How Green Becomes Wood

When Daisy pushed his head towards her, Daizi turned and reached one hand out to him, more than willing to pet both horses, if Daisy would let her, "Am I worthy?" At Xander's question, though, she turned her head in shock, "Am I allowed to?"
 
Daisy gave her a through sniffing and allowed her to pet him. He could have pulled back and away with ease, but he stayed put and let her pet him for a while. He did not act as familiarly as Big John had, but he seemed to enjoy the attention.

"Yeah, of course," Xander assured her. "I cleared it with my supervisor already, but she's got to be present during the ride. Are you okay to stay here while I go find her? It should only take a minute."
 
Daizi turned her face back towards the horses, continuing to pet them both, "Sure, I think I'll be alright. I'm just standing here, really. It's good your supervisor will be there. Someone probably has to guide the horse, after all."
 
"Alright, I'll be right back," Xander said. He headed out and went to track down his supervisor. Up until recently, he'd only really dealt with his therapist, but as he'd gotten more situated in amongst the barns, now he reported to her for therapy sessions and to the stable manager for anything further horse related.

While Xander was gone, Daisy shuffled about and tried to nibble on Daizi's hair, sleeves, and anything else he could get his mouth on, but he never bit. Mostly lipped and a couple of times tried to lick. He quickly got bored and wandered off. Big John stayed close to Daizi, touching her with his nose occasionally and watching how she reacted to the world around her. He knew Daisy was blind in one eye and had learned to adjust for that. He hadn't worked out yet that Daizi was fully blind, but he knew she was different.

Xander soon returned with a stocky, deeply tanned woman with a quick smile that did not always reach her eyes. "Daizi, right? Xander's mother? Nice to meet you and put a face to the name." She waited a moment to see if Daizi would reach out first to take her hand for a handshake. "Have you ridden before?"
 
Daizi laughed when Daisy nibbled at her, but didn't pull away. For one thing, she didn't know horse behavior and didn't want to cause an incident at the barn. When he walked away, she turned all of her attention back to Big John, murmuring softly to him in Arabic.

When Xander and his supervisor came up, she extended one hand warmly, "Hello, yes, I'm Daizi. It's lovely to meet you. No, I've never ridden a horse before."
 
"Never too late to start!" she said cheerfully. "I'm Nina, by the way. I'll be staying on foot, and since you are a first time rider, I'll have a lead attached to your horse, so even though you won't be able to feel it, and you will have your own reins, I will be able to take control if ever you feel unstable, okay? Xander will be riding his usual horse, Mudslide, and I thought you could ride Big John."
 
Daizi's eyes widened behind her sunglasses, "I get the reins? Really? That's okay? I mean, I know he can see, but..." She was also surprised that she got to ride Big John himself, because she had assumed nobody got to due to how sensitive he was, but the surprise that Nina would only take control if it was necessary surprised her. It was an exciting surprise, because she definitely had never done anything like that, but she still didn't expect it at all.
 
"Of course," Nina told her with a smile. "Again, I will always have a lead rope, so if anything happens, anything at all, I can take control, and we will be in a small corral - a round pen, we call it - so there will not be anywhere he can take you. I have a dummy horse set up to show you how it will feel before you climb onto the real deal, and that way you can feel how everything is set up. If you ever start feeling scared, it will be perfectly okay to drop the reins and hold onto the saddle. Does that sound okay to you?"
 
"Excellent! Xander, are you okay getting Big John tacked up? Joey is on his way to give you a hand."

Xander nodded, watching Daizi's excited face with a pleased expression. "Yeah, I can handle it."

Nina offered her arm, moving closer to Daizi. "Alright, then, you and I can go test out the dummy horse. If you take my arm, I can lead you."

Once Daizi and Nina were sorted out with how to properly guide her, Nina took her outside and around the corner to where a child's dummy horse was set up. It was made out of a barrel and a couple of saw horses with a rather hilarious neck made of a 2-by-4 and a giant coffee can for a head, but it worked to hold on a saddle and a bridle. Nina guided Daizi's hand over the saddle and the bridle, talking her through how everything worked. Technically, Big John would be wearing what was known as a trail bridle, which had the ability to function with reins and a lead rope, something a regular bridle could not do, but Nina did not bother explaining the details to that, figuring that was more information than Daizi needed and didn't want to overwhelm her. Once Daizi had examined everything, Nina helped her straddle the "horse" so she could show her how the reins would sit in her hands and how it felt with the pressure of a horse wearing it. Or as close as possible with a dummy mock-up.

"It will feel a little different as horses are constantly moving, especially when walking, their heads always move just a little bit, but this is basically how it will feel," she told Daizi. "The reins you will be holding will be all one long piece, so if you drop them, they will catch on his neck and not fall where he might step on them. How are you feeling?"
 
