Wasatch Pine Mustang Ranch

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<sub>Harry frowned as Anne left, at first feeling a drive to pursue her, without much surprise since it was evident to most that knew him that he was overprotective. He refrained from listening to the urge as best he could, returning his attention to Bone and figuring out what exactly to do while he gave her space. He just stared at the colt with it staring back. He wasn't the type to begin speaking to an animal, finding it odd and pointless, to say the least. He didn't think much about how the tone of his voice might help rather than the actual words. He held a single hand out, the other in the pocket of his pants. His fingers curled inwards slightly as the ticklish surface of Bone's nose snuffled against his extended palm. Hot breath fanned out across the skin, snot particles coming from the flared nostrils in the process. Harry's eyes narrowed at the gross feel of the small amount of mucus. The colt's lips lifted up, lipping wetly at Harry's skin, closing a second later when the teen withdrew his hand. He decided that that was enough, retreating from the pasture fence while ignoring the protests of the horse. Admittedly, the young animal was in fact quite cute. But it was getting hot standing out there, and Harry was not use to such weather.

The lad sat down on the cabin porch. His legs hung off the edge, feet able to graze the ground since it wasn't that sizable of a height and his legs were long. His eyebrows remained furrowed and eyes dark. It didn't take much for him to look mad, scowling even though he wasn't really aware of it. Harry looked to the left whenever he heard noise. Pink was jogging up the steps, tail moving in the fashion of a boat propeller behind her. A salmon tongue lolled out over her teeth. Harry hoped to keep the teeth pearly white, bringing her to the groomers every few months. Harry looked down as the canine flopped down cutely in his lap. She squirmed there, mouth pressing into the fabric of his jeans as her crystalline eyes fluttered up to peer at him.</sub>

[Story]

<sub>Slate didn't move now, merely allowing the hand to stray up his neck, along his cheek, and toward his ears. Finally, once her hand did brush his ears, he raised his head a tad. The ears, he wasn't ready for. The cheek? It was almost bearable. And, well, he did have a little itch between his eyes. Without thinking, he brushed his head against her hip, trying to relieve the itch. Once that itch was satisfied, he kept his head lowered so that he was almost eye to eye with Nell, standing close to the human. He was definitely growing comfortable.

"And to think that there are horses bigger than him, too." Ryan grinned and then nodded. "Yeah, she does. She's remarkably well trained," Ryan commented as he watched Rizzo turn obediently at the pressure to her side. She assumed some faint touch was asking her to do something and she picked her legs up higher as she walked.</sub>

[Horse]

_{Nell very carefully started stroking his cheek after he relieved his itch on her hip. She smiled at this, and continued to pet his cheek. Her touch was gentle and non-threatening as she let her fingers play across his broad face. She let out a sigh, shifting slightly so she could itch his forehead lightly, pursing her lips for a moment. "You like that, huh?" Her voice was nothing more than a breath as she returned her hand back to his cheek. This seemed like safe-ground, and she was definitely not going to touch his ears again, at least no today. It was just a miracle that the grullo mustang stallion was even letting her touch his face. He'd been headshy for so long, and it was great to see Slate improving so much. He had come around a lot, and Nell was extremely glad and relieved by this.}

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<sub>Anne shivered. "I can't do tall horses. I mean I'll pet them, but if they're taller than seventeen hands I'm good. Unless they're really really well-trained and really really slow." The girl leaned forward to rub the mare's neck. "Oooh, look at you, you smart girl!" She cheered praisingly, scratching near her mane and straightening herself. Her brown eyes focused on Ryan once again. "Yeah, isn't she the one who likes to escape a lot? Goober." She shrugged. "Wonder if she had any other horse companions back at her old home, or at least got worked or some sort of attention daily. If not, that might've been why she ran off. Got lonely." Anne walked Rizzo in a few circles, taking in the way she walked and how she moved. She'd ridden the horse before, but never bareback nor really that long. It was fun, being atop a horse she hadn't really ever gotten to know. Just the general idea of a new horse to experiment with was thrilling. She liked getting to know them and the bond that followed. "She's just a tiny bit taller than my quarter horse mare." She pointed out haphazardly with a slight frown, trying to keep conversation up.

Harley noticed Harry and watched him and Pink, the mutt examining the duo closely. He barked, announcing his presence as he jogged over and watched the familiar male and unfamiliar dog. His brown eyes kept on them as the distance between them shortened, and he plopped down, resting his head hesitantly on Harry's thigh as he looked up at him. [sorry, you probably wanted a longer reply, Heaths]</sub>

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it's fine

<sub>Harry looked down as a second animal joined him. He at once began to scratch behind Harley's ears since he was sort of familiar with the dog, Harley being Anne's. He wasn't given much time to pet the mutt, though, before Pink was up on her feet.

