I was back outside now equipped with carrots and an aging halter. It was obvious the horse was no longer on my property, so I started off by looking in our neighbor's yard in back of us. Just then a dog started obnoxiously yapping, and shortly after I heard thundering footsteps. The barking was coming from a few houses down, so I began to head that way and there was the horse. Its head was down on the neighbor's lawn yanking up tufts of grass. The horse had heard me approach, and its head instinctively shot up revealing a dangling clump of grass complete with dirt and roots.
I slowly crept up to it murmuring softly while rattling the bag of carrots. The horse kept its ears perked up, which was a good sign instead of having them pinned flat against its head. I was now within a few feet, so I extended my hand out for the horse to sniff. It had accepted me. I fed it the entire bag of carrots and was able to get the halter on while it was munching away. As a fairly experienced rider, I really wanted to hop on and ride it back, but I had no idea if this horse had even been ridden. That would be a stupid idea, especially in the dark. Speaking of dark, where the hell was this horse going to stay for the night.
I thought about possible options as I led the horse back to my house. The garage seemed like the best option at this point. My car shouldn't mind...too much. I had closed the garage door before I left, so it had to be opened - and the horse was not going to like that. As soon as I punched in the code for the garage door to open, the horse balked at the noise and let out a terrified scream. The fun part was going to be actually getting the horse inside.
Before I even attempted, I began rubbing some pressure points on its head to calm it down. My riding instructor had taught me this and it actually seemed to be working. I felt the horse loosen its muscles and lower its head. I knew I shouldn't rush things, but it was going on 12 in the morning. I had to at least try to get the horse in. However, as soon as we neared the entrance to the garage, the horse let out another terrified cry and began darting backwards. It was going to be another long night with no sleep.
The next morning I woke up to the terrified screaming of the horse. I threw on some clothes and ran downstairs. My parents were already in the kitchen arguing over the brightness of the lights. My dad claimed the lights should be dimmed in an effort to save money, but my mom argued the lights needed to be bright so she didn't burn herself.
"Do you know anything about the mule in the garage?" asked my mom.
"It's not a mule. It's a horse. You can't tell by now after all the times you've been to the barn?"
"Well, it looks like a mule to me with its ears pinned back and all. Where did it come from exactly?"
"I honestly have no idea. It's as if someone just dropped it off since there's a trailer down in the street."
"Huh. That's odd. You should probably go out and give it some exercise. Might as well ride it too, and then we can save some money on your riding lessons this week."
My mom knew nothing about horses. You don't just climb aboard an unfamiliar animal especially in brand new surroundings. Not to mention the horse was cooped up all night and probably bursting with energy. But I was gonna go for it anyways. No helmet. No saddle. No bridle. Just me and the horse.
As soon as I opened the door to the garage, the horse spun around and then began to back up against the wall, its nostrils flaring. I had kept the halter on it all night to avoid struggling in the morning, so it was easy to keep hold of the horse as I opened the garage door. When the garage door motor kicked into action, the horse immediately backed up again crashing into the garage wall, which further scared him. It then decided to rush full speed ahead straight into the door that was still opening. I couldn't keep hold of the rope, so the horse was now freely charging down the driveway into the street.
