Burning Desire

Chapter Twenty-Three

{ A/N - Not too sure about this one. But please vote, comment and enjoy. }

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Unless we were planning to walk Brenna in hand all the way to Kentucky, I was going to have to help her conquer her fear of the horse trailer. This, however, proved easier said than done.

I'd taught plenty of youngsters to load in the past, but that usually consisted of nothing more than bribing them with kind words and treats. But to get Brenna in the trailer would require eliminating the physiological resistance she had to it, and that called for more than bribery.

Avery assisted me in the task, lowering the ramp, opening all the windows inside the trailer to make it look as inviting as possible and fetching a bucket of treats whilst I retrieved Brenna from the field. She was even more antsy than usual, accustomed to being ridden on a daily basis and often first thing in the morning. But I'd granted her a day off to liberate herself in the field after the unsuccessful show, and teaching her to load would exhaust her mentally so there was no need to ride her today either.

I positioned Brenna in front of the trailer and felt her sides tense up immediately. Knowing she to be calm so that her mind wouldn't shut off, I spent a few minutes stroking her and murmuring sweet nothings until she relaxed slightly.

"Come on, Brenna," I said softly to encourage her forward. The mare remained rooted on the spot. Instead, I opted to use pressure and release. I flicked the end of the lead rope against her rump lightly, the rope making enough contact to annoy her but not so forceful that it would aggravate her or hurt her. Still, as sensitive as ever, Brenna snorted and tossed her head, sides tensing again.

"This may take a while," Avery chuckled, leaning against the side of the trailer.

"It's alright, girl," I murmured to Brenna. "Don't listen to Ave. There's no rush."

I continued flicking the lead rope against Brenna's rump lightly, and the mare glared at me in an expression of her annoyance. I chuckled and pointed her head to face the trailer again, still brushing her rump with the rope. Brenna leaned her head down to sniff the ramp, contemplating the task.

"That's it!" I praised, but didn't stop with the lead rope.

After a few minutes of sniffing the ramp and contemplating, Brenna took a ginger step forward. I stopped flicking the rope immediately, a reward for her forward thinking, and paused to give her a moment to think about it before continuing to flick the rope. After a moment, Brenna stepped forward again, although this time she tried to dodge past me. I positioned myself at her shoulder to stop her from running past me and redirected her towards the ramp, still brushing her rump with the lead rope.

We were at the base of the tailgate now, and just a few steps from being sheltered inside completely. But it took nearly twenty minutes of constant flicking, stopping only to reward her when she stepped forward, until she was inside the trailer. Once inside, she tensed again in fear. Avery handed me the bucket and I rewarded her with a handful of treats which she snuffled up gratefully, though they did little to ease her tension.

"Come on. Let's try again," I said softly, leading the mare off the ramp and spinning her around to start the task again. The second time was quicker, the third time even faster and the fourth she walked on almost immediately. But the mare was still extremely hesitant and tense when in the trailer, so more practise would have to be put in before Brenna loaded confidently.

"Well, it's a vast improvement considering she wouldn't even go inside the trailer forty-five minutes ago!" Avery said, as positive as ever.

"Yeah," I smiled, rewarding Brenna with pats and treats and praise. "Who are your rides for today?"