[makeover 2023] Baby Steps

The IV drip was removed before the vet had left. The mare had perked up quite a bit after the 7 hours of fluids, but still Harper decided to stay with her during the night. She had grabbed a few blankets and her tablet and stayed up with the scruffy buckskin mare. Her recovery would be slow, but if she could make it through she would have almost a lifetime ahead of her. The vet had estimated her to only be around 6 years old, which her microchip had later confirmed. The vet would inform the police to go and find the owner of the horse, but due to the mare's current state she would insist on ownership being written over to the sanctuary, meaning the horse would be hers to work wit if all went well. 
It was one task she did not have to worry about, but she did make a little note to check with the vet if the owner was found. She did want justice for this poor mare. Next she started planning. The vet had provided a meal plan which made it a bit easier. She took note that the mare's feet would have to be rewrapped daily and put together a little calendar for the first 3 months. She would need to drive out and get some quality alfalfa in the morning, and the list of supplements the vet recommended. She decided to also purchase the mare a new halter and a blanket. 
As she sat planning out the mare's rehabilitation she suddenly felt a woosh of warm air brush past her hair. She looked up and the mare stood over her, curiously looking at her. A small smile crept onto Harper's face and she gently reached out and petted the mare's nose. Despite everything, the mare didn't seem afraid of humans, which was a relief. If anything, she seemed happy to connect to the people she had met so far. It made Harper hopeful that rehabilitating the mare would mainly be physical.

Somewhere during the night harper had fallen asleep where she was seated against the fence and when she awoke to a rising sun she noticed the mare laying down behind her, eyes closed and her face relaxed into a peaceful expression. "Good morning baby" Harper spoke softly in hopes to not startle the mare. She watched as the long black eyelashes of the mare fluttered for a second before her eyes slowly opened. Her big brown eyes gazed at her and the mare made a soft whinnying sound. Harper slowly stood up. She was nervous, but she didn't want to let it show. Had the mare laid down last night because she was so exhausted? Could she still get up? She let her blankets lay in a heap next to the fence, her tablet perched on top, and walked around the pen. First she would refill the mare's water tub, maybe she would stand up on her own?
Harper's worrying lasted the entire way to get the hose. As she turned around however, she sighed in relief. The mare already stood near the fence, looking intently at her as she walked back, hose in hand. Harper automatically reached up to pet the mare as she walked back, as if this was just a regular day, a regular horse, nothing amiss. She hoped that this would be a good sign for their future.

After refilling the water tub and quickly trying to size up the mare with her arms, Harper said goodbye to the mare. She took the blankets and her tablet and walked towards the parking lot, where she tossed everything in her backseat. She fished her key out of her pocket and yawned. Tonight she would definitely have to sleep better, otherwise she would be completely useless. She checked the time on her dashboard. 7 am it read. The store was a little bit of a drive, but it would most likely be open by the time she got there. She fastened her seatbelt and started the car. 
The horse store was large and sold almost everything a horse person would need. A perfect place to stock up. She took a cart and started to the feed aisle. She loaded a few bales of alfalfa and decided to get a bag of cubed alfalfa as well. It might be a good training reward for the first period of time. She picked up a bucket each of the vet's recommended supplements and browsed for a bit. Just to be sure she loaded a bag of senior muesli on the cart as well. She read that that might also be a good starting point too. She added one last bag of mash for senior horses and rolled the now stuffed cart down to the gear aisle. She wanted a good, sturdy but comfortable halter for the mare, and maybe a lighter and a heavier blanket. Oh, and a waterproof blanket too. Would the blanket need a neck? Might be best, just to be sure. She couldn't help herself and got a whole load of stuff for the mare; A summer blanket against the sun, a non-padded rain sheet, a padded sheet for under the rain sheet for when it gets cold, a fun printed sheet, a warm stable sheet, a unicorn tote and brushes to go with it, a large bottle of shampoo, some cowboy magic to maybe detangle the tail with, a padded halter, a leadrope, a hay net, the bales of alfalfa and of course the bags of different kinds of feed. Harper was grateful she had saved up for this trip, despite being unsure if she would actually adopt a horse or not. It was nice to just get the mare everything she thought the horse might need.
After paying she rolled the cart to the trunk of her car. It wasn't a massive car, but it could fit quite some stuff. She loaded the bales and bags of feed into the back. The door gave some resistance, but with a bit of coaxing it clicked shut. Harper loaded the rest of the stuff into the backseat and shut the door with a satisfied huff. She put the cart back, and started the drive back to the sanctuary. 

