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Post by bluwings on Dec 5, 2008 19:09:18 GMT -5
Mary Anne: After Trill, Miley, and Katie finished their rants on equine genetics, I sat there, blinking like a shocked owl. "O-kay... I really didn't follow that, but I'll just pretend like I know what you're talking about." I shuffled after the group in the office, hanging back to walk beside Syd. "Sorry about your clinic-- I was really looking forward to working with Butterfly for the rest of the day! Oh well, time and tide-- and mystery mares-- wait for no man."
We all listened intently as Katie spoke with the Black Bluffs manager. "Actually, we have." Katie sounded like she wasn't letting on too much yet. "by a BLM official, as a matter of fact." You could cut the tension with a sweat scraper. Theo made an obnoxious cricket sound, and I shot him a stink eyed look and surreptitiously pretended to squash the toe of his boot. "Ohhhh..... that mare." I could hear the manager's uneasiness even in the quiet tones of his voice from out of the reciever.
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Post by Miastar on Dec 5, 2008 22:57:11 GMT -5
Sydney: "It's not the first time and I'm sure it won't be the last" I whispered to Mary-Anne. "Maybe after we get this solved, I could give you and Butterfly a private clinic" I said, still whispering.
Mike: I wished there was something I could do to help, the girls appeared to have things well under control without my help anyways.
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Post by hotspot on Dec 6, 2008 12:03:25 GMT -5
Katie: i smiled a vampireish smile. hehe- Chet Clark, you are about to get your just deserves. "Yes, that mare." i said cheerily. "Any chance you could tell us about her?" Chet Clark sighed from the other end of the line. "So i suppose you know the whole story?" he sounded cross. "Of course i do," i said, rather patronizingly. "But we need to know her parentage, breed, and, hopefully, a registered name, if she ever had one." Clark harumphed, and mumbled something about 'meddling softies.' i took the liberty to say, "excuse me, what was that?" He cleared his throat. "Her sire was Confiere, a Lusitano show horse of French stock who had a pretty successful show record. Her mother was the mostly unknown Winsome Araminty, one of our Arabians." I nodded across the phone lines. from my rather limited knowledge of french, i knew that 'confiere' or 'confire' meant sweet or confectionary. that made sense. and Araminty alluded to the kind matriarch of National Velvet, one of my favorite horse books. just to make sure, i added, "what colors were they?" "Confiere was a dark chestnut, and Winsome Araminty was a ligt sorrel flaxen," he saud. that certainly worked. we were getting somewhere at last....
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Post by phantomstallion94 on Dec 6, 2008 13:35:26 GMT -5
Miley:
i stared at Katie. waiting for the answers. i couldnt wait to figure out the mare's pedigree. "ask him if she was ever bred to any stallions." i whispered to Katie.
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Post by hotspot on Dec 7, 2008 18:08:47 GMT -5
Katie: i nodded at Miley. "That seems to be in order. Now, my main question- did she ever have a record at your stables? a registered name? was she ever bred?" i couldn't wait to find out. Clark grumbled. "She never had anything more than a birth certificate, which i was careful to get rid of after we let her go. As for a name, one pesky stable hand kept asking me if we could register her under the name of 'An Airy Confection,' but i said no. i dodn't want anyone getting to attached to a horse that would be gone in a few years." he seemed sort of regretful . "she was never bred while at Black Bluffs, but i heard she has a foal now..." he trailed off, and reutrned to talking, his tone a bit more upbeat. "... but, if it's any help to you, we released her just north of McDermitt, near the Idaho border. There are quite a few ranches and horse-related outfits up around there. but then again, it's pretty near the Owyhee range, and there're plenty of wild ones over in that area." he paused a minute. "and, if you would like to mention my apparent will to repent for my misdeeds, just feel free to tell Miss BLM official." So that's what it was- a bribe. but i simply replied, "i will if i see her. thank you for your help." after cursory farewells, i hung up.
"okay, guys. No registration, no name, no nothin' about our mystery mare personally. however, we know that her parents were Confiere and Winsome Araminty, making her half Lusitano, half Arabian. both have good show records. her foal's father is a mystery, but he could either be any domesticated stallion between here and Idaho, or a mustang from that same area. any questions?"
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Post by phantomstallion94 on Dec 8, 2008 16:45:54 GMT -5
Miley:
"i do. so what are we going to call her and her foal?" i asked Katie. "and are we going to have to get rid of her and her foal?"
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Post by hotspot on Dec 8, 2008 18:09:10 GMT -5
Katie: I shook my head vigorously. "Definately not! if no one else wants to, I'll keep her until little Mystery Filly is old enough to be on her own. Then I'll start training MM for riding- i think she already has a bit of experience in that field- and give her a good home here at the stables. The poor mare deserves a home now." i looked out the window, to where the chestnut mare and her foal were grazing along the fenceline. "As for names-"
Trillium: "I had a good idea during the clinic, if i do say so myself," i piped up. "We should have a naming bee. i think that a couple of the other recently adopted horses are still nameless, so i was thinking that we could get a coffee can or two and anonymously submit names to it. then, we can have a vote on it."
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Post by Miastar on Dec 8, 2008 22:00:03 GMT -5
Sydney: I had stood quietly listening to Katie on the phone. The little information she did get still left a lot of questions. Why was the mare released in the first place?
