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Post by ayla on Sept 2, 2012 5:46:13 GMT -8
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Fall was upon Hollow Aspen, and Kayla realized that today might be the last day to give Champ a bath without obsessive cooler-ing. At almost fifteen degrees (ugh, Kayla still had to think about the Celsius/Fahrenheit conversion), if she used warm water, Champ would be perfectly fine. She finished her morning classes and headed down to the barns during her free afternoon. She grabbed Champ's halter off his stall door and entered the small space. Kayla slipped the leather over his head and led him out into the aisle, turning toward the wash stalls. The black gelding followed her willingly, and all would have been fine, except for the sounds of his hooves on the concrete. Metal shoes made a very distinct noise, and there should have been a clear click-click-click-click. Champ did not make that sound. He was missing a shoe. "You did not," Kayla said through her teeth. She had watched the farrier tighten the nails. Now not only did she have to give a bath, she had to put a shoe back on, something she'd only done a few times. No reason to call the farrier for something she could hopefully do herself. Kayla led Champ to the washrack and crosstied him before walking back to his stall to find the missing shoe. It was half-under the edge of a mat that had slipped up. Kayla pushed it back down and made sure that it wouldn't happen again, then retrieved the shoe and headed back to the wash rack. She regarded the gelding for a few moments. Bath first or shoe first STAFF POSITIONS |
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Post by countrycowgirl on Sept 2, 2012 8:29:12 GMT -8
The sound of barefoot hooves on concrete echoed down the aisle toward Kayla and her horse. A red sorrel gelding with a flaxen mane and tail made his way from the stall, to the wash rack. He whinnied with excitement to see another horse out of its stall, sending his whole body into a light tremble of anticipation. The gelding shook his blond mane and came right over like a large puppy-dog looking for attention. "Rustler!" A blond girl with worried gray eyes rushed over. "How do you keep getting out of your stall STAFF POSITIONS !" Emma demanded. Since Rustler had been dropped off, it seemed that he ended up in the barn aisle more often than not. The handsome quarter horse craned his head around and nuzzled Emma's pocket's in hopes of finding those yummy apple treats she carried with her. Dismayed when he found her empty handed, Rustler continued on over to the other horse. Emma let out a piercing whistle. Rustler stopped in his tracks and grunted. Emma walked over and placed a hand on his neck and then fastened his sky-blue nylon halter on. She looked at the other girl in the aisle. "I'm sorry. I hope he didn't startle you or your horse...He just keeps letting himself out." Emma said. It seemed both she and her horse were not getting off on the right foot at Hollow Aspen. |
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Post by ayla on Sept 3, 2012 11:08:08 GMT -8
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Kayla had decided: shoe first, so she didn't have to deal with a wet horse dripping on her while she nailed it back on. She went to get the tools she'd need out of her locker - apron, a few nails, nail nippers, and clinchers. Thankfully Champ had always been good about his feet, and she wouldn't have to fight with him.
As Kayla walked back to the wash stalls, she buckled her apron around her waist and hung her tools from the loops. She had just emptied her hands when she heard the sound of hooves on concrete - thankfully not Champ's, but there was something definitely odd about them. Kayla shrugged and kept walking, but when she got back to the wash stalls, she realized what was off.
There was no accompanying click of human shoes. She found Champ making friends with a sorrel gelding who definitely didn't have a halter or a lead rope or a person. Kayla acted quickly, picking up Champ's lead and looping it around the loose horse's neck.
A girl who Kayla assumed was the horse's owner came over and halterred the gelding. "I'm sorry. I hope he didn't startle you or your horse... He just keeps letting himself out," she said. Kayla's expression turned from worried to amused. She'd been in the same situation before. "No problem. I had a mare who did the same thing. Just wanted attention, all the time," she replied. "Champ's pretty chill, at least on the ground. No harm done!"
Kayla turned to Champ and picked up his back foot, the one missing the shoe, and fitted the metal to the hoof. No giant chunks of wall ripped out, thank god. Kayla took a deep breath and lined up a nail with the nail holes, then tapped it in with her hammer. So far, so good. She finished the rest of the hoof, just as she did with normal resets, and let Champ put his foot down for a moment while she straightened out her back.
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