WANTED

Chapter Six

     Nickolas entered the round pen off the back of the barn. The solid black colt in the pen kicked up dust and threw his head when the gate slammed. He needed to get his emotions in check, or the colt would have him eating dust. The little Roan knew how to read him and knew how to manipulate his emotions.
  Working his horses always helped Nickolas process. It forced him to quiet his mind and focus on the task at hand. If anything could distract him from Elizabeth, it'd be this crafty little two year old. He approached the horse in a wide arch, focusing all of his attention on the colts' hind quarters. Interpreting the pressure, the horse turned to face him, and when Nickolas released pressure and looked away, the colt approached. "Good boy." He said in a deep, soothing tone. Nickolas waited for the colt to make contact. He didn't touch, but he breathed heavily on Nickolas' sleeve. When Nickolas took a step back, the colt took two steps forward and put his nose on Nickolas' elbow. Now, with permission to touch, Nickolas gently raised his gaze to the colts neck, followed by his hand. He gave the horse a gentle pat. "You're going to need a name, you know." The colt let out a wet snort and took off like a bullet. "You wanna run, let's run." Nickolas jogged a small circle, keeping pressure behind the colt without having to keep pace. After several minutes, he stopped jogging in a circle, waited for the colt to pass, and  began walking toward the spot where the colt had just been. Feeling the shift in pressure, the colt slowed to a trot, with Nickolas now in front of him. Nickolas took several steps backward to the center of the round pen, careful to direct his focus to the ground and not the horse. The colt approached, grateful for the release, and Nickolas followed the pattern again, allowing the horse to 'catch' him before reaching out to rub his neck.
       Playing catch with his horses was one of Nickolas' favorite parts of training. He enjoyed watching the horses puzzle through the game and try to find workarounds. He especially enjoyed the results of the game. He didn't have to chase his horses across fields all day, an intent look on the hindquarters, and his horses would turn around and catch him.
    "I need some advice little man." He spoke softly, rubbing the colts' neck and shoulders. "You see, there's this beautiful filly, something happened to her, something bad. She's afraid. I want to help her, but I don't know how." The colt snorted and shook his thick black mane. Nickolas continued, rubbing the colts' belly and scratching under his girth. "What do I do, huh bud? How do I make her see me as a partner? Right now, she thinks I'm a preditor, and she's acting like prey. You, you're kinda on the fence, you almost trust me," Nickolas reached to rub the colts' hindquarters, the colt flipped around and bolted. "But not quite." He finished ironically and got back to the game.