The Wings That We Lack
Nov 24, 2013 14:33:25 GMT -5
Post by Lahja Morgan on Nov 24, 2013 14:33:25 GMT -5
The November wind was biting hard as Lahja made her way to the indoor arena, one arm folded tightly across her chest and the hood of her coat tucked over her head despite the fact it wasn't raining. In her other hand was held a lead rope, and attached to the other end of the lead rope walked Valiant. The vast grey Shire horse tossed his head irritably in the wind, his long mane catching and blowing as he snorted in agitation. “I know boy, I'm sorry. Nearly there.” Lahja rubbed her hand on Valiant's shoulder, the massive beast easily towering over her as feet the size of plates sloshed through a puddle.
No matter how long Lahja had owned the two Shire horses and no matter how much she had worked with them, they never failed to impress and amaze her. Both of the geldings loomed over her and each one had enough strength and power to completely flatten or kill her should they so choose, and yet each one was content enough to be led around by nothing but a few small straps of leather and a piece of rope. If he wanted Valiant could have simply thrown his head in the air and trotted off and Lahja would have been pretty much powerless to stop him, and yet he walked through the freezing wind towards the indoor arena obediently and (for the most part) patiently. Forever remarkable.
Once Lahja had led him through the entry way into the arena they were thankfully shielded from the wind, and after passing the walkway that lead up into the small seating area Lahja opened the gate that led into the arena proper. Storm, the other vast Shire gelding, was rolling in the sand at the other end of the arena and Valiant let out an ear-splitting neigh in greeting to his team mate. Storm finished rolling and got up to his feet, shaking off the sand clinging to his coat, and Lahja quickly led Valiant into the arena and shut the gate behind them.
Storm trotted over towards the gate, whinnying jovially in greeting to Valiant, and the two geldings sniffed at each others noses as Lahja retrieved the rollers from the storage box in the corner. The long leather straps covered in D-rings were fastened around the barrel of each horse, the two boys standing quietly and grooming each other as Lahja got them ready. Valiant pulled a bit of a face as the belly strap was tightened, as he sometimes did, but he didn't really act on it and after grumping and swishing his tail he went back to grooming Storm's withers.
Once both rollers were secure Lahja went back to the storage box and pulled out a few long strings of bells, jangling softly as she walked into the middle of the arena. The attention of both horses was perked at the sound of the bells and they shuffled uneasily, and when Lahja started to shake and rattle the strings of bells both horses bolted, ears pinned back and heels kicking high as they tried to run from the strange noise. The vibrations from the pounding hooves of the two one-tonne horses felt like the start of an earthquake and it sent a thrill up Lahja's spine, and she kept a close eye on the two spooked horses as she shook the bells harder.
For several minutes both horses stayed panicky, bolting and bucking and kicking in uncertainty of the sound that didn't go away no matter how much they ran around the arena. Eventually, however, Storm began to calm down as he realised that the sound wasn't actually causing anything unpleasant to happen. His frantic rodeo impression began to lessen and after a few long moments he lowered his head and started to relax, licking his lips and snorting softly. Seeing Storm starting to relax caused Valiant to calm a little too, and within minutes both Shires were completely disinterested in the bells and were instead sniffing around the arena.
Lahja approached Storm first, rubbing his neck and praising him softly before fastening strings of the bells to the rings on his roller and a single large bell to the loop on his headcollar. Once she had finished with Storm she did the same to Valiant, making sure all the bells were secure. Valiant threw his head up as Lahja whoosed him on, trying to get him into a trot. This caused the bell attached to his headcollar to ring loudly and the Shire panicked and reared at the sound so near his head, tree-truck legs pawing at the air before he landed heavily, kicking out his back legs as the bells attached to the roller rang to life. Valiant's sudden antics caused Storm to dance sideways, also spooking as he jangled, and within moments both geldings were once more pelting around the arena, bucking and kicking at the sound that was chasing them. Lahja laughed softly watching them. “Such big drama queens! Buses, wagons, trains, all fine! But a few little jingle bells must be the end of the world!”
It took less time for the horses to adjust to the sound this time, since they had already become a little accustomed to it earlier, and once both geldings had calmed down and resumed playing with each other, ignoring the ringing of the bells, Lahja approached them and gave them the carrots out of her waist-bag. “See? That wasn't so bad.” Removing the bells and rollers and putting them back into the storage crate, Lahja gave the horses a few minutes to relax and roll in the sand before calling for Sarah to come and help her lead them back. “You get Storm, I'll get biggun.”