Daizi took Nina's arm and went to the dummy horse. She could tell it was smaller than Big John would be and although she found it a bit silly, she recognized it was really helpful for her specifically. "It feels good, yeah. I think it's okay, it's different, but I think it's okay."
 
"I think you can do this, and I am positive you will be completely safe, but remember, if you get concerned at any time, all you have to do is say, and we'll stop," Nina assured her. "The horses are ready, so if you'll come with me this way."

Nina led the way to a small, round pen with enough room for a couple of horses to maneuver and be comfortably ridden, but not so large that they had a lot of free space to run around wildly. Xander's smaller horse, Mudslide, was eager to go, so Xander was already working with him to calm him down and get out some of the energy he had. Big John stood patiently waiting next to a scruffy-looking man holding his lead rope. A mounting block stood next to Big John as, at eight inches over five feet tall at the back, very few people could comfortably climb up on him even with the aid of stirrups. He instantly perked up when he saw Daizi but didn't move an inch.

Nina guided Daizi to Big John's side, and Big John swung his head around to gently nuzzle her shoulder before facing forward again like he was supposed to. Now, instead of looking resigned to work, he actually looked interested. Nina talked Daizi through the motions of getting up on the block, how to put her right foot in the stirrup, and then lift up and over with her left foot. She let Daizi take her time, and Joey assured her that he was on the other side and would catch her if necessary, but Big John's extra-wide back made a solid landing pad.
 
As she walked up the riding block, torn between excitement and nervousness, Daizi touched Big John's face when he nuzzled her and wondered aloud, "I wonder if my husband would be able to mount him without the steps." Then she gently touched Big John's shoulders before putting her foot in the stirrup and swinging her leg over. Atop his back, she gasped softly just from how high up she felt and how unique this experience was for her. Leaning forward slightly, she pet Big John's neck and then picked up the reins in her hands.
 
"Very good, just like that," Nina praised as Joey took away the mounting block and stepped out of the ring. She backed away to stand on the inside of the ring rather than between Big John and the fence. "Okay, now, I want you to squeeze gently with your legs, focusing on your knees, and click with your tongue. When you feel him step forward, release the pressure."

Big John kept one eye on Nina, knowing she held the lead, but his ears were trained back toward Daizi. She had his reins, she was on his back, she was the one he wanted to listen to.

Xander kept Mudslide back on the opposite side of the round pen to watch, biting his lip in excitement as he watched Daizi.
 
Daizi did as she was told and when Big John stepped forward, she couldn't help but squeak in surprise and excitement despite both knowing exactly what would happen when and not wanting to accidentally startle the horse. She just couldn't quite fight back the noise, despite her best efforts.
 
Big John took a couple of careful steps forward and then stopped, sensing her anxiety.

"You're doing fabulous, Daizi," Nina reassured her. "It's alright. You can vocalize. It takes a lot to startle Big John. Try it again."

"You got this, Mama," Xander called.
 
"Okay," Daizi murmured, stroking Big John's neck again for a moment, murmuring something quietly to him, and then once more did the actions which made the him walk forwards, feeling very similar to her daughter when the movement made her immediately laugh. Then she murmured more gentle praise to Big John but held tight to the reins. It was very strange to be moving in an unfamiliar environment without being able to feel what was ahead.
 
Big John moved forward at a slow, deliberate pace, his large body swaying gently in a rhythm as he walked. He continued forward this time, moving a little away from the fence as he walked. He nickered softly to Daizi, seeming to be attempting to reassure her even as she was praising him.

"I'm coming up beside you," Xander called, giving Daizi ample warning as he guided his horse between the railing and Big John. "You're doing awesome, Mama."

Big John flicked one ear toward Xander and Mudslide, acknowledging their presence and shifting a little farther over to give them room as he continued his plodding pace. Not even Mudslide tossing his head could disturb him.
 
"It's a really weird experience," Daizi admitted, "I really like it, but it's weird." She was pretty sure her family hadn't even let her do a pony or camel ride led by someone else growing up because the only thing her brain compared this to was when Dark let her sit on his shoulders--and despite how purely innocent that action was, she knew if she brought it up to Xander, it would sound much worse than it was.
 
"Yeah, it takes a bit to get used to," Xander agreed, amused by the fact that he still had to crane his neck to look up at his mother. Her horse was taller than his by a fair bit, and she was already taller, meaning he felt like he was looking up even more than usual. "You're the first non-staff member to get to ride Big John. He was perfectly great with all the staff, but I think he actually wants to work for you."

Mudslide tried to shove his nose into Big John's face before Xander could correct him. Big John gave his head a small toss, never missing a step, and shook his head. Xander nudged Mudslide a step away from Big John and warned him to behave.
 
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