(B.ounce) / Different Aspects of the Same Thing

[.~.T.e.a.k.~.]

Michael Pierson // Big Bad John // Easy Maintenance
Human // Horse // Horse
Mikey // Cowboy // Campbell

Mikey was having trouble… not the stubborn kind that comes with riding hard-headed horses, but the kind that comes from trying to carry two completely different saddles, bridles, blankets, different types of protective boots, and trying to also lead two horses, only one of which was walking calmly. Surprisingly to anyone but the young man himself, it was the Paint stallion that walked along calmly on his masters’ blind side, his lead was looped loosely over Mikey’s arm. The black TB gelding, on the other hand, was jittery… excited. He was constantly shoving against the five foot eight inch frame of his owner and was somewhat spooky, shying at random things and in general, acting like himself.

Mikey was glad that he could count on at least Cowboy to behave perfectly. He wasn’t sure what it was, but the Paint stallion and he had always had a very strong bond… Cowboy seemed to know Michael front and back and took care of him when riding… perhaps it was because they had been together for so long, perhaps it was just that Cowboy was one of those ‘once in a lifetime’ horses… Who knew, maybe after owning Campbell for a few years, the TB would also calm down…

As the TB jostled him again, a few items spilled from his arms and Mikey grumbled a bit. A wiser person would have put the stuff on the horses, but Mikey enjoyed carrying the tack, and since he wanted to get work with the horses with nothing on them at first, he hadn’t spent the extra time tacking them up since he knew he’d have just untacked them moments after getting to the western arena.

He’d been at the stables for about two hours already, having arrived very early that morning to set up a barrel pattern and carry the pole-bending gear to the arena. He’d stacked the gear in a far corner, not planning on working at it right away. He was planning on doing a little flexing-work and some groundwork with Campbell, as the TB was an english-based horse, but he wanted to really have some fun with Cowboy and was hoping to get time to really work with the stallion.

Alright, look… He dropped the rest of the tack onto the ground and grabbed both horses leads. This apparently isn’t going to work, Cammie, if you keep banging into me like you’ve been doing. Come on, I’ll come back for my stuff. Let’s just get you two into the ring. Mikey tugged on Campbell’s lead slightly, gaining the horses attention. Come on.

He led the horses inside the western ring and tied then quickly to the panels with a quick release knot in case one or both of them panicked or pulled back. Latching the gate back closed as he left the ring, he jogged back to where he had dropped his tack and stooped to pick it all up.

Mikey wore a pair of dark jeans with his brown cowboy boots. A belt was slipped through the belt loops and his dark green t-shirt was fitted so that it wasn’t loose enough to get in his way as he worked. As was usually when he was messing with his horses, he wore a pair of skintight fingerless gloves on his hands and his very dark sunshades helped his hair hide his left eye.

After gathering the tack in his arms, carrying, with very little difficulty, the 16 inch dark brown western saddle with flank strap and breast-collar, matching one-ear snaffle bridle, dark blue Reinsman saddlepad, and matching Pro Choice SMB Elites for both front and back and the 17 inch chocolate brown english saddle, matching headstall snaffle bridle with a figure eight noseband, deep red saddlepad, and matching SMB III’s for front and back (if he decided to do anything more strenuous than what he was planning with the english based horse) he walked back towards the western ring.

Mikey stopped dead as he turned the corner of the barn and the ring came into sight. Cowboy and Campbell had both pulled the quick-release knots free and were playing, rearing in the air and play fighting! To anyone else, the pinned ears and squeals issuing from the horses vocals would have looked, and sounded, like the two were actually fighting, but to Mikey could see that the horses meant each other no harm and weren’t striking to maim. He’d witnessed their ‘fighting’ many times before he’d brought them here. Normally, such as activity as what the two horses were doing wouldn’t bother him, but the fact that they both had halters and lead ropes on caused him to panic momentarily, and he envisioned one of the getting a leg caught in the halter of the other or the leads wrapping around legs or necks… it was enough to cause anyone to panic!

