Work in Progress Wednesday: October 20th, 2021

Well, the potatoes in my garden are finally dug and stored for the winter, and aside from some straggling zucchini, squash, and beans, garden season is done. Now writing season can begin! Hopefully with the bulk of the gardening chores finished, there will be much more time for writing and projects will be done more quickly. And here is a peek at Chapter Three of my creatively titled young adult novel, "Allie"!

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"What are you doing out?" I asked, looking past the mare and expecting to see her door broken down or something.

Fortunately, we have the double doors on our barn where you can keep the bottom ones closed, but open the top, so she hadn't escaped the barn. It was also fortunate our feed room had a sturdy door, so she hadn't gotten into it. Horses have just about the worst digestive system of any animal on the planet. Like, if they eat too much and get a stomachache, they can't just throw it up and be over it. They physically can't throw up, so instead, they get really sick and try to die. Whoever came up with the saying "Healthy as a horse" obviously didn't know anything about horses.

I let myself into the barn, with Nate right behind me. I grabbed a halter from the closest stall and slipped it over the mare's head and led her back to her own stall. But just as I was about to put her in, the horse stabled across from her lunged at her own door to try and nip the horse I was leading. When her chest hit the door, it burst open, catching the mare I was leading in the hip and sending her into a panic. She nearly wrenched my arm out of its socket as she bolted down the aisle. The other mare nearly trampled me when she burst out of her stall to chase the first mare. I was stunned and couldn't move, other than to get out of the way, but Nate ran by me, trying unsuccessfully to catch mare #2 before she attacked mare #1.

Mare #1 had lost her mind at this point, and when she reached the opposite door, she launched herself over it. I shut my eyes, not wanting to see the imminent disaster. This horse was a barrel racer, not a jumper.

I heard Nate's gasp, but I didn't hear the crash I was expecting. I opened my eyes to see Mare #1 galloping at the pasture the mares and foals and our stallion lived in. Mare #2 had just slammed her brakes on, tucking her butt underneath her like a reining horse and slid, stopping just short of the door. Nate got hold of her, and I finally managed to get my feet to move. I scanned the aisle to see that every door in the barn was unlatched. It was a miracle only those two horses had gotten out.

"What is going on here?" I mumbled, quickly latching the doors before anyone else escaped.

Nate led Mare #2 to her stall, a frown on his face.

"I don't know what that Paint mare's usual job is, but she could be a Grand Prix jumper. Not only did she jump that door, but she cleared the pasture fence out there like it was nothing. And I hate to tell you, but she and the stud are getting pretty, um, friendly."

I groaned. Thankfully, the mare belonged to us, so we weren't going to have to explain any "oopsies" to an unhappy owner. But the mare was coming along nicely as a barrel racer- so nicely, I wouldn't mind keeping her.

"Do you want me to try and catch her while you feed these guys, before anything else happens?" he added.

This guy might be a keeper. I mean, if he wanted to be kept. Okay, that doesn't sound right. But at least I felt slightly less awkward with him now that we'd gone through this disaster together.

"If you can catch her, that would be awesome. If not, just leave her. Maybe she'd rather be a mom than a barrel racer."