Phase 1| Hungry Girl

 Briar wasn't prepared for the state of the makeover horses she saw as she wandered through the holding pens, walking in the general direction the staff had pointed her in. Some of the horses looked healthy and well, but others were in dire condition. Briar had only seen a blurry photo of the mare she was getting. She hadn't been able to make out the condition of the mare, but from the description on the rescue papers, Briar wasn't expecting anything great.  She glanced down at the papers again; the mare's ID was 6521.  Her eyes scanned the pens around her; one horse was limping towards a hay feeder. Another was pawing nervously, its wide eyes searching for anything familiar. Beyond that horse's pen, Briar saw the long metal barn; that's where she was headed.  ID number 6521 was located in a pen alongside the metal barn. 

   Briar's steps quickened, her boots lurching through the mud as she hurried towards the barn. She clutched the blue halter in her hand tighter and put the papers she was holding in her pocket. She passed one pen, two, three, and then she halted in front of the fourth pen. There was her mare. She looked totally exhausted. Head dropped low as she stood still near the center of the pen. She only flicked a grey ear towards Briar as she opened the gate and entered the pen. Briar took a moment to look her over carefully. Her coat was in poor condition, dull and dirty, with patches of hair missing. While she wasn't terribly skinny, her ribs were visible, and she lacked lots of muscle. Worst of all was her once beautiful tail and, to Briar's surprise, mane. She hadn't noticed on any of the papers that the mare had a mane. If that's what you could call the tangled, scraggly mess hanging down her neck. Briar took a deep breath and shook her head slightly, pondering how someone could let a horse get to this state. 

   "Hey," Briar spoke quietly to the mare, approaching her. Staff had told her that the mare was nothing but sweet, and Briar hoped they were right as she got closer. The horse finally moved, lifting her head slowly and taking a few tired steps towards Briar, her ears were pricked forward curiously. Briar stopped moving and let the mare close the distance. Her soft pink muzzle reached out sniffing Briar's shirt. A tiny smile pricked her face as she placed her hand on the mare's neck, rubbing her dirty coat gently.  She lifted the halter in her hand and the mare had no reaction except a casual glance towards it. Her smile growing, Briar brought the halter closer and slipped it over the mare's nose. She pushed her head into it, she seemed as eager to leave as Briar was to get her out. Buckling the halter and leading her around the pen a few times, Briar now headed for the gate and led the mare out. The two walked through the maze of holding pens, heading for the loading zone where Briar's trailer was waiting to take the tired mare home.

   The journey home had been long and Briar had made it to the farm with the mare late at night. The horse had traveled wonderfully, though Briar suspected she was too tired and weak to put up any kind of fuss. She'd unloaded the mare and led her to the quarantine barn and field, settling her in a large stall with a full water bucket and some hay. The farm vet was coming early tomorrow morning to check her out. Briar stayed in the barn with the new mare until she seemed comfortable and settled. There weren't any other horses in quarantine, so the barn was silent; the mare drank nearly half her water bucket and was now munching quickly through her hay. Briar smiled sadly, "Hungry girl," she said softly, draping her arm over the stall door and reaching out to scratch the mare's shoulder. A dim barn light flickered a bit as a breeze blew through and it brought Briar to attention. Giving the mare a last pat, she left the barn and shut the big door behind her. She headed up to the house and to bed, hoping to get at least a few hours of sleep before the sun rose.

Two hours of sleep did not blend well with Briar. With dark circles, a messy bun, and yesterday's clothes she was feeling like a zombie as she marched down to the quarantine barn, tea mug in hand.  She heard the familiar clacking of her vet's old truck as it wound its way down the farm's driveway.  "Morning!" Dr. Denes' voice hollered over the truck engine as he drove closer, reaching the barn before Briar and parking the truck. Dr. Denes had been working as a vet for Briar's farm for years, and he was well acquainted with Briar's grumpy nature.  Briar gave the man a greeting nod. The vet shook his head, chuckling at her, he brushed a strand of his messy gray hair back and adjusted his glasses as he grabbed his things from the truck. "Show me the horse, we'll get this over with then you can go sleep," Dr. Denes said, still laughing as he followed Briar into the barn. Briar rolled her eyes.

"I've got too much to do today," she griped. Her face brightened slightly when she arrived at the mare's stall. The horse was sprawled across the soft straw bedding, lifting her head and blowing happily when she saw Briar by the door. 

"Well, she's definitely settling in alright," Dr. Denes said brightly, smiling widely as he looked over the mare. She heaved herself to her feet and approached the people by her stall, pushing her nose towards Briar. 

   Briar recalled all the information she knew about the mare to Dr. Denes as she haltered her, led her outside, and tied her. The mare went along with no problems though she seemed a bit impatient after she was tied, she kept trying to walk off after Briar whenever she would move away. Dr. Denes began his exam, carefully looking over the horse and examining her legs closely. Briar stood back, sipping her tea slowly and watching the mare. "What do you think?" Briar finally spoke as Dr. Denes stepped away from the mare.

He tilted his head, adjusting his glasses. "It's not the worst I've seen but she is very deficient in a lot of nutrients. The most important thing right now is a solid feeding plan; get some weight on her, and then you can slowly start working on building muscle. I wouldn't recommend and work now, she's too weak."  he explained. He walked to his truck, and after some rummaging around in the back, he emerged with a few bottles. "Start her on some good feed, add anything extra that adds nutritional value, and mix some of these in her feed," he instructed Briar, handing her the supplement bottles. "She also might have some lameness in her front legs, but it might be feed-related; just get her eating properly, and we'll keep a close eye on her," Dr. Denes said, no longer looking at Briar but past her to the slender mare. 

Briar nodded turning to also watch the mare. "Okay, sounds good," she nodded slowly.  She was already formulating a plan, a few weeks of good feeding and easy ground training, then after another vet check to make sure she was improving she could up the training and start building muscle on her. And if she was ready she could see how the mare did with saddling. A small smile spread on Briar's face as she zoned out. She was so excited to work with the beautiful mare. 

"Briar!" Dr. Denes snapped her to attention, "I'll send you the bill this afternoon when I get back to the office; I'll be back in a week; call me sooner if you need me!" he said, giving Briar a wide smile as he jumped into his truck. The old engine gurgled a few times before it finally started and the veterinarian drove off. 

As soon as the vet left Briar untied the mare and led her around the barn to the field, letting the mare loose. The horse glanced around the field and walked off a few steps before turning back towards Briar. She smiled as the horse came back to the fence, sticking her nose against Briar's hand and asking for scratches. Obliging the mare, Briar pet her for a few minutes, then she left the mare and headed inside the barn to prepare her breakfast. Briar heard the mare whinny outside as she mixed in grain and the prescribed vitamins. She smiled and shook her head. Grabbing an apple from a basket she sliced it up with her pocket knife and added it to the bucket. Briar stood up, grabbed the bucket, and headed outside. She reached the fence, the mare already walking over quickly, ears forward and excited. Briar slipped the bucket on the hook and stepped back, waiting for the mare to find the food. The mare slowed as she approached the bucket, her nostrils flaring as she smelled the yummy food, she froze for a few seconds, staring at the bucket. Lowering her nose and gently examining the food she quickly discovered the apple slice and chomped it down. After that she buried her nose in the bucket, wolfing down the grain. 

   Briar smiled widely for the first time that morning. "Hungry girl," she laughed softly. "You're gonna be just fine," she assured her. Never again would the mare be neglected, Briar would make sure she had everything she ever needed and that her beautiful coat and tail and mane would be healthy, her stomach would be full, and she would always have someone around to give her scratches.