Paradise Traders Ranch

~ 3 ~ Nope, Not Today

~Acel~

I fear that I have made the biggest mistake of my life, and I have made quite a bit of mistakes. This stallion, this horse, he is something else. I thought when my instincts pushed me to buy him it was because he was going to be a great horse. In reality he is not a great horse, he is a selfish brute who wishes to get his way.

So far I have heard five accounts of water being dumped on heads, four accounts of the lynx jumping up and roaring, three accounts of nipping, two accounts of a bra being thrown in someone's face (using a bra as a weapon, ridiculous I know), and one account of the stallion actually rearing up. Making that fifteen different times he has acted up in the past week. The only good thing about this is that it probably means that this feisty horse has gotten used to the swaying of the ship.

Luckily for me I am in calm waters and there is no storm anywhere near us. That means I can get my hands on that little beast and let him get all of this energy out. We all were sick of this attitude of his and it was high time he was taught some manners.

"Curtiss, watch the ship," I instructed as I made my way towards the lower deck.

He looked over at me lazily smirking. "Finally gonna teach that beast some manners eh?" He eyed me before he nodded to himself. "I'll watch your goddamn ship. Have fun with that brute of a horse ye bought!" He let out a throaty laugh which I could still hear as I reached the lower deck.

I walked straight to the beast's stall making sure that no buckets were lying about. In fact no one ever visited his stall at this time, so he surely was unprepared. I was had assumed correctly because as soon as we made eye contact the stallion looked surprised – and unprepared.

I felt a smirk creep up on my face. This horse truly thought that he had bested us, and knew our routine! Oh well there was a new routine to be had anyways. Grabbing the orange flat halter I made my way straight for his stall. Not slowing or even missing a beat. This stallion was looking for some hesitation something to get under my skin. I knew he was. I have dealt with horses of his kind before.

"Good morning Charmer, you ready to let out all of that energy?" I greeted sliding the halter onto him quite easily. At least when it came to haltering and leading him, he was quite the well-behaved gentleman. I lead him toward the arena and straight to a corner. Rumor had it was that he was trained in basic groundwork. I was curious to see if that rumor was true.

To start off I was curious of his lunging ability, so I cued him to go and immediately was met with a canter That was not a good sign, so I reeled him back in to face me. I tried for a quieter start. Instead he gave me pinned ears, a tiny rear then cantering again. Every time I would reel him back in and ask for a quiet start. I switched off which way he should start, but each time he gave me trouble. I did my best not to show my frustration. This stallion did know how to lunge. Whether he wanted to do it the nice way was a matter of opinion.

I let out a long sigh. This was frustrating. I was stuck. No idea on how to handle the situation, but if he kept on wanting to run then why not let him? This was against most of my training, but if I tired him out he might be more willing. So I asked him once again to go this time he answered with a full on buck before heading straight into a canter. This horse is going to lead to my demise.

I worked several hours with him to no luck. He was still feisty as ever. We were in these seas for awhile so I had tomorrow, and the next several days. Still enough time to turn him around right? I hoped so as I removed the rope from the halter and he took off running. I could tell from the look in his eyes that he was saying, "Looks like you lost."

"This just the beginning brat," I muttered heading back up to work on getting more customers. I was not done with this horse. I WILL get to him. Somehow.....