Phase #2 | Waiting On You

Date of Arrival — April 14th of 2025

An unsettled Loshenka mare has been welcomed onto the property, however, she's in an extremely odd and restless state. She goes from solemn, tucked away in any corner or hiding spot she can find—to spooking instantaneously at the sight of someone near her space. *A few changes in feeding and water sources will be needed for proper efficiency.

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-> Journal Entry #2

-14, April 2025

• newest project has been released at about 12:46am
• loshenka, mare, super avoidant of everything and her tail is a mess
• definitely in worser condition than i thought
• 20 minutes in and she hasn't moved a muscle from that corner in her pasture

Note: I'm definitely calling the vet and farrier over, her hooves need a desperate trim. Maybe I can get in some care on her tail when I can. I have some feeds in mind to help out with the weight gain and hopefully her overall health, I'll have to sort through my options in a bit. I might get 'Si to help out with calming her down for that... maybe. Catching her from the field might be an issue for the time being.

• did a light feeding to see if it'd help her relax, instantly regretted it
• nothing too unusual happening besides that so far, she’s moved around a bit but still remaining in the vicinity of the corner
• will be feeding again later tonight (maybe shes an oat kinda gal!!)

Note: She seems kinda more relaxed after some time to settle down? Feels like such an odd case. Vet and farrier will be stopping within the week to get her a check up, hopefully she's fine health wise. She's done a bit of grazing and seemed mildly interested when one of the horses nearby decided to be extra vocal. Other than that, no changes.

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Who am I kidding? I have no idea what I'm gonna to do, but... it should be fine. A stumped Akari caught himself in a dead stare, his ears drooping down with disappointment at the mare's inability to remove herself from the corner within the pasture.

She was herded into a smaller one earlier, connected to a stall and enough to give her some space outside while also not being too vast. But it wouldn't be of much use if she was only going to huddle up in the corners of everything. She wasn't very food driven despite her mildly underweight appearance, that's for sure. The least Akari could do was get a better look at her now that there was a closer proximity. Time felt as if it were moving slower until it didn’t, and the mare had no need for such trivial things. Several hours had passed; She took her time. Akari came back many times to check up on her… fortunately, curiosity got the best of her. It wasn’t a lot, really—but she had started to take bigger steps away from her safety corner to take a look around. Her bubble was small, fragile, and it was very clear that this wouldn’t be something to overcome overnight.

-> Journal Entry #5

-17, April 2025

12:45pm

• vet visit went decently, once shes kind of enclosed she seems to settle down
• up to date on vaccinations (will note down in her records)
• clear bill of health besides needing to gain some weight + hoof care, and the obvious in befriending her
• i think i'll be calling her bluebell, it's kinda cute

Note: Bluebell's been in somewhat higher spirits after some time to relax in her environment. The farrier should be over this Saturday so we can get her hooves in check. I'll be continuing to leave her be until then so she doesn't have any flare ups. However I've been giving her small bits of oats and honey as a treat in her bucket whenever shes finished eating, pretty sure she likes it. Not sure if she likes me yet, though.

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-> Journal Entry #7

-19, April 2025

5:38pm

• bluebell was a bit more finnicky with the farrier, but made it through (kept needing to put her hooves down),
• tried making myself smaller by sitting down in a chair during her farrier visit (i think it kinda worked),
• i'll be starting to go inside her pasture and spending time in there today

Note: Listened to some music under the tree and waited. It felt like forever but I caught some movement on Bluebells' part; it was mostly just grazing and an occasional looking over at me out of precaution, but already better than completely spooking. Almost been a week and she's at least nearly accustomed to the property, so that's a relief. Now's when the real work begins. I also doubt she'd like to admit it now but I know for sure she's already feeling better physically. Now all I need to take care of is that tail... it's driving me crazy.

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It’d been about two weeks so far since the beginning of Bluebell's fresh start—small yet big moments have happened overtime. She liked Akari's sister-in-law more than him so far, kind of disappointing but once he gains her trust it'll be a genuine accomplishment. Akari had been doing regular check-ins on her, sitting around within her little bubble; and it was working. Slowly, but working.

-> Journal Entry #15

1, May 2025

9:15am

• she seems a lot more comfortable and looks like shes gaining some of that weight back now
• still somewhat sensitive to sudden noises, but getting used to the sounds out here
• still eating food regularly, shes begun attempting to knock her water over though, could it be a hint of boldness?
• did catch her checking out the stall earlier but she ran away considering i came outta nowhere
• doing the regular routine today, maybe something big will happen (!!)

Note: Did the usual today. I'm awful giddy 'cause Blue started inching closer to me when I wasn't looking. Keeping lower to the ground should be helping, she's surprisingly small so I can't exactly blame her for being wary of me. Hopefully she continues on this path since this is already some good progress. Next time I'll be sure to bring some extra treats just in case something bigger happens...

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-> Journal Entry #18

-4, May 2025

11:34am

• • i have a suspicion she might be putting more trust in me
  • grazed nearby for a few minutes
  • started coming over to her feeding area before i left
  • she's definitely a fan of the oats and honey

Note: Bluebell started grazing nearby today, she still kept an eye on me but seemed less tense. I gave the 'reading a book' thing another try due to popular demand from Hikari, it didn't go too badly. Maybe Blue is actually just a bookworm, too. -> Edit: I sat down later after dinner just to test the waters and she got close enough to sniff at me! I'm usually not one to overreact, but it was hard not to reach my hand out. It's not time for that yet. *She did steal one of the carrots I left out though (but its deserved, anyway)...

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A little over three weeks in to Bluebell's journey. It was clear she was becoming more comfortable with Akari. Originally, in her mind she thought he was temporary. There would be no point in connection, not here. But something felt different. Bluebell was wondering at some point; was this finally it? Could it be? Quite a few nights had passed and she hadn't been shoved into a trailer yet, so maybe... just maybe.

-> Journal Entry #21

-7, May 2025

7:31am

• starting to adjust feeding
• ate from her bucket in-front of me today
• coming back out later for the usual, busy day today

Note: I did the usual routine and this time there was a muzzle all over me—not exactly the first kind of touch I was expecting, but I'm definitely not complaining! The feeling was exhilarating and I thought my heart might beat outta my chest.

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"Oh, hi. Hi—" His voice was shaking as Bluebell's snout blew some warm air onto his skin. He chuckled faintly as she started her own investigation. He moved his hand in a slower way that wouldn't startle her to reach for some treats in his bag, pulling out some small horse cookies. "Hi there, Blue," He said nervously, letting out a fond huff as he ignored how his hand was shaking and focusing on Bluebell eating out of his hand with an admirable amount of trust.

"You been keeping me in limbo for quite a bit," He mumbled with a gentle smile, letting out a laugh and commenting on her deep exhale once she finished the cookies. "You finally openin' up?" He tilted his head as the flashy little mare snorted once more, taking a few steps away from him to graze again.

"Slowly but surely, as they say. God, I'm so cringe."