Pink's ears flew up, her whole body instantly undergoing tremors as she squirmed with excitement. The tail behind her went a mile a minute as she expressed her happiness with a short yap of vocalization. Pink nosed Harley's face, urging him to his feet. A heavy snort escaped her big black nose as she twisted into an excited circle. This was the first dog she had gotten to meet since her arrival at the ranch when it opened. It was a very exciting experience for her, to say the least.</sub>

[Story]

<sub>"Actually, we know Rizzo's history. She escaped from her yard, carrying a foal from when she'd escaped another time months before. Her owner was an old man and he was sent to a nursing home after he got too sick to live on his own. Rizzo was the only horse the man had I guess. But he spent all his time with her." Ryan explained. "When the old man's daughter didn't meet her needs, she took off and wound up here. The lady let us have her." Ryan didn't mean to say 'us' but he meant Wasatch in general.

His blue-gray eyes traced the way Rizzo responded to Anne's directions. "She really is intelligent and well-trained. I think she's a good horse. If I didn't already have a blind mare that takes up plenty of my time, I might've asked for her to be my project." He admitted ruefully. "But I'll admit it, Phantom is the horse for me. Speaking of which, I've got to get going. Phantom's getting her teeth floated so I've got to return. Have fun with Rizzo, okay?"

Slate angled an ear in response to the breathy words, still absorbing the attention. After a few moments longer though, the stallion grew weary of the attention and shook her hands off, leaving her side. Again, food won out over his desire for attention. He began to graze at the dried, yellowed grass, however foul it tasted this way.</sub>

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_{Anne listened intently, closely. "Alright, bye." She slipped off Rizzo's back and gave Ryan another quick embrace, then ruffled his hair and nodded goodbye. "Bye, my new horse!" She bid goodbye to the Andalusian as well. Leaving the pasture, she headed towards the cabins and noticed Harry and two dogs. "I see you've found Harley." She nodded to the golden dog, who was responding to Pink and got up to play. "Who's the other one?" She queried as she sat beside him.} sorry will be looongeeer

[Horse]

_{Nell let out a sigh when he back away. She frowned for a moment before she bent over to pick up the lead rope and halter. She'd made great progress today, at least. She examined the grullo mustang stallion before leaving the pen. She went immediately to the stables, putting away the lead and halter before disappearing down to the feed room. She spent a few minutes measuring out Slate some new feed. She added apple slices and carrots, and some mash to the mixture, since she was happy with Slate. She also filled him up a new water bucket, since he had managed to knock over his. She made a mental note to ask her father to get the grullo mustang stallion a trough. It'd make her life easier. Anyway, the sixteen year old girl made her way carefully back to the pen, opened the gate and maneuvered back inside.}

[Story]

<sub>Ryan slipped onto Phantom's back, using the lead rope from earlier as a makeshift set of reins once more, nudging the mare's side gently. "High ho, Silver, away!" He called out, though he was joking. He was glad that the blind mare didn't rear up. And his words were really rather dramatic for something as anticlimatic as a trot through the pasture. The mare had no idea of what lay ahead. She hated getting her teeth floated. She'd be sedated, of course. No way did anyone but Ryan get to play with her mouth. Even then, Ryan didn't do anything like that.

Slate let out a quiet huff but when he spotted the wonderful feed and water buckets, he seemed to perk up, following Nell. He tried to nose into the bucket, catching the scent of the mash and the fruits. Oh, this was absolutely wonderful. He would be eating well today, though he already was given a good amount anyway. It showed with his big belly.</sub>

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<sub>"My dog," He responded. Harry hadn't ever really payed attention to if Anne knew Pink or not. "Her name is Pink." He glanced down and plucked a strand of dog hair off his jeans. The boy sported black jeans and a black shirt, his shirt having the Rolling Stones emblem but with the tongue the Union Jack. Harry looked towards Anne. "Can you help me? I want to get that horse," He repeated what he'd mentioned before. "I want it to choose me."

Bone really had caught Harry's attention. He was indeed something of a sight. His colors were firm, the black being pitch black and the white, completely white. Those were the only two colors he showed aside from the blue of his eyeballs. The eye-catching thing about him was the fact that the white part of him was his face. It was totally bone-white against a black canvas, creating a sort of ghostly feel. He was very skinny, looking almost unhealthy even though he wasn't. No sort of bone showed - ribs, hips, etc. His gaunt body was lifted up by four long and stick-thin legs. In reality Bone was all legs. The shape of his scrawny physique added to the grim and supernatural feeling he cast. The beanpole of a horse remained near the fence, ears pricked up as he stared in Anne and Harry's direction. It seemed as if Harry had caught Bone's attention just as much as he had caught Harry's.</sub>