(Open) Slow Spinning Redemption

[jacq]

"What the hell kind of racehorse is that?" had been the question asked of the young girl crouched down in the cross ties beside a tall black horse's leg, carefully running her hand down his lover leg. The horse definitely didn't look like he belonged in this barn, and truthfully, he probably didn't, but when this girl got an idea in her head there was no changing her mind. He stood lazily in the cross ties, his eyes nearly closed, letting the ties hold up his big head as if he were sedated, but there were no drugs coursing through his veins. The inquirer was met with any icy glare that was just about cold enough to make hell freeze over. A damn well trained one. She snarled back at him, I'd like to see you get one of your without drugs and still be a fantastic runner. The man was skeptical, clearly, and decided to have another go at it. "What's he clocking?" he asked with one of those high and mighty smug smirks fancy trainers were known to have. He's not yet, she retorted just as viciously as before, Don't you know a lame horse when you see one? Unsure of how to respond the man just moved along, unwilling to deal with the snappy 21 year old.

Idiot. she mumbled to herself as she grabbed the leg wrap and started wrapping the left leg tightly. He still had the plaster cast on his right front leg and still walked terribly awkwardly and with a limp, and the vet was still skeptical that he would make a full recovery, but if it was possible to will broken bones into mending, she would definitely do it. Just you wait Vince She said to the horse as she continued wrapping the leg, One of these days you'll be better and we'll blow them all away, won't we? She finished the leg and straightened up, unclipping the cross ties and putting his lead rope back on the halter. I know you hate walking with that thing, but it's Doctor's orders. she added, stepping out of the cross ties and leading him along with her. They had removed the full leg length cast a few weeks ago and now he was only casted up to his knee, but it was plain to see that he was annoyed by it still.

Jacq took him out of the barn and down towards the arena. She didn't trust those other horses, and the last thing she wanted was for Vince to get kicked by one of them. He couldn't go far with his leg being broken and all, but he needed the exercise, and he couldn't like being locked up in a stall all day, so she usually just took him down to the outdoor arena and let him graze on the grass around the outside while she watched the other riders. To be perfectly honest, she had never ridden a horse. Before watching Vince break down she'd never even been remotely interested in horses.. but now, she was sure she would be riding one day, and the more she watched the more prepared she would be when Vince was sound. Granted she would be in a racing saddle and all... but they all had the same basics to them... or at least it looked that way.

When the pair reached the outdoor arena, she stopped and plopped down in the grass, holding the end of the lead loosely while the big horse grazed around her. Sure, maybe sitting at the feet of a four year old thoroughbred wasn't a very good idea, but what did she know? She'd never been around horses until a year ago, and the majority of that time was spent constantly in a veterinary barn. She'd only been at an actual barn for a month now, and it wasn't like she was exactly all that friendly towards people, so no one had seen fit to advise her on the proper etiquette when around horses. Not that Vince would ever step on her or spook at something, but all the same, you could never be too sure. She had a lot to learn about this world she had immersed herself into, and so far, she was practically failing the class.

[zippyzip2010]

Jason was practically born on a horse. He was raised on a ranch herding cattle and training horses. Horses was all he ever knew. But that was the blessing of having a horse family. His family saw horses as money, but Jason saw them as humans. Any horse could do anything, it's just a matter of training them and making them understand. Also, trying to figure out what the horse loved to do, not what you wanted them to do. A horse would always do what he loved to do better then forcing him to do something he hated.

He couldn't remember how many times he told his parents that one stud horse didn't like the job of being a western pleasure horse. The horse hated it, he was a logn legged and strided horse that just wanted to go fast. They tried reining, but it was just still to slow for him. They forced that horse to go to shows, put his head to the ground, and go slow for so long the horse went crazy. One day he decided instead of putting his head down like asked he flipped over backwards. Jason remembered telling them that horse was gonna go crazy because he was always testing his limits to go faster any chance he could. He might be bred like a show horse but deep down he was wanting to go fast.

So Jason took that big tall quarter horse to a race track one day when his parents were gone. He lunged the horse with a english saddle on him and bridled him and got on him, not asking him to put his head down or anything, just asked him to run. The horse was happy again. He was prancing around after feeling so good. One weekend he took the horse their again and some racing people came by and actually gave him fifteen thousand dollars for him to race him. He called his parents and the people took the big stud horse. A year later he was winning money on teh track.. when he made absolutely no money being a show horse.

He was leading out his bay paint mare out to the outdoor arena to ride in the sunshine. The mare had her ears pinned like always and walked along tugging on the reins. Jason just smiled at teh mare and rolled his eyes. He got out and looked over to see a tall race looking horse with a cast. He looked at his mare and shut the gate. He tightened the cinch a little and got on his mare. He walked over to the big horse, then noticed a girl sitting too. He smiled, "Hello there. Good looking horse you got here. Race horse?" He asked nicely, hoping she would look a little happier then she did.

