Phase # 2 | Baby Steps Make it Further than Bounds

Today was the day, and Kass was over the moon with excitement. She’d spent the last two weeks working to gain Ginger’s trust. She spent every. Waking moment with the mare, loving on her, cuddling her, brushing her, and it really seemed to be helping. 

While she wasn’t the most excitable Loshenka Kass had ever met, it was clear Ginger was coming out of her shell, and at the very least, was relaxing more. 

This improvement excited Kass. She felt successful, ready to take on all the rest of the world. She’d convinced herself that most of Ginger’s problems must’ve come from her shy and somewhat timid nature. So she figured today was the day. She would take Ginger out to the outdoor round-pen for some light work. 

Of course, things would not go as planned. Not even close. 

At first, Kass thought it was going to go well. Ginger accepted her halter willingly, her ears perked. But when they turned away from the washing stalls and towards the exit door, she began to grow tense. She slowed down, and her ears began to fold back. Kass tried her best to be confident, keeping the pressure on the halter firm. 

They made it all the way to a step out the door before Ginger decided she couldn’t handle it. The mare dug her heels into the ground and with no other warnings, she hurled herself up and sideways, crashing into the barn door and yanking Kass off of her feet entirely. 

The young girl barely got a glimpse of Ginger racing back into the barn before she smacked full force into the ground. 

Kass laid there for painfully long. She wasn’t hurt, at least too much physically. But her pride was mortally wounded. She thought they had been ready. How wrong could she be? Not much more than this. 

When she finally got up and trudged back into the barn, Kass found Ginger in her stall, looking worried as ever, her ears back as she stood as far from the still open stall door as she could get. Kass’s heart broke. What had she done? And was there any way to repair it?

Kass found herself even further back then square one after that incident. She was afraid to do much more than brush Ginger in her stall. And every time she presented Ginger’s halter to the mare, she would lay her ears back nervously. Kass couldn’t bring herself to do much more than that. She felt stuck, and frustrated at her own stupidity. And she was scared this would never be fixed. 

About a week or so later, Kass found herself standing quietly at Ginger’s stall, watching the mare nibble at her hay net. It was halfhearted at best. Neither one of them seemed to know what to do now. What little bond had been there was broken and strained. 

Kass lifted her head at the sound of footsteps and she angrily sniffed back the tears that had been sliding down her cheeks. She didn’t need anyone else to know how helpless she felt about a project she thought she could handle. 

She had been expecting a stable hand, or maybe her brother to come through. Instead it was probably the least expected person. Akamu Mata. The handsome , slightly older than her, horse trainer from stable next door. Kass quickly wiped at her eyes and averted her gaze when she saw him. She had mentioned this project to him weeks ago, but he’d been out of town for competition. She hadn’t expected him back so soon. 

He didn’t say anything. Just joined her at the stall door, his dark eyes examine Ginger with calm interest. Ginger returned it with a bit of a side eye, but slightly perked ears. And after a moment, the mare slowly trotted over and extended her nose to Akamu in greeting. 

Kass was shocked. Ginger hadn’t been that receptive to anyone when she first arrived. 

Akamu just smiled and fished a treat from his pocket for her. “She seems sweet.” He commented finally. 

Kass drummed her fingers on the stall door and sighed. “She’s so kind, and seems gentle enough.” She agreed with a breathy sigh. 

Akamu nodded slowly, and after a moment, fished out another treat and pushed it into Kass’s hand. Kass absently offered it to Ginger, who took it and munched happily away. 

The pair stood silently for a bit longer, listening to Ginger chew on her snacks before Kass felt herself building right back into a meltdown. She hung her head in shame. “I may have ruined everything with her. I don’t know what to do.’ She whispered. 

Akamu looked at her thoughtfully. “Baby steps.” He answered after a moment. 

Kass blinked back her tears and glanced sideways at him. “Baby steps?” She repeated. 

Akamu only nodded. “Take it one step at a time.” He smiled. “You both seem to need a bit more confidence. That’s it.”
Kass quietly reflected on that, gazing at Ginger, who was now looking expectantly at her hand for another treat, her ears perked. Maybe Akamu was right. “Baby steps.” She muttered to herself, absently accepting another treat from Akamu to offer her mare. “Okay.” She felt a glimmer of confidence. After all, when she first arrived, Ginger was nervous to even accept treats from her. And here she was, even after the last week, accepting them with perked ears from her and a stranger. Maybe there was hope yet. They just had to take baby steps.