[Phase 3] Into the Future

Katrina smiles, leaning against the fence surrounding the pasture. Her arms were braced against one of the lower bars and her chin is just barely over the top of the fencing. The mare she took in so many months ago was better than she could have ever imagined. The handler was glad she decided not to have the chestnut plum re-shoed when her hooves were trimmed so long ago. Ever since the shoes were removed, the loshenka hadn’t developed a single abscess. All this time, the cause was the shoes. Had her previous owners foregone the shoes, they would have had a perfectly poised, gorgeous horse to show off in the ring. However, their loss will be someone else’s gain.

Since the lack of abscess, the mare had grown more confident and no longer struggled with basic exercise. These days, Katrina didn’t need to lead her around to encourage her to move and it warmed her heart to see the improvement. Now, the moment she brought her to the field and removed the lead rope, the mare happily wandered the available space. Some days, she even laid down and rolled around in the tall grass.

The crunch of gravel under tires catches Katrina’s attention and she smiles as the car pulls up. Today, the rescue was coming to evaluate her charge to see if she was ready to be adopted out to an owner. The idea saddened Katrina. It was going to be lonely here without the spunky mare to keep her company. Not to mention, she’d become rather attached while caring for her all this time.

“Hey Katrina!” A doe dressed in jeans and a plain t-shirt approaches her, hind hooves bare. “Is that…is that the mare you’ve been taking care of?” Stunned, wide eyes focus on the mare currently rolling in the grass.

The black-furred feline smiles and looks back at the pasture, watching the mare happily, “Yep, that’s her. She’s doing amazing. Looks like a brand new horse, doesn’t she?”

The doe settles her hooves on the fence, watching for a few moments in stunned silence, “That’s incredible. I didn’t expect her to recover so spectacularly.”

Katrina shrugs, “It just took a little outside the box thinking. She just can’t be shod. That’s it. The nails securing the shoe to the hoof cause irritation that eventually lead to an abscess. I had a farrier out to trim her hooves shortly after she got here. I asked him to leave the shoes off once he was done trimming her. Since then, she hasn’t had a single problem.” Katrina watches the mare roll to her hooves and push up onto all fours, stomping off with some sass in her step. “The farrier said it’s rare but it can happen that some loshenka don’t tolerate shoes. He said he’d never seen a case this bad before but it makes perfect sense.”

The doe smiles brightly, “That’s incredible! She’s even lost all the excess weight! You’re a miracle worker, Kat.”

The feline flushes beneath her fur, looking down shyly, “I didn’t do anything special I just..listened. She just needed someone to listen.”

“Well, she looks healthy as, well, a horse!” The doe laughs, “I’d say that means she’s probably ready to be posted up for adoption.”

“Um, Daisy? Can I…uh…” Katrina pursed her lips, unsure how to ask that she be allowed to adopt the mare.

The doe, Daisy, grins happily. In truth, after seeing how well the mare was doing, she hoped Katrina would want to keep her. Besides, there were no other horses, Loshenka or otherwise, on the ranch and this gorgeous chestnut plum that she’d manage to heal would be the perfect first horse for the barn register. “Yes?”

Katrina coughs, looking around, “I don’t suppose…I…could apply for me?”

Daisy claps her hooves excitedly, catching the attention of the mare. The loshenka wanders over, her gait steady but not slow and pops her head over the side of the fence to check on Katrina.

The handler smiles happily and rubs a forepaw down the front of her nose, “It’s okay, girl. I’m okay.” Katrina looks back at Daisy, “Does…that mean ‘yes’?”

The rescue advocate smiles, nodding, “Absolutely! We like to give any ranch or handler first dibs on any loshenka they heal back to adoption eligibility. Besides, it’s clear the two of you have grown close and I wouldn’t want to separate you both if I could help it.”

Katrina smiles happily, looking fondly at the mare, “Do you hear that, girl? You get to stay here with me!”

Daisy smiles, rubbing the horse’s neck, “Do you have a name for her?”

The handler smiles nervously, “I..had something in mind but I haven’t used it. I didn’t want her to become familiar with a name that she likely wouldn’t be keeping.”

The doe smiles brightly, “What’s her name?”

Katrina looks at the mare, holding her chin with one paw and rubbing her nose with the other, “Her official barn name will be SCA Foxtrot Fancy. But, between her and I, she’ll just be Foxy. How does that sound, girl?” The mare, dubbed Foxy, neighs happily. Naturally, the horse doesn’t know what exactly they’re saying, but she’s familiar with the feline’s soft tone and the meaning behind it. That tone is reserved for good things. It’s a tone she’s heard a lot ever since she arrived.

Daisy tucks her fingers into her pockets, “I’ll get the paperwork filled out for her adoption and for her official registration and send it over to you to sign.”

The feline smiles happily, “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

-

Katrina tears the box open, trying to contain her excitement. She couldn’t wait to see it with her own eyes. She’d ordered it the day she’d signed the adoption paperwork and while the mock-up was gorgeous, she knew the real thing was going to be perfect. Pushing the paper aside, she finds herself grinning as she stares into the box.

There, resting among the brown paper, was a name plate. It was cast in bronze with a hoof print bracketing either side of the name. Right there in the center were four letters. F-O-X-Y.

Taking the plate in her paws, she grabs her hammer and nails and makes her way out to the barn. Foxy was out in the pasture, grazing and stretching her legs after spending the evening in her stall. A perfect time to add the finishing touch. Locking the door of the stall in place, she centers the name plate then uses two nails to secure it in place. Leaning back, she admires the way the stall looks now. A brand new, light blue halter resting on the hook and her name cast permanently in bronze. The first true member of her ranch.

Grabbing the new halter, she exits the barn and makes a beeline to the field, grabbing a couple biscuits on the way. Upon reaching the pasture, she steps through the gate, “Foxy!”

Instantly, the chestnut plum mare turns and walks excitedly to her official owner. “Hey, girl. I’ve got something new for you.” She removes the old halter, an off-white thing she’d grabbed just to have something to use. After giving her a biscuit, she slides the brand new light-blue rope halter on her. It was made with clean, sturdy rope and matched the mare perfectly. Scratching her nose, she gives her the other biscuit and murmurs softly to her, “Welcome home, Foxy.”