Chasing Daisies (open)

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Cara led the rather rotund Dartmoor mare into the arena that was a part of the reproduction barn. The mare - even though heavily pregnant - still needed her exercise and the teen felt that it was better for the mare to have a stroll around the arena rather than just trudging up and down the barn aisle. And this also gave her a chance to be outside, and the cross-bred human could take her out for a short graze once their walk was over. "Just take it easy, Papillon." She told the pony gently as the mare threw her head up. Papillon was French for Butterfly - which seemed to suit the mare as her registered name was Chasing Daisies.

They walked around the outside of the arena, the mare lowering her head and releasing a heavy sigh as she sluggishly lifted each hoof off the ground in turn and placed it on the ground again. The girl draped the rope over the dam-to-be's neck as she kept pace with the pony.

As they walked along, the teen thought over everything that had happened in her past and everything she would like to change about the person she was now. What would she change? Honestly, she didn't think she'd change anything. She was who she was and the way she was, was... well all she ever knew to be. She calmly ran her hand down the mare's neck as the mare's ears flickered around just before a bird flew from the bush to their left.

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Breathing quietly - almost reverently - Jess removed herself from the central aisle of the brood-mare barn, having just positively tiptoed through the place, as quietly as she could, having finally summoned up the courage to actually enter the Evening Primrose Barn. Something about the thought of gestating mares filled her with an inordinate amount of respect, and she'd initially been worried that ordinary students like her mightn't be allowed in. There didn't seem to be anything barring her, though, and so in some of her free time she'd taken the chance and wandered over. No-one seemed to be about to yell at her back off, and she reasoned that if she remained quiet and sensible she could hardly bring on any unexpected problems with pregnancy. And, indeed, she hadn't, instead spending a very pleasant half-hour getting to know some of the mares and cooing, appropriately, at the foals a few of them had.

Now outside, feeling very content, her attention was attracted by the sight of someone - or, more precisely, someone and a pony - moving around in the arena specifically designated for brood mares. Curiousity piqued, Jess went to investigate, wondering if this was someone she could ask questions about breeding to.

It didn't surprise her, really, when the person in question turned out to be Cara: Jess was fast beginning to see her as the person who was involved with everything horsy at Blue Ridge, as well as being very nice and friendly to a rather nervy thirteen-year-old and as a font of information from anything about riding, to English assignments. Surely she wouldn't mind being interrupted?

"Hi Cara," she called, from the fence, making sure to keep quite until Cara and the Dartmoor were walking towards her. "Is she your mare, or are you just looking after her?" Leaning on the top of the fence - a slight stretch for her small frame, but she could just about manage it - she watched with interest as they drew closer, hoping that Cara wouldn't mind her asking questions.

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Cara and the mare continued their way around the arena. As the walked, the mare's strides became more relaxed and a little more fluid as the pony got used to walking the distance with the weight she was carrying.

Papillon caught sight of the girl by the fence long before she spoke up, and the mare let out a gently nicker.

Cara looked over at the sound of Jessica's voice and smiled as she carefully lifted a hand in a wave. She waited until the had reached the girl before she answered the questions that had been thrown at her. "This is Chasing Daises or Papillon as I've come to calling her as there is already a mare in the barn named Daisy. Papillon is French for Butterfly. Yes she is mine. I found her while I was helping Miss Carr look at some new ponies for the Academy." She ran her hand down the mare's neck as the Dartmoor reached her head over the fence to inspect the child on the other side of it. Cara smiled at the mare who seemed to be coming out of her shell now that she knew that her and her unborn baby were now safe even though parts of her coat still needed to grow out again. "How is everything going?"

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Smiling as Chasing Daisies' head appeared over the fence to investigate her, Jess eagerly accepted the pony's invitation to make friends, running her eyes over her as she gently reached out to stroke the Dartmorr's nose. Seeing the rather distressed state of her coat - though it was clearly getting better - her expression shifted into one of slight concern. "Is she okay? She looks a bit, uh..." She trailed off, not wanting insult Cara's care, or anything, as she was sure that it had happened before Cara had turned up, finishing instead with, "She looks like she's getting better."

