Wasatch Pine Mustang Ranch

[Horse]

_{Nell's nose wrinkled faintly when he went for her hair. "Not the hair, bud. That's gross. I don't want slobber all over my head." She protested quietly, but otherwise stood still as he chewed on her auburn hair. She stared at the ground for a moment, putting her hand back down at her side before she shifted ever so slightly, turning her head slowly to look at the stallion. "Seriously, Slate, it's gross. Knock it off." She said quietly, raising the hand again and paused by his nose, debating on whether or not of pushing his muzzle away. She decided against it and dropped her hand, shoving it into her pocket after a moment and fell silent.}

[Story]

<sub>Slate continued on, oblivious to her discomfort. This was social grooming, after all. She should feel blessed that he cared enough to do this. Her hair really did taste awful. It smelled like flowers but it sure as heck didn't taste like it. The stallion merely tuned her out as he always did. He recognized the word that she used to identify him, but beyond that, he heard absolutely nothing. Everything was alright in the world. Except he had no mares. Damn the humans. However, he finally grew sick of the taste and moved on to her shirt, examining it. It tasted slightly better, though it reeked of dogs and her evil filly, Ash. His ears went back faintly. That filly was the reason he was here and not out in the wild.

"No one owns her or Apollo. Just the ranch, I guess." Ryan replied with a shrug. "Huh. I remember when she was brought here." He said thoughtfully. "She was carrying a foal but she lost it." He said quietly, wincing at the memory. The mare had kept a vigil in the clearing where her foal was buried for days. "Why do you ask, anyway?" He asked, lifting his head.</sub>

[Horse]

_{Nell let him investigate her, knowing it was rather a first that the stallion had done. She stood still, breath soft and even and she smiled when he moved onto her shirt. She began to untangle the last bit of his mane on his withers, returning the favor of the 'grooming.' Other than that, she was motionless, afraid of spooking the grullo mustang stallion. She was silent as well, nothing but her soft breath escaping her normally running mouth. Nell pursed her lips for a moment, wondering if she'd introduce another horse to Slate. It wasn't a good idea at the moment. He hated stallions and geldings, and would grow possessive over a mare. But what about a colt or a filly? Or a foal? Or would that be a total waste of time? It could result disastrous for every party involved. She frowned at the thought and pushed it away.}

[Deleted]

_{Anne continued to love on Rizzo. "Awww. Poor baby." She kissed the mare's nose, frowning. "And, I dunno. Just figured I have enough time for another horse, yeah? Give you a break." She smiled and leaned her cheek lazily on the mare's neck, dropping an arm to her side while the other continued to rub circles on the horse's inky black side.}

[Story]

<sub>"Oh, believe me, I would appreciate that a lot," Ryan said fervently, nodding in gratitude. "And I think Rizzo could do with some girl time. Have her mane and tail braided, talk about the stallions. I don't do that stuff." Ryan laughed. "But then, she doesn't care for the boy talk." He was in a good mood, watching as Rizzo closed her eyes, enjoying the attention. Phantom began to grow restless, shoving into Ryan's back, demanding his attention once more.

Slate was surprisingly still, allowing the human to 'groom' him in response. He held still, for the moment not seeming to mind the fact that Nell was really close to him. He'd made quite a bit of progress. Granted, it had been slow. It was a lot though.

[Short]</sub>

[Horse]

_{Nell continued to separate the coarse hair on his mane, slowly working her way up his neck. She was at his mid-neck when she paused, knowing how touchy he was when she was around his head. She paused for a moment, holding her breath as she continued up the length of his mane, still silent as she gently untangled his dark locks. She suddenly wished she'd brought a grooming kit, because it was the perfect time to be doing that. He was holding still, not fidgeting, and letting her get closer to his head, at least, for the few moments that she was even remotely close. She sighed softly, pausing when she stepped away from his shoulder to continue, wondering if he would allow her closer to the side of his face. Her emerald eyes were warm as she paused yet again, running a hand through her hair. When she looked down at her hand, her nose wrinkled. He'd definitely had slobbered on her auburn locks.}

[Deleted]

_{"Yeah, I've noticed her chasing off all the stallions." Anne chuckled humorously. "It's perfect. She's just as stubborn and hardheaded as myself." The teenager ran a hand over Rizzo's back and pressed down a little. Using her arms as support, her feet kicked her off and gave her a boost as she clumsily attempted to straddle the mare. Failing a few times due to their disagreeing heights since she hadn't done this in a while, Anne finally sat astride Rizzo and grinned cheekily. "Woooooo!" She cheered as she scratched the mare's withers. "I think I can see all of Utah from here." She joked about Rizzo's height, though it wasn't that tall. At least, it wasn't as tall as you could find. "Ergg. She's so faaaaaaaaaaaaaaattttt!" The girl cheekily complained.}

[Story]

<sub>Slate permitted her to, eyes closing for once, despite the close contact. It was somewhat comforting. For so long, he'd had no contact and, though a part of him wanted to bite and kick at her to fend her off, he welcomed the gesture. The grullo stallion's head lowered a tad, holding still otherwise.

A snort sounded from Rizzo and her head came up to stare at Anne, though it was more because of the constant failed attempts to climb onto her back and the noisy cheering than the comment about her being fat. "She's not that tall. She's fifteen hands, maybe a little more." He pointed out. "Now, from Apollo's back, maybe. He's seventeen hands." He didn't get the joke. "And wow, calling a mare fat. You'll hurt her feelings, Anne." Ryan teased, watching as the mare took a few steps forward finally.</sub>

[Horse]

<sub>Nell continued to work her way up, until she was just a few inches from her cheek. She kept rather still, almost afraid to breath in case she would frighten the stallion. She kept her mouth shut as well, biting into her cheek to keep from talking. She paused, working on a knot that came up in his mane. She eventually got it free before she continued, nearing his ears at this point. She was suddenly glad that the stallion was short, because, her being short, she was on her tip toes to reach the top part of his head.

[Short. Sorry. Nice, haha, I love LotR]</sub>

[Deleted]

_{Anne situated herself and got comfortable on Rizzo's bare back. "Does she respond to your feet?" She questioned, pressing her right heel into the black horse's side to try and tell her to turn that way. She stuck her tongue out at Ryan and the chuckled humorously. "Ahh. Apollo. He's like a giant. Well, scratch that. He is a giant." The girl bit her lip. "I'm just that shallow.}

Shoooort