Phase 2 - Bits and Bridles

Cass leaned against the stall, glad that Lovely stabled well. The mare was probably the easiest going horse at Thorn Rose right now, though it wasn’t immediately apparent at the moment. 

The dentist had come and gone several times to address the sharp teeth and sores left by what they all guessed was a poorly fitted bit and then gone unaddressed. Dental visits and treating the sores were about the only time the black pearl dun really put up any kind of fight. She, rather understandably, didn’t care for people touching the parts of her mouth that were sore. Or getting the halter on beforehand, which was an unfortunate necessity given they needed it to control her head. Even under light sedation she tended to fidget and try to pull away. 

“Easy… Easy, Lovely.” Ember tried to get the halter on the horse as gently as possible. Lovely, however, backed away, tossing her head as she tried to avoid the halter. 

Cass stayed out, knowing Ember was more than capable of managing for the moment, allowing her thoughts to wonder a bit. 

The first thing that had happened when they’d gotten Lovely to her temporary new home was give her a day or two to settle in. They’d set up a stall away from the other horses at the stables until they knew she was healthy, and started her on several smaller feedings of softer grains and mashes along with open access to regular feed. She’d been easy on the road, and easy to handle and guide, but until she was settled they hadn’t wanted to push further. 

Elinara, the vet at Thorn Rose had determined Lovely was underweight but not by enough to be dangerous. It was deemed likely the neglect had been more recent. From what Cass could tell, that was accurate. She’d done some digging on the old owners and found out that they’d purchased Lovely for their daughter to ride in competitions, but hadn’t been willing to put the time and energy into properly training or caring for the mare. 

From what a few of the farm hands had said, Lovely had been pretty well cared for up until she didn’t perform well enough at the first competition. When the inexperienced rider and undertrained horse had failed to place, the previous owners seemed to have lost interest in Lovely. Apparently they made a few attempts at better training but they’d clearly fitted the halter wrong and Cass was betting the rider was heavy handed on top of it. 

Cass shifted as the sound of a clattering feed bucket echoed from the stall. Lovely had kicked it over trying to turn and back out of the stall. Not that the stall door was open.

“Ember, how much sedation did you give her?” Cass asked, opening the stall door as she snagged a lead rope off the wall. 

“Apparently not enough.” Ember backed away, more worried about getting hurt accidentally than deliberately. Even afraid, Lovely wasn’t aggressive. 

“Clearly,” Cass replied dryly as the demonkin approached Lovely slowly, leadrope loose at her side as she moved to at least get a little more control over the black pearl mare. 

“I’ll get a little more ready to go. She usually takes it well.” Ember ducked out of the stall, closing it behind them, the action doubling as getting the halter out of the mare’s line of sight. 

Just that alone seemed to calm Lovely, who stopped dancing, her tongue lolling out the side as she regarded Cass warily. 

“Hey now, none of that.” Cass murmured, reaching out carefully to stroke the mare’s dark brown neck. “You, me, Ember, we’re all friends here. We have to get those teeth and sores fixed so we can get you fed properly.” 

Lovely calmed quickly, and by the time Ember had returned with a small dose of the sedative, the mare was eating an apple slice from Cass’s hand. 

“I don’t know how you do that.” Ember watched for a moment, their red eyes taking in Cass as the demonkin slipped the leadrope over Lovely’s head while the mare munched on their apple piece. 

Lovely backed a bit, but the moment they realized it wasn’t a halter or bridle they calmed down and turned to look for something to munch on. 

“A few centuries of practice.” Cass opened the stall door and stepped out, passing the lead to Ember. “Well, go on.” 

Ember took the lead and slipped the medicine to Lovely with a treat. The horse took both easily and before long Ember was able to slip the halter onto the mare with minimal resistance. There was still some head tossing and backing, but it was all far more manageable, and once it was on and the mare realized it didn’t hurt, they’d stopped fighting. 

Cass held back, watching as Ember led Lovely towards the crossties and got them secured just before the dentist arrived.  They’d used them when she’d first arrived too so the vet at Thorn Rose could check them out and they could get some basic grooming done. They hadn’t really been needed, Lovely absolutely loved being groomed and hadn’t so much as flinched at the vet doing a basic check. 

Cass felt a little bit of anger flare up as the vet took care of a few more teeth and treated the sores in Lovely’s mouth. If you took on responsibility for an animal you’d best take care of it appropriately. She knew her horses were spoiled but proper feeding, handling, housing, and care were all such basics that those who didn’t provide them angered her on a profound level. 

Lovely only been at Thorn Rose a week or two, but the changes were already beginning to show. She’d put on a little weight. She was eating better now that some of the tooth and mouth problems were being addressed. Her coat certainly looked better, the regular groomings being an activity both her and Ember enjoyed. And the mare positively loved baths, much to the amusement of everyone. 

The only hangup the mare still seemed to have was halters and bridles, which could easily be worked around. An experienced rider and some gentle handling would likely eventually deal with a lot of that, along with having most of the medical problems corrected. Once Lovely learned it didn’t have to hurt, Cass was certain she’d take to at least a halter easily enough. A bridle was perhaps less likely given some of the damage would always make that harder, but a properly fitted one would make a world of difference. 

Well, gentle handling Lovely would have plenty of at Thorn Rose, and care too. Ember would see to that, Cass had no doubt. 

Once the dentist was done with the dental work and Lovely was back in her stall being watched to make sure the sedative wore off fully, Cass grabbed Ember. 

“So, how do you intend to work with her on the halter and bridle?” Cass regarded the elf closely. 

“Well…” Ember took a minute to think about it. “I guess I could go without, but I need her more comfortable with them for things like the dentist and the farrier and the vet and such. I think I’ll start with just a halter. No bit. Nothing that will hurt. Get her used to having that on. The lead rope seemed to make it a little easier to get the halter on, so I’ll put that on first. Then the halter. I don’t think I’ll ride her yet. Not until she’s got a little more weight on her, but some rope and gait work should be possible.” 

Cass nodded and turned to walk away. 

“Wait! Are you okay with that plan?” Ember asked, still stroking Lovely reassuringly. 

Cass glanced back. “First of all, she’s your horse. Second, if I had an opposition to the plan I’d have said so. I’ll see you in the morning. We can get started with some of that then. Maybe consider just getting her used to being around the halter as well. Don’t try to put it on her. Let her sniff at it and just get used to being around it. Give her rewards for staying calm, maybe a bath. She does like those. Let her associate it with good things rather than bad.” 

“Good idea. I’ll do that.” Ember gently hugged the mare, Lovely leaning into it and nipping at Ember’s hair. 

“I’ve no doubt.” Cass gave a faintly approving smile and went back about her work.