Shining Star ( A Horse Story )

Chapter One ~ Step It Up

The chestnut colt galloped, his mane tossing as he did so. His ears flattened and he reared in the median of the pasture, tossing his head and tail before breaking into a lope, his mane swirling up off his placid, muscular neck. His muscles contracted and then relaxed as he did this, and he soon slowed from a lope to a trot and then a walk, his head bobbing swiftly for balance. His walk was smooth and steady but full of speed and agility, his short tail swishing across his abdomen to flick flies from it. He was a rather tall yearling, already full of speed, agility, and even the mind of an intelligent racehorse. A whistle sounded nearby, and he turned his head in the direction of the noise. Ears pricked and nostrils flared, the yearling fixed his captivating, deep chocolate brown eyes on the whistler, a delighted whinny escaping him. Chest heaving once more, the colt known as Ziconic took off at a lope, and once his name was called, it turned into a strong gallop toward the fence. 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4. The sound of his hooves beating strongly on the grassy terrain. Soon enough, he halted at the fence, nickering a greeting to the girl who called his name. Not the girl, his girl.

***

"Good boy!" Audrey said with a smile, sliding her hand beneath the fence. It held an apple flat on its palm, and the colt lipped it up gratefully. She walked to the gate of the pasture, and once Cozmic saw her as well, he galloped over, whinnying nonstop. A laugh erupted from the owner of the horses as she opened the gate, slipping into the pasture and holding out yet another apple for Cozmic. "Good boy, Coz," she said softly, rubbing his muzzle. His breath billowed through the crisp, spring morning air, sending warmth over Audrey's fingers. She pressed her lips gently to the bay's forehead before undoing the lime green, nylon halter for Ziconic. Another whinny sounded from the other pasture next to them, and out of the trees came Zenyatta, who was the mother of the two colts.

The bay mare galloped, her hooves propelling her forth. She accelerated her pace, swiftly making her way through the grassy field toward not only her foals, but her rider's darling daughter. Zenyatta halted at the fence, nickering as the scent of an apple seeped into her nostrils. Soon the scent was beneath her, out of sight, and she lipped it up, licking the hand gently to get the juices that had dribbled onto it. The racehorse nickered her thanks, nudging the hand and soon stomping at a fly on her abdomen.

With a sigh, Audrey slipped the halter over Ziconic's nose, pulling it up and threading the green nylon through the gold loop. She smiled and clucked to him, lifting the lead rope and leading him towards the gate. She opened it and sent him through it, closing it behind him to prevent Cozmic from trotting after his brother. The brown haired female smirked, running her fingers over the bay colt's muzzle. "Nice try, Coz."

Cozmic reared in frustration as Audrey slipped out of the pasture, shutting the gate behind her quickly. He tossed his mane and arched his neck, snorting and stomping a white hoof with a whinny of displeasure as if he were protesting to his brother leaving him. 

Audrey chuckled and led Ziconic over to the indoor arena to get started.

***

The colt before Audrey's eyes reared in frustration as the "carrot stick" swung towards him, the rope hitting him gently on the rump. He then turned, his eyes wide but softening when they met Audrey's, and he began to trot cautiously. It was a slow jog, but it soon turned into his speedy yet smooth trot after he got comfortable.

"Lope!" Audrey said, kissing her lips and lifting the lead rope up. He snorted and paused, thinking before turning when she swung the rope and lunging forth into a lope. Audrey smiled. They'd already gone the other direction, so the left lead seemed to be his bad side. She pulled the lead rope to her belly button, stepping with her right foot to the side and swinging the rope at his hindquarters when he didn't cross over. 

He hid his tail from her by crossing his left leg over his right, grunting as he disengaged his hind end away from Audrey. He gazed evenly at her with his captivating brown eyes, wondering what she'd do next.

Early in the chestnut colt's life, Audrey had done other ground work with him. Disengaging, desensitizing, turns on the hindquarters, turns on the forehand... He was a quick learner. Even bending and flexing for softness worked with him. All she had to do now was lift up the lead rope with a finger, and he'd bend his head all the way back to touch his shoulder or Audrey's arm.

Audrey pulled two treats from her jean pockets, laying them flat on her palm and walking up to Ziconic. She placed it beneath his muzzle, and he breathed in the smell before lapping them up gratefully. He nickered, sniffing at her pockets for more, but she shooed him away from them with a flick of her hands, which meant, "get out of my space please".

Audrey yawned and pulled Ziconic into her, leaning into his chest and wrapping her arms around his neck. She rubbed his withers, knowing they would end up being fine and tall. "Good boy," she said softly, pulling away from his muscular chest and kissing his forehead. She clucked and jiggled the rope, jogging off to the arena's gate. "Today was a good day, don't you think?"

Ziconic nickered an agreement and the girl smiled, opening the gate and sending him through it. She closed it behind her, removing her helmet and tossing it into the bucket of helmets on the left side of the gate inside the arena. The brown haired girl led her horse down to the pasture and opened the gate. An excited Cozmic came galloping full speed, whinnying madly and slamming his hind hooves down to stop himself beside Ziconic. Audrey laughed and rubbed her hand along the bay's forehead marked with a white star, smiling as she shut the gate quickly behind her. "Don't worry boys, you'll be in the paddock after I go and eat lunch. It's supposed to rain tonight, and I don't want you guys getting all gnarly and muddy!" She pulled off Ziconic's halter and watched as the brothers bolted away, bucking in the air and snorting playfully. With a chuckle, she turned and unlatched the gate, slipping through it and shutting it behind her. For a while, Audrey watched the colts run together, racing along the fence. And then it seemed like Zenyatta joined in on the other side, galloping swiftly alongside her boys and whinnying with delight as she beat them to the other side of the pasture. Ziconic left his mother and brother to play together over the fence, trotting to the center of the pasture and sniffing around. He pawed at the grass and then dropped onto his knees gently, rolling with a grunt of pleasure. Audrey smiled and turned, jogging with the halter off to the house. Looking back once more, she thought, Way to step it up in training, Z. I know you'll be a great racehorse, and I'll be proud of you.

***

Gah, finally. It's done x3

I really enjoyed writing this. It was super fun, and it took a lot of time for me to get it right. I mean, seriously. LOL, I've been working on this for almost a week and I've started over like 6 times. I'm actually proud of it, but whatever. Hope you guys like it, and I'll definitely be continuing it! 

PLEASE.

Do NOT copy this. I will report it as plagiarism and I will have to make the whole story private by unpublishing it until the problem is resolved. Please don't make me do that to my readers! You need my permission to create something similar to it, and please don't steal the human characters. Remember, I did NOT come up with the horses, they are real. I decided to use them in my story, and I actually enjoy it!

Could I get a shout out, maybe?

Thanks for reading!

~ Unforgotten Memory ~