Hey! He yelled at the horses, dropping his tack for the second time and running towards the ring, Cowboy! Campbell!

[b.ounce]

Layla Daye & Miserable At Best

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It was way too early in the morning to be getting up on the weekend, but if Layla wanted a ride to the barn this is when she'd have to get her butt out of bed. Much to her despair, the car that her mother had so lovingly passed down to her was more of a curse than a blessing and Layla soon began to realize just WHY her mother had decided to buy a new car.. Because the one that was now Layla's problem was constantly in the shop.. Like now, for example. Layla dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom, throwing herself in for a quick shower, brushing her teeth and all of that other bathroom stuff before she went downstairs to the laundry room, pulling on a pair of light blue, faded flair jeans that hugged her figure nicely paired with a tank top and a Metro Station tee shirt that went over it. She slipped on a pair of socks and made her way back to the main floor of the house, putting on a pair of riding boots while she waited for her mother to finish with whatever it was she was doing so she could take her to the barn.

After what seemed like forever, her mother finally came down the stairs, car keys in hand, dressed in her usual dressy attire with 3 inch heels on her feet. Layla stood up from the floor that she'd been sitting on and opened the door, walking out to the SUV and sitting in the passenger seat while her mother drove towards the barn. There was very little small talk along the way, and really the only time Layla heard her mother speak was when she pulled into the barn's drive way and Layla grabbed the handle of the door to open it. 'Have a good day... I'll be here to get you around 5. If I'm gonna be late I'll call.. Have fun.' Layla nodded and got out of the truck, shutting the door and going into the barn. 11 hours at the barn already laid ahead of her, might as well get to work.

She spent what felt like 5 million years cleaning Moe's stall from top to bottom, and then his tack, and finally there was nothing left to clean but the horse. She brought him into the barn and put him on crossties in front of his stall, getting the curry comb out of her brush box and going in small circles over his body. That was, until she heard a loud 'HEY!'. She looked in the direction of the door and slowly put her comb down in her box, making her way outside. She peaked over at the western ring and chuckled a small bit, seeing that the horses were only playing, and she could guess that they'd been giving the boy a rather hard time. Do you need any help?

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[.~.T.e.a.k.~.]

He didn’t mind them mock-fighting, not at all… really, he could care less, but when they decided to play and were wearing their halters and/or leads, when it could become potentially dangerous for one or both horses… that was when he grew worried and annoyed. Seeing the two horses in the air with leads hanging loosely on their halters… well, it made him feel a bit queasy as he thought about the potential vet bill.

Mikey yelled at the two horses again, gaining their attention… he continued to verbally berate the animals, knowing full well that they couldn’t understand him, but could understand by the annoyed and irritated tone of his voice that he was not happy with them. As the Paint stallion went to nip the black Thoroughbred gelding, Mikey uttered a sharp, short Cowboy!, and the horse stopped at once, understanding the warning in his masters voice only too well. Campbell, that goes for you too. The nineteen year old added, though it wasn’t necessary… the gelding seemed to have already lost interest in the mock-fight.

The young man shook his head as he made to walk back towards where he’d dropped his stuff. As he knelt down to gather it all up, a decidedly feminine voice cut through to him, causing him to look up with a grateful half-smile. Uh… hey. He said rather stupidly, inwardly wincing at how he’d sounded. He straightened up, the heavy Bighorn western saddle and bridle in his arms, the blanket and SMB’s dangled from one hand. If you don’t mind, I’d like some help really quick… can you grab that? He didn’t ask questions, taking her offer for help immediately, and motioned with his head towards his english gear and the other SMB’s.