When she arrived the mare already stood at the fence, looking at her intently. Almost as if to ask, "where have you been?". Harper picked up one of the clean wheelbarrows used for feed and walked back to her car, picking up one of the alfalfa bales and the haynet. It was getting close to 9 am and it was about time the mare got her feed of the day. Harper apologized profusely as she dropped the bale out of reach of the mare beside the pathway and started filling up the haynet. "From now on there will be no more late meals, promised" Harper said to the mare as she leaned on the fence. The mare was eagerly plucking long, leafy stems from the net, munching on them contently.

An hour later Harper carried the newly purchased halter, leadrope and the grooming supplies towards the pen, ready to get to work. She had met with the stable owner, asking if she could borrow the clippers for the mare. The owner had agreed to put them in the wash stalls for her. Time to get to it. Harper slipped the halter over the mare's ears and adjusted the size. it looked ridiculously plush on the extremely skinny mare, but harper felt like they would be comfortable. She clipped the leadrope onto the halter and opened the gate, letting the mare out. The mare walked surprisingly sound for a horse whose hooves looked like a severe case of lamnitis only the day before. This mare was definitely a fighter. The mare's white nose softly bumped against Harper's shoulder. "It's okay girly, we're going to get you cleaned up. You're okay" Harper reassured the mare, softly petting her nose while full well knowing the mare could not understand her anyways. The wash stalls were large, so luckily the mare didn't have to squeeze to turn. Harper clipped the anchored ropes to the halter and praised the mare for her good behavior. First off she unwrapped the mare's hooves. This way the wounds could breathe for a bit after being confined to the hoof boots all night and Harper could rewrap them after washing the mare.

But first Harper plugged in the clippers and turned them on next to the mare. The buckskin curiously turned her head, her brown eyes trained on the clipper. Harper cautiously started with a band of hair on the mare's back. She tensed slightly, but nothing too bad. With a bit of luck she could clip the mare in about an hour. She decided to leave the face and legs for now, as those wouldn't be covered by the blanket. The mare stood patiently as Harper clipped her right side, and then her left. The floor was covered in a layer of shaggy fur and dust and debris once trapped inside the fur now floated through the air. Harper opened the window in the back of the stall to let some fresh air in. She started on the tail, washing it quickly before putting in a good amount of detangler.
She tried and tried, but four hours later she was able to save about 20cm of the mare's once luscious tail. She cut off the excess, trying to save a little bit more and trimmed it until it was even. The black hair laid in a big lump on the floor, muddy water still streaming from it where it lay. 
Harper decided the mare had been standing long enough, and it was time for feeding again. Washing would come another time. She quickly pulled on some gloves and applied some topical cream to a few spots on the mare's skin that seemed sore. The stable owner had kindly left those for her as well. All ready for today Harper took a broom to swipe up the hair, hosed down the mare's hooves, dried and rewrapped them in the gauze and hoof boots before finally returning the mare to the pen almost 6 hours after they had left it. Harper refilled the haynet and slumped against the fence with a sigh. Today had been a long day, but the mare seemed happier now that the burden of the matted tail and shaggy fur were taken away. Harper smiled. Tomorrow it would be time for a full body wash, hopefully the rest of her wasn't as absolutely soiled as her tail had been.