Blind Faith

Ch. 4

I walked into the barn on the day of my private lesson, and I headed towards Stormy's stall. I reached for her halter, but when I felt for it, it wasn't there. I looked inside the stall, and Stormy wasn't there either. Strange.

I walked to the board that has which horses everybody is riding that day, and instead of Stormy's name next to mine, Hope's name was.

Immediately, I walked to the outdoor arena to find Kayla. I saw her teaching a young girl that was on Cooper. They were doing a course of all cross rails at a trot. They were so cute!

When the girl finished the course, I called out to Kayla. She said something to the girl, then walked over.

"Hey," she said. "What's up?"

"Well, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with Hope," I said.

"Oh! Just take her out and start grooming her. She's just fine to lead and everything, you just have to talk to her and let her smell everything. Remember, she can still see," Kayla said.

"Alright," I said, then headed back inside.

I walked to Hope's stall, and looked inside. I smiled when I saw Hope laying down on her fresh, clean, stall shavings. "Hey, Hope," I cooed to her, and she lifted her head up, and pricked her ears at me. "I'm coming in."

I reached for her halter and snagged it, then unlatched the stall door, and walked in.

Hope just watched me. She didn't seem like she wanted to get up, she was just chillin'. Maybe if I whispered to her, she would let me sit down next to her.

"How are you liking Desert Flower Hope?" I asked, and of course, got no answer. "I'm sure it's better than where you were previously at," I said, and squatted next to her. She sighed when I set that, and her ears flopped sideways. Carefully, I sat down by her head, and let her sniff my hand. After she confirmed to herself that it was me, she let me pet her neck.

I sat there criss-cross-applesauce, and continued to stroke her mane. She looked at me, and I wondered what she saw. Was I darker in her world? Or was I blurry? I'm not sure, but she seemed to have had enough of the strange-looking world, and laid her head down in my lap. I gasped, but then I grinned, and pet her face. She closed her eyes, and her breathing was peaceful.

15 minutes later, I could hear boots clopping down the isle, and Hope heard it, too. She lifted her head to see what it was, and Kayla peered her head over the stall door, and smiled. "Aw, Hope, are you sleepy?" Kayla asked, then looked at me and asked, "How long have you guys been like that?"

"I'm not sure, maybe 15, 20 minutes," I estimated. "Should I have her get up so we can start our lesson?" I asked, but it was too late. Hope was already scrambling up when I said that, and now she is standing next to me, expecting me to slip her brown, leather halter over her head. "Never mind," I said, then slipped the halter over Hope's chestnut head. I grabbed the lead rope, let Hope smell her surroundings, then we headed to the closest pair of cross ties. I clipped them onto her halter, then had Kayla watch her as I grabbed her grooming kit.

I let her smell each brush before I used them on her pretty coat, and soon enough, she was sparkling. I was glad when she allowed me to pick up her hooves. She definitely has been trained, she's just suspicious of everything!

"Good girl," I murmured to her, and she nickered a little when I offered her a treat. She happily ate it, and I scratched her neck and withers, and her lips flapped in pleasure.

"So, are we going to tack her up today?" I asked Kayla.

"Not today, but sometime this week. I just want her to get used to her new environment before asking her to work. But since you didn't get to ride today, next Saturday you can take either Cooper or Stormy out on a hack after you finish your chores," she said, and I nodded.

"Ok, great!" I chirped. "Is there anything you want me to do with her right now?" I asked.

"You can take her for a walk around the fields, and then when you put her away, open her back door so she can go in her paddock," Kayla said, and I nodded, then unclipped the cross ties from Hope's halter, and attached the lead line to it, then we walked out of the barn, and into the warm, New Mexico air.

>~<

I let Hope loose in her stall, then fed her a treat, and opened the back door of her stall, allowing her to walk out into the small, grassy paddock. She inspected the pen, then sniffed the ground for a nice spot, and got down on the plush grass, and rolled. Luckily, she didn't get too dirty, and then got up, did a full body shake, and began to nibble at the grass. "Bye, Hope," I called as I left her stall, and she looked at me and her eyes said, "See you soon!" I smiled and walked out of the stall, then latched it closed, and hung up Hope's soft, brown, leather halter.

I walked down the isle when I saw Kayla with a pitchfork in an empty stall.

"Hey Kayla! I'm taking off, so see you tomorrow for practice!" I said, but then I couldn't hold back my curiosity. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, well I'm setting up a stall for another new horse that's coming," she said. "The owner is leasing the horse to us for lessons, and I think that I will put you on him for tomorrow's practice," Kayla continued.

"Really? What's his name? What does he look like?" I said, firing questions at Kayla.

She laughed. "His name is New Moon, and he's a Fresian gelding. He's coming here for our intermediate to advanced riders, and I was hoping that you would be interested in being my guinea pig with him," Kayla said.

Wow. First, letting me ride Stormy. Next, letting me work with Hope. And now, letting me ride New Moon! It's strange, I feel like I've heard that name before, but I can't think of where I've seen it.

"I would love too! But I just started riding Stormy, are you sure you want me riding New Moon?" I asked.

"I'm sure. And you will go back to Stormy after a ride or two on New Moon," Kayla said.

I nodded. "Alright, well I'm looking forward to it! I'll see you tomorrow," I said, then walked outside to where my mom was waiting for me.

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A/N: hiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!! Wow I've updated so much for me! I probably won't get to update tomorrow since I'm going to be busy all day, but I might be able to squeeze one in. I'm hoping to work on a new chapter for Rumor Has It right now, but it's getting sorta late, so I'm not sure how much I'll be able to get done. The next update for BF will most likely either be early tomorrow morning, late night tomorrow, or sometime on Sunday. Not quite sure. Anyway, bye my friends!!

Oh wait! What do you think is gonna happen with New Moon and Hope?!?!?!?! I'm not quite sure yet, but I'll think of something. I've been having a writers block 😑