MSRA ↠ Back Again

26 ↠ zealous

- few weeks later -

"We're making plans to have him get shipped up at the end of the month," Mom said through the office phone sitting on Dr. Sharon's desk. "Will that be enough of a recovery time, or will he need longer?"

"That'll be good," she said. "I will have all of his legs wrapped well and he'll need to get pain meds every so often, but I'll let the driver know once he arrives."

"Sounds perfect," Mom agreed. "Thank you so much for all your help, Dr. Sharon."

"Of course," she smiled and nodded. "Kat here has been a huge help as well."

We ended the phone call after our good-byes and I turned to Dr. Sharon.

"Seriously," I said to her. "You have make this so much easier for me, and I really appreciate it. I've also learned so much about treating this and how to handle the situation. Thank you, really."

"Kat, you're such a pleasant person to work with," she smiled at me. "I've been meaning to ask, what are your plans after high school? I know you still have another year but have you put any thought into it?"

"Not really," I admitted. "I know I want to go to college and go into a horse-related field, but I haven't really decided what."

"I want to offer you an internship with me next school year," she said. "It'll give you a taste into the vet, vet tech, equine rehab, and equine nutrition fields. You seem to really like being out here and learning about what I do."

I was speechless. "Wh- Really?" I asked, completely in awe. "Wow, I would absolutely love that!"

"I'm glad," she laughed. "I only offer two internship spots per year, and only to seniors. I'm not technically not supposed to offer them until the summer, but I think you'll be perfect for it."

"Dr. Sharon, I don't know how to thank you for this," I gasped.

"Don't," she said. "You deserve it. Anyways, I'll send you the information packet in the summer, you'll need to buy a few things, but it won't amount to more than two hundred dollars worth of stuff."

"This is amazing," I said, putting my hands up to my face. "I'm beyond excited. Again, thank you, Dr. Sharon!"

-

"That's amazing, babe," Noah kissed the top of my head. Since it was Saturday we had a ton of free time, so we were sitting on the couch together relaxing. We had to leave in a few minutes so Noah could go ride Comet again, so I told him about Dr. Sharon's internship opportunity.

"I haven't really been thinking about what I want to do after high school, but this sets me up perfectly," I smiled, taking his hand in mine. "What are your plans for after we graduate?"

"College, definitely," he said. "But I'm thinking about taking a gap year and working at a barn somewhere to get some real-life experience. Then finding a college and studying... whatever I find interesting I guess."

"You'll figure it out," I nodded, playing with his fingers. "I think you'll be fine."

He gave a light chuckle. "I love you, Kat."

"I love you more, Noah," I said as I looked up at him. He leaned down and gently kissed me. "Now, lets go get you on a horse."

I got up from the coach and helped Noah up as well. We both headed towards the door and out to the barn. We just talked and held hands on the way there until Noah left to go get Comet.

"Kat!" a voice said from out of a stall. I poked my head in and saw Anne putting hay in one of the empty stalls. "Just the person I want to see!"

"Hey Anne, what's up?" I asked, moving out of the doorway so she could get out. She handed me a tub of grain to put in the stall.

"I have some great news," she beamed, taking the bin from me after I had dumped it. "So I know you aren't really clicking with Xena, which is totally okay. But I think I found you a new friend that you'll love."

"Anne, you didn't have to do that, really," I said, following her to the office in the back of the barn. "I could have finished the year out with her."

"Kat," she paused, turning to me. "Here at Maple Stream, we're all about growth and development as a rider, as I'm sure you know. If you don't have a horse that you're compatible with, you aren't going to improve."

I just stared at her.

"Kat," she repeated. "At least give him a chance. I know you'll like him."

"Fine," I smiled at her. "So, tell me about this new horse."

-

"You're kidding me, right?" I asked, looking at the horse standing in front of me. "How much was he?"

"Underwhelmed, Whitmore?" Anne jokingly laughed. "Don't worry, we didn't pay full price for him. I don't think the seller knew how much he was worth."

I took a step closer to the horse that had just hopped off the trailer. He was a huge dappled grey warmblood gelding. He was still pretty dark, so I'm guessing he's on the younger side. He had a bit of a scraggly mane and was lacking a bit of top line, but overall, he looked like a strong, sturdy horse build for jumping and running.

"His name's Finnish Line, also known as Finn," Anne explained. "He's an eight year old Dutch warmblood gelding who was started and trained by a woman in Lexington, but she left him with her father when she moved to Germany in September. He sold him to us last week, but we didn't get him until a few days ago. I think he'll be perfect for you to use."

"Wow," I said softly, reaching forward to let him sniff my hand. "Hey, Finn. What's up?"

He gently sniffed me before trying to nibble me for treats. "He's an absolute love bug, but a bit more challenging under saddle. He was trained mostly in show jumping, but has been on the cross country course a few times and absolutely crushed it, according to his old owner."

"He's cute," I said as I pat his grey and white neck.

"So, what do you say?" Anne asked. "Want to take him for a ride?"

Within twenty minutes, Anne and I had this horse tacked up in my gear. The only thing that didn't fit was my saddle, which was a tiny bit too wide, but it was easily fixed with a build up half pad.

"Alright, let's go," Anne said, leading the way towards one of the arenas. I led Finn up, petting him on the way over so he began trusting me. Once we got there, I mounted and starting walking him around.

He was big, about eighteen hands. She had a long stride but it was comfortable. When we started trotting, it took me a minute to get used to the bounciness, but once I did, it was fun to ride.

"Alright, let's try his canter," Anne called after we were all warmed up. I sat and pushed him into a canter. He was good for about two strides until he threw his head down and started crow hopping. I pulled his head back up, pushed him forward, and made him canter. Once the initial excitement of cantering was over, Finn was good. We cantered both directions with a few crow hops here and there, but overall he was good.

Anne then set up a cross rail, only about eighteen inches tall.

"I just want to see how he'll react over fences," she said. "When you're ready, go ahead over it."

I gathered myself together and brought Finn over the jump. He didn't hesitate at all before or over it, but once he landed, he threw a few good bucks.

"He's excited," I laughed, sitting deep and bringing him back down to a walk. "And I think he'll be perfect."