I canter through the bushes and leapt over the log that barred my path. "Moondancer! Come back here!" Cried Anna as she sprinted after me. With a swish of my black tail, I jumped over another rock and landed right in the mud!? I managed to catch myself and gave a snort of mock disgust as I whirled around, to find Anna laughing at me.
You totally fell for that!" She thought.
"Hey so what if I can't see that well!" I protested and then allowed her to put on my halter. She clipped the lead rope to the end of the halter and the, started to lead me back.
"Ugg! Do you realize how long it's going to take me to wash all this stuff out of your coat?" Anna asked, incredulous.
"yep." I replied smugly. " and your going to be nice and make my coat white and get the foul green mud off my tail. Right? " I prompted her. Anna groaned and then clicked me into a trot.
"C'mon Moon, we're going to be late" she protested and I went into a slow canter as Anna led me back into the pasture and through the gate to my stall. She muttered about how inconsiderate I was, falling in the mud, as she scrubbed off the dirt and cleaned my mane.
"What do you think, boots or not?" Asked Anna, as she turned to Red, the stable hand.
"None for now, but I'll have them out there if you need them." Replied Red with a grin.
I snorted and pawed the ground, eager to be going. Anna ran over to the tack room and grabbed her helmet.
"Dorthèe's here today so you better watch your manner miss" Red said as he turned to help Anna on.
"your leg okay" asked Red when he saw Anna grimace.
"No" she replied, "but I'll deal" she said, her voice stiff with pain.
Last year, Anna had an accident. She cued me to do a levade, which I did just fine. Then she let me canter around a bit, collecting and extending as usual. The riding master came in just as she asked me to do a courabette, where a horse is supposed to rear up on its hind legs and jump, throwing all of its weight on its hocks. Then the horse is supposed to jump into the air and then land.
Everything was fine except for the landing. When I landed, I landed on my bad hock. I had been sore on it for the last couple of days and Anna meant to take it easy on me. The master had ordered her to do this and she had to obey. When I landed, I wrenched my hock, pulling a ligament and I went down. Anna was in a coma for three weeks and it took me, three months of stall rest to be able to walk again. I still had a bit of a limp, hence the boots and Anna normally wore a knee brace when she rode.
"C'mon Moondancer, lets go" murmured Anna as she squeezed my sides and clucked gently. I stepped out in a high prancing walk. I arched my neck and preened a bit as Colbalt, Veronica's horse came by. He was a black stallion with a white star on his forehead. "Moon control yourself" snapped Anna , as I danced on the spot when Anna asked for a halt.
"Trot everybody!" Called Max from across the ring. I trotted and kept trying to step out into a canter and barely listened to Anna at all as she tried to calm me down and make me listen. My attention was firmly affixed on Dorthèe. Finally, resorting to the last method, she turned me into the middle and stopped me. Clouds of dust whirled around us, as the horses trotted in circles.
Anna asked me to lay down, and I did, though grudgingly. Then she ran up the stirrups on the saddle. She turned to me and, tugging my bridle gently, asked me to step over and pivot. She asked me to do this six times. Three on the front end, three on the back.Each time I crossed over, my back got looser and looser so I would relax and be more supple. Then after about five minutes, Anna asked me to settle down again, and I did quite willingly.
Then, with a little tap to my sides, Anna signaled me to rise. I was a little excited and danced, but calmed down as Anna touched the reins. Anna loosened the reins a bit as I trotted out with a bit aplomb. I let myself lean on the bit as Anna makes sure I am nice and round on my back. I arched my neck rather grandly.
"Every body stop" cries Dorthèe. Anna abruptly pulled me to a halt with a bit of unnecessary force. I flung my head up and snorted to show my displeasure.
"Line up in the center here" she said, while eyeing us with a bit of a glare. Anna directed me to the center and I stand square as she question me to stop. I don't dare move a step as Dorthèe stops right infront of us. "Anna, you seem to have an unusual amount of control over Moon, enough even to say, trained at the Dressage School?" She said with a bit of a icy tone to her voice.
"Yes" Anna replied stiffly and I could feel her displeasure radiating off Anna in waves. I could feel it in the was she sat and the way she was balanced with her back as stiff as a rod.
Now Dorthèe had a bit of a sneer on her face, " why don't you show off a bit?" She asked, watching Anna's face carefully. "Let's say a counter canter toward A then a collected trot and finally... Oh let's do a courabette and perhaps a levade" said Dorthèe.
Anna's head snapped up at these words and, with a final glance at Red sitting on the fence, nodded. Red scurried from the fence with the blue boots in his hands toward us.
"Alright" agreed Anna before asking me down on the ground again. I bent my knees obediently and stayed there while Anna slowly got off. Red was standing there, by my head, watching. I heard Anna's soft curse as she touched her leg to the ground and it buckled, not supporting her weight. Red ran forward and helped her lean against me as I rose " you don't have to do this" he said before taking the boots and putting them on my legs. Anna walked toward my head and, touched my face, making me turn toward her.
"Are you ready to try again?" She murmured to me before turning to go back and check Red's work. Pulling the bottom two straps of Velcro tighter, she took the roll of tape and wrapped it around the Velcro to be on the safe side.
Meanwhile, Dorthèe, had set up the cones and paced everything out with Max making sure it was done right. He was also trying to reason with her, trying to make her drop her standards a bit, but to no avail. I was to attempt what I had not done in three years, with Anna on my back and light expectations.
"Looks like history's repeating itself" muttered Anna as she pulled the saddle off my back and prepared to get on.
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