The Tricky Art of Wrangling
"Lo and behold," Amelia whispered to herself.
Up ahead and down the mountain near the forest, a herd of horses was feeding by the river. Amelia assessed the surrounding and the horses down below. She noticed that the location was indeed in her favor. If she were to chase the horses west, they would go into a narrow path between the trees. She fixed the noose on the lasso and looped it around her hand, once, twice, taking a few deep breaths to calm and ensure full focus. She tapped the horse to bring it to a steady trot toward the wild horses. When the distance was closing, she began to repeatedly nudge the horse to start the gallop.
The herd almost immediately pick up on the nearing Amelia.
She caught up with them, riding side to side with one. She swung the lasso mid-air in circles while catching a rhythm, throwing it at the neck of one of the horses. "Got you!"
The caught horse galloped to the left at the fork in the road while the rest of the herd ran to the opposite direction towards the open field. Amelia jumped from Gin onto the wild horse, and almost immediately regretted it. Too rash of a decision. The wild horse kicked back and forth, causing her to bite her tongue.
She grabbed a tighter hold of the lasso, more near the neck. Using her other hand, she grabbed a handful of the horse's mane. But despite the effort, the horse threw her. She fell on her back onto the ground with a loud thud; the fall knocking the air out of her lungs.
But she didn't give in, managing to keep a tight hold on the lasso. The wild horse bolted, dragging her through the ground. She held onto the rope with two hands, noticing Gin who was following close behind the mess she was in. She whistled at her horse to keep following her, "Good boy, we got this one!"
Amelia twisted herself to try to get onto her front. As soon as she managed to turn her body, she collided with the tree with reasonable force. The horse slowed down but tried to drag her on. She hooked her arm tightly around the tree while maintaining a holding on the lasso. She stared at the animal, the horse did the same back at her; rearing and sneering in disagreement. A beautiful silver thoroughbred stallion, it would not go down without a fight.
She spat to the side to rid the mouth of the bloody taste. "You or me buddy, I'm not letting go." She said, while slowly get up, maintaining a grip on the lasso. A good half an hour passed, and they were still in the same position – horse on the lasso while Amelia held onto the tree for support. Her arms were tired, her feet dug into the ground for support. The rope rubbed her hands something fierce, and she mentally scolded herself for forgetting to bring riding gloves.
Patiently, she spoke to the horse, doing the best she could in calming it down. She let go of the tree, and began to near closer to the animal. He reared at the advance. "Whoa, it's alright just give me a chance I won't hurt you." She took a few more steps and repeated the calming words towards the stallion. Eventually, she was able to close the distance between them with a hand to the neck and firm pat.
"There, there, I won't hurt you." The horse did not pitch again but neither did he move forward. His body was leaning away from her showing much hesitance.
Eventually, she was able to gain enough trust from the horse to lead him behind her. Patting it so it becomes more accustom to the human touch, she fed it an apple and he accepted it. They walked a few circles around the area.
"Oi!" she called out to get Gin's attention; his ears pricked up. The horse walked towards her and she mounted him. With the stallion on the lasso, she tied the rope around the saddle horn. They trotted towards the direction of the open plains and back West towards town.
She felt a presence following her for a few minutes. Worried that it might be trouble, she twisted her body to look back. There, stood a yearling horse, much younger and smaller than the two that were with her. Similar coat and breed to the stallion.
She didn't want to be greedy, and would rather let the little one roam free. "Git!" she scolded the lone horse to run off, waving a hand at it. She nudged Gin to go once more, but now her captured horses reread, clearly not wanting to follow without the yearling. This made Gin uncomfortable too, and he began to protest by walking stiffly back and forth. She now had two uneasy large animals to deal with, all equipped with their own stubborn streak. She pulled back on Gin's reins, with a tighter hold on the horse, she pressed her legs to its side. "Whoa boy, calm down, calm down, stop!"
Amelia managed to get Gin attention, he snorted and pulled his leg back to show discontent but he was listening once more. At least one horse was under control. She looked up at the sky and took a deep breath to regain some patience. The caught stallion was kicking back and forth, with the lasso around its neck, she undid the rope from the saddle horn and slid down from Gin. She approached the horse, her hands held up in defense she began talking softly to the animal, calming him down with soothing words. She turned her head to look back. The little lone horse stood behind, watching the commotion between her and the horses. "Yea, you did this little troublemaker." She said sarcastically. The caught stallion finally allowed Amelia to approach him, she patted its neck while speaking to it how good he is to have listened again.
She mounted Gin and tied the lasso around the saddle horn once more, this time closer to her horse for more control in case of another outburst were to happen from either of the horses. She cued Gin to turn and move along with the stallion close behind.
She twisted her body to looked back. The yearling following them right behind in a steady trot. She halted the horses once more and the little one stopped too. "I said, git!"
But the horse just looked at her, not moving from its spot.
'Must be your daddy or your brother…your herd or somethin'.' She mentally reasoned how a wild horse is so willing to follow her. She accepted that the little one was not giving up and without further ado, Amelia rod back to town with all three horses.
