Makeover 2024: Bonus 1 | A Chance to Heal

The metal gate of the quarantine pen creaked as Cheyenne swung it closed. She hooked it up and stepped to the side to hang the lead rope in her hand. A sigh escaped her lips. This was the easiest horse she’d ever shipped, but not for the right reasons. She watched as the horse, affectionately nicknamed Toffee due to his layers of orange and brown colors, slowly walked the perimeter of the paddock and took in his new surroundings. He had the slightest hint of curiosity in his expression, but none of the usual confusion, unease, and alertness she’d normally seen in the average horse.

Chey’s gaze fell to the ground. She read his paperwork on the drive back to Royal Vale, but she wanted to look it over again. Codie would be there soon enough too. She and the other managers wanted to be kept in the loop and were kind enough to offer assistance wherever needed. After all, Cadence and Codie had both rescued Loshenka in the years prior. Any advice they could give was most valuable to Chey.

Chey quickly went to the truck and returned to the paddock with the folder in hand. Just as she was about to open it, she heard footsteps behind her coming from the stables.

“You got here faster than I thought!” Codie said, excitement in her voice. She stepped to the fence beside Chey and started adjusting her messy blonde bun. “How was the drive?”

Chey merely shrugged, her gaze flickering from the papers, to Codie, to Toffee, and back to the folder in her hands. “It was fine. Best one I’ve had, actually. He didn’t fuss at all.”

A confused expression came across Codie’s face. She could tell Chey was trying to sound focused or unbothered, but unfortunately for Chey, her expression hid nothing. Codie hummed in response and turned her attention to Toffee. That’s when she started to realize why Chey was taking it harder than expected.

Despite not knowing Toffee’s background, she could feel the sense of loneliness coming from this animal, but she was also confused as to why a lonely horse wouldn’t be immediately searching for the nearest companion. Down the path, the horses in the paddock had their heads over the fence, looking out at Toffee. Cadence’s horse, Wisp, even knickered to him, but Toffee had nothing but an ear flick in response. Toffee slowly made his way around the paddock, turning his back towards the other horses. He looked up only for a moment at the treeline and overcast skies.

While Codie observed this behavior, Chey read over the paperwork thoroughly. “Sorry I’m quiet,” she muttered, “I suppose his story just hits home for me.” She closed the folder and held it out to Codie.

Codie took the folder gently. Any excitement she had fled as she watched Chey step forward and rest her arms and head on the top of the fence. This was hitting her friend harder than she thought it would. She shook her head slightly and opened the folder. The paperwork explained in depth Toffee’s story and health history.

The vet check paperwork all came out clean. He was all up to date on shots, his feet were done at the rescue, and despite being a little on the lower side, he was still within a healthy weight range for his size. By all means, Toffee was a sound, healthy horse. Temperance-wise, it seemed he was a gem to work with. There were no behavior complaints listed. He would never come up to a human willingly, but he never fought to be haltered, tacked up, cared for, or anything. This combined with his health makes him sound like an absolute dream, which led to more confusion from Codie as she read. If the horse was in such good physical health, why did he look so lost? She glanced up at Toffee occasionally as she read. His every move felt so automated.

At the back of the folder, she found the paperwork discussing how he was picked up and why. Toffee’s previous owners are the ones who contacted the rescue to have him picked up. The owners claimed that they no longer had time or interest in caring for Toffee, especially after the loss of their other horse. Whoever went to pick him up was able to fetch more details from the owners and luckily wrote it all down.

Toffee’s old stablemate had suddenly passed due to colic. His owners, never having experienced a horse death before, didn’t take the proper actions to help Toffee cope with the loss. Toffee had a best friend who, to him, suddenly disappeared. He never got any closure. His owner's lack of interest certainly played a part in his inability to heal from this as well. Filling in the blanks, it’s clear that Toffee was expected to go about his regular day-to-day routine, despite his best friend passing away. It seems too, that Toffee did have a more frightened and energetic response originally, but the owner’s ignorance to a horse’s grief caused him to slowly become a shell of himself. This horse passed away five months ago, and Toffee only got to the rescue within the last month.

Codie sighed heavily as she closed the folder. She tucked it under her arm and stepped forward to stand besides Chey and watch as Toffee nibbled on some hay. She overheard as Chey let out a shaky breath. She was hiding her face with her arms and her long, black hair. Codie’s heart sank. She knew Chey wasn’t just feeling the pain for this animal, but reliving her own personal experience. Chey had also unexpectedly lost a friend some time ago. While she had mostly healed from it, Codie was sure that she was remembering the pain of not having closure for so long.Chey’s shoulders started to shake, and Codie reached out to gently rub her friend’s back. She wanted to say something to comfort her, but right now, she knew Chey just needed silence and support. In a weird, bittersweet kind of way, she thought to herself, “This might be the perfect opportunity for Chey and Toffee to heal together.”