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The Beginning of the Thaw

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Winter was finally beginning to let her claws slip from their grasp of the countryside as March approached, letting the struggling grass peek through. The hard, scraggly shrubs that had endured the winter seemed perkier without their loads of snow and despite the mud, everything seemed to be in a better way than it had been several weeks prior. Thin sunshine filtered down from the sparse cloud cover and as Alex looked out the window of his office, he saw the most peculiar sight.

Wild horses were nothing new in Scotland - they were fairly uncommon, but not really rare if you knew where to look. Or if you owned a property with other horses. More than once it had been a problem when one of the mares dropped a foal that hadn't really looked much like its prize-winning thoroughbred sire, to put it quaintly.

But these horses didn't look like the short, dark, stubby little natives that roamed the countryside with tufts of hair sticking out in odd directions, manes and tails matted with mud and burrs. These were exotically-colored horses; one was a beautiful buckskin stallion with white along the crest of his neck and a black with what looked like sabino markings, an old grey mare and a vibrant silver chestnut roan tobiano.

"Oy, guys, come here." He called them into his study, waving a hand at them though they couldn't see, his eyes never leaving the window. Three sets of booted feet tromped in and crowded around the window, shoulders and arms bumping as they all tried to get a good look out the window.

"Have you guys seen any of those horses before?" Lys pointed at the roan and the grey and Sinder translated.

"We've all seen the grey mare, and the roan before. She's a cranky old thing, she's gotta be at least twenty, and the roan seems to take care of her, even though every time he helps she threatens to kick. The other two are new, though. And are they stallions?" He asked, now confused. "Thats bloody weird." He muttered.

"They're a herd." Sarah mused.

"Stallions don't form herds around one mare, each stallion goes out and finds himself a harem of mares. That's not how nature does it." Sinder frowned at the idea.

"Nature's doing this one differently. Get over it. Can --"

"No." Alex interrupted.

"You don't even know what I was going to say!" She protested shrilly.

"You can't keep them."

"So you're going to let them roam around out there, possibly starve, possibly get shot, or have them fall off the cliffs into the ocean that are near here, or --"

"This isn't America," he said brusquely. "Trigger-happy ranchers don't walk around with three rifles strapped to their belts all the time, shooting at everything that moves without their permission. They'll be fine. I just wanted to know if any of you had seen them."

"She's got a point though," Sinder contested. "They're not the native horses, they might have difficulty getting on. Not immediately, because spring seems to be coming, and summer's never a dead time of year here, but they may not be accustomed to the winters here. Food for thought before you condemn them." He walked out, towing Sarah with him, leaving Alex alone with the redhead.

"You agree with them too," he asked in an almost accusatory way, though with a note of resignation. Lys's answer was plain in his eyes before he turned and walked out as well. Alex returned to the desk and sighed, pressing his palms to his eyes.

Conservation of wild horses it was. He pulled out a sheet of paper and began drafting a letter.
_______________

/bandwagon
Yeah, I think having a few herds of wild horses 'round the property would be pretty cool, so that's the plan.
The middle two are the aim of this picture, we're trying to get them from this auction.


Name: Prince
Age: 6 years
Gender: Male
Breed: Kiger mustang
Colour: Buckskin Tobiano
Personality: Contrary to his name, Prince is not spoiled, stuck-up or bratty. He's a well-rounded stallion, one who knows his place and is content to stay there until he is required to move up or down. He takes everything in stride, nothing seems to faze him at all and he can often be seen taking turns with Flag watching over their odd little family.
History/Story: Prince was raised in a small little herd, with a brother and when he turned three, he was wrangled and put in a holding pen for slaughter. Thankfully, a humane society rescued the animals, putting them into shipping containers meant for livestock use and sending them overseas to Europe. About half of the animals ended up in slaughterhouses anyway, due lax regulations in some countries, but many of them were rescued and sent to live on ranches where they were broken and trained. Prince was sent to a ranch with about three other horses (Flag included). They were treated well; kept in large outdoor pens with a shelter, hay and water all winter, allowed to become accustomed to the area before one of the spring thunderstorms collapsed a tree onto the fence and the horses escaped. Luck found Prince and Flag in the company of a roan known around the area as Seamus (yes, I did just shamelessly insert one of my OC's ;P ) and his charge, an old grey mare known as Arctica and they formed an odd little band.
What you plan to do with him: Why you want him: For the moment, we'd like to work on wild horse conservation, and the formation of a herd (or a few herds) of wild and semi-wild horses, handlable only for necessary vetchecks and the like. Eventually, we'd like to start a breeding program, and start working in some TB blood to attempt to create a fast, hardy, athletic horse that would make a good crosscountry or endurance mount.
Why you want him: We think that in addition to passing on his beautiful coloring, his temperament and conformation would be a great aid to the development of the aforementioned cross.
Other Notes: Brother of #4


Name: Black Flag
Age: 9 years
Gender: Stallion
Breed: Mustang cross (we believe he has some stock horse blood mixed with some Kiger mustang and some more Iberian blood)
Colour: Black Paint
Personality: Flag is stoic, silent, always serious. He never hesitates to jump into a fight to help his herd, but he's beyond awkward with the mares and young horses. He and Prince share a brotherly bond, similar to what young men of warrior cultures have.
History/Story: Similar to Prince, Flag was born and raised on the American plains. He was captured a little later in life, but he met Prince en-route to Europe and they've been unlikely mates ever since.
Why you want him: As with Prince, we believe that his color would be a flashy addition to a breeding programme, and that his personality would not be amiss either.
Other Notes: -

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sherryXcherry's avatar
I like the poses ! They looks great and so... natural :D