She snorted loudly, continuing to back away. There was no way forward, so I got down again, this time taking the reins to lead her through the grass. She whinnied angrily at me, but finally stepped forward. She lifted her hooves high before each step, very careful where she was going.
I watched with utter fascination as she high-stepped every move.
“Seriously?” I finally asked. “The grass is too tall?”
She huffed at me, shaking her head.
“You can’t possibly be scared of the grass!”
She let out a loud huff, backing away from me. I was never going to get home at this rate. Peeling my shirt over my head, I wrapped it around the horse’s eyes, and prayed that was enough to get her moving. It was a slow-going process, but eventually, I got her to the back of the stables where Jeff was fucking laughing at me.
“Problems?”
“You didn’t say the horse was scared of everything.”
“Just things that jump out at her,” he shrugged.
“Grass,” I snapped. “She wouldn’t walk through grass.”
He nodded as if he suddenly remembered that. “Oh, shit. That’s right. I forgot that she doesn’t like tall grass.”
“What the hell did you even get the horse for?”
“She’s gentle.”
“She’s afraid of her own shadow!” I shouted.
Susie grunted, shaking her head at me.
I sighed, rubbing her mane. “Sorry, Susie, but this is ridiculous.”
“Admit it,” Jeff grinned. “You had fun.”
“I would have had more fun if I had actually gotten somewhere. We didn’t even make it to the falls.”
“Oh, no. I definitely wouldn’t recommend that,” he chuckled. “She doesn’t like the falls. Too noisy.”
“Of course they are. She was scared of a fish.”
Jeff patted her withers, then moved along to her belly. “Yeah, she’s a good girl. Spends the majority of her day lounging under the tree out back.”
“Lounging?”
He nodded. “She really likes to sleep. Hey, and next time you come by, make sure to bring lots of jelly beans.”
I frowned at that. “Shouldn’t you be feeding her apples or carrots?”
“You’d think,” he laughed. “But this girl likes jelly beans. Oh, and gummy bears. Not too much at once. That would be bad for her.” He snapped his fingers. “Oh, and uh…if you think of it, she really likes fruit juice.”
“Fruit juice? Are you fucking crazy? She’s a horse!”
“No better way to get her on your side.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter because I’m leaving.”
“Right, going back to the big city,” he nodded. “Well, I’m sure someone else will bring her favorite treats. You know, someone who has the patience to deal with a horse like her.”
“You mean a scaredy cat.”
