Equus Asinus

Wandering through the sale yards, Julian tucked his free hand into his pocket, and led the gentle brown gelding easily. The bay horse was unworried by the activity around them, well used to it after all the times Julian had ridden him to the sales. The man's quiet green-gold gaze studied the horses around him, searching for the ones bound for the knackers, and finally found them, hidden off in a corner. Tethering Ned nearby, the stockman went over to the pens, ignoring the old racehorses and tired geldings. he was searching for the troublesome ones, who were deemed dangerous, and finally found one. The bright gold mare was in a pen on her own, a halter tight around her head, and her ears flat back. As he watched, she aimed a bite at the nearest woman, and he smiled a little. She still had spirit, that was good.
the seller nearby recognised him and ambled over, initiating the conversation that soon ended with Julian handing over money. Retrieving Ned, he mounted the horse, and tugged his hat down more firmly, watching the angry mare with a steady gaze. She was going to be a fun one to retrain, but he enjoyed a challenge, especially with the horses. Taking her halter rope with a nod, he wrapped the end around the saddle horn, easing the mare out of the pen despite her fight to get free.

It was a slow ride back to his farmhouse, but he didn't mind. It gave the feisty mare a chance to get used to his and Ned's smell, and begin to calm down a little bit. As he let the gelding amble along, he began to hum to himself, working out his plans for the next few days. Luckily, the horse he'd been training for someone else had been taken home the day before, so he no longer had to worry about that one. There weren't any calves that were about to be born, so all he needed to focus on was working with his stallion for the upcoming stockhorse show, and start familiarising the little mare with him. With no puppies from his dogs to train either, he had a few relatively relaxing few weeks ahead of him, unless of course something came up.

Finally getting home, he slid off Ned and ground tied him, preferring to settle the mare first. He knew the old gelding wasn't going to go anywhere. His spare yards were empty now, since Ghost had been turned out into the orchard, and he led the mare over to the high-fenced area, shutting the gate behind them. Talking to her softly, he worked with her as she fought the rope, clearly desperate to get away. She wouldn't let him near her for a long time, but he was patient, and when she finally did, he merely unclipped the lead rope and backed away, still talking to her softly. A quick glance at the trough let him know that the water was clean and fresh, and he slipped out to put the rope away and get some hay for her.

Finished there, he took care of Ned, turning him back out with the grey stallion, and headed inside in time to catch the ringing phone. Listening to the voice, he rolled his eyes, but agreed to keep an eye out for the girl with the difficult stallion, and then hung up. If she'd only just bought him, then she'd be looking for a trainer, and he just so happened to be the only one in this tiny town. Reflecting on how fast word travelled in the town, he gave a sigh. He'd see the horse soon enough. It looked like his peaceful few weeks were not to be.

Eyeing the phone as it began to ring again, Julian ignored it, heading outside. He couldn't waste more time chit-chatting to people over the phone. He had work to do. Nearly everyone in the town knew he had a bad habit of ignoring his phone, anyway. They'd come round to see him soon enough if it was urgent. Making sure his hat was on his head, he bridled the spirited grey stallion and mounted bareback, concentrating on the horse's responsiveness. If they were going to do anything well at the next campdrafting show, then they needed to get working again.

Julian knew he had a visitor when Ghost's ears perked forwards, and the stockman gave a soft sigh, asking the horse to spin so that he was listening to him again. "Come on, cheeky. You know what to do." After a brief moment, the stallion spun lightly on his feet, kicking up the bulldust, and Julian relaxed the pressure, letting him rest as he patted the sweaty neck. "Atta boy, you remember." The horse had been let loose in the paddock for a couple of months to rest him, but it was good to know that he still remembered.
Hearing the strange horse's call, Julian looked over his shoulder, frowning a little at the visitor. He wasn't expecting anyone.

Collecting the stallion easily, Julian pushed his hat back a little, steadying the prancing horse. "G'day sheila. What brings you out to the farm, hm?" Ghost tossed his head, eager to say hello to the mare, but Julian held him back until he settled. The movements were absent, and a result of many months working with the animal.

He lifted an eyebrow at her, backing Ghost up as the stallion made to move forward. Once the horse was settled again, he glanced back at the girl, studying her. "How handled is he? Depending on that depends on whether I'll be working at yours or here. Of course, that all depends on what he's like in the first place. You didn't bring him with you, I see."

"Hm." He frowned at her. "Buying just on looks isn't always the best choice, youngster." With Ghost finally quiet, he slid off the horse, rubbing the muscled neck affectionately. "How old is he? What's his temperament like, and what breed is he? And how tall?" Walking to the gate as he spoke, he paused to look at up her, his head tilted on the side. "So he was exposed to gear then, hmm. Interesting that he wasn't gelded." He tethered Ghost to wait while the continued to chat about the horse, and indicated towards the house. "Tether the mare, come inside. We'll talk." He didn't wait for her, heading inside.

"Mm." Moving to the fridge, the stockman pulled out a bottle of water and a couple of glasses. It had been a hot day. Hanging his hat on the hook, he tugged the ponytail out of his hair to run his hands through it. "Have a seat, have a drink. What exactly do you want to do with the horse? Breed him? Or show him?" It was interesting what she was saying. Something must have been upsetting the horse when he was being backed if he was fine doing ground work. "Do you know when they started to break him in?" He retired his hair and sat down, leaving the door open to get some fresh air in the house.

"Aye, Ghost is a special one, but that's not of any concern." He tipped back in his chair, rocking on the two back legs. "Don't make any plans for him to stand at stud until you know what he's like. No one will stud to a mean horse, no matter how pretty he looks, or what he's done show wise." Settling the chair back down properly, he considered it, drumming his fingers on the table. There were no mares of his that were in heat, thankfully, and it would be easy to move Ghost and his other stallion around so that they didn't feel threatened. The only issue that he could foresee was the golden mare that he'd rescued. "Bring him over in the morning, I'll take a gander at him. See whether he's worth spending a small fortune on."

He simply gave her a short nod, and headed back out to finish off the jobs for the day. Once Ghost was cooled off and settled back in the orchard, the man fed the dogs, and went to the golden mare's paddock, standing at the gate to gauge her reaction. She flattened her ears at him, stamping a hind foot, and he sighed. She was going to take him a long time to even touch her, but he didn't mind. Giving her a few biscuits of hay, he disappeared inside his house, ready for a good nights sleep.

Like always, he was up with the sun, and it wasn't long before he was outside. Feeding the dogs first, he let them off for their morning run, smiling at the antics of the younger ones. Leaving them to their business, he did the rounds of the horses, making sure that they had their breakfast and fresh water, and spent a bit longer with Ghost, talking to him softly. The stallion nibbled on Julian's long hair, and the man simply laughed, nudging him away. The golden mare seemed to have settled down a bit, half dozing in the morning air when he went to feed her. Studying her, he made the mental note to call the vet out to check her over, see whether she needed anything. What was more important however was trying to get the halter off her head. It was far too tight, but it appeared that she was head shy. He knew it was going to be a difficult task, but he'd do it eventually.

With the dogs back on their chains, Julian was finishing off his cup of tea and about to saddle the old gelding when he heard the truck. Evidently the dogs did too, for they erupted with barking. A sharp whistle made them fall silent, and he stood on the edge of the verandah with his cup in his hand, watching. It looked to be a rather fancy sort of float, and he rolled his eyes to himself. Why would he think any different. He just wanted to see the stallion.