New Beginnings at Century Farms 2: The Rescue Horse Camp

Chapter 16

Mel's POV

Early on Friday morning, I was leading two thoroughbreds into their new stalls. Sarah Cole was nice enough, and I was getting $1000 per month for training them!

First I led in Chester, he was all bay with no markings, and then I led in Pippa, a flea bitten grey mare who was 17 hands tall! Today I won't work them, I will let them get used to their new homes.

Once they were settled in their stalls, I decided to watch some of the lessons. I could tell that all of the horses and campers have grown since camp started. Week one has been great so far! Just four more to go....

I watched as Cadee and Liv were working on racking up Knight and Tye. Tye was doing good, but Knight wasn't liking it at all. But Cadee was handling him well. It was obvious that Kngight trusted her, because after a lot of showing and convincing, Cadee was able to get the scary English saddle on his back. The black fresian looked so pretty with a crisp white saddle pad and a dark black saddle on his back. It was like his armor.

Tye and Liv really had a bond, too. He was fully tacked up, and Liv was going to lunge him in his tack. She led him to the indoor round pen, and began to have him walk in a circle around her. My focus went back to Cadee, and soon enough, Knight was all tacked up. Cadee was so proud of him, I could tell. She gave him a big hug, and he leaned into her touch. It was a sweet sight, and it made me think of Cowboy. I miss him SOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!! I really hope his surgery went well. They haven't contacted us yet, and I'm worried. The police caught the person who hurt Cowboy and left the note. It was his old owner, and he was also the one who lit the barn on fire. The police never caught him in the first place because he abandoned Cowboy. But he was finally caught, and he was sentenced life in prison. I was pretty happy. But my happiness disappeared whenever I thought of Cowboy.

I tried to distract myself by cleaning every stall in the barns, which took for-ev-er! Then I groomed all of the minis and worked with them. Next I took Angel out on a trail ride, and I gave Rain and Spirit much needed baths. Finally, as the sun started to set, I first took Pippa out for a walk around the barn, and after her I led Chester around. They were both so sweet! Chester has a lot of muscle, and so does Pippa! Pippa is really mellow, it was like leading a baby lamb around. Chester was a lot more high strung, but he started to relax as we kept walking. I know working with the two will definitely keep me from worrying about Cowboy.

That night I snuggled under the covers of the cot I was sleeping on. I've been sleeping with the campers, and I've become good friends with Liv and Anna. Heather is bringing Cloud over for a few days next week, and she's going to sleep over too! I can't wait for her and Cloud to come over and help out. It's going to be great!

*~*~*

The next morning I got up at 4:30 so I could ride Chester and Pippa. When I was dressed in red riding pants, a black Blazing Saddles 4-H shirt, and a light sweatshirt on, I headed outside and started to get Chester ready for a morning training session.

I took a long time just making sure he was comfortable with the tack. They both have been trained to be ridden in regular English tack, so it would be easier to work with them. After he was ready, I led him to the outdoor arena and mounted him. I walked him for a long time, getting a feeling for how he handled. He was very sensitive to the bit and reins, and he immediately halted when I used the slightest pressure of the reins, which was surprising. Usually ex-racehorses would go faster at the pressure of the reins since that was what they were trained to do, but Chester didn't like that. Maybe that's why he wasn't meant to be a racehorse.

After he had a good warm up, I asked him for a trot and he jolted forward into a canter. Oops, I should've seen that coming. I easily got him back into a walk, then asked him again. This time he went into a smooth trot, and his long black legs took us around the arena quickly. I trotted him in lots of circles and across the diagonals, and decided to end with that for the first day. I cooled him out and then put him back in his stall. It wasn't time for breakfast yet, so he would just have to wait. I grabbed Pippa's halter off of the hook on her stall door and haltered her. She was so sweet! I led her to a pair of cross ties and got her ready, doing the same thing that I did with Chester.

When she was ready, I took her to the outdoor arena and mounted her, using the mounting block. She was so tall! I petted her flea bitten grey neck and asked for a walk. She was very slow and easy going. She didn't have the need for speed, and she just ambled along the rail at an easy walk. Wow, she was WAY different than I thought she would be! When I asked her for a trot she went into a smooth easy trot. I know that these horses have already had a few months of training, but it's like Pippa was never trained to be a racehorse! She was very obedient, and she was slow and smooth. She could make a great lesson horse for beginners some day. But I do have to work with her on eventing since that's what Sarah wants.

Since Pippa is being good, it's probably okay to canter her. I trotted her in a circle, then sat to her trot and asked for a canter. Instantly she went into a smooth canter, and we were going so fast! Well, not really actually. She wasn't going fast, but it felt fast because her long legs took is around the arena quickly. After cantering her in both directions, some more trotting, and a nice cool down, I led Pippa back into the barn and untacked her. When all of her tack was back in the tack room, I took her pink curry comb and brushed all of her sweaty spots. On her chest, where the girth was, and by her flank I curried her, then I used a softer brush to get any dust or dirt off of her. I really like her color, it's so pretty! When I was finished, I gave her a peppermint and put her back in her stall.

It was 6:50, so I decided to start my chores. By 7:00, I had finished half of my stalls and all of the campers were ready to work. For another hour and a half, we did barn chores and put horses in their fields. Today, we put Knight and Tye in their own grassy paddocks, and the second Knight was free, he galloped around and kicked his legs up. When Tye was free, he rolled and then took huge mouthfuls of grass. It was a nice thing to see, two scarred horses who were finally being helped. I glanced over at another field that Chester and Pippa were in, and I smiled because they were so pretty. All of the horses at Century Farms were happy here, and I couldn't be more happy for them either. This was my home, the place where horses were healed and miracles happen. Century Farms.

A/N: hi guys! Thx for reading this chapter it was kinda a filler and I promise that things will start picking up. Please keep commenting and voting!! Thx bye!