Mike: It was kinda obvious that the clinic was done for the day. I decided to head into town and hang out for the rest of the day. I quietly slipped away from the stables.
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Post by hotspot on Dec 10, 2008 18:15:35 GMT -5
OOC: Mia, i think 'Leigh' explained it well enough, but, if not, here's the basic reason why MM was released~~~~ In the realm of very horse breeding for competition, when twin foals are born, one is assumed to be weaker than the other. while usually true, it isn't a major difference. however, some highly competitive and rather stupid people in this field, such as Chet Clark of Black Bluffs Stables, think that the identical twin of the stronger foal could pose a threat to the stronger one's show career. twin foals in general are also supposed to be weaker and less likely to succeed than single foals, so that would make buyers or critics of the horse in question deem them as not good enough. so, the weaker foal is usually sold without papers, records, etc, to make sure that they don't compromise the other's show career. Of course, this doesn't happen very often outside of Marguerite Henry books, which is where i happened to get that little bit from, but it does happen. Chet Clark, of course, is essentially a villain, and so he just took the stigma a step further and left MM, the 'weaker' foal, out in the wilderness without a trace. here's the whole discourse on it, in the very words of marguerite henry from the marvelous children's chapter book, "Our First Pony." two brothers, joey and justin, have just helped Midge, their lovely show pony, give birth to twins, Teeny and Friday, on friday the thirteenth. Dr. Winquist changed the subject. "you fellows," he said, "might want to know that i'm doing an article for a veterinarian's journal about the rarity of twins in the horse world...." "Could we see the magazine when it comes out?" Justin asked. "You might not want to read it." "Why?" "because i talk about the stigma of twin births." "what's a stigma?" "I'm qoting a trainer from bluegrass country that out and out said: "We're not interested in twins. often one's a weakling, and isn't wanted..." When this happens," the doctor continued, "the breeder sometimes forgets there ever was a twin." sad, huh? but there's my inspiration for the tale of MM.
Katie: I brushed my hands together, giving it all a sense of closure. "there's still daylight burning. Syd, do you have anything more to do for the clinic?"
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Post by phantomstallion94 on Dec 10, 2008 20:23:22 GMT -5
Miley:
"ohh...i like that idea Trill." i said to her idea for naming the horses. when Katie asked Syd about the clinic i thought about the idea of letting Trill have MM and her foal. she didnt have any horses like the rest of us. and after the competition Mr. Berryhill would let his cousin have a horse(s). when Syd answered and everyone starting walking out i stopped Katie. "Katie, i really want Trill to have MM and her foal." i said to her since i had found her, i felt that it was right that i choose the owner(s).
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Post by Miastar on Dec 11, 2008 11:14:43 GMT -5
Sydney: "Of course, back to the arena everyone!" As we left, I noticed that Miley had stopped Katie and was talking about something. My hearing had always been exceptional but I left them alone and continued out the door with everyone else.
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Post by hotspot on Dec 11, 2008 18:04:56 GMT -5
Katie: "yea, back we go!" i cried. i hung back from the crowd leaving my office to talk to Miley. "I think that that would be a great idea, but i think we'd better wait until after the competition is over to decide. Milton might find out her plan before long- he's not as dumb as he looks *snicker-* but, if not, she could always just care for them while under my official care." i pondered the dilemma. "i think that's a stellar idea, miley."
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Post by phantomstallion94 on Dec 12, 2008 19:04:24 GMT -5
Miley:
"of course. i wouldnt think of give Trill the horses now, right before the competition!" i exclaimed. "and i know that you are really busy with the competition to, so i do think that Trill should take care of them." i said to her.
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Post by Miastar on Dec 12, 2008 22:44:29 GMT -5
OOC: By the way, thanks for the explanation Hotspot Sydney: As we were walking back to the arena I couldn't help but notice someone pulling out of the driveway. It looked like Mike and I smiled, thinking that he'd come the the clinic after all. Then frowned that he hadn't stayed or spoken. Perhaps he feels guilty about not telling me he worked for Berryhill. Oh well, I shrugged, it doesn't really matter anyways. "Shall we move on to The Bonding Process everyone?" I asked as we reentered the arena.
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Post by hotspot on Dec 13, 2008 10:40:26 GMT -5
Arin: "Yes!" i exclaimed, giving FLy a hearty pat on the shoulder. seeming to relish the attention after about half an hour of just standing there, she bumped me in the back with her forehead. "I'm glad to be bonding with you, too, girly," i said happily, giving my horse a hug.
Trillium: I was practically on cloud nine- we got to keep Confection and Confection Jr.! CJ was currently trying to sneak up on a dozing Confection, and subsequently pull her tail. Confection would give her daughter a warning look right before she was about to grab on, though, so the plan never worked. "What a silly little girl!" i laughed, rubbing Confection's neck and trying to give CJ a pat on the head. she easily danced out of reach, happy to have a new game to play.
Owen: Dev, having eatien the elk thistle, was now on a quest for more food. he had stretched his long leadrope as far as it would reach, all the way over to the corner of the arena. he had a thick bunch of bunchgrass in his sights, and was craning his neck, mouth opened wide, trying to get it. i plucked the grass from its roots and presented it to him on an open palm.
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