He looked over the horse again, very nicely built. He looked like racing was his thing for sure. He could see it in the horses eyes that what he wanted. "I'm Jason by the way. How does this horse here ride?" He asked, not sure whether the girl rode or what, she kinda didn't look she had. She looked new at this, but looks didn't say anything for anyone sometimes. He kept the smile on his face and side-passed his mare over away from the horse a little so she wouldn't squeal and kick out at the horse.

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[jacq]

Jacq was definitely a very bitter young lady. She hated the life she had been forced into by the system that had betrayed her. Social services were supposed to protect kids like her, and unfortunately, it had failed to do so and essentially put her into the very situation they claimed to save children from. Unfortunately for everyone around her, that had made her completely bitter towards everyone, especially people who seemed to have such a perfect life. She wasn't entirely sure why she was so bitter towards everyone, but she really was. The only one she had no issue with was her horse. The two of them were a lot alike. Both of them had been broken by the system they lived in, both of them were beaten into doing what someone else wanted, and both of them were really just misunderstood and looking for someone who got where they were coming from.

She had been sitting and watching those practicing in the arena for about ten minutes, when suddenly the sound of grass being torn up beside her suddenly ceased. She tore her attention away from the rider in the arena and looked up at at Vin, then in the direction he was now looking. A few feet away from them was a rider checking over his horse, no doubt before going into the arena to practice. He was probably another one of those rich guys who bought only the best horses and sent the no good ones to auction. He was probably just like Vin's old owner who wouldn't give the horse a second chance at life. Because she had developed such a dislike for people she always assumed the worst of them. She couldn't really be blamed though, all her life she had been subjected to some of the worst of humanity, she really didn't know any different.

She looked away from him and back to the arena but no sooner had she done so than he spoke. Seeing as she was the only one sitting within the vicinity, she could only assume that he was talking to her. Despite the compliment, her bitter expression didn't change. Was she said, with a scowl Before they ruined him. She decided to not say anything in regards to her name, considering if she did, he would probably know exactly who she was. After all, in this town, if you got arrested for anything you were front page news, get arrested for stealing cars and you're headline news for weeks. Anyone who heard the name Jacquelyn Daniels knew just exactly who she was. He doesn't anymore she added when he asked how the horse rode. She wasn't really sure what he meant by how he rode... but she didn't want him to know that. He's got a broken leg in case you didn't notice. It just wouldn't be natural for her to not add in something to try and make him sound more incompetent and herself less so. It was her defense system, bring others down so she didn't feel so insignificant all the time.

[zippyzip2010]

Jason listened to her comments. She must have not had a good past. She had a bad attitude about everything obviously...well not everything but atleast toward him and most likely other people. She loved the horse and it was her best friend. He watched her and nodded understanding. She didn't seem to know much about riding terms, so she was probably knew about horses. "When he was ridable, before he broke his leg, was he good?" He asked nicely.

He decided to let the girl be for a little bit. " I will let you go back to grazing your horse." He said and asked his horse to walk. The mare's tail swished and she walked along with her head down. They were just gonna do some long trotting today to build some muscle. Something easy and quick. He started to trot the mare, first slow for a little while to loosen her muscles. He asked her to extend and lower her head lower and lift her back and rib cage to build soem back muscle.

He did this for a while til she broke a small sweat then he let her walk out. He got off and walked her back to the barn. He unsaddled her and tied her up in her stall to cool down more. He took his sorrel gelding out and put a bridle on the ugly horse. He took him out, going to ride him bareback. He walked out to teh arena and he jumped on the gelding and patted his neck. The horse was a very very nice horse. He just had crooked legs, ugly head, color was dull...he couldn't see why his previous owners used him as a stud. He bought him and gelded him right away because all he threw was crooked legged horses which people didn't want.

He walked around a little then stopped by the young lady again. "Do you ride?" He asked curiously. He wanted to maybe go ride with her...if not i guess that was ok too. He rubbed the horses thick neck then patted his rump. The horse nickered toward the racehorse. "Shhh" He said quietly and rubbed the horses neck lightly. He looked back to teh girl, wondering and waiting her a reply.

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[jacq]

She would have probably responded with something along the lines of "no, but they weren't doing it right" had he given her time to say anything before saying he'd let her go back to grazing her horse... as if she was incapable of having a conversation and holding on to the end of a lead rope at the same time. Yes, she was overreacting, but that was a bad habit of hers that she had developed to protect herself from people. Jacquelyn was definitely resentful towards anyone who tried to help her. she was convinced that unless she asked for help, she didn't need it, and anyone who offered help without her asking was belittling her by assuming she was incapable of doing things herself. Really, that was never the case, but she couldn't help the way she felt. She'd spent most of her life doing everything herself and had gotten it into her head that she was capable of doing everything herself. That was probably why she was struggling to get by so much. She worked all hours of the day and still didn't have much of anything to live on. Paying off the vet bill was slow going, but she was getting there. She could hardly wait for that day to come so she could then at least maybe afford some cheap apartment and get out of the cold at night.