[b.ounce]

Layla smiled back in his direction when she caught his eye. Now, since she'd been here, she hadn't seen one 'bad' looking boy, but he was far above average. At least in her opinion. She looked in the direction that he was motioning and nodded. Yeah, sure. She took a few steps towards it and bent down, picking it up slowly. You don't strike me as someone who rides english. She chuckled, looking over at him as she evened out the gear in her arms. Not many guys do, actually. Unless they wear spandex in their spare time and have a british accent. She smirked, only joking.. sort of. The last thing that she wanted to do was insult him if he actually DID ride english. I'm Layla, by the way.

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[.~.T.e.a.k.~.]

He shrugged at her comment of him not seeming like someone who’d ride english… he knew that it was true... and walked forwards on towards the ring where his horses stood, hanging over the panels, waiting and watching. As he led the way towards the ring, he twisted around slightly to offer her a small sort-of grin/half-smile and nodded. I’m Michael, but call me Mikey… He said, shifting the big saddle in his arms so that he could carry the tack a little easier. Everyone else does.

The Paint stallion nickered as Mikey threw the saddle up onto the ring panels and moved over, tossing his large head and stomping a hoof. Mikey swatted the 16.3 hand horse away as he moved forwards and lightly nibbled on the saddlehorn, or started to. Startled, both Cowboy and Campbell trotted away, but, like always, they came back, though the stallion was the one who stretched his neck over the top rail of the pen panels and gazed curiously towards Layla with blue eyes. The black gelding was more cautious in his approach, moving slowly and stretching his neck way out, but soon he also joined Cowboy at the panels, sticking his head out over the top of the railing as well.

I do both… western and english. The Paint stallion is registered as ‘Big Bad John’… his barn name’s ‘Cowboy’, he’s my western horse. The black Thoroughbred gelding is registered as ‘Easy Maintenance’… goes by ‘Campbell’… english horse. I haven’t owned him too long… just a few months. He shooed the stallion away again as Cowboy lost interest in Layla and came back to try once more to chew on the saddle-leather. I grew up riding western, but after my parents divorced, my mum went back to her english roots and taught me as well… I prefer western riding, but english riding’s fun. It’s hard to jump cross-country in a western saddle. Can’t say I’m in love with the clothes, though… I prefer a more lax style. He said, making easy talk. He raised a hand and slipped his shades off, revealing his honey brown right eye and, as his hair fell to the side, his blue-grey and mottled brown left eye. Mikey was getting better at not being too bothered by other people’s reactions to his eye and the fact that he was half-blind, but it still felt weird to have his left eye uncovered, and he hurriedly placed the shades atop his head and raked his fingers through his hair, bringing the long brown locks back over the left side of his face. It’s nice to meet you, by the way. He said with a grin, teasing her but not meaning to be mean about it… the way she’d introduced herself had caught in his mind, and he couldn’t resist the temptation to use those three words.

[b.ounce]

Layla followed closely behind him, carrying the english tack in her arms and imitating what he'd done with the western tack, putting the english stuff on the railing next to it. She watched the stallion curiously examine her, glancing at Mikey as he spoke. She nodded her head. Oh.. My cousin rides English, and she's gotten me in an english saddle too many times. She chuckled. So.. I know how to ride it, I just don't like it very much. She turned towards him, leaning on the railing. I own the black and white tabiano Quarter Horse. His name's Moe.. But in the ring they call him Miserable At Best.. which is the name of a song. She chuckled again. [colol=teal]It's a rather depressing song, but it went well with his barn name.

[/color] She smiled a little.

Hearing his last three words, 'by the way', she smirked in his direction. Oh, very funny. And I'm sure you think it was very nice to meet me. Most people do, don't worry, you're not alone. The smirk stayed peeled upon her features, of course only kidding with the boy, she wasn't that into herself. Just for the sake of conversation.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/font]

[.~.T.e.a.k.~.]

