Wasatch Pine Mustang Ranch

[Horse]

_{Coming Soon...}

[Horse]

_{I, Haylee, declare Wasatch Pine Mustang Ranch open! [I'll post the front page some other time. I'm too lazy to find it at the moment.]}

[Horse]

<sub>Early morning sunlight flooded Wasatch Pine Mustang Ranch. The air had a slight chill, masking the grass and trees with a light dusting of frost that was crunchy underfoot. The trees were brilliant colors of red, orange, and yellow, and the short season of autumn was here. Things at the ranch looked the same, the same rustic styling of the buildings and the fences of the paddock. Things around the ranch were calm and peaceful, the staff enjoying the students, the students enjoying the horses. Things were okay, at least in Carson Atwood's perspective. He stood on the porch of the Main House, dark Stetson tipped back as he gazed around at his home. He wore scuffed up jeans, his boots worn and frayed, and his familiar flannel shirt, rolled up his elbows. He was your typical cowboy, quick to act, slow to think. He'd been what he always did, filing paper work, taking care of issues with the BLM, sorting out new students and staff, and working his favorite quarter horse whenever he could.

Nell was out in the indoor arena at the moment with her blue roan mustang filly, Fallen Ash. The pretty little thing was dainty, and seemed to have Arabian blood, for her long, thin legs, slender body, and dished head. Her nostrils were flaring as Nell asked for a high-legged trot back around to the start of a few jumps that she had set up. The mustang was an excellent jumper, and had been known to jump fences six feet high on her own. She enjoyed it, as did her owner. Nell wore her long, auburn hair in a french braid down the middle of her back. She was dressed simply in a baggy t-shirt, and her riding boots and leggings. Her pale emerald eyes were focused on the task at hand, getting Fallen Ash prepped for the competions the following spring. Nell had finished Slate's new pen months ago, and had been working with the stallion ever since. She split up her time between Ash, Slate, and Banjo, and the other students when she had the time. Three horses could be a handful, especially the aggressive stallion.

Eli was leaning against the pasture fence, staring off at the far horizon with a hazy gaze. His dark, chocolate brown eyes didn't take in the brilliant colors of the trees dancing in the wind, or the few horses in the pasture that were playing. His mind was faraway, at a different time and place. Eventually, the young Native American man shook his head to clear it, blinking a few times when he noticed his favorite golden horse coming near. Ashkook shook his cloudy mane, greeting the young man with a faint nicker as he pressed his nose to Eli's forearm. The corner of Eli's mouth quirked as he rubbed the stallion's forehead. The mustang was named Ashkook for a reason. In the Ute language, the word meant Fire Bringer. There was a whole story to go behind the word, and Eli thought the stallion personified the story rather well, so that is where the name came from. Eli straightened and let out a sigh, glancing over his shoulder, dark, thick eyebrows furrowing for a just a moment as he turned on his heel to go and retrieve something from his cabin.</sub>

[Story]

<sub>Life had already begun to stir in the early hours of the morning. It was almost like clockwork the way students and workers began to trickle out of the bunkhouses. As the door of the Guys' Bunkhouse drifted open yet again, a lithe shape shot out, letting out a faintly distorted bark. Callie announced her presence in the stableyard by making a beeline for the nearest discarded stick, snatching it up without ever breaking her stride. Fully grown but still slightly undersized, the deaf Border Collie returned to her master's side, bright blue eyes raking over his hands eagerly before she halted in front of him, the stick still gripped tightly in her jaws. Her plumy tail waved and her silky, long coat stirred lightly in the gentle breath of air moving.

Ryan Wolf reached a hand down, giving a signal toward his deaf Border Collie. He'd trained her in Sign Language so that, while she would never hear his voice, she could still be communicated with. She was eager to learn and even more so to please. She followed commands just as smoothly as any well-trained dog with full hearing in both ears. Ryan praised Callie when she released the stick and he hurled it as far as he could, toward an open section where there was nothing. His gray-blue eyes raced after the lean figure of his dog as she chased after the prized stick. His jet black hair had grown rather shaggy but he wasn't quite ready to cut it. He turned toward the stables without waiting for Callie's return. She'd follow eventually.

When he arrived in the stables, he let out a soft sigh of relief, entering the warm, familiar building. The soft sound of sleepy nickers and snorts reached his ears until he heard a familiar grunt from a nearby stall. A muzzle tentatively poked out of a stall nearby, nose gently brushing against his shoulder. Still, the muzzle searched until the nose was almost touching his. He let out a quiet whuffle of laughter as his blind paint mare, Phantom, blew into his face. The mare had an irregular blaze that came out in the form of a patch of white located on the right side of her face. Thus, her name was a reference to the Phantom of the Opera's mask. "Hey, pretty miss," He greeted her, rubbing her cheek affectionately. "C'mon, we'll go for a ride, check on Rizzo and Apollo."

