Meeting Canine

Azura had gotten Scorch a couple of years ago. Not a day went by that she wasn't glad about it, he had become a heart horse of hers. And he continued to grow in ways that made her heart ever fuller.

She sometimes would think back about how far they'd come. How he had changed and his life before. Azura knew he had sired a few foals under his prior owner; they'd hoped to make him some accomplished sire, but demand was little.

But some, if barely, had been there. Azura had tried to track those foals down, but was refused any info. But now apparently, the prior owner had decided to wash their hands of any issues that could arise from that past venture of theirs. Suddenly it was convenient and easy to contact Azura, even after years of brickwalling and dead silence. Azura didn't like that person anyways, as she hated the way they'd kept Scorch, what it had done to him and their attitude towards horsemanship in general. Though that was the only reason why he had ended up being sold. 

Azura grimaced and looked at the email again. A foal of Scorchs, now a young adult, was a problem child. Had seen a home or a few, it was really vague information. But what was clear: that mare had to go somewhere else, it seemed as if the email's writer was almost disgusted or scared of her. The breeders didn't want her and the sires prior owner didn't either. Vehemently so. There wasn't even a picture, just a barebones description. Silver black splash, scraggly fur. Maned. But even that stunning phenotype had apparently not convinced anyone to buy the mare and keep her. The breeders and the sires prior owner were out of their money and in a semi feud, because neither wanted to be responsible.

Azura wondered what the actual issue was, if everyone involved was so averse to a horse.

It vexed her. She already had more than an issue with the sires prior owner, but the way they wrote about that mare- it made her properly mad. Throughout her life, Azura believed that breeding animals included ensuring they'd always have a home, not whatever this was.

Now for the response, part of her wanted to shirk any confrontation, worrying the mare might bear the consequences. But the more she thought about it, Azura realized she was the only option. Or the cheapest, less hassle one that was left anyways. Had even a horsetrader refused? 

There was no doubt in her mind the people involved would've rather taken the money, but apparently, the mare had been promptly returned by would be owners. 

So Azura sent a somewhat strongly worded response, but also agreed to come pick the horse up unseen and without any more knowledge on what was going on. It didn't matter. Azura believed the horse wasn't at fault in the big picture. Wrong training, socialization, trauma, pain- so much that could mess a horse up and when that showed, be pinned on the animal as malice and flaws. And remain unaddressed and glossed over in many cases.

She went through a couple possible scenarios. Maybe the mare was aggressive and defensive. Maybe she was shut down, maybe a nervous wreck. Or all of it intertwined. Maybe she was ill. Maybe she couldn't be ridden and was being discarded. Maybe she was injured, or would rather not have anything to do with people.

It was a plunge into cold, uncharted waters, to even agree and just pick the mare up. But Azura had always loved deep, dark and freezing seas.

Only that nothing about the mare turned out to be cold or still. 

She stood in a pasture, a jet black coat that was splashed snow white. Her fur was long and unruly, growing against the usual grain wherever it seemed to please.

Something fierce was boiling beneath the mare's skin. Wild and self preserving, which had refused to budge to the mold people had tried to make her fit.

To Azura, it was love at first sight. The mare's strong sense of self was fascinating. At that moment, Azura felt that this wildness had to be what made mustangs so magical to people. Natural confidence oozed from the animal, taking up space unapologetically, rebelliously so. 

One look at the mare and it was clear, she would not bend and could not be made to obey with whatever methods had been tried. 

Azura could wager a bet on what those methods may have been. She could almost sense it in the suspicious glances the mare cast at her from afar, as cutting as they were. 

Azura would need a good game plan to convince this mare to even allow any approach. Not to mention getting her into the trailer. It would be quite the challenge, to try and find some common ground.

Of course, Azura reinforced her intent to take the mare home. Much to the relief of both the breeders, who had once owned the mares dam, and Scorch’s- the sires- prior owner. Azura didn't miss that those people seemed to pass horses on and on, the animals flowing through their hands like sand.

Azura had intended to try asking some more questions, but didn't need to. The assurance of the problem- the mare- almost being physically out of their hands, led the involved parties to soon begin a fight. 

To Azura, it was obvious that they'd had this exact argument many times before. Perhaps all throughout the few years the mare had lived. Three maybe.

Accusations. Then recountings of whatever grievous thing the mare had done.

The breeders were in upheaval about the mare's eyes specifically. Her eyes whites, they were black. Azura knew this to be an oddity within the breed. But even if she had been able to get a word in, it wouldn't have been believed. The breeders thought the mare was either sick or cursed and had sold her as a filly, since the sires prior owner had not wanted to take the foal. 

The then foal apparently refused to be stalled, she didn't just gather dust nicely, quietly and prettily like her sire had. She'd broken down stall doors and gates the moment she was strong enough to do so, crashed through wood fences and jumped electric ones. Before that, she'd made ruckus after ruckus when stalled and had rebelled against most training. 

Azura thought she would've reacted the same to being essentially locked up.

Then, there had been the mice- which the mare had caught and eaten. Chased down even, which freaked anyone who witnessed it out. If able, Azura would've added to this that horses were opportunistic omnivores, some more than others.

But the fight between was much too heated and too good of drama to watch to interrupt. Also, not worth the hassle of confrontation. 

The list was longer still.

Aversion to their attempts to train the mare properly. Especially desensitization training. Also, the mare had grown sharp teeth, another thing seen as cursed.

This too had an explanation. Stallions usually had those teeth, but mares would grow them in some rare cases. 

Azura knew then, whatever name the mare had wouldn't do.

Eventually, it was time to actually try and approach. Looking at the mare again, feeling her intense gaze linger was quite the experience. Azura hadn't met many horses who had such natural intensity to them. 

Canine, Azura thought. That was the mare's name now. 

She spoke it lowly, carefully and watched the mare's -Canine’s- ears swivel at the first time hearing her name. There would eventually be recognition, but now, she was suspicious. 

Not afraid, never- she stood her ground and continued to eye the approaching woman. 

Something was strange about that one, the mare thought. It was in the way the stranger moved. Inhuman, it was. Similar, almost assimilated, but never truly- the scent too was a giveaway. It drifted on the wind, distant but tangible enough. The woman smelled of metal, of horses and something akin to dogs, but not quite. And not human. 

It piqued Canine’s interest. 

And Azura wondered how anyone had managed to load the mare onto a trailer. Leading her in would likely be a no go. Then the attempt to drive her, maybe with a swinging leadrope of a whip with a plastic bag. Azura imagined Canine would have yielded to the pressure, neither freezing, shaking nor running- but charging at whatever or whoever applied it.

Canine didn't budge when her strange visitor stopped a few steps away. It was a little unusual to see someone respect the space instead of sauntering right up and trying to fuss with her. Then again others cowered a few meters away, always watching but never approaching. 

Azura made note of the mare's physical state. The hooves were in need of a trim, the pasture wasn't large and only made of soft ish ground, not enough for them to wear down. Putting Canine in a chute for it might have been a solution, if there had been any around. And if she were to even go inside of it. Maybe with training it could work, feeding her inside of it instead of trying to shoo her in.  

That just might be the way to get her on the trailer to her new home too. Maybe if Azura put some jerky in the bucket, something of high value that Canine would like. They were going to try some trailer training.

Canine did not yet know what was in store for her, she couldn't discern that this woman heralded a new life.