Mikey shook his head some, catching on quickly that she was kidding, but going along with her by saying, You sound pretty sure of yourself, maybe too sure? He laughed some, liking Layla a lot already. It wasn’t often that he found someone who wasn’t afraid to really joke around… he enjoyed the laid back way that she spoke, reminded him of his cousins… for some reason it seemed like some people here were just really careful what they said… that kind of bothered him, though he didn’t let it show to anyone. I haven’t seen your horse yet, I don’t think. I’ve normally got my eye on my two trouble-makers, don’t really have time to check out the other horses… there’s only so many hours in the day, and most of mine are spend with these two. I can’t let Cowboy get bored, he tends to pick up bad habits when he’d bored… such as opening the latch to his and Campbell’s stalls and stuff like that...

As if to agree, the big Paint stallion shook his head up and down rapidly a few times, then nipped lightly at the black gelding. Both horses were confused… why were they both out today? They were never both out at the same time, at least not when their owner was planning on riding, which he apparently was. I hope I’m not taking your time away from your own horse… what disciplines do you ride? He turned to look at her for a moment before shifting his gaze back to his two horses… he was curious, it was one of his downfalls… but Mikey, who didn’t mind asking questions, and who was definitely not easily embarrassed (thanks to years of living with family who took every opportunity to ‘tease it outta him’)… well, he just... asked.

[b.ounce]

Layla smirked in his direction again and shrugged her shoulders. Well, when you're amazing as I am, there's no reason to not be sure... please.. feel free to bask in my glow. This time, she couldn't help but laugh a few seconds after she spoke. She definitely was sarcastic, but she knew when it was enough and when she had to be serious, and maybe now was a good time to knock it off. She glanced at his horses again and then back at him. So.. Why are you tacking them both up at the same time? You can't exactly ride them both at once, you know. She smiled. Nor could he really ride one if the other was still in the ring.

She pushed her hair back, her mind going back to Moe who was still on cross ties in the barn. But, he hadn't made any noise to signal that he was getting ticked, so she shrugged it off. Oh, I was just brushing him down. But he hasn't broken anything yet, so he seems fine. She smiled. But if you wanted to get rid of me all you had to do was ask. A chuckle escaped her again as she took her weight off the fence, putting her hands in her back pockets. I do barrel racing.. pole bending, a lot of rodeo stuff. Basically everything that there is to do in a western saddle.

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[.~.T.e.a.k.~.]

Mikey stifled his laughter at her words.. he knew full well that he could laugh with her, but didn’t. It was more of an old habit than anything. He straightened the english saddle from where it was slowly sliding sideways and waved a hand at the Paint again when the stallion poked his nose over the panels, looking for scratches and treats. The horse was spoiled, and knew that he was his owners’ favorite.

I was planning on working more with Cowboy on poles and barrels… hence the gear. He motioned towards the pile of supplies in the far corner of the pen, But I need to work a little with Campbell’s flexing and he needs some attention, so I was going to let him stick around in the arena when Cowboy and I were working. He said off-handedly, I wasn’t trying to get rid of you, I just don’t want to take your time away from you and your horse…

The young man paused for a moment, listening carefully to her listing of what she did, smiling slightly when he realized that she did a lot of the same things that he liked to do. What were you planning on doing today? For the rest of the day? He questioned, hoping that her answer would be a ‘nothing’ or close to it. A little friendly competition couldn’t hurt nothing, could it?

[b.ounce]

Layla put her hands into the back pockets of her jeans, taking a deep breath and thinking for a moment. Well.. She thought for a moment. Would it be exceptable to say that she wasn't doing anything? I mean, she wasn't stupid, she knew that if she had said 'nothing' that he'd ask her to hang out with him, or something along those lines. And how could she say no? She smiled slightly, shrugging her shoulders. Nothing I don't believe. Unless you had something in mind? Layla was definitely a little out going, but at the same time she could be EXTREMELY shy, maybe he just brought out the best in her. She felt pretty comfortable around him, and she hadn't really even know him that long.

