[open] a simple day

[E. Johnson]

the sun slowly arose over the horizon. the sky still dark with a few illuminating rays creating a mix of colors in the sky. the stars disappearing as the sun gained height. the early morning air was cold against the skin, and the ground soaked with dew. bugs and birds off in the distance called to one another, each one meaning a different thing. a bat or two occasionally flew by in a hurry to hide before the sun caught them. a owl hooted off, far in the woods.

a lone car shilloute rested in the driveway. almost ghostly as no one sat inside. the driver had already escaped from the cab, and was already heading inside the large equine facility to her beloved animals. her small, booted feet made almost no noise as she stepped along the aisle. the noise of sleeping horses, the slight rustle of bedding from the ones who had woken early, and the outside world noises were the only sounds going in her ears. the peacefulness of it all is why she had come out early. the young women had been working hard with her horses all week- riding each one heavily: death in hunter, storm in both western and hunter, flood in western, and king in western. and all gotten some practice in showmanship. her body ached from not riding so much over winter, due to the snow and ice, but with the warm weather spring brought, soon, riding like that would be nothing.

her gray eyes scanned over the many stalls as she slowly made her way. her head taking in the the many breeds of horses that lived here. in only a few moments of gazing, erica had reached one of her horses stalls - death. the young stud was happily sleeping in his box. his cranium resting on the windowsil while the rest of his well-muscled bod took up the rest of his stall. the beautiful horse was one of the biggest at the barn. erica looked over the creature before moving to the only horse of hers that was awake - flood.

the stallion playfully nuzzled around his bedding for entertainment- his jolly ball popped in the corner. with a deep sigh, erica quietly unlatched the horses door and stepped inside. the stud quickly jerked his dome up to eye who stepped inside with him, but soon relaxed when he noticed it was no one that would hurt him. flood graceful stretched his neck and lipped at his owners palm, hoping for an early morning treat. 'nothin' today,' with that, the horse gave up on a treat, and just rested his head in his owners arm. tightly gripping her shorts pocket to hold the animals weight, she gave him a small pat on the neck and played with his ears. the horse gave a happy sigh and softly removed his head from her arm. erica, with a smile, reached her gentle hands out of the door, grabbed up the bright, baby-blue halter, an slipped it onto the animals head. she did not worry about clipping it. so after it was on, she led the sweet horse out to pasture.

slowly shutting the pasture gate behind them, the lady turned to her horse and removed his halter. however, the creature did not move a muscle. a small smile grew on the beautiful girls face, she couldn't help but admire the trust, love, and smart the horse showed towards her. erica strolled her way over towards the right side of flood, placed her hands in two spots, and heaved herself up onto the big boy. she landed softly unto his back, settled herself into the right spot, tossed the halter to the ground. and with that, the horse began a slow, but free walk. he took his time marching across the land, snatching up a mouthful of grass whenever he pleased. his passenger only sat and relaxed, taking in deep breaths of the cool, crisp morning air. a cold feeling ran through her frame as the air flowed over and through her body. it sent a small shiver over her, and was soon gone. flood had felt his owners chill, and he glanced over his shoulder at her, almost asking, 'do you want to turn around and go back?'

[/b] with a smirk, erica calmly stroked the mounts neck as they got farther into the field.

finally, the sun had arisen from its slumber, and was beginning to wake more up. horses began screaming for their breakfast, birds had begun singing their babies early morning wake up call, and deer raced off in the distance. the rider and mount had also reached the back of the pasture, where the creek was. its flowing water sparkled in the suns rays. a lone frog leaped into it and swam away, not wanting to get crushed by a horse. "i think today, i'll do my chores. what you think?" erica questioned as her small stature slid off her horse. flood nickered sweetly and carefully pushed with his head, erica into the creek. the water did not go high up her legs. her eyes quickly flew over to the horse and stuck, glaring at him. he only tossed his head playfully and trotted over to where the bed was deeper. his dark eyes stared closely as the water flowed by, his whiskery-muzzle lowered slowly to the waters surface. once his nose touched it, he began to drink his fill of the clear water. once his thirst was quenched, the horse hopped in. his knees being covered by water, flood started to happily splash around. jogging back and fourth the water. letting a big sigh escape from her mouth, erica got up from the grass and moved to a nearby stump, not wanting to get wet.

after around 10 minutes of playing in the liquid, grass and dirt, flood had enjoyed the time outside and neighed to go back in for his breakfast. without a word, erica got up and began strolling alongside her horse. his playful nature still active, flood would race ahead, spin, lope, canter, jump, buck, anything a normal stallion would do. erica only watched, with a smile as she walked.[/blockquote][/size]