Unfortunately, having met so many bad people in her life she had started to wonder if there were really any good ones left. Though she would never admit it, she was just afraid that everyone out there was just like all the people who had hurt her, especially men. So far, she hadn't met and gotten to know any male who had the decency to treat her right, and she was coming to the conclusion that none of them ever would. Subconsciously, she had decided that the best way to protect herself was to drive everyone away with her bitterness. She was like the caterpillar with thorns, volatile and so defensive. A pretty thing just waiting for the day she could crawl out of her cocoon and not have to hide behind that ugly exterior. It was just too bad she hadn't a clue how to do that.

She had drifted off into thought again when suddenly his voice again interrupted her, this time asking if she rode. Obviously not She said still bitterly. She'd never sat on the back of a horse in her life, and honestly, she didn't have a clue why she'd been so determined to save this horse. She'd never cared about horses until she saw him go down, now he was her obsession. The horse was the closest thing she had to family, and her mind that made him the most important thing in the world. She'd never had a family that cared about her, so now that she had this horse that seemed to like her an awful lot, she was going to cling to him as if for dear life.

[zippyzip2010]

Jason had a feeling maybe this young lady had no horse experience... if she had it had been a while since she used her knowledge. She just didn't seem the kind that wouldn't know much. Her remark kinda made Jason not want to talk to her because it seemed rude. Maybe she just didn't mean to be rude though. "No, that was not what I meant, sorry. Before he was put in this cast, how fast was he." He said to her re-explaining himself.

His mare was pinning her ears and clenching her teeth. No his horses were not perfect, this mare was rather far from. If she had to think that he was perfect along with his horses, then she had some rethinking to do. He just smiled to her though, being friendly. She looked like she needed someone nice to talk to. He wasn't trying to hook up or anything, but just be a friend for now. He side passed his mare over and her tail flipped up and down almost in anger, but she was just a sassy little mare. Her head tossed up once before collecting back up.

He patted the mares neck when she did what was asked, even though it was with a big attitude. He looked at the young lady's horse again. "You know, that horse you got there is gonna get out of that cast and be better then what he was before. I can see it in his eyes he aint a quitter. You got yourself a great horse." He said to her thinking that maybe hearing that she would be a little more happy with herself. He didn't like it when people were down in teh pits all teh time.

[ooc:sorry its short i have no muse lol and sorry it took so long. i had it written long once hten internet died and it left.. ahha

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[jacq]

((Haha it's all good... but her first comment about them "not doing it right" was a thought, she didn't actually say it, seeing as he left right after he asked.... sooooo..... yeah.))

Of course he will Jacquelyn retorted when the guy said he was going to get out of the cast and be better than before. She had been telling herself that every day and she believed it with all her heart. It was the only hope she had left to cling to. It was a small shred of hope, but she was downright determined that he was going to be alright. The odds of him actually coming back from that injury were quite slim, but it was all she had left to believe in. She had lost her faith in people, and she really had absolutely nothing left to hope for. Her future had been essentially destroyed by her criminal record. No one was going to want to hire someone who had been convicted of grand theft auto. So she just poured all of her hopes and dreams into this broken down lazy horse. odds were she was just going to be disappointed, but in her mind she couldn't possibly be more disappointed than she already was, so what did she have to lose?

If the horse didn't come back from this, no doubt she would probably be heartbroken and would withdraw even further from society. Up to this point, everyone and everything except Vindicated, had somehow either let her down or hurt her. Because of that, the horse was her sole reason for existing anymore. In everything that she had done wrong in her life, she wanted to make this horse right. She was so certain she could save him, if she failed to do so she really wouldn't have anything left at all. Her's was a sad reality, but one that was very unlikely to change. Coming back from a life like she had lead was nearly impossible unless one had connections that were wealthy. She, however, was essentially penniless and was likely to live on the streets until the day she died.

What she really needed was just for some ray of hope that not all was lost outside of this horse. She needed someone to see around her angry exterior and into the young woman who was merely afraid that if she got close to anyone they would hurt her. Her whole life had been about hurt and pain, and she needed someone to show her that wasn't all that was out there. Unfortunately, the way she treated people reflected on the way they treated her, so her bitter personality wasn't going to win her any friends who would be willing to do so. People often said of girls like her, that she would wake up one day and find that she was all alone, but it was too late for that. She woke up every day knowing that she was alone since the day she was old enough to realize it, and she knew that it was likely always going to be that way. there was no sense in trying to change reality.