Bigger than Normal

[Tobias Xayarath]

That day hadn't gone as planned. Tux had headed up to the local rescue with a trailer after discussing his foal management program with them, only to be thwarted by the onset of diarrhea in the group of foals he was supposed to pick up. Instead, he'd taken a look around the facility and, to keep the long story short, ended up with an adult horse. He'd cleared all of the necessary information to bring her back, lucky that vetting had already been done for a failed adoption, and even secured permission to house her in his barn, despite the fact that this new addition was not a broodmare.

No, she was his. Something about Khyona had caught his eye, and he hadn't been able to leave her there. The school and the rescue had a good cooperation, and there had been no problems about bringing his new addition home that day. Now he leaned against the fence of the pasture he'd turned Khyona loose in, and watched her examine her new home.

[Bruce Ropata]

Since the arrival of Liberty, Bruce had been a little unsure what to do with her. Yes, she needed to life out in the pastures, but she was also a bit of a timebomb, waiting to go off. If she felt challenged by the other horses in the pasture with her, she wouldn't hesitate to defend herself, and the other horse, or horses, would retaliate in the like; which possibly classed the mare as being unsafe. Also, there was the part of her being in foal, which left Bruce in a position that he was uncertain of what to do with her.

This uncertainty was what led him to the Evening Primrose barn. After a word with Ida, he headed out to the pastures behind the barn and saw the man he was looking for leaning against the fence of a pasture where a solid mare was. "Hi." He said as he approached the man. "Can I have a word with you about my new horse?"

[Tobias Xayarath]

Tux looked up at the sound of footsteps on the road, and nodded at the Mounted Games teacher as the man approached. As he heard what Bruce was after, Tux nodded again, "Is out here acceptable, or is this an office type of question?" He didn't want to put the man on the spot, but wanted to offer the privacy of his office should that be needed. Not that anyone was around the pastures to hear them either, as a glance around showed.

[Bruce Ropata]

Bruce smiled. "Out here will be fine." He replied. "It's nothing that needs to be kept away from other ears. He moved his stance slightly, to that he was more relaxed. "I recently got a Kaimanawa. She's a little flighty, still has the herd instincts of protecting her patch of grass. She's also in-foal." He released a breath as he tried to think about why he was here. "Before she finds herself evicted for injuring another horse - which I guess is a risk everyone here takes when they turn their horses out. I was wondering if maybe bringing her over to your pastures might help?"

[Tobias Xayarath]

Tux nodded and leaned against the fence and waited for Bruce to start with what was on his mind. He listened with interest, nodding occasionally, and then paused for a moment, considering. The mare would have been fully vetted before she came to campus, and as such, wasn't any more of a risk to the other broodmares than Khyona was. "I think she'd be very welcome here. I can arrange for her to have a pasture to herself, and perhaps, over time, she might take a liking to one or two of our broodmares if they can meet over the fence without worry." He paused again, considering, "Does she need a stall as well, or does she mostly live out?" He could prepare one, of course, but no point if the mare wouldn't use it, "And when is she due?"

[Bruce Ropata]

"Thank you." Bruce smiled, feeling like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "She's an all outside mare." He said with a laugh. "She was lightly sedated for most of the journey over to the States, and again for the trailer ride here. So, to be honest, I'm not sure what she would even do to a stall if put in one now." Over time, he would eventually introduce her to the idea of being inside. He could even start with putting her in the yards near the mounted games arena, but that was a long time off yet.

He glanced into the pasture as he thought over what he knew about Liberty's vet records. "Somewhere around Christmas, I think." Which would be the middle of summer in New Zealand.

[Tobias Xayarath]

Tux nodded, one thing he didn't have to worry about, then. At least for now, and there was plenty of space for gear in the barn's tack room as well, since quite a few of the stalls stood empty waiting for yearlings at the moment, who didn't need much more than a halter to start with. He considered the pastures and then pointed to the one at the end of the lane, the one that shared a fenceline only with the one Khyona was in now, "Would that one suit? It's the one we use the least right now, and Khyona here shouldn't cause trouble, although I'll admit we still have some learning about each other to do as well." He still had some time before he had to worry about the mare foaling, so he and Bruce could discuss that later. "Our feed room is set up a little differently from the big barns, since we feed everyone instead of having students in and out as much. Would you like to bring her over first, and then I can give you a quick run-down?"

[Bruce Ropata]

Bruce nodded as his gaze followed the direction of the other man's finger. The pasture in question was far enough away from the other horses for Liberty to cause any issue to anyone else - horse or human - and hopefully she wouldn't cause any issues with her neighbour, and if she did, he was sure that Khyona would be able to sort out the much smaller Kaimanawa.

He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him at the mention of the feed room. "She is mainly on grass, and hay." He said with a shrug. "I'd love a run-down on how your feed room works though, as she's going to need a little extra as the foal inside her grows." He knew that even will full-time grazing, she wasn't going to find nearly as much nutrients in the grass here as she would back home.

[Tobias Xayarath]

Tux smiled as he heard that, "The morning feeders will be the happier for it, I'm sure." Not that it was hard to add grain to the routine, but one less bucket was one less bucket! He pushed himself away from the fence and got ready to head towards the barn, "While I'm sure she doesn't have too much gear either, we can find you a spot for anything you may have as well. We don't have the same locker system as in the other barns, because most of the horses are school-owned anyway."