Midnight

A new job

      Today I got a new job at my home. I wanted to help abused horses. So if anyone ever adopted an abused horse they could come here and I would train it. Today I was going to get my first customer. I ate breakfast and stuck the horses outside. A few minutes later a trailer arrived. It stopped at an empty pasture and when the man opened the door the afraid horse ran out. She was a pretty bay mare. She had cuts and scrapes all over her. The owner was a young woman, she looked about 20 years old.

"This is Dream, She was abused as a foal. I want her to have a good life with me." She said

"I will be sure to get her trained," I responded

      The woman left me with the mare and drove off. I carefully reached my hand out to the mare. She stared at it and ran to the other end. I could tell she was afraid. I set a tub of oats in the pasture. It looked as if she had not been fed much in a long time. When I left she stepped toward the oats and ate it, looking around for me as she ate. I let the mare roam around the pasture for a few days till she was used to the place. After she was used to it I gave her the tub of oats for the day and read to her just outside the pasture. She seemed to like that.

      One day the mare lay down on the other side of the fence while I read to her. I reached my hand out to her, she sniffed it.

"There's a good girl," I whispered

      When she was used to me outside the pasture I stepped inside and read to her. She stayed a bit far from me but at least I was inside. This continued for days until she got the courage to lay beside me. She was getting very close to me. One day I went out to her pasture and walked over to her back. I thought she was ready for riding. I put my hands on her back. She ate her grain happily.  Then I lifted myself from the fence to her back. I felt her get tense. I scratched her withers.

"It's okay girl. I won't hurt you." I said as I handed her a carrot

    She took the carrot and allowed me to sit there on her back. I sat there on her back for about an hour.

      The next day I took a bareback pad out and I rode around the farm with her. She seemed to like it here. I let her have a break day the next day and then I brang out a saddle, saddle pad and a bridle. She was fine with the saddle pad. But when I put the saddle on she sprinted to the other end of the pasture. I brang Midnight and tacked him up to show her it would not hurt her. When I put the saddle on her she tensed but allowed me to set it on. I gave her a carrot after the saddle was on. Today I was going to try with a bitless bridle, but the next day I would ride with a normal bridle. I put on the bridle and mounted. Day after day I got her ready with all the tack.  By the end of three months, she and I jumped together.

      Th next day her owner came back for her. She smiled at how much calmer Dream was. The woman paid me the money and loaded Dream into the trailer. Dream turned away. I realized I had not done the trailer. I led Midnight in to show her, then I put a carrot inside. She stared at Midnight, he was calm in the trailer. When I took Midnight back to his pasture Dream calmly went inside the trailer. The woman smiled.

"Thank you." She said

"No problem, I love to help out horses to have a better life," I said

    She then drove away with her "New" horse. Dream was not really new but she seemed like a new horse with her being calm. I turned to Midnight.

"Well Midnight, I say we had a successful first customer," I said

      Midnight whinnied and I put them all back in their stalls. This had been a good first horse to train.