Search results for query: *

Xander glanced at the pole. "Hmm. In my most expert opinion, I'd say you've drastically altered it. Maybe for the better. Maybe for the worse. Who knows? The future is an interesting unknown, isn't it?"

"I guess that makes sense. I wouldn't want anything to happen to my old van," Xander admitted. He watched her lift the pole. "Congratulations. You have now altered the course of the future. A future horse, in any case."

"Dang, that's really rough," Xander winced and smirked. "Bit like a roller coaster you don't want to be on! Oh, here's a pole on the ground. Do you want to try to lift it to see how heavy it is?" It was a wooden pole, but hollowed out in the middle so that while sturdy enough to take a...

"Sometimes, the riders don't know if the horse is coming or going, even when they are the ones supposedly steering the thing," Xander snorted, fully aware that he was no exception.

Xander let out a startled laugh, taken by surprise by the comment and the image that popped into his head. "That would be ridiculous. And hysterical."

"That makes sense," Xander agreed. Other than feeling bad about Enkidu adapting. That didn't really make sense to him, but it was a small thing, so he let it go and focused on what was before them. They were coming up on a section outlined in small, brightly colored cones, like small traffic...

"Sounds useful," Xander remarked. "Looks like it did you good, to. How come you never got a real guide dog?"

"Huh, yeah, it could be something like that," Xander agreed. He followed close behind Daizi, letting her lead. "You're really good at this course."

"Mudslide hates jumping," Xander admitted. "I'm not sure why. He might do a hop, but he hates jumping. He'll run like nobody's business, and he's ridiculously mischievous. I bet someday we'll get to the advanced course, but we gotta work on his jumping issue. Mostly to figure out why. If...

"It's more crowded for one thing, with weirder looking obstacles, and some bars set a bit higher so a horse has to either jump or step higher. You can things that move like flags or plastic bags, too. It's supposed to help simulate a real trail ride. There's an even more advanced course, but...

"Yeah. Not as much anymore, now I can do the more advanced one with Mudslide sometimes, but we come back here a lot to work on basics. Both of us," Xander told her. "Most of these obstacles are actually pretty light, so I and other riders can move them around and mix things up. Otherwise...

"When he starts shedding in the spring, then it'll clump," Xander assured her, smiling as he watched her work. Big John was clearly relaxing thoroughly into the affection and grooming, and Daizi seemed to be enjoying herself. A win-win! Once Big John had finished his brushing, Xander took...

Nina guided Daizi back to the barn where there was a small concrete pad outside on one side of the barn and a tie for horses as well as brushes and hoses. Big John did not need a hose down, but brushing was pleasurable for the horse. Once Big John had his saddle and bridle removed and was tied...

Nina made sure she was stable, putting a hand on her shoulder to help her. When Daizi started stretching, Nina snickered lightly. "Big John is watching you. I think he's afraid you are going to fall over." The big horse put his nose near Daizi, trying to understand what she was doing. "I...

"We've reached the time limit for Big John. Nina's coming over to take over, and Joey is getting the mounting block to help you down," Xander explained. "I need to move forward out of the way, but I'll be close." "How do you feel?" Nina asked, walking up to Daizi. "You did really well for...

"I hear donkeys are really smart," Xander agreed. "Oh, Nina is waving for us to stop. You'll want to pull on the reins. Start off lightly and increase the pressure slowly until you feel him responding. When he starts slowing down, release the pressure and let him stop on his own."

"I don't blame you," Xander said simply. He didn't know much about how well or badly that went over. He'd left and hadn't seen anything that they'd done. He changed the subject. "Horses kind of freaked me out with how clever some of them are. I didn't know how smart they were until I...

"Yep. We have plenty of time," Xander assured her, "and Big John will look after you. If he doesn't think he can do something, he just won't do it. For both your sakes. This will be super simple, though. Less complicated than Alec's... whatever the heck it was with the living room."

"Basically like a very, very simple obstacle course. Like, small things to go around, maybe a pole on the ground to step over, things like that to make it vary from a straight circle," Xander explained. "I can walk next to Big John while we do it so you have a guide, or I can ride next to him...

Big John obediently picked up his feet and sped up to a medium walk, stretching out his legs to cover ground faster. Mudslide was happy with the change and hurried alongside. "That's a good speed for him. He can go faster, but the movement gets really jostling," Xander warned her. "Next...