From Struggle to Canter

Chapter Three: Rough Start

        Suddenly I heard someone open my door and shake me awake.

"Morgan, get up! We have lots to do today!" Exclaimed a brunette who was currently shaking me awake,

"I'm up, I'm up," I replied, still exhausted from the drive up,

"Well hurry up and get ready! I placed a pair of actual breeches on the end of the bed for you. What are you planning on doing with your hair?" The brunette inquired,

"I don't know, probably put it back in a ponytail?" I sleepily said,

        Apparently, this was the wrong answer, as the brunette shook her head. I started putting on the breeches, while the brunette -who I figured out was Katie- told me that she'd put my hair up for me and that she will be back with a baseball cap to cover the top of my head.

    When Katie came back, she had an elastic on her wrist and a baseball hat in her hand.

        "You need a new hair routine. Clients can't see this mess that you call hair, as well as you need new clothes. After chores and getting you accustomed, we will go shopping for new stuff unless you have your lesson with Dakota, then we will go after. Got it?" Katie stated,

    "Uh sure?" I hesitantly stated,

    Katie had finished doing my hair and started briskly walking away. I had to jog to keep up with her.

    Once we got downstairs, Katie walked me through each of the horses fed. If there wasn't a chart on the wall, near the feed, I'd be lost.

    "Where's your horse?" Katie asked in the middle of her sentence,

    "I actually don't have one...yet" I sheepishly said,

    "Well, we will talk with Dakota about that but for now you need to get Angel ready for Cassandra," Katie stated,

    I started walking away when I realized I had no idea where I was going.

    "So, uh..where's Angel?" I questioned,

    "Did you not see where the horses are?" Katie rhetorically asked, "Just follow me."

    I followed Katie across the barn to the stalls. She took me near the end of the stalls close to the pasture where a beautiful Palomino Thoroughbred-Arabian stood munching on a bit of hay. Katie handed me the teal halter and matching lead rope. Then she showed me how to hook and unhook the latch. Afterwards she disappeared, most likely back to the grooming stall waiting for the next horse.

    I went into Angel's stall and began to reach up in between her ears. To my surprise Angel put her head down, allowing me to easily put the halter on. She must be trained to put her head down when you reach up towards her pole with a halter in hand. Once I snapped the snap onto the ring, I gave Angel some slack and backed her up. She was really good for me leading her over to the grooming stall, but when it came to tie her up, she decided to put up a fuss.

    "Common Angel! Let's not do this." I started to plead,

    "I'll have to teach you how to tie her later but for now I'll just hold her. Well, what are you waiting for? Get grooming!" Katie snapped,

    As I groomed Angel, Katie was criticizing everything I did. She would call out things like 'Don't brush her that way.' Or 'you're being too rough.' I put up with it knowing that it was my first day and that Katie was stressed.

    After I was done grooming Angel, it was time to tack up. Katie was careful to instruct me where things were in the tack room. She did however forget to mention the cat that would hiss at me when I tried to go in. Any time I tried to go around the cat, to get Angel's tack, it would hiss and claw at me.