Somewhere in the pasture were three forms, quite an unlikely trio. The smallest of the figures was a lean yet muscular shape, definitely not equine. A sable German Shepherd lay beneath a tree, a few scarlet and gold leaves sitting on and laying around his somewhat thin form. Ratchet's dark amber eyes were solemn as he kept guard over the two horses. He saw them as his master's property and intended to keep guard until his master returned. If he did. Jared Montgomery had yet to return to him and he missed the man who often cared for the two horses he clung to.

Standing mere feet from him was a dozing black mare with an ever-wavy mane and tail. Her coat was a tad dusty, no longer pure black but more of a fading color with a hint of brown speckling due to sun bleaching. The mare's forelock was long and fell over her dark eyes. Risen Star, or Rizzo, as she was known as, was comfortable in the presence of the canine and her pasturemate. Towering beside her was a large, bulky figure, that being a Clydesdale-Paint cross gelding. Apollo was large not only in height at 17 hands, but also rather round in the belly. The gelding did nothing but graze. His back problems from past days as a carriage horse had left him with little ability to be ridden without discomfort. However, with his sweet disposition and his ability to serve when needed now and then, he was still kept, a good asset to the ranch.

In a paddock to himself, located near the back of the pasture, was a horse as wild as the lands in which he'd grown. His coat, though dusty, showed signs of having been groomed within the past week. His mane and tail, trimmed within the past two months, took away only a touch of the wildness. He still moved with such a restlessness, a pride that captivity hadn't robbed him of. Slate was a beautiful sight, at this point nothing but a silhouette. His grullo form would have been dark anyway. He was calm as he inhaled the scents carried through the air, exhaling clouds of condensation into the cool air now and then.</sub>

[Spotify]

<sub>The earth sped by in fast forward and as far as Tallulah was concerned that was fine with her. The faster the car ride, the faster she got to Wasatch. A smile touched the girl's pale pink lips as she faxed out the tinted window,"My new home."she whispered as the 'Welcome to Wasatch Pine Mustang Ranch ' sign came info view. The girl couldn't help it, she squealed with excitement, horses were her life and she couldn't believe she would be getting her own soon. She had grown up on a cattle ranch in Oklahoma, but never had her parents got her own horse.

The car was barely parked, before Tallulah or better known as Tally jumped free of the metal contraption. She spun around taking in the view,"Wow. Mom, can you believe I'll be living here?"she whispered, her eyes wide with wonder.

The young girl wore a blue plaid flannel shirt, skinny jeans, light brown boots, and of course her silver locket. An eagle feather dangled from one of the Native American girl's ebony curls. The girl was beautiful in her own right, but her eyes is what mostly attracted people. They were the rare icy blue that very few Indians had.

A young puppy shot of the door that Tally had left open. The pup was obviously a mutt that had some resemblance to a collie, but its colors of her coat were off. The fur was black, white, and some sort of bluish grayish color. The pup's ears perked at the sounds of a high pitched whistle and she bounded toward Tally.

Hope smiled, her eyes roaming the field of wild horses, she had been yet to be chosen by one of the horses and though she didn't look like it, but she was starting to worry that a horse was never going to pick her.

Beside Hope sat a gorgeous blue pitbull puppy. It had a cute pink nose and it ears were as floppy as a pitbull's could be. She barked once at her owner, before she fell alseep next to her.</sub>

[Deleted]

_{Risen Ossein scuttled farther from the oak tree, set off by the strident warble of an avian. He didn't much like being caught off guard by a trilling bird. The colt's neck arched further up, hide becoming toasty as he left the shade provided by the topiary limbs and was engulfed in aurous sunlight. His nearly unearthly eyes took in scenery from the alabaster confinement of his skull. Despite the fact he had spent a substantial amount of time at the ranch, it seemed as if each day brought a new adventure, and despite waking up to nearly the exact same thing daily, his lucid orbs still looked out in wonder. His home somehow did not cease to amaze him. Bone brought his head nearer the ground, velvety nose snuffling through the green to see if there might be some lost treats hidden amid the grass. On occasion the young people that would come into the pasture would lose a snack or two. This morning all he uncovered was a blackberry, which he found to be very tart and not as sweet or plump as most of the wild ones came. Its peculiar flavor still tingled in the crevices of his teeth and tongue from when the berry juices had burst in his mouth. Bone flicked his ears forward, straightening up as his young face looked towards the cabins where he could only assume the people slept together, much like a herd would. He saw a dog he was familiar with dart in and out the stables. The swarthy mutt had no time for Bone, passing up the pasture and him with it. Bone, feeling relatively lonesome, lumbered up to the fence to see if anybody might be there.}

[Deleted]

<sub>Anne wet the old rag under the running faucet, soaking it in the lukewarm stream before gingerly rubbing the dirt and grime out of her scar. She'd gotten it from a few weeks ago as a memory of the careless incident, and she hated the pale mark. Having no idea if it was permanent or not, she remained hopeful it didn't stay too long. "Uck." She huffed, washing the rest of her face. Her long tangled brown hair was brushed out and then thrown back in a haphazard bun, and she disarrayed her pajamas and shimmied into her denim skinny jeans and t-shirt.