She could hear Moe pawing at the concrete floor in the barn, but he'd live. She knew he wouldn't break anything or hurt himself, he'd just bang around for a little until he got sick of doing that and then probably fall asleep.. and that was if she even took THAT long.

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[.~.T.e.a.k.~.]

Great! His grin broadened until it was a straight up smile at her words and he nodded emphatically, pleased that she had asked him if he had anything in mind. Excellent, just perfect! His mind worked quickly, figuring out what to do with the black gelding, and before he even had it completely formulated… he was speaking.

You up for some games? Like I said, I was going to work Cowboy… but it’d be nice to have a friend to hang with, and maybe start a little competition. He motioned towards the gear at the far end of the ring again, If you want to, that is. I can always work with Cammie some other time…

Cowboy seemed to grow bored with standing still and walked down the ring towards the gear, stopping and lowering his head to smell of the familiar looking stuff. He was a little antsy, and pawed at the poled, sending a few rolling. Campbell, who had gone with the stallion, jumped away from the stuff and snorted, shaking his blaze-faced head as he trotted around the ring.

[b.ounce]

Just as she had suspected, he did have a little something in mind. A small smile perched itself upon her cheek bones and she nodded her head. Yeah, that'd be fun. She slowly started walking backwards towards the barn. I'll just throw Moe's tack on and meet you out here in a few? She really didn't wait for his answer before she turned, walking into the barn, her smile growing in size by 10 times once her back was turned to him. Maybe he was growing a bit of a shine to her, or maybe he was just being nice. But he sounded way too excited to just be being nice, right?

She ignored Moe for the moment, going into the tack room and grabbing his bridle, his saddle pad and his saddle, walking out into the asile and tossing his saddle pad onto his back, followed by his saddle. She quickly tightened the girth, wrapping the breast strap around his front and then putting his bridle on, setting his halter on a hanger by the cross ties and leading him outside and out towards the western ring where Mikey was.

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[.~.T.e.a.k.~.]

A’ight! I’ll put Cammie out in one of the pastures real fast. He hollered to her as she walked back to get her horse. When she disappeared back inside the barn, he turned to look at the black gelding. I ain’t never gonna get to work with you too much, am I bud? He questioned the equine as he entered the arena and snagged Cammies lead. Come on. Mikey tugged the lead and led Campbell out of the ring, closing the gate behind him and making sure it was locked closed so that Cowboy wouldn’t undo it.

Mikey quickly led the TB towards one of the smaller pastures and loosed the horse at the gate, watching the black for a moment as Campbell trotted off easily. With a small half-smile he turned back and jogged back to where Cowboy stood, now patiently, at the side of the ring. C’mere boy! We gonna play! Mike yelled at the Paint as he approached. The stallion nickered, ears forwards and eyes alert and pranced towards his human as Mike re-entered the ring. The young man grabbed the heavy saddle from where it sat and, ignoring the fact that Cowboy wasn’t tied, tossed it up onto the Paint’s broad back. Before doing it up, though, he turned and grabbed the bridle, adjusting it and sliding the bit inside Cowboy’s mouth as he pulled it over his ears and fixed the long mane and forelock smoothly. Mikey liked his horses looking good under-saddle and not. Dropping the reins to the ground, so that Cowboy would understand that he was supposed to be ground-tied, Mikey tightened the cinch up once, waited a few moments, then did it again… Cowboy sometimes liked to hold his breath so the saddle would sit looser…

Now, Mike looked the reins over the horses head and looped the leadrope around the saddlehorn, as always. He let the stallion wander around as he turned and debated the pile of poles and barrels, trying to figure out what to set up and where. He looked around when he heard the sounds of another horses hoofs and whistled for Cowboy to come back to him. When the horse came, Mikey grabbed the reins and held the large Paint still. That was fast. He stated, a bit of surprise coloring his voice. His smile was wide and Cowboy seemed to be copying his humans anticipation by shifting around energetically.