Whatever else one could say about Jess, one could never say that she didn't care about horses, and her concern was entirely genuine, especially as the mare looked so very pregnant. Surely she had to be giving birth soon! Realising that Cara had asked her a question about herself, she shrugged and nodded, "Oh, good, you know. I was just having a look through the broodmare barn - I'd never been in there before - it's really nice. And, yes, you're very nice," she cooed, as Papillon nudged her hand for some extra attention.

Obediently, Jess gave it, saying as she did so, "I didn't mean to interrupt you, or anything," or, alright, she had, but only a bit, "Does she have to have a lot of exercise?" She was personally quite amazed the small mare could even walk, round as she was.

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"Is she okay? She looks a bit, uh...She looks like she's getting better."

Cara laughed gently at the girl's use of tact. "We, Aurora and I, found her in the most disgusting of stalls. This girl here didn't want anything to do with anyone and was pretty much just waiting to die. I persuaded the owner of the yard she was on to sell her to me as a going concern." She shrugged. "She'sgetting better. I'm just being careful of the herbs I use with her, as her immune system was almost destroyed by her living conditions that I don't want to take any chances with harming the foal."

She listened as Jessica mentioned why she was in the broodmare barn. "Why don't you speak with Mr Cole and ask if you are allowed to join the class?" She suggested lightly as she loosened her hold on the rope so that the mare could tear at the green grass that was growing at the edge of the arena.

"I didn't mean to interrupt you, or anything, Does she have to have a lot of exercise?"

Cara gave a soft smile as she watched the mare prodding the girl for more affection once she'd eaten her fill of grass. "It's not a problem, I think Papillon is happy to have the interruption." She smiled again. "Since she is so far along in her pregnancy, it's not safe to let her run around in the pasture. I walk her out once or twice a day to keep the fluid in her legs down and to help the foal move around - as he or she will find it easier to do if the mare is moving gently and relaxed rather then standing still and tense in a stall." The fifteen year old gave an impish grin. "It also gives me an excuse to play with the new babies." She nodded over to the pasture where the Clydesdale mare, Daisy, was with her two daughters. The Clydesdale filly was standing alongside her dam with her jet-black Hanoverian sister standing under the mare's belly.

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"Who'd mistreat such a beautiful girl as her?" Jess wondered, once again utterly astounded by how simply nasty people could be. "Will the foal have been hurt by her not being treated well when she was pregnant?" Presumably the vet thought it wasn't too bad, as they were letting the pregnancy proceed along normal lines, but for all she knew you couldn't tell if things went wrong with horses and their babies until too late. Could you give a horse an ultrasound? She had no idea.

"Herbs? Oh, right, for aromatherapy and things?" She hadn't realised Cara know how to do that (but by now she was beyond being surprised at what Cara did know how to do), and wondered whether she should ask Cara if she'd mind teaching her a bit about it. It was one of those things that her scientific parents had never put much stock in, but she, personally, thought it sounded really interesting.

"Oh, I'd love to join the class," she continued, tone bright, as she was pulled on from her thoughts about natural remedies, "Do you think he'd allow me to? I don't know that much about it." Actually, she was coming to the conclusion that, really, she knew very little about everything, especially in regards to horses. New things kept turning up that she hadn't even known she didn't know.

Nodding as Cara informed her of what she was doing, rubbing Papillon's neck as she did so, and thinking that the name really did quite suit her - even if she wasn't particularly butterfly-like the condition she was in - and also grinned. "I can see that being a big attraction of working with the mares. There's just something about foals that makes them so adorable! When's she going to have her foal? Soon, I assume... I don't see how she can get much bigger, really."

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"Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow creatures is amusing in itself. James A. Froude. It is amazing the amount of pain one human can afflict on a creature smaller than themselves." She gave a shrug. "Mr Cole is certain that the foal is healthy and since she has almost doubled in size since arriving here, the baby must still be growing."

"Herbs? Oh, right, for aromatherapy and things?"

Cara nodded. "I like to look at natural remedies before I turn to the commercial medicine to sort things out. Herbs are not only easier on the animal's system, they can also get to work straight away." She nodded to the area where the barn met in an L shape. "I have a herb garden over there."

She brightened as Jessica showed enthusiasm about joining the class. "It can't hurt to ask." She offered. "And the reason you join classes is so that you can learn more, right? Also, you get to pick one of the beautiful mares that are yet to drop to work with."

