[PHASE 1] Mutual Anxiety

Rolling quietly down the highway, Damien’s fingers drummed steadily on the steering wheel. He was lost in thought, as he had been for the entire two hour drive, occasionally checking on Valerie in the rearview mirror. While he had participated in Sagebrush Sanctuary’s makeover event the previous year, Valerie had been selected this year to take on a Loshenka of her own. She poured over the selected horse’s file with an intensity that was almost foreign to her friend. He had been the first to receive the information, given that the stable the stallion would be housed at was owned by him, and it worried him slightly. After all, Valerie was a dressage rider primarily and a vaulter secondly.

The horse assigned to Meadow Creek Acres had been put under the saddle much too early. And on top of that, he had been trained under intense rollkur and now struggled with the aftermath permanently affecting his body. How anyone could have done that to the poor stallion was beyond both of the trailer’s occupants. And the road to recovery ahead of them would never be easy. That much was certain, given the extensive physical rehabilitation required to correct the issues. Honestly, Damien was unsure if the horse would ever be fit to be ridden again, even in a different discipline. Depending on the severity of the damage, Valerie’s assignment might end up being one of the few retirees that called their pastured home.

“Has anything changed since the last time you read that file..?” Damien quipped, eyes flicking between Valerie and the road again. The woman’s brows furrowed in response, her lips pulling into a tight line. The joke had landed poorly. But it had also brought Valerie back to attention, her gaze shifting out the window her cheek was leaning against. The hills had gradually smoothed out during their trip, flattening into developments and cities and towns larger than the one they had started from. It was a far cry from their stable in the middle of nowhere, only recently gaining reliable internet access. And yet Valerie couldn’t help but wonder if the horse they were going to meet had felt the same. Did he miss where he came from? Had he been anxious about going somewhere new?

“No. It’s still the same, I’m just… thinking.” Valerie sighed, tossing the file to the passenger seat as she stretched out in the back. She had looked at the pictures of the their soon-to-be stable occupant and was distressed at how poor his condition was. A weak topline, hyperflexion, and bones showing through his skin. The rescue had mentioned that he had been having trouble eating – a consequence of his rollkur training – and as such, the stallion had been having trouble keeping weight on. That, and he was skittish. Even if the pictures and descriptions could only tell Valerie a part of the story, it put enough pieces together to make her upset.

“Is it always this… sad?” She peeled her eyes away from the road, meeting Damien’s in the mirror again. And while her own gaze was uncertain and sort of melancholy, she was put at ease by Damien’s confidence.

“Sometimes. I won’t sugarcoat it, rescues like these can be pretty bad. And sometimes, things don’t turn out how we want them to.” He shrugged rather nonchalantly, causing Valerie’s brows to furrow again. The man shook his head, easing the trailer into the driveway of the sanctuary.

“I know it sucks. But you can’t save every horse that comes your way, Val. Just try your best. Everything will work out in the end…” Damien smiled at her, doing his best to be reassuring while still keeping things realistic. When he had rescued Breaker the previous year, she had nearly bitten one of his fingers off. The fact that she had become as affectionate as she did was almost a miracle, but it had been due to lots of hard work. And to say he hadn’t almost given up would have been a lie. But he had pushed through, and Breaker had been a success story. And from what he could tell, there was no one more suited to the job of rehabilitating this horse than Valerie.

He pulled the trailer into a spot near the side of the barn, whistling as he took in the view. There were large expanses of open pasture broken up by pristine fences, patches of lavender planted tastefully around the property. While it was not Sagebrush Sanctuary proper, they had clearly done a bit of sprucing up to match the theme of their sponsor. That, and they had also put a lot of thought into caring for the horses they were serving as housing for. The facilities were beautiful. It was a shame that the rescues couldn’t stay there forever, though he supposed it wouldn’t be sustainable.

“You ready to go meet your new horse?” Damien turned, resting his arms on his seat as he peered at the woman in the back. Valerie chuckled slightly, simply sliding out of the car and walking towards the barn. And while Damien was worried that she had been upset by their previous conversation, he was put at ease by the determination in her stride. He chuckled softly before hopping out of the truck himself, jogging lightly to catch up to her.

“I’ll get you checked in, you should probably find whichever stall they put him in. This place looks pretty big.” Damien thumped her on the back, the both of them exchanging almost electric smiles. Getting a new horse was always exciting, even if it was one that needed a lot of work put into it. Honestly, in Damien’s mind, that made it even better. There was no reward without work, right? Val thought he as starting to rub off on her.

