the questions from barn staff, since she had seen the prominent "No Dogs" sign on the barn door.

[Katherine Carr]

Katherine pushed her office door open ans stood aside for the girl to enter first. Walking in, she located the small digital camera from the shelf, and then pulled a blue screen down on her wall. "Can you please ask your four-legged companion to stand over here and we'll get the photo taken." She made sure that she was facing Avery before she spoke. "The screen stops them from blending into the walls."

One the photo was taken, she walked over to her computer and plugged the camera in. While the photo uploaded, she located the box with the FM system in it, and placed it on the desk. "This is what we have, and it's all yours." She had no problem if the girl wanted to take the box away and play with it, as it wasn't like Katherine couldn't track her down.

[Avery Durand]

Avery chuckled as she saw the blue screen, "You have your whole setup, there." She walked in front of it with Saskia and then held her hand out flat in front of the dog's face, their visual cue for a stay. With that, she dropped the leather leash to the ground and stepped out of the frame, standing behind Ms. Carr so that the dog would turn and face the camera.

Once that was done, she snapped her fingers and patted her leg, calling the dog back to heel before she picked up the leash. She smiled at the small FM headset system, poking through the box and spotting recievers and microphones both, "Wonderful, thank you. May I take one of each to see the best settings in an arena?" She had experience with the brand, it was the same her trainers back home had used, so she had no doubts that she could figure out how to set it up in the environment she would need it in.

[Katherine Carr]

Katherine laughed softly. "I was a little unprepared when the first student walked into my barn with a service dog. I've adapted since then." She confessed with another laugh.

Katherine nodded to the girl's request. "It's all yours to play with." She replied as she set up the dog's picture and printed it out to go on her notice board. "Is there anything else I can help you with? New students always seemed to be full of questions, and often needed the prompt to ask them, though she could also have answered everything Avery needed to know.

[Avery Durand]

Avery chuckled at that, "I'll be honest, this was the smoothest school in that regard, which was nice." Especially with the barn, she had been expecting some push back. The fact that they'd already had service dogs on campus made sense, though. They were well-versed in how to handle them.

As Ms. Carr asked about other things she needed help with, Avery thought for a moment, and then shook her head, "I can't think of anything right now, but thank you. I'll be back if anything comes up." She liked learning by herself, if given the choice, and would only come to the barn manager if she got really stuck.