PHASE 2 - Past and Present

The sound of the small orange clicker in the youngest Cliffdale sister’s hand was starting to get on the oldest Cliffdale’s sister’s nerves. 

Click.

Click.

Then nothing for a few blissful seconds..

Then click click CLICK.

Every single click had Kassandra twitching from where she stood next to the door of the indoor arena.

“You know,” Amaranthine called, glancing over from where she was standing off center in the arena. “You don’t have to stand there twitching if you don’t want to.” Just then the blue civet mare the two sisters had taken under their wing walked over, head low and huffing softly.

“No, I do have to. In case something happens.”

Mare sighed, holding out her palm for their mare, so aptly named Dragon. The blue-coated Loshenka paused for a bit, ears flicking back and forth, then snorted and touched her muzzle to Mare’s hand. “Yes, good girl!” Mare praised, clicking the clicker and giving the mare a pat. They’d been working on consent with touch, Mare teaching Dragon how to ask for touch by placing her muzzle to the girl’s palm.

“She’s really picking stuff up with the clicker!”

Kass nodded in agreement, shifting to lean against the wooden wall. Dragon was coming along leaps and bounds in comparison to where they’d started.

Amaranthine picked up a lunging whip, holding it out to the civet Loshenka to sniff. Upon approval, Mare changed position so she stood beside the horse’s shoulder. “Let’s walk then.” And the two walked forward, Mare keeping a gentle hand on Dragon’s crest of her neck. The two walked in sync, Mare clicking the clicker every so often when Dragon would halt or turn correctly. She always kept an ear turned towards Mare now, listening for the small click.

The pair stopped in the center of the arena, Dragon nearly halting square.

“I’m going to see if she’ll do the exaggerated walk this time,” Mare announced.

“Alright, but don’t be upset if she doesn’t respond,” came the tart response.

Mare huffed towards her sister, frowning at her pessimism. “You’re such a wet blanket!”

Kassie did nothing to dignify herself. “I’m only being realistic” was what she would have said except that would have just upset her younger sister. Her sister who would go to the ends of the earth to help this horse.

Mare held out the lunge whip in front of her, pointing towards the far end of the arena and giving it a small wiggle. Dragon’s ears perked up, and she drew herself up in preparation. 

Mare clicked her tongue, exaggerating her walk so each leg came up almost parallel to the ground. And miracle of miracles, Dragon copied her. The two of them strode out across the arena, nearly in-sync as they moved. Upon reaching the far edge, Mare signaled for them to stop.

“Oh Dragon, that was so good!” The young trainer praised the mare, clapping her hands together and bouncing on her toes. The Loshenka bobbed her head, pawing the ground a few times. 

A few weeks ago, the mare would be huffing and pushing to get her way. Kassandra had been ready to step in multiple times but Amaranthine had insisted on doing this one alone. Her sister worked to find what it was that worked for the civet mare. And Mare didn’t let her push her around or get away with anything.

“She isn’t doing it out of spite or malice. It’s a fear response, or trauma even. I want to help. I am going to help.”

And with time, Mare figured out that Dragon responded well to just simple praise and pats, especially scratches behind the ears. And the clicker helped cue in when she’d done something correctly. The first breakthrough was the palm touch, where Dragon would touch Mare’s open palm when she was ready to be touched. And working without any sort of tack or gear was optimal; the blue-coated Loshenka responded well to verbal cues and light touches.

Kassandra blinked back to the present as Mare headed towards her with her change in tow. The older sibling sat up, picking up the blue rope halter they’d been using. 

“You saw how good she was, right? Miles of improvement!” She wrapped her arms around the mare, squeezing briefly to which Dragon just huffed.

“Yeah no, she has come leaps and bounds. Remember last week she almost bowled you over!” Kass held out her hand like her sister did, waiting for the horse to touch it. But Dragon turned away.

“Awe, she just doesn’t like you much yet. But we’ll get there!” Mare chuckled. Normally her sister got along very well with all the horses in their stable. But not this Loshenka.

Kassie rolled her eyes, handing the halter to Mare and walking out the door. “I’ll see you back up at the house.”

Mare took the halter, showing it to Dragon and waving Kass goodbye. Dragon sniffed at it but otherwise didn’t react. The younger sibling haltered the mare, but looped the end of the lead over her neck instead of holding it. Then she walked out of the arena.

Dragon meandered slightly, distracted by horses that were out in the field, before hustling to catch up with Mare. The girl clicked the clicker, then gave big slappy pats. “Excellent job today. Tomorrow will be even better. Just wait!”