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Description

The White December 2023

PHASE ONE for the team
Allison Haven| AM Chishio

Previously

   As the gray winter sky hung heavy overhead, Allie eased Chishio along the road, cautiously watching as the ground squished beneath his hooves. She was surprised by the weather; having never been on the trails in this area of the world before, she had expected it to be colder. Or at least for the ground to be frozen solid. Instead, it had started to thaw, creating a sloppy mush for them to muddle through. She wasn’t worried about Chishio in this situation and was thankful for his cropped tail; had it been longer, the mud may have never come out of the stallion's hair. But Chishio was as smart as they come; if any horse could handle this sort of terrain, it was him. Her poor companion Burlap, however, seemed to find the cold mud most disagreeable, as it inevitably found its way between his paw pads.

    “Poor boy, I’ll towel your paws off as soon as we get to camp, buddy,” she couldn’t help but smile sympathetically as Burlap’s expressive eyes pleaded her for a spot on Chishio. Unfortunately for him, he was about the size of a small pony himself, and Chishio already had enough to worry about.

    Allie was still rather tense about being with Chishio on this leg of the ride. She was hopeful this would be a bonding opportunity for them, but Chishio unfortunately seemed more headstrong and opinionated about the footing and keeping up with the other horses than he was bothered about his rider. She was certain if she dropped the reins, he would find a way to barge his way into the head of the group and would take her to camp. She felt like dead weight to him at this point.

    That is, in fact, not what she wanted. But how was she to get this stallion to loosen up? To relax and just enjoy this work? She took a deep breath, realizing that she had tensed up every part of her body. She was nervous, but this was something she would have to resolve for herself. But how could she when so much was weighing on her? She trusted Chishio for a moment and let herself start to mentally unwind the coil of stress that had been hopelessly binding her for… well, years now.

    Angell’s Meadow stepped back from competing, studding, training, everything in the last few years. In 2019, they had hired Victor. He came with incredibly solid recommendations from stables of renown. Victor was Allison’s hire, her responsibility, the person she had set in charge to be the manager of her life’s work. Angell’s Meadow, like any other farm, made their money from a mix and match grouping of services and operations. They offered boarding and training, a prestigious camp for young riders to gain experience in order to join some of the world's finest equine colleges; they had active racehorses, studding services, even cattle herds to manage. It was a lot, thankfully Allie had a good team of staff that helped her separate these things responsibility-wise as well as fiscally. Each service was assigned to a team, and that team’s financials were their responsibility. Hank had been given the Western/Livestock team, and he was managing it flawlessly. Racing was given to Finnegan, exotics given to Daragh, and Allie managed the English department as well as the training programs and summer services. However, in 2019 there were so many new students joining on that Allie just simply couldn’t handle it all. When she asked Tatsuno if he could have a hand in managing it, he very politely declined, claiming it was not his role on her farm.

    After all that had happened, Tatsuno had made a point of apologizing to Allie for this. Claiming had he taken the role, nothing would have happened. It was not his fault in the slightest; he had been right, it was not his responsibility to manage nor what he had been brought on for. Not to mention that his mother, and the Kageyasu Family, had been incredibly helpful in their support over the years. For all the dark shadows that Victor had brought, the last person to blame would have been Tatsuno. Allie put the blame solely on herself.

    She felt herself slipping.

    “It’s just the anxiety, deep breaths.” She opened her eyes, but the slipping feeling continued; urgently she took stock of what was happening. She was physically slipping! “Dammit, alright, relax.”

    Unfortunately for Allie, saying relax doesn’t just… make things go away. Those memories plagued her as Chishio tensed like a statue beneath her. He was plodding his hooves out of the mud, just for the slop to swell around them and suck him in again. Chishio was getting frustrated and tense; Allie felt it. His strong muscles bundling up beneath her, he was either going to dump her into the wet cold mud beneath them, or she was going to get herself right and coax him down the hill.

    Her hands adjusted, and she urged Chishio down the hill; breath after breath, she focused on the situation before her. Soon, thoughts of the past slipped into her subconscious, and she tuned

     in to the animal beneath her. She relaxed, tension leaving her shoulders and her seat adjusted to help Chishio get down. Like magic, Chishio took these signals and relaxed, getting his hooves underneath himself and bracing as the mud let them slip down the steep hill.

    Cows watched on as the strange pair used the hill like their own personal slip n’ slide, gliding down to the base of the hill where, thankfully, the road smoothed out. Allie started laughing, turning to look back at the hill with a smile plastered on her face before all of a sudden Chishio took off with her.

    “Wo-woah now!” But the stallion persisted, bucking and slipping about in the mud as he got his “jitters” out. A buck more, and he settled, letting Allie know he was finished; his ears flicked back, and attention squarely on her. But she could feel it, he was relaxing, becoming more malleable like honey under the gentle warmth of the sun, sweet synergy. It clicked; she finally understood why Tavia had much better luck. Tavia is naturally a calm girl, and in the saddle she is even better. She has no desires to compete very often, and when she does, she only does endurance-based things. Her role has always been in the exotics of the farm; science and biology being her bread and butter. So for Chishio, she had already approached the situation with a relaxed, “Let's explore” mindset. Allie had approached this wound tighter than a sailor’s knot in a storm.

    A few recovery breaths and a lot of praise and pats on the neck later, and the team continued on. If they were going to complete this journey, it would have to be as a partnership, and Allie needed to realize just how tuned in Chishio was to her. Luckily enough, there was much to be seen in the Carpathian Basin, and they had a few days still till they were to reach Wolfsberg.

