New Beginnings at Century Farms 2: The Rescue Horse Camp

Chapter 18

Liv's POV

I had Skittles, a sweet black and white paint mini. It was kind of ironic that I used to ride a horse named Skittles, and now I'm with another horse named Skittles. Unlike the Skittles I used to ride, this Skittles looked just right for the name. "Hi boy," I said, and he walked right up to me. "Aw, you're a sweet boy aren't you? I'm sure you'll get a home at the adoption fair! Who wouldn't want you? I want you!" I said. I've never really worked with minis ever, so it's really fun that I get to. This camp is great! I get to work with rescues, experience what it's like owning your own horse, and work with minis and all kinds of different horses! I'm def coming back next summer. It's gonna be hard saying goodbye to Tye. Maybe I can convince my parents to adopt him for me......

I led Skittles to a pair of cross ties. I had 15 minutes till I had to be in the arena, so I'll give Skittles a quick groom. I saw the other girls were grooming their minis, too. I went into the tack room and got Skittles' brush box, then went back to him and gave him a good brushing. I got grass and mud stains out of his coat, and he looked perfect by the time I finished. I unclipped him and led him to the outdoor arena.

In the arena, all the girls had sweet little minis with them. Oooh I love minis! They are so cute! I especially liked the palomino one named Scout, he reminded me of my dog because he's a golden retriever and his name is Scout! Mrs. Jones started to talk so I listened.

"All of you know that camp is almost half way over. I am disappointed but that just means horses getting adopted. But since the adoption fair is NOT just for the big horses, we need to work with the minis so they can get adopted too. With our minis, we are going to learn about them, care for them like you do for your own horse, lucky you! Now you get two horses! You will also have to be able to teach your mini a trick by the time of the adoption fair. It helps the minis especially if they can do something funny, cute, or clever to get adopted. I will help you teach your horses tricks, and so will Julie, Mel, Katie, and one of our other regular volunteers Heather. Today, we are going to do a little bit of showmanship just so you can get a feel of how they handle. I must warn you all now, you will have to care and work with both of your horses everyday, if you feel that you cannot you are welcome to not take on a mini. Is there anybody who feels they are only able to care for one horse?" Nobody answered. We were all ready. "Good. I'm glad that you all want to care for a mini too. Now, let's get to work!" And with that, we had another tough lesson. Mrs. Jones knows how to make a lesson tough, even if it's working with minis on showmanship.

An hour later, after a lesson that was very hard, I led a tired Skittles back to the barn and decided to give him a bath to cool down. It's about 85 degrees here, just another normal summer day in North Carolina. I walked into the cool barn that had tons of fans mounted everywhere, and headed for the wash stall. There were 2 wash stalls, and I saw that Mel had Chester in one of them. "Hey Mel," I said. "Hi! How was your lesson with Skittles?"she asked. "It was tough, it's harder for me to work from the ground than on a horse's back. Is that weird?" I asked. Mel laughed and then said,"It can be tough to begin with since it's a lot different from riding, but it's very beneficial." "Yeah, I've learned so much from this lesson. I'm just gonna give Skittles a rinse so that he cooks down." "That's a good idea, I did the same with Chester, and I just finished. I'll see ya later Liv," Mel said, then led Chester to his stall.

I took the hose and turned the water on a cooling-warmish temperature, then let the water stream onto Skittles' back. His neck hung down and he sighed. Aw, he liked it! I continued to let the nice water run down his back, haunches, chest, and legs. When he had had a good rinse, I turned the hose off and scraped the water off of him. When he was mostly dry, I stuck him back in his stall and opened his door to his paddock. He went outside and nibbled on a little bunch of grass. I watched him for a minute thinking how lucky he was to be here, and how all of the horses here were so lucky and happy. I felt bad for the other horses who are hurt that aren't here, and hoped that they would be rescued soon too. At that moment I knew that any of the horses that didn't get adopted at the end of the summer would always have another chance and would always have a home here, too. It was a good feeling to know that. It comforted me more than any type of meditation or relaxation technique could ever do, not that I needed one of those though!

A/N: hi guys I hope you liked this chapter and that you all like the minis in it. Please give me feedback I want to make this story better! Please keep reading, commenting and voting thank you!!!! I also want to say how happy and thankful I am that The Rescue Horse Camp has over 500 views!!!! Let's keep going!!!