A Lucky Find

[Tex]

Alison had to admit, forcing a stallion to do what it was told by pulling on ropes was more difficult than it had seemed from a distance. Or perhaps the creamy was just as stubborn as a mule. Either way, she wasn't too sure what a guy like Jason would do with it. He couldn't ride it, unless he was a champion horse whisperer, so selling it would be the only other option. Apart from letting it go or slaughtering it, but after all this work, Alison wouldn't accept those.
She reigned Jesse in, and tapped her sides again, so Jesse trotted a bit faster than before. The rope tightened, and Alison pulled back on Jesse's reins slightly, to keep it at the current taught level.

[Illu]

Damon’s eyes widened as he caught sight of the large whip. Holy crapmuffins, that was the largest thing he’d ever seen! Definitely not the cute little dressage whips he was used to. Even those little things could hurt in the wrong hands, and this thing was, wow. So, the only thigng Damon could think of was to do what he knew best.

Suddenly Damon was being very compliant, engaging his hindquarters properly and actually making an effort to keep with Alison. He slid into high stepping slow show trot as good faith, anything to stop Jason using that thing. Of course, he had no idea what those types of whips where used for, they just looked scary.

As Jason grumbled at him Damon’s eyes didn’t leave the stockwhip. His ears leapt backwards worriedly, whites of his eyes showing, and he quickly struggled to put more bounce in his step and raise his shoulders properly. Argh, he was still waggling it! The dude still wasn’t happy. Get it away get it away get it away get it away.

[Tiggs]

Jason looked smug, very smug. Once the creamy had got a good eyeful of the whip, he recoiled the thong but kept it in his hand. The threat was still there, but not as obvious. Jason didn't want to scare the horse too much, just give him something to think about. He obviously knew what a whip was, and Jason was confident he could use it to keep him in line without hurting the creamy: but the monster didn't know that.

"Alright, turn left up here, we're almost there." The creamy was leading nicely now, and Jason was pretty sure the short two minute ride up the hill would be uneventful.

[Tex]

Alison nodded when Jason spoke, and touched Jesse's left rein. She felt the soft touch, and bounded up the hill. The rider was holding in a stream of giggles, at the creamy's behavior. He was cheeky and headstrong when you tried to handle him normally, but one look at the whip and the big critter was trotting like a superstar. Jesse looked at him sideways, and imitated his trot, to Alison's amusement.

[Illu]

Damon blew out his nose in amusement at Jesse’s little imitation. ” Put your weight a little more on the forehand and you’re set,” he advised softly then looked back at Jason. Well, the whip wasn’t hovering there ay more, but now he had something else to worry about, Damon would simply refuse to be bested over anything, and Jesse had just started something.

Damon looked down at his feet, keeping his head steady, watching his feet then counted to three in his mind to prepare to the transition. With only a slight miscalculation on his hind food Damon slipped into a stately looking half-pass, chosen simply because there was no way Jesse could copy it without stumbling. It was the newest manoeuvre his trainer had been trying to teach him, so Damon had to turn all his attention into placing his feet as he crossed them over instead of where he was going.

Okay, so the girls little rat-horse had some natural skill if he could copy a beginners move nigh-on faultlessly the first time, but there was no way he would be able to leap into a highly advanced movement a little under Grand Prix level with that mount of ease, this was one thing that couldn’t be achieved without proper training. So, satisfied that he’d proved he was the winner, Damon started trotting normally again at a collected pace this time, similar to the one Jesse was doing but a more advanced move that required discipline and experience.

It was a bit of a stupid point to try and prove anyway. Damon was a dressage horse, so the other two couldn’t hope to best him in that field, but Maire and Jesse where expertly trained stock horses who knew their job just as well as Damon did. In a contest of speed, stamina and agility Damon would quickly be left behind in the dirt. Trying to imagine the big creamy try to outwit and run down a rouge steer was really downright laughable. It was easier to just let the bigger horse have his cookie and think he was the greatest.

[Tiggs]

Marie snorted with laughter. "What are you doing, circus horse? Walk your rump in a straight line or I'll bite it to the other side of tomorrow." The old mare could see the corral now, and she perked up. Jason patted her neck, and called to Alison. "I left the gate open, lead him straight in, circle right round and come out, I'll untie Marie and shut the gate behind you. Unless you'd rather swap?" So far the young woman didn't seem intimidated by the hulking creamy, but Jason didn't want him to turn violent again on the home stretch. He tightened his grip on the whip, ready to snap it out if the creamy misbehaved.

[Tex]

Jesse snorted with quiet laughter along with Marie, and champed on her bit thoughtfully. This horse was too good at being a show horse to belong out here. Wild horses are not usually vain. Brumbies would not be so obedient and good-natured at the first sight of whip. They would probably think their way out of the problem; something show horses could never do.
Alison also giggled at the creamy's behavior, but calmed down almost instantly. She wasn't afraid of the horse. "Loud and clear. No need to swap, I can handle the critter."
Jesse walked, rather proudly, into the pen. The rope taughtened slightly, but both rider and horse ignored it and did a full circle before untying the rope from the saddle horn and trotting out of the pen. The horse wouldn't try to leave by the gate, because of the whip, and Jesse was watching him, just in case he tried to charge them or something equally stupid.

[Illu]

Damon seemed to selectively ignore Jesse making fun of him behind his back. Instead he kept his eye on the corral gate until he was right in front then attempted to put on the breaks, but Alison and the threat of Jason's whip quickly made him change his mind and he allowed himself to be dragged in.

Drat, that was that. Why did it have to be some poor sod with no money that had to find him? Why? He had lots of potential, could have made it to Olympic level if he tried hard enough, but nooo, now he was in some lowly ranchers yard who probabaly didn't know the difference between oats and chaff. Not to mention two idiotic horses who didn't recognise sheer awesomeness in mortal form when they saw it. This realisation suddenly made Damon fidgety again and the horse quickly started trotting around the ring towards the gate as though with a half-hearted hope Jason would just stand back and leave the gate open for him.

[Tiggs]

OOC: Skip to Dead Horse Hut? *zoom*