“Yeah, sounds good. I’ll text you the stall number once I find him.” She waved him off, beelining to the left as soon as they got through the door. Her companion simply chuckled and headed to the right to find the office.

“Now, if I were a horse… where would I be?” Valerie whispered under her breath, eyes scanning over a mixture of empty and full stalls. There was a very wide range of horses, some old and some young, plenty with visible ailments and others with issues that she was sure were more mental. And yet… she had yet to spot her own assignment. He was here, right? He hadn’t been given to someone else? Damien had assured her that they were arriving well-within the time limit for pickup, if perhaps a bit later than he would have liked. So that shouldn’t have given him away, he had to be there somewhere. But the stalls she was passing were becoming increasingly empty, pickups made earlier in the day or maybe even earlier in the week.

Restless stirring from a couple stalls down caught her attention, leading her to pick up the pace. She had passed five empties in a row, so hearing any signs of life gave her a bit of hope that the drive hadn’t been fruitless after all. Surely, he had to be here somewhere. After all, he had looked rather stunning in some of his earlier photos. He would be hard to miss.

“Hello there, handsome…” Valerie cooed, approaching the stall with a sigh of relief. He was still there! And even in poor condition, he was a sight to behold. His head and front legs were pitch black, still retaining some of their sheen despite his poorly condition. But where his shoulders met the rest of his body, a jagged edge split his appearance in two. His front had been black and sleek, a signature color for a dressage horse. But his latter half was the complete opposite, fiery and bright. He was a chimera, his coat split between two vastly different looks that came together to paint a truly breathtaking picture. She would have to thank the sanctuary’s workers before they left, his coat had been clipped and washed recently. And due to the information she had regarding his previous circumstances, Valerie was sure it wasn’t the old owners who did that.

“You poor thing, how could someone have done this to you?” She rested her hands on the lip of the stall door, watching as the stallion paced slightly inside. It was clearer in person just how much his previous ‘training’ had affected him, his poll tense and his back dipped. On top of that, he seemed hesitant. Even with Valerie’s soft tone of voice, kept quiet as to not spook him, the horse was showing signs of distress and distrust. His ears were pinned back as he shuffled into a corner, long tail swishing in warning. She backed up, giving the stallion some space to not stress him further.

As she had anticipated, the whole thing made her sad. Who could have hurt him badly enough that he was afraid? Who in their right mind would treat a living being like that? She frowned softly, taking out her phone to relay the stall number to Damien. She had shadowed the man the year before, when he had ended up rehabilitating an old event horse. Had her friend felt the same way? Had the mare he was there for been just as frightened? Just as hurt?

“I won’t hurt you. I promise… I’ll never hurt you. Ever.” She cooed again, hands held in a placating gesture. The corners of Valerie’s mouth quirked as the stallion took a slight step closer to her. It was progress. More progress than she had expected to make this early and more progress than she had been anticipating at all. Damien’s peptalk had set her on edge earlier, but she had tried to maintain confidence. What was it he said? “Just try your best”? It was a bit cliché, sure, but it was good advice. She just had to try her best, and things would work out in the end. She hesitantly took another step forward, pausing when the horse froze.

“It’s okay. I promise, I’ll take really good care of you. You’re safe now, you never have to go through that again.”

“Do horses speak English now or something?” Val’s thoughts were cut off by another rather characteristic quip from Damien, frowning as the stallion’s ears flicked to him and then back to her a few times.

“Don’t pretend like I don’t see you talking to the horses in the morning.” She sighed, taking a few steps back before looking at Damien. He stood still enough to not startle the horse further, holding out a rope halter to her with a smile. Despite being rather unserious most of the time, his experience was clear. In the way he walked, the way he talked, the way he acted. It was no wonder he had been trusted with rescues before. Valerie was glad, then, that she would have him to help. The rest of the people at the stable, too. And maybe if this year went well, she would apply again the year after. And maybe the one after that. Was this her new career path?

“Alright, alright, fair enough... What do you say we get this guy loaded up? Get him to his new home?” Damien pushed the halter a bit further towards Valerie and she took it with little hesitation. A small smile broke across her face as she turned to look at her horse again.

“Yeah, that sounds good. How about it, big guy? Wanna get out of here?”