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Figuring It Out

Published: Nov 25, 2013

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WOOOOOOO. TIGER'S LOOKIN SEXEH! I fought through a flu and classwork to be able to fiiiinally get him done. No sitting on this one for a year, nosiree!

Woop, updated -- his uber shininess didn't bode well for the indoor atmosphere so I tweaked 'im. Little bit darker than I would like, but he's alright!

Horse Name: Haven's Thylacine
Handler Name: Alaura Hase
Show Entering: Oak Brooke's First Annual Dressage Show
Class/Event: Beginner Dressage
Startnumber: /

There's a drumming noise inside my head

That starts when you're around

I swear that you could hear it, it makes such an almighty sound

Louder than sirens

Louder than bells

Sweeter than heaven and hotter than hell

^{It was on mornings like these that she truly appreciated the risk she took in purchasing Tiger. Everything that could go wrong seemed to do just that -- her alarm went off an hour later, trailer lights didn't want to work, her horse somehow unintentionally mussed up his carefully combed mane, and in all the rush of the morning, she managed to somehow fuss and fret enough to leave said horse standing cross-tied in the barn isle and attempt to load up the trailer and pull about halfway down the driveway without him. If Lyn had not flagged her down, she would have driven all that way for absolutely nothing. It was a brilliant morning, indeed.}

^{"Tiger, I love you," Alaura breathed, a deep-set frown on her face as the stallion peered at her through the open side-door of the trailer. He'd been so good through the hectic morning, hardly batting an eye and only giving her a gentle nicker when she came bolting down into the barn towards him as if asking, 'Hello, I trust you've not forgotten me?' He hopped into the trailer without complaint, a fixed point amidst Alaura's hysterics. Now, he stood quietly, patiently waiting to be let out.}

^{She had some deep-imprinted memories of first-time horse shows. He was by no means a young horse, and he was used to going places by now, but anything could happen with the screeching of less-secure horses in the background and a brand new place with scary things. Daisy had been ridden underneath Sano, but she still remembered when the mare was young and fresh and she twitched every which way with her tongue lolling out and a long-winded whinny to announce her arrival. Inka had twitched and danced to no end, not stopping until he was in the start box and could openly explode into a run without complaint. "You're not going to do that to me, are you, bud?" She asked with a shaky laugh, undoing his lead and backing him out. A didn't know if she could handle a blowup today. Of course, he did not respond, but even the ever calm demeanor he maintained seemed to help her out more than words ever could.}

^{"Easy, easy, easy...." A muttered the word repeatedly like a mantra as she pressed on, her hands firm but soft on the reins as she continually half-halted him. He was back to his old way again, trying to extend and snap his forelegs in front of him instead of working in a level, measured trot. Remember what the instructors advised. Less leg, more seat, more half-halts. He'd been to many schoolings by now, gaining varying opinions on his slightly-awkard habit of extending. While none of them were ill-mannered, extension was still extension, as pretty as it was, and he needed to separate the difference between the working and extended gait instead of blurring the lines. Again, another half-halt, but this one was with a bit more power and Tiger's nostrils flared as he tried to fulfill her request. There was a stutter-step, one that made A sway a bit more in the saddle, but his gait evened out and she reached down to give him a pat. "Good, good."}

^{They'd been spending quite the long time trying to figure one another out. She knew she'd fallen for him by the time the trial had come to the end of it's term, and had placed a heavy offer on him, but a few days was nothing compared to the understanding they had grown to have about one another. For a woman who'd dealt with many different hands to play, she could be incredibly flighty; he was a massive animal with huge stride and it did nothing to ease her fears and suspicions about stallions for the first two weeks -- if anything, it made it worse. He was no short distance from the ground, and she was not a short woman. At first, even though his patience knew no bounds and she was not one to give up that easily once committed, they went through much trial and error. Frustration had tried to work it's way into their daily routine, even rearing it's ugly head enough to make her consider whether or not buying him was a good idea.}

^{"You aren't the only one trying to figure it out," Sano advised as he watched his wife work with the stallion. "This is new to him. New place, new people, new sights and smells and now he's working. Tiger's seven years old and hasn't been given a proper job yet, A. It's probably a little foreign to him. He's not the four year olds you're used to working with."}

^{Her husband's words resurfaced to her mind as she rode out a smooth transition from trot to canter, giving Tiger a bit more rein that he was happy to take. How far they'd come from those first few official weeks of being paired up together. The silver-maned stud was happier, more relaxed through his back; his ears flickered to and fro as he merely listened while he worked, drinking in the atmosphere silently. Slowly A's nerves melted away and she was smiling like an idiot by the end of the warmup.}

^{"You're such a good boy," She said, leaning forwards to pat his neck in praise. "The judges are going to love you." Actually, she didn't really care what the judges thought. He was calm, cool, and collected, despite it being his first show. They could get a score of 50% and below, and she'd still be pleased with him. With a short mental check -- gathered reins, helmet is on straight, girth is tight enough -- A nodded in approval and the pair slowly made their way towards the arena, where their show time was approaching soon enough. As they walked, the first few drops of rain for the day had begun to fall around them.}

^{"Let's kick some ass, El Tigre," She murmured, and he replied with a rumbling nicker to match the thunder.}

I love this guy :] I made a lot of improvement with this piece, methinks...

The story's a bit off, but it's the first one I've written for HARPG in AGES and I'm going through a bit of character revising. Tiger development, weeoo!

(c)

Image size

3000x2000px 5.83 MB

Comments22

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WhiteFoxFarm

May 18, 2014

Congratulations on placing! It looks great!

♥