NEXT

Description

The White December 2023

PHASE ONE for the team
Allison Haven| AM Chishio

Previously

   As the gray winter sky hung heavy overhead, Allie eased Chishio along the road, cautiously watching as the ground squished beneath his hooves. She was surprised by the weather; having never been on the trails in this area of the world before, she had expected it to be colder. Or at least for the ground to be frozen solid. Instead, it had started to thaw, creating a sloppy mush for them to muddle through. She wasn’t worried about Chishio in this situation and was thankful for his cropped tail; had it been longer, the mud may have never come out of the stallion's hair. But Chishio was as smart as they come; if any horse could handle this sort of terrain, it was him. Her poor companion Burlap, however, seemed to find the cold mud most disagreeable, as it inevitably found its way between his paw pads.

    “Poor boy, I’ll towel your paws off as soon as we get to camp, buddy,” she couldn’t help but smile sympathetically as Burlap’s expressive eyes pleaded her for a spot on Chishio. Unfortunately for him, he was about the size of a small pony himself, and Chishio already had enough to worry about.

    Allie was still rather tense about being with Chishio on this leg of the ride. She was hopeful this would be a bonding opportunity for them, but Chishio unfortunately seemed more headstrong and opinionated about the footing and keeping up with the other horses than he was bothered about his rider. She was certain if she dropped the reins, he would find a way to barge his way into the head of the group and would take her to camp. She felt like dead weight to him at this point.

    That is, in fact, not what she wanted. But how was she to get this stallion to loosen up? To relax and just enjoy this work? She took a deep breath, realizing that she had tensed up every part of her body. She was nervous, but this was something she would have to resolve for herself. But how could she when so much was weighing on her? She trusted Chishio for a moment and let herself start to mentally unwind the coil of stress that had been hopelessly binding her for… well, years now.

    Angell’s Meadow stepped back from competing, studding, training, everything in the last few years. In 2019, they had hired Victor. He came with incredibly solid recommendations from stables of renown. Victor was Allison’s hire, her responsibility, the person she had set in charge to be the manager of her life’s work. Angell’s Meadow, like any other farm, made their money from a mix and match grouping of services and operations. They offered boarding and training, a prestigious camp for young riders to gain experience in order to join some of the world's finest equine colleges; they had active racehorses, studding services, even cattle herds to manage. It was a lot, thankfully Allie had a good team of staff that helped her separate these things responsibility-wise as well as fiscally. Each service was assigned to a team, and that team’s financials were their responsibility. Hank had been given the Western/Livestock team, and he was managing it flawlessly. Racing was given to Finnegan, exotics given to Daragh, and Allie managed the English department as well as the training programs and summer services. However, in 2019 there were so many new students joining on that Allie just simply couldn’t handle it all. When she asked Tatsuno if he could have a hand in managing it, he very politely declined, claiming it was not his role on her farm.

    After all that had happened, Tatsuno had made a point of apologizing to Allie for this. Claiming had he taken the role, nothing would have happened. It was not his fault in the slightest; he had been right, it was not his responsibility to manage nor what he had been brought on for. Not to mention that his mother, and the Kageyasu Family, had been incredibly helpful in their support over the years. For all the dark shadows that Victor had brought, the last person to blame would have been Tatsuno. Allie put the blame solely on herself.

    She felt herself slipping.

    “It’s just the anxiety, deep breaths.” She opened her eyes, but the slipping feeling continued; urgently she took stock of what was happening. She was physically slipping! “Dammit, alright, relax.”

    Unfortunately for Allie, saying relax doesn’t just… make things go away. Those memories plagued her as Chishio tensed like a statue beneath her. He was plodding his hooves out of the mud, just for the slop to swell around them and suck him in again. Chishio was getting frustrated and tense; Allie felt it. His strong muscles bundling up beneath her, he was either going to dump her into the wet cold mud beneath them, or she was going to get herself right and coax him down the hill.

    Her hands adjusted, and she urged Chishio down the hill; breath after breath, she focused on the situation before her. Soon, thoughts of the past slipped into her subconscious, and she tuned

     in to the animal beneath her. She relaxed, tension leaving her shoulders and her seat adjusted to help Chishio get down. Like magic, Chishio took these signals and relaxed, getting his hooves underneath himself and bracing as the mud let them slip down the steep hill.

    Cows watched on as the strange pair used the hill like their own personal slip n’ slide, gliding down to the base of the hill where, thankfully, the road smoothed out. Allie started laughing, turning to look back at the hill with a smile plastered on her face before all of a sudden Chishio took off with her.

    “Wo-woah now!” But the stallion persisted, bucking and slipping about in the mud as he got his “jitters” out. A buck more, and he settled, letting Allie know he was finished; his ears flicked back, and attention squarely on her. But she could feel it, he was relaxing, becoming more malleable like honey under the gentle warmth of the sun, sweet synergy. It clicked; she finally understood why Tavia had much better luck. Tavia is naturally a calm girl, and in the saddle she is even better. She has no desires to compete very often, and when she does, she only does endurance-based things. Her role has always been in the exotics of the farm; science and biology being her bread and butter. So for Chishio, she had already approached the situation with a relaxed, “Let's explore” mindset. Allie had approached this wound tighter than a sailor’s knot in a storm.

    A few recovery breaths and a lot of praise and pats on the neck later, and the team continued on. If they were going to complete this journey, it would have to be as a partnership, and Allie needed to realize just how tuned in Chishio was to her. Luckily enough, there was much to be seen in the Carpathian Basin, and they had a few days still till they were to reach Wolfsberg.

NEXT