[Phase 2] Maybe this will work

Talie led the silver and black tiger-striped mare through the stable hallway. Other mares put their heads over the black railings of their stall doors. Chardonnay, a palomino Faime draft mare, nickered at them as they passed. The Silver Queen turned her head the other direction as if she hadn't heard her. 

"Hello, Char," Talie said as they past. 

The sweet Faime seemed appeased and went back to munching hay. Talie and the rest of the staff thought that Queen would eventually warm up to her. Most horses did as she was the sweetest horse in the barn. Queen had yet to make any horse friends at Ravenmire. 

The Loshenka had been with them for a little bit now, but was still settling in. The training sessions had improved. The Queen dained to work with Talie longer now before laying down. Today would be the third day that Talie had tacked the mare up. She had yet to attempt to mount her as she wanted to see how the mare acted with tack first. And it wasn't exactly pleasant to have a horse lay down while riding them. The mare was wearing some of the barn's simple tack, but Talie had plans to order custom tack for her if the Makeover allowed them to keep the mare. 

As Talie led Queen out of the long Gothic-style barn, she saw that Cora was already working in part of the outdoor arena with Strike, her blackberry roan Loshenka. Her young boss was working the stallion through some beginner dressage moves. Hand firmly on the mare's lead rope, Talie paused a moment to watch her work. The stallion was quick to respond to Cora's cues. A few times, however, he paused to figure out what Cora was asking of him. As Talie had taught her, Cora waited patiently for the stallion to think things through. After he performed the correct move, Cora gave him enthusiastic praise. Talie looked up at the Queen and saw that she was intently watching the pair. Her ears were perked forward with interest. When Cora saw them watching them, she directed Strike toward them, executing a mock salute to her. The stallion chuffed, looking at Queen. She gave a half-hearted wicker and then the mare looked away, apparently losing interest since the stallion wasn't showing off. 

"Looking good, Cora. He seems to be picking up the moves fast," Talie said. 

"Thanks! He's very willing to please. Good luck with your training session!" the young woman enthused. 

Talie led the Queen to the other side of the arena as Cora and Strike got back to work. She clipped the lunge line to the mare's bridle to get her warmed up before she attempted to mount. Talie pointed her hand to the left while clucking. The mare put her head down slightly and began to walk in circles in the direction indicated. She kept up a steady pace, but Talie saw her looking at the stallion working with Cora.

 Talie took a step forward with a little shake of the rope to get the mare's attention. She accepted the signal to halt. She reluctantly dragged her gaze from Strike and Cora to Talie. The woman stepped forward, scratching the mare's neck affectionately. The mare blew softly. 

She stepped back and sent Queen to the right this time. She hesitated for a moment but a second cluck of encouragement got her going again. After a bit, Talie asked her to trot. Queen kept going at a walk, completely ignoring the command. Talie gave it again. The mare stopped, not looking at Talie, but at Strike and Cora. The younger woman was giving the horse high praise for something he had done. Queen looked back at Talie and then went directly into a trot as previously asked of her. 

"Good job, Your Majesty!" Talie exclaimed.

As Talie watched her work the circle, she noticed the mare's step seemed to be happier. The woman wondered if working against a 'rival' was what had changed the mare's attitude. She'd give the mare plenty of praise in other training sessions when she had done something correctly. It seemed to improve her just a bit. 

When she was satisfied with the mare's lunge work, she stepped toward her, bringing Queen to a halt. She rubbed the mare's charcoal nose as she brought her head down toward Talie's chest. She gently stroked the mare's cheek for a moment before detaching the lunge line. She considered calling a stablehand to lunge her on the mare's back, but she felt that wasn't necessary. 

"We're going to try a bit of riding. Don't throw or roll on me, ok?" Talie told the mare as she turned her to the side. She put her foot in the stirrup, leaning slightly into it.  Queen didn't move except to lift her head a bit to watch Cora and Strike. She pushed herself up but hung over the mare's back a bit instead of mounting completely. Queen turned around to look at her like she was asking why Talie wasn't getting on. Satisfied, she swung her leg over the mare's back. She slipped her foot into the other stirrup and gathered the reins in her left hand. She gently touched her heels to the mare’s side. For a moment, she didn’t move, but then she moved forward slowly. Talie touched the reins to the right side of the mare’s neck. She responded instantly. Talie patted her neck.

“Good, girl!” she praised as she guided the mare around the arena. 

The mare's head always looked a little bit toward Strike and Cora as they passed in their direction. As Talie asked the Queen for a trot, she wondered how she might be able to break the mare of having to train with a rival. That wouldn't be for a while, however. As long as the mare was making progress, Talie planned to make sure someone else was training in the same area. 

Talie halted the mare and pulled lightly on the reins. She instantly backed up until instructed to stop. The rescue didn't have many details on what the mare knew other than she was intended to be a dressage horse. She took the Queen into a walk before asking for a pirotte. She was not expecting the mare to execute the move, but she did it without hesitation. Her step was light and happy. Talie patted her neck enthusiastically. 

"Good girl!" she exclaimed. 

"Whoa. That was a perfect execution!"Cora exclaimed. 

Talie looked up to see that Cora had ridden Strike closer to them. "I wonder what else she knows that she's hiding from us?"

"I don't know, but I plan to find out in tomorrow's training session. Are you planning on training tomorrow as well? She seems to not want to screw around if another horse is working nearby." 

"Of course! Strike and I have a lot to learn! If we can help you out by just being here, that's a plus, right, buddy?" Cora asked, patting the stallion fondly on the neck. The stallion nickered. Queen perked her ears forward and answered him. "Well, that's a change. I believe that's the first time she's actually responded to a horse when they've called to her." 

"Perhaps purple is her color?" Cora joked as Queen and Talie fell in step next to her and Strike.

"Maybe. He is a handsome boy," Talie said. She patted the mare's neck fondly. She was glad that the mare had made such a breakthrough, even if it was one that she was going to have to figure out how to wean her off later. Progress was progress, right?