Defeating the Wind

Chapter Ten

So, I've decided to start writing this again. I felt incredibly bad because a lot of people like this, and I stopped it..due..to uhm...laziness :P SOOOOO. HERE'S CHAPTER TEN

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"Come on Little Fai," Patrick cooed. It was around two days after the first attempt at lunging. Due to the assignment that Patrick had, he needed to move quick with this training. Therefore, today, he was going to attempt and get on the skittish blind horse without lunging first, therefore having her fully skittish at first. 

Faith stuck out her nose, gently poking Patrick's shoulder, taking a few reluctant steps from her stall. 

"Good girl!" Patrick praised quickly, rubbing a spot behind her ear that he had found out almost immediately that she liked. Lightly, he tugged on the lead line again. "Come on Little Girl. Let's get this over with."

Flicking out her hooves delicately, the little filly pranced out into the aisle of the barn, her newly shod hooves clinking against the smooth concrete. She pushed her nose in the general direction that she smelled Patrick, seeking more attention from his gentle hands.

Chuckling, Patrick reached out and stroked behind her ears for a few minutes, before apurtedly pulling his hand away, tugging her lead toward the outside. "Come on girl, let's go do this."

For no reason in particular, Faith was excited. It was something stirring inside her broken heart that was slowly starting to mend. From the kindess of Patrick, to even the comfortable box she was being kept in, everything seemed to slowly be getting better in her life. Hawk was getting better, being able to hobbled farther everyday(with the help of Patrick's gentle care of course.) Cobalt was slowly starting to tear away from his bronco ways, and now allowed Patrick, and sometimes even Dale to lead him around the courtyard outside of the main house.

Leading her out into the shining sun, Patrick quickly looped her leadline around a post outside, reaching for the tack that he had laid out earlier for use now. Placing everything onto her back, he made sure all buckles and rings where snug and secure, before snatching up the thin leather bridle, and moving for her head.

Rubbing her cheek gently, Patrick slowly slid his thumb for the corner of her mouth, rubbing it slowly, before inserting it in the inside of her cheek, opening her mouth a bit, popping the bit in quickly before she could protest. 

Lipping at the cold metal bar, Faith slowly rolled it around her tongue, remembering the feeling from the past few days. She knew what came next. Patrick would attach a little line to the end of her halter, and make her go in circles around the edge of this thing made of bars(or atleast that's what they felt and sounded like). Then he would take off her halter, attach something else to the rings on the side of the metal bar in her mouth, and get on her back. It had been the same thing for three days now.

Although this time, she felt the tiny bit of extra weight being lowered from her back, before the small squared leather things where hanging softly from her sides. Most of Patrick's weight supported in one of the stirrups, and he hoisted himself up onto the horse, gently placing his back down on the horse, sitting tall. Once he did, however, there was an instant sharp digging in Faith's side, being from a small bur that had made it's way under her saddle pad.

Faith snorted in some discomfort, shaking her head to try to get the reins from his grasp and pawing fiercly at the ground, not knowing where she was, being afraid to take any steps forward in terror that she would run into something, or someone.

"Calm down there Little Girl," Patrick soothed, running a soft hand down her neck. lightly trailing his finger tips on her fur. "Come on, it's nothing different. Just everything is backwards. I'll lunge you after this, okay?"