Her worn, old grey sneakers scrunched against the stairs as she descended them, Harley's slender, golden frame close behind as he whined. The teenager had evidently slept in extremely late but didn't seem to care, feeding her dog and grabbing a glass of cold milk. Her brown eyes skimmed her surroundings inquisitively, crossing her ankles as she leaned back on the counter, propping her elbows up on the countertops.

The mutt quickly began to eat, his tail waving in the air and front white paws shifting uncontrollably. His "breakfast" was finished in no time as he excitedly watched Anne, trotting in circles before she washed out her cup and set it down in the sink. "Alright, alright, Har. Let's go have some fuuuun!" She cheered as she headed to the door.

As soon as the wooden barrier was opened, Harley bounded out the portal and yipped happily. The one-year-old had a lot of energy, running far off before turning and coming straight back. His ears were perked; one was lightly folded on the edge and the other was straight, an adorable characteristic Anne loved.

"You're cute." She sniggered, scratching his shoulder and playing with his leather collar to adjust it. His tags dangled and clanked together, nose sniffing around before he plopped down and finally settled when she let go.</sub>

[Horse]

<sub>Nell finished up with Ash, dismounting the pretty little filly and murmuring praise for being such a good girl. She gave the mustang a pat and left her ground tied as she began cleaning up the mess of the jumps. She dislocated the poles from the sides and dragged the poles to the side of the indoor arena. She would take care of the equipment later and put it back in the shed where it belonged. She dusted herself off for a moment, brushing the sandy dirt off of her dark riding leggings the best she could before grabbing Ash's reins. She pulled the reins over Ash's head and began to lead the pretty little filly out of the indoor arena. They walked rather slowly back to the barn, Ash stopping ever now and again to sniff at a patch of dried-up grass. They had had a bad summer, it'd been hot and dry, without a lot of rain to quench the earth of it's thirst. Nell was quick to groom the filly off and return her to the pasture before grabbing a halter and a lead from the tack room. Nell wanted to introduce the halter to Slate. She'd moved rather slow with the stallion, not wanting to rush or ruin things. Better to go slow with a horse that had once been completely wild. She wound her way around the outside of the pasture, stopping at the gate and watching Slate for a moment before she slid inside, cooing to the stallion.

[Sorry, kind of short. Dunno what to do with Eli and Carson. Someone can have them if they want ^^]</sub>

[Story]

<sub>Ryan eventually crept out of the stables with Phantom, noting the way Callie immediately joined his side, albeit without the stick this time. He always found it amusing when Callie fell in to walk beside Phantom. He had a deaf dog and a blind mare. If he ever lost the ability to speak, that'd just be the icing on the cake. He didn't mind that his companions were disabled. They were just as faithful as any other creature on this ranch. Callie was fiercely intelligent and Phantom had grown surprisingly trusting of him. When Callie spotted Harley racing around, however, she shot off, leaving Ryan and Phantom alone again. They continued walking toward the pasture, Ryan leading the blind mare carefully along. Once inside the pasture, he used the lead rope as a sort of makeshift set of reins, slipping onto Phantom's back and directing her along a clear route. He had to check in on Apollo and Rizzo. With Jared overseas, he was the main one responsible for caring for the two horses. And Ratchet, though it was more difficult to get the dog to eat or leave his self-appointed post of either sitting beneath a tree and watching the roads or guarding these two horses.

Slate was already standing at the fence, having heard Nell's footfalls long before she came into his line of sight. The grullo mustang shook his mane out before brushing his blocky head along the fence to relieve an itch. He didn't show any signs of aggression toward Nell. He'd grown completely used to her presence. She'd slowly earned his trust, though he was liable to change that at any time. His solitary confinement had left him dependent on her presence. She was the only form of a herd that he had since he wasn't trusted enough to be in the pasture. He'd been known to chase and terrorize people, just because of his sheer hatred of humans and stallions alike. Mares would always be his weakness though. A second reason for separating him from the others was to prevent him from growing too worked up. Having a heart condition and having suffered a minor heart attack in the past, the stallion was at risk of another, though a second one would likely be fatal. So far, he was remaining calm under Nell's care.</sub>

[Horse]

_{Nell entered the pasture with a faint smile marking her face. Her emerald green eyes crinkled a little on the edges as she laid the halter over her arm and wound the lead rope around her wrist. She watched the stallion for a moment, scanning the bulky and stocky lines of his body. She let out a little sigh before approaching the stallion to rub his neck for a little while, mainly just greeting the horse. She usually did this when she came around, spent a little time either grooming or petting Slate. She just wanted him to get used to human contact, and she felt this one of the best ways, at least at the moment, to get him used to being touched. She crooned under her breath the the grullo, eyes watching him tentatively. "You're a pretty boy? Aren't ya? Huh? You a good boy to? Can't wait for you to get out of this tiny pasture and into the big one. But you've got a long way to go mister. But you've come so far." She murmured quietly, reaching up to pat one of his ears before she moved around so she was facing him. She was going to let him investigate the halter and lead if he wished while she held the two rope contraptions.}