Follow Your Dreams

Chapter 23: Tack Up

It was finally the day when I would ride Hershey for the first time. Jake was waiting in front of the barn when I walked up to him. "Are you sure you are ready to ride Hershey? I mean, just last week you were terrified and thought that riding him was impossible." Jake asked.

"I'll be fine. I'm more excited than nervous or scared right now!" I grinned. He rolled his eyes and jogged down to the tack room, grabbing Hershey's green halter and lead rope. I then walked to the pasture and climbed over the fence. Hershey looked up as I approached him, letting out a whinny. "You've been whinnying so much more now, huh boy?" I laughed and pet his nose. I then put on his halter and clipped the lead rope to it.

"I know it would be stupid to immediately start putting tack on you, so I just want to try something." I whispered softly to Hershey. I moved over to his side and Hershey's gaze followed me. I reached my arms up and layed them across his back. They weren't there for more than two seconds because Hershey reared up into the air, knocking me down.

"Are you alright?" Jake called from outside the pasture. I nodded and stood up, glad that Hershey hadn't tried to flee. I put my hands on Hershey's back and he stared at me, flicking his ears around. I slid my hands across his back where my arms lay across him. He did a mini rear, but dropped to the ground before I was knocked away.

"It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you, Hershey." I soothed him. I put a little more pressure with my arms on his back, letting him get used to weight on it. This way, he wouldn't be as surprised with a saddle on his back. He remained calm this time, probably because I kept talking to him. I removed my arms and began leading Hershey to the pasture gate. Jake opened it for me, and closed it once Hershey and I had left the pasture. I brought Hershey to the cross ties and clipped them to his halter. The barn didn't have much activity going on in it luckily. I went to the tack room and grabbed a set of used tack along with a grooming kit. I set down the heavy load as gently as possible, being careful to not scare Hershey. My arms felt like they were going to fall off as I carried all of that.

Once I had Hershey groomed, it was time to start putting on the tack. "Well, here is the hard part." I sighed. I grabbed the saddle pad and gently set it on Hershey's back, making sure to talk to him soothingly. Hershey turned his head to watch me as I smoothed the saddle pad over his back. "You're being a good boy. Now, we have to deal with the saddle." I patted Hershey's neck before picking up the English saddle. The second the saddle made contact with the saddle pad on Hershey's back, he reared up. The cross ties prevented him from rearing too much but it was enough to make the saddle slide off and bring the saddle pad with it.

"Well, that worked." Jake muttered. "Try to keep him steady and I'll tack him up the rest of the way." Jake ordered. I nodded and walked over to Hershey's head. I let him have his head turned so he could watch Jake place the saddle pad onto his back.

"Try to let him inspect the saddle before placing it on him." I suggested. Jake nodded and brought the saddle over to Hershey's head. Hershey sniffed at the saddle as he tried to figure out what it was. Jake then moved to Hershey's side again and placed the leather on his back. I quickly grabbed a hold of Hershey's halter as he tensed up at the new weight on his back. "It's alright boy..." I soothed. Hershey tried rearing up again, causing the saddle to slide off before the girth was fastened. I let out a sigh, "This is never going to work..."

"It will work. We just have to be patient. Although, I don't know how much more patience this saddle can handle." Jake chuckled. I laughed slightly and watched as the saddle was placed upon Hershey's back again. Hershey tensed up and I pulled his head down before he rose up again.

"Relax, buddy. I promise that that mean old piece of leather won't hurt you." I cooed. Jake laughed at me and I shot him a glare. Hershey flicked his ears towards me and watched as Jake fastened the girth. He raised his hind legs in the air and tried to buck the saddle off, attempting to rear when that didn't work. "Relax, Hershey! You're fine!" I whispered with a little bit of panic in my voice. Hershey calmed down after about five minutes of trying to rid himself of the saddle on his back.

"Time for the bridle, and then we are done tacking him up." Jake said. I nodded and grabbed the bridle while Jake slipped the halter around Hershey's neck. I began putting on the bridle, but Hershey wouldn't take the bit in his mouth. I let out a frustrated sigh.

"This is the most trouble you have ever been, Hershey. You'll be fine." I said. Hershey finally let the bit into his mouth after nearly ten minutes of fighting me. Jake just seemed to be amused with the whole entire thing. I fastened the straps on the bridle and grabbed the reins. Jake removed the halter from Hershey's neck and we both stepped back to view our work. "I have to admit, I thought it would take a lot longer than this to tack him up." I laughed.

"I'm going to agree with you there. We only spent about half an hour on tacking him up." Jake chuckled. My eyes went wide at that statement. I thought it had been a lot longer than that!

*Author's Note* We have almost reached our final chapter! It will be posted in about an hour or possibly tomorrow morning. That depends on how long it takes me to write it. Comment what you thought or any grammar errors. Thanks for reading! ~AyakaTheNightfury