Post by Iris Kent on Feb 18, 2013 16:52:12 GMT -5
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Iris led the tall Thoroughbred into one of the smaller outdoor arenas. She was exceptionally pleased with his performance in the last show, but there was still a lot she needed to work on him with. It was no surprise they'd gotten second in the Hunter class, but she was a little worried that they'd only placed sixth in the dressage class. So, she was taking Bliss out to lunge to work on his movement. Dressage whip in hand, she unclipped his lead line and shooed him away from her. The bay tossed his head, springing away from her at a bouncy trot. Even though they'd been lunging for years, he still acted like he had no idea what she wanted from him for the first few minutes of every session. Iris rolled her eyes, waiting for him to calm down. She clicked her tongue to catch his attention. Bliss eyed her warily, and slowed to a walk. She smiled, pleased that it hadn't taken him ten minutes to collect himself this time. Once he was halted without turning in to face her, she pointed where she wanted him to go. Bliss hesitated, and she sighed to herself. Maybe she'd spoken too soon. Encouraging him with the whip, she urged him into a walk, then into a trot. As he circled her freely, Iris relaxed into the familiar routine. It was nice to have a successful lunging session, instead of the terrors she'd been having with her newest mare, Carey. But, then again, she'd been working with Bliss for a long time. She'd been considering hiring a horse trainer for Carey since she'd been fairly busy running the main barn and competing. But she was hesitant. This was a new farm, and she wasn't 100% sure if she could trust the trainer's methods just yet. She'd have to wait and see. Since she hadn't been giving Bliss her undivided attention, he'd drifted off as well, focusing on the other stimulation outside instead of her. Bliss tossed his head, plunging forward in a series of flashy bucks after someone slammed a car door. Iris bit her lip, trying to hide her dismay. She should have known better than to take her eyes off the stallion, even for a second. She toned down her body language and lowered the whip, clicking her tongue once more to get his attention back on her. Bliss gradually slowed down into a smooth canter, his inner ear trainer on her once more. Again, Iris was reminded why she fell in love with him in the first place. Although he had exquisite bloodlines, he'd never won a single race. But that was alright with her, it wasn't racing that she was interested in. His canter (once he settled into it) was long and rhythmic, and he didn't fall on the forehand like most racehorses tended to do. As Bliss cantered around the circle, Iris let a small smile bloom across her face. Although he could be difficult to handle sometimes, it was moments like this that made Bliss worth all her while.
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