[PHASE 1] - Our First Impressions

“Sagebrush loshenka makeover…” Ale looked at the flier for the esteemed rehabilitation event, fiddling with a pen in her hand. Maybe this year was the year. Ale’s facility, Mistveil Isle, had been progressing steadily and they could handle a newcomer now. 

“Ah, what the heck. I’ll apply.” She set the pen down and started filling out an application on their website, anxiously thinking about the future possibilities. What kind of horse would come into her care? Would they get along with the other loshenka already present at Mistveil? It was a lot even to ponder momentarily. 

“And sent!” She smiled and stood up, eager to continue work for the day. 

The time between the application and the acceptance went by so fast. 

“Holy cow, that was quick!” Ale opened the acceptance email, seeing some vague details on the horse. Before thinking too hard, she accepted the placement and awaited the arrival of her beloved new companion. 

The arrival day was a perfect setting. The sun was out with some soft fluffy clouds on a bright blue sky. At Mistveil, the ocean was always within a short distance. Ale and the facility were located on a small archipelago a little bit away from the mainland. The loshenka would have to be transported to the archipelago and then trailered down the long bridge connecting the inner island to the outer ring. It wasn't a fun travel, so Ale was expecting the worst for the horse’s attitude. A small rumble could be heard in the distance over the chirping birds and waves. 

“Ah, they must be here already!” Ale got up, grabbing a few cold carrots to greet her with. The small single horse trailer steadily made its way to the front of the Mistveil island. The main barn, left open to the front, was bright and airy, giving the newcomer a warm welcome.

“Hiii! Welcome home!” Ale waved out at the trailer as the sagebrush employee gently opened the trailer door. Ale walked up slowly, the chestnut mare was quite nervous at first but after the small click of her new halter and a cold carrot, she felt right at home. Ale was so taken aback. The mare was in need of rehabilitation, but seemed so friendly and well behaved. She stood perfectly still, swiveling her ears and looking around at the new location. 

“She seems to be adjusting well already!” Ale’s friend Mari walked up from the main barn. 

“Yeah she really is,” Ale started as the loshenka gave a happy neigh. 

“I can take care of her for now, get her back to the barn while you sort stuff out with sagebrush!” She smiled walking up to greet the new addition. 

“Sure,” Ale handed her the lead rope, watching the two walk back towards the main barn. “Thank you!!” She called out after Mari, who gave a thumbs-up back. 

The sagebrush guy had already gotten back in the car, waiting for Ale to return to pick up the documents. She walked over to get the papers from the back of the trailer and was too stunned. The entire trailer had been wrecked, a bar from the ceiling was hanging down, and the hay net had been shredded, leaving hay all over the floor. The water bucket was spilled, soaking not only hay but also papers from the document tray. 

“Goodness.” She sighed. “I knew her reaction was too good to be true!” She walked over to the driver, who then chuckled. 

“Yeah, she's a handful. Always getting into stuff and destroying everything in her space. We call her the ‘Interior Designer’. She's always making spaces her own through destructive measures.” Ale nodded. “Anyways, I did print off an extra copy in case she decided to shred the ones in the back.” He handed the papers to her through the window.

“Thank you, sir, I’ll do my best to help her!” 

“No problem,” He said, starting up the car again. “By the way, I do apologize for this, but she happened to have an accident involving her ‘designing’ just before we arrived. We had to get her seen at the vet and included the bill in the document packet.” 

“Ah, no worries. Thank you again” Ale turned around, her face carrying a worried expression. Her new partner is already causing trouble and racking up bills before even arriving. What a handful. 

Having the new horse at the facility was something indeed. While first impressions were good, the chaos that came with housing this loshenka was anything but. Ale had returned to the barn only to find Mari freaking out as the new chestnut went on a rampage. She was shaking her head back and forth, attempting to tear at the wooden siding. 

“Easy girl, easy” Ale rushed over, attempting to soothe the loshenka. Her mouth was cut, where larger visible splinters of the stall wall had shaved off into her lips. It was a tragic sight, especially on the first day home. It took a moment but she eventually calmed down with comfort. Ale gently removed the splinters and gave her a carrot. The mare, for being so destructive, was an incredibly reasonable horse otherwise. It was so odd, almost like someone flipped a switch when she was in enclosed spaces. 

“I’m so sorry,” Mari began. “I had no idea this was going to happen.” 

“It's okay, I didn't fully understand the extent of her issues. I just witnessed what looked like a crime scene on the trailer.” Ale sighed. “I’m not sure if it's just enclosed spaces she hates, or if she's just insanely destructive.” She gently petted the mare’s soft nose and then unlatched her stall door to halter her back up. 

“For now, I’d like to move her to the far pasture while I contact the village vet. It's the safest space for her right now.” Ale exclaimed as she fit the soft yellow halter back onto the horse. The mare sighed and relaxed a bit, ready to move on to the next location. Ale’s walk with her was oddly uneventful. The facility layout had a few arenas between the main barn and open pastures. Ale debated turning her out in the small barn-attached ones, but wasn't ready for exterior renovation of the barn just yet. The mare sniffed the air, curiously but confidently taking in her new surroundings. 

“You know, Miss Destroyer, we haven't quite picked out a name for you yet.” The horse looked back at Ale, tilting her ears. “Hmmm. How about Pepper?” The mare had a little glimmer in her eyes. 

“Oookay, Pepper it is!” Ale smiled as they approached the wide-open pasture. She carefully opened the gate and let Pepper inside, making sure to unhalter her before she ran off. Aside from the haynet and water trough, the pasture was empty and away from other horses. Ale wasn't confident in her extent of knowledge concerning the mare. Her destructive tendencies could also cross over to other horses. 

A few peaceful hours had passed. Ale called the vet to schedule a check-in as soon as he could arrive. It wasn't long at all before destruction arose again. Pepper was almost down one whole board on the fence. It had been kicked, bitten, and pulled, exposing nails and opening the pasture up to the rest of the property. Ale rushed into action upon hearing the tearing of wood. She calmed Pepper down and rehaltered her to relocate, AGAIN. 

“It’s okay, we're going to go somewhere else. Safer for now.” She sighed and brought Pepper over to a new pasture, the one that currently housed the facility's high-ranking loshenka. Two gentle and friendly mares, Almond Joy and Sweet Ambrosia cautiously approached the gate to see the new mare. 

“I know she's new guys,” Ale softly motioned them away from the gate to make space. It was a bit of a risk, but with the danger in the other pasture and the imminent destruction awaiting the stall, Ale had no choice. She let Pepper in and then closed the gate once more, turning her back to call the vet for an emergency visit. 

“Yeah, she’s gotten into the pasture fence too.” Ale turned around to look at the horses. A pleasant and relieving scene was in front of her; Pepper was relaxed, and getting along with Joy and Ambrosia perfectly. The three were relaxing in the sunshine and grazing together. “Yep, thank you for your time” She hung up and watched the spectacle. Ale wasn't sure why, but it seemed the company from Joy and Ambrosia calmed Pepper down for now. Luckily, that meant more time for Ale to research and handle the massive number of tasks that Pepper had made for her. 

“You’ve made quite the first impression, Pepper” Ale laughed as she turned away from the pasture and slowly walked back to her office space. A difficult task indeed, but helping Pepper was something Ale was determined to do.