Welcome to Choteau, Montana, in 2018. What was once only a small city focused on fossils, has now started to turn into an equestrian mecca. Everyone still knows everyone, so the question remains, what will you become?
06/04 - Site opened 18/04 - Update log #01 including new features! 27/04 - A New skin has been released!
[attr="class","box2"]This filly was going to be the death of Rylee. At a year old, the filly was able to untie herself from almost any knot. It baffled Rylee. The filly hated standing still, and she would bite at anything, or anyone, she didn't like. "Get off of my foot," Rylee said to the horse, pushing the filly away from her. The filly also had no concept of personal space. She was going to be a hellion to work with. Luckily, Rylee was the lead trainer at the ranch. She knew her way around training. But she felt like it was going to take a miracle to train this horse. Especially when it came to standing still and being tied up.
Rylee had bought the filly at the last auction, with high hopes for her. But she hadn't thought it completely through. She had known how wild the filly was when she entered in to the deal. She was almost regretting buying her now. But Rylee would stick it through. All in all, she loved the red roan horse already. Despite all of her flaws. Rylee had her hands full with the filly and her Appy. Luckily, her other Quarter Horse was a pushover. She could put anyone on him and he wouldn't flinch. Her Appy on the other hand would crow hop and buck all day if someone allowed him to. He needed some more work, as well. At least the Appy would stay tied up and stand still.
Rylee grabbed the lead rope, and tied a new, more difficult knot around the post, hoping the filly wouldn't be able to escape this one. She leaned over, eyeing the horse the whole time and grabbed the brush from the bucket. Sure enough, the filly stepped over right onto Rylee's foot again. Rylee sighed and pushed the filly back the other way. Her foot was going to get broken at this rate. "Seriously?" she questioned. She knew the filly would love some sugar cubes, but Rylee didn't want to reward her bad behavior. Maybe if she stayed tied the whole time. [newclass=.box2]margin:0px auto; width:300px; height:425px; background: transparent; overflow:auto; padding:8px;[/newclass] [newclass=.box2::-webkit-scrollbar]width:5px;[/newclass] [newclass=.box2::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background: #850af7;[/newclass]
Quigley had been watching off and on for a little bit. While he was just a specialized trainer, he thought maybe he could help her with the tying issue. Some horses were just clever enough to get out of just about anything. Quigley waited a while longer to see if the woman could do it herself, focusing on Jack as he saddled the stud. Every time he tightened the girth, Jack would flatten his ears and curl his lip, making Matthew chuckle under his breath. Some would say Jack had a bad attitude, but it was just personality. That’s all. Something he appreciated about the horse.
He took the Mecate reins in his hand and led the stallion closer to pair. Jack didn’t need to be tied. He trained the horse to stand whenever the reins were dropped, as in the lead of the Mecate laying on the ground - of which he did before studying the woman. He stepped in and took the lead, looping it until it seemed like a braid with the tail of the lead hanging through one of the loops. “If she pulls this part,” he grabbed the end of the lead and pulled. It bunched up but didn’t come un-tethered. “She can’t get loose. But if you slip the end through like this,” he pulled the end of the lead back through the loop and tugged it free, un-tethering the horse altogether, “Easy way to get her free if she freaks out.” Tethering her back like she was, Quigley move to the woman’s side, standing close to her horse’s flank. He draped an arm over the filly’s back and used two fingers to push at her flanks, keeping the pressure there until the filly moved over. When she did, he dropped his hand, “She’ll get the hang of it.”
He probably overstepped his boundaries, but if it kept up someone may have gotten hurt and he would have been responsible for it as an onlooker. Better to teach a couple of tricks without permission than deal with a guilty conscious later.
[attr="class","box2"]Rylee wasn't sure what she thought of someone coming over and untying her horse to show her how to tie a different knot. First of all, it was helpful. Second, it was kind of rude. She knew what she was doing when it came to horses. She was the lead trainer at the ranch. She stood there for a second, dumbfounded. She just watched as he made the filly move. The filly pinned her ears, but moved as the pressure point got to her. She jerked at her lead, and kicked at the pair. Rylee stood there, and breathed deeply. The filly was going to be a piece of work.
"Elena, we're gonna have problems," she told the filly. Elena snorted at her, and Rylee shook it off. At least she wasn't kicking or trying to bite anymore. Rylee then turned back to the man. She wasn't exactly sure what to say to him. It wasn't every day that someone walked up and took over training another person's horse. In fact, she hadn't had it happen to it ever. She wasn't even sure if she would do it to someone. Maybe with a bit of warning and some suggestions, sure. But to just walk in and do something. That was something else. She sighed, and shook her head.
"I guess, thanks," she said. His tie on the filly had held her this long, which was better than what Rylee had been doing. "I'm Rylee Olken. Lead trainer here," she said, hoping to intimidate just a little. Most people didn't usually try to correct the lead trainer.
Quigley wasn’t easily deterred. He ignored the filly’s attempt to kick at them and returned his attention to the woman just as he stepped away from the pair. He knew it was coming, kind of figured she would be aggravated that he stepped in, but it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission. He’d rather be sorry he stepped in to prevent a potentially dangerous situation than sorry he just walked by and have that guilt on his conscious. She, obviously, didn’t see it that way.
Rubbing his palm on his jeans, he offered his hand, “Matthew Quigley, fellow trainer. Though not lead trainer but I don’t think that implies I know less of training than the next person,” he teased her. “Sorry to step in on your session but a bruised or broken toe would seem like a fair trade off compared to being trampled by a pissed off filly.” He chuckled dryly at his comment before retrieving his stallion and bringing the quiet horse closer.
“Where’d you pick her up from and what sort of discipline were you thinking of training her for?” Jack stood with his head down, hind hoof cocked and relaxed while his ears drooped to the side. Jack was a rescue and had issues trusting people but a filly like this was lacking herd interaction that taught her basic manners.
[attr="class","box2"]Rylee should have known he was a fellow trainer. She probably would have approached someone with an unruly horse, too. Though, she would have approached the situation a little bit differently. Such as talking to the owner and offering a better solution, before actually doing it. But that was just her. Everyone was a little bit different. She shook it off, despite being irritated. She needed to get along with her fellow coworkers. "Pleasure to meet you," she said. "And I don't doubt your knowledge," she said. "I guess that's fair. You did manage to tie a knot that she hasn't gotten out of, yet." She wasn't sure if the filly was going to be escape the knot or not. Elena seemed to be a Houdini when it came to getting herself untied.
"She's an auction pick up," she said. "All I know of her is that she's a devil." Rylee shrugged. She had been excited to get a horse who had no knowledge of anything. Someone she could train any which way she wanted to. Even if that meant she'd have to deal with two head-strong horses at the same time. "I'm thinking she'll probably be a barrel horse, honestly," she said. Rylee was a fan of speed. Though she already had a barrel horse, it never hurt to have another. And the filly was a good candidate. And if she turned out to not work in barrel racing, she'd work as a good broodmare. "You have a gorgeous horse, by the way."
Welcome to Choteau, Montana, in 2018. What was once only a small city focused on fossils, has now started to turn into an equestrian mecca. Everyone still knows everyone, so the question remains, what will you become? 
