Rural

Chapter 10: Helping Paint. Helping Me. Helping Sawyer.

Chapter 10: Helping Paint. Helping Me. Helping Sawyer.

       For a while now, I've been wanting to try to get Paint used to other humans, for him to be okay if other people went near him. I didn't know if I would be able to do it though, especially if the Birch family hasn't been able to for the past ten years. They were all very good with horses. If someone needed help with horses, whether it be training them or helping to control their temperament, they were brought to the farm.

       And for some reason, Paint was the one horse they couldn't get through to. 

       I really wish I knew what happened to him. The only thing we knew was someone, or maybe some other animal, hurt him. We didn't know how. We didn't know why. We just knew he was scarred from it.

       One thing I also wanted to try with him was taking him for a ride but I didn't see that happening any time soon. Even though Paint was completely fine with me being near him, he wouldn't let me ride him. That was one thing he hated. He never let me put the saddle on him so I gave up trying to ride him for now. I wasn't going to force him to wear the saddle.

       While I was in Paint's field spending some time with him, I noticed Monica just standing by the fence as she watched. After a while, I decided to walk over to her to talk to her. "Hey," I said. 

       "Hi," Monica said. "I have to admit, I'm kind of jealous you were able to get through to Paint. I've been trying so hard for a long time."

       "I don't think it's really me getting through to him so much as me being the one to calm him down when Sawyer and I found him all those years ago," I said.

       "Yeah, I guess that's true," Monica said.

       "I've actually been meaning to try to get him used to other people," I said. "Want to help? You're probably the best choice since you work with horses the most out of everyone in the family."

       Monica smiled. "Yeah, I'd love to help. What exactly would I do, though? I doubt he would let me get close to him right now."

       "I think if you just sit by watching, that might help," I said. "So when he notices you not really doing anything, he won't see you as a threat. And after a while, if you're okay with waiting however long it may take, you can try approaching Paint with me."

       "Yeah, that sounds good," Monica said. "I've done all my chores for the day so I don't have anything else to do. And Paint didn't seem to have a problem approaching you for the first time after you came back even though Sawyer, Erica, and I were standing close by."

       "Exactly," I said. "And if he sees me with someone, maybe he'll realize they're trustworthy and he has nothing to worry about."

       "Hopefully it works," Monica said. 

       "Yeah, I hope so too," I said.

       I walked back over to Paint as Monica sat down on top of the fence. The whole time I was talking to Monica, Paint was just standing and watching curiously. Maybe Paint seeing me interact with other people would make him eventually trust them.

       After a while of spending time with Paint, I decided to try getting him to go near Monica to see how he would react. To do that, I carefully led him over to her, watching to see how he would react.

       As soon as we got close enough for Paint to realize he was being led over to her, he started freaking out. I was quick to calm him, standing between him and Monica and rubbing his neck. "It's okay," I said softly. "It's okay. She's a friend. She's not going to hurt you."