Both horses were much more willing to face the wind this time, knowing they were heading back to their cosy stables and their hay nets.
Just because Jeffrey had gone to live with his father, Lahja was determined that Christmas this year was still going to be a lot of fun...
No matter how long Lahja had owned the two Shire horses and no matter how much she had worked with them, they never failed to impress and amaze her. Both of the geldings loomed over her and each one had enough strength and power to completely flatten or kill her should they so choose, and yet each one was content enough to be led around by nothing but a few small straps of leather and a piece of rope. If he wanted Valiant could have simply thrown his head in the air and trotted off and Lahja would have been pretty much powerless to stop him, and yet he walked through the freezing wind towards the indoor arena obediently and (for the most part) patiently. Forever remarkable.
Once Lahja had led him through the entry way into the arena they were thankfully shielded from the wind, and after passing the walkway that lead up into the small seating area Lahja opened the gate that led into the arena proper. Storm, the other vast Shire gelding, was rolling in the sand at the other end of the arena and Valiant let out an ear-splitting neigh in greeting to his team mate. Storm finished rolling and got up to his feet, shaking off the sand clinging to his coat, and Lahja quickly led Valiant into the arena and shut the gate behind them.
Storm trotted over towards the gate, whinnying jovially in greeting to Valiant, and the two geldings sniffed at each others noses as Lahja retrieved the rollers from the storage box in the corner. The long leather straps covered in D-rings were fastened around the barrel of each horse, the two boys standing quietly and grooming each other as Lahja got them ready. Valiant pulled a bit of a face as the belly strap was tightened, as he sometimes did, but he didn't really act on it and after grumping and swishing his tail he went back to grooming Storm's withers.
Once both rollers were secure Lahja went back to the storage box and pulled out a few long strings of bells, jangling softly as she walked into the middle of the arena. The attention of both horses was perked at the sound of the bells and they shuffled uneasily, and when Lahja started to shake and rattle the strings of bells both horses bolted, ears pinned back and heels kicking high as they tried to run from the strange noise. The vibrations from the pounding hooves of the two one-tonne horses felt like the start of an earthquake and it sent a thrill up Lahja's spine, and she kept a close eye on the two spooked horses as she shook the bells harder.
For several minutes both horses stayed panicky, bolting and bucking and kicking in uncertainty of the sound that didn't go away no matter how much they ran around the arena. Eventually, however, Storm began to calm down as he realised that the sound wasn't actually causing anything unpleasant to happen. His frantic rodeo impression began to lessen and after a few long moments he lowered his head and started to relax, licking his lips and snorting softly. Seeing Storm starting to relax caused Valiant to calm a little too, and within minutes both Shires were completely disinterested in the bells and were instead sniffing around the arena.
Lahja approached Storm first, rubbing his neck and praising him softly before fastening strings of the bells to the rings on his roller and a single large bell to the loop on his headcollar. Once she had finished with Storm she did the same to Valiant, making sure all the bells were secure. Valiant threw his head up as Lahja whoosed him on, trying to get him into a trot. This caused the bell attached to his headcollar to ring loudly and the Shire panicked and reared at the sound so near his head, tree-truck legs pawing at the air before he landed heavily, kicking out his back legs as the bells attached to the roller rang to life. Valiant's sudden antics caused Storm to dance sideways, also spooking as he jangled, and within moments both geldings were once more pelting around the arena, bucking and kicking at the sound that was chasing them. Lahja laughed softly watching them. “Such big drama queens! Buses, wagons, trains, all fine! But a few little jingle bells must be the end of the world!”
It took less time for the horses to adjust to the sound this time, since they had already become a little accustomed to it earlier, and once both geldings had calmed down and resumed playing with each other, ignoring the ringing of the bells, Lahja approached them and gave them the carrots out of her waist-bag. “See? That wasn't so bad.” Removing the bells and rollers and putting them back into the storage crate, Lahja gave the horses a few minutes to relax and roll in the sand before calling for Sarah to come and help her lead them back. “You get Storm, I'll get biggun.”
Both horses were much more willing to face the wind this time, knowing they were heading back to their cosy stables and their hay nets.
Just because Jeffrey had gone to live with his father, Lahja was determined that Christmas this year was still going to be a lot of fun...
