Leo: Story of a Police Horse

1

 Six dark horses entered the indoor arena, each equipped with reflective kevlar gear. Aaron, a young, lean man, led a large black horse, behind the other five. His horse, Leo, seemed just as excited about the day as Aaron. The arena was big enough to hold a rodeo, it had several holding pens and chutes, as well as an alley. Stadium lights beamed from the rafters, and large fans blared from every corner. It was stunning. The footing was fine grained sand, and was four inches deep. It smelled of sweet hay and cedar wood chips. Aaron had brought Leo to this arena many times before the cycle was to start, in order to get him comfortable with the setting, so he was thrilled to be back in this astounding facility.

As the horses lined up in the middle Aaron was able to study each of the horses. They were all black in color and draft breeds, perfect for a police selection. Most had some white markings, some had a star, or a blaze and socks, or like Leo with a stripe and socks. Some however, were completely black. Each rider stood on their horses' left side, reins in hand. They each had a paper identifier pinned onto their backs. Aarons tag said,

MEIER, AARON

MPD #874

LEO

Aaron looked at the names of all the other horses. There was Pal, Salvador, Spartan, Harlee, and Chesney. They all stood at attention, well trained already.

The trainer, Cheryl Anderson, a gruff middle-aged woman, walked into the arena and immediately eyed up Leo, she studied his every feature with the most disgusted countenance. Aaron clenched his fists around the leather reins, and bit his lip. In the corner of his eye he saw other handlers shift their weight uncomfortably. Eventually the trainer moved on and glanced over the other horses, only to come back to Leo and stare at him more. When she finally looked up from Leo's hooves and made eye contact with Aaron she said in a stern tone,

"What is this? A joke? Jokes will not be tolerated in this class, I'd like you to step out...uh..." She walked around Aaron and bent awkwardly to the side to see his tag. "...Meier? Ah, you're the new graduate rookie with that horse I heard about," She stopped and considered something for a very long, awkward moment. Aaron swallowed hard as Leo whinnied a loud shrill, the trainer jolted as if offended. "You should never allow such behavior. It not only shows he is distracted and not respectful of you, it also distracts the other horses," at that moment another horse, Pal, returned with a friendly whiny. 'See?" She groaned.

"I will work with him on that," Aaron said.

"You have better Meier," She grunted. "Now, mount up. I want you all to start on the left lead canter around the arena. Stay on the rail, pass on the inside only," Then she blew a whistle so loud it made Aaron flinch. Leo jumped back, ears pricked, nostrils flaring, as did a few other horses. The trainer raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips, leaning on one hip in a skeptical fashion. Their handlers regained their attention and mounted. Leo calmed down as well as the others and was soon loping around the arena with a perfectly rhythmic gate. Aaron guided him around the arena, staying clear of the other horses so as not to distract them. Anderson stood at the center of the arena looking over each horse carefully. She continued to watch Leo and Aaron with a negative interest. Her countenance was tough and she wore a black felt stetson, large spurs clanged at her heels. She didn't seem like someone Aaron would want to mess with. He most definitely didn't want her riding his soft hearted horse.

C'mon boy. She's nothing to worry about. Aaron thought. Just do what we usually do and get this over with, so we can move on. Leo snorted as if he read Aarons mind and understood. Anderson called out to make the diagonal and run the right lead, then she blew her whistle even louder than before. Salvador crow-hopped, and the coach blew it louder yet,