"I can see that being a big attraction of working with the mares. There's just something about foals that makes them so adorable! When's she going to have her foal? Soon, I assume... I don't see how she can get much bigger, really."

Cara laughed gently. "If she gets any bigger, she's going to pop! I hope that she drops soon." She shrugged. "As I don't know when she fell pregnant, it's all a guessing game. I am guessing that she has around another couple of weeks at the most. You can see that her udder is already beginning to fill, but she hasn't started leaking yet."

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"Would you, when you're not busy, mind showing me a few things about natural remedies?" Jess broached the question, nibbling the inside of her lip. "I wouldn't want to take up your time, or anything, but... it interests me. I've always liked the sound of using natural herbs rather than some more drastic drugs, and things. It just sounds nicer." And some natural herbs and drugs had worked quite well for years before modern medical science had gotten going and started doing things in labs.

"Right, I'll go ask Mr. Cole, then," she agreed, wondering how she'd manage to summon up the courage to preform that little task. "The worst he can say is no, I guess." Which would be terribly embarrassing, but surely he'd want to encourage students, right? Especially given that, now she was here, she was being extremely tempted by veterinary science as a possible option for her future. And if not quite that, then she at least wanted to learn all she could about medical horse stuff: it could only help to make her better with the animals, after all!

"Wow, it'll be so exciting when she does foal," Jess decided, as she looked at what Cara had pointed out and nodded. "And not knowing who the father is makes it even more unknown. What'll your baby look like, hmm?" She asked the mare, tangling a hand briefly in her mane before smoothing it out and giving her a scratch. Turning her attention back to Cara, she asked (realising as she did so that she was asking a great deal of questions, here, but deciding she could be excused given her utter lack of anything but basic knowledge about mares and foals, "I guess you've got another mare to look after, then, if you've only quite recently gotten Papillon, here?"

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Cara beamed at the prospect of passing her knowledge of herbs and natural remedies onto someone else. "I'd be honoured!" She said, her cat-coloured eyes lighting up. "I'm happy to talk to you any time."

She nodded as Jessica spoke about going to see the barn manager and asking to be a part of the class. "Um... while you're talking to people about joining things, why don't you ask Doctor Clarkson if you could be a vet student. There's a possibility he will say that you are too young, but at least it will show him that you are interested." She shrugged.

"I guess you've got another mare to look after, then, if you've only quite recently gotten Papillon, here?"

A blush graced the girl's cheeks as she ducked her head. "Guilty as charged." She said with an impish grin. "I'm also working with a Haflinger mare named Shiloh." She lifted her eyebrows as she looked at Jessica. "Shiloh is the next smallest broodmare here. If you get accepted into the class I will happily step away if you would like work with a small mare. I already have Papillon to work with as well as Daisy's girls over there."

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Jess beamed in response, immensely glad that Cara was equally as enthusiastic about passing on her knowledge as Jess was about receiving it. "Oh, great!" She should've known by now, really, that Cara was sure to agree to such a thing, but her natural anxiety about almost everything had made her tentative in asking. Maybe someday she'd get over that - but not now.

"I kind of assumed all the vet students were older," she admitted, "I wouldn't want to bother him by asking him if it's not a possibility at all." Though showing her interest probably would be a good idea, except for another problem. "I've also never actually met him - or, actually, seen him - so, uh, it might be really awkward." At least she'd exchanged a 'Hello' with Mr Cole, once, as they passed in a corridor. Somehow she'd managed to avoid running into the resident vet at all - which was probably almost an achievement, really.

"I wouldn't want to steal your mare," Jess protested, "Only if you were really sure. But I'll have to go ask, first, and even if he does accept me in he might decide to give me another mare." She shrugged. "I used to ride this Haflinger pony back at my old stables, before I got Acorn, and he was the cheekiest pony there. Used to boss around all the other horses when they were in the paddock. What's Shiloh like?"

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Cara shook her head. "I never said it wasn't a possibility. I was just warning you in case it's what he does say." She assured the girl. "After all, he took me on as a student."

She shook her head again as she clicked her tongue to get the mare moving again and motioned her head for Jessica to walk with them. "I'd be happy to give up Shiloh, and the students get to pick who they want to work with. Get to know the mares in case there's another one you'd rather work with." She gave a gentle smile as she thought about Shiloh. "Let's see... She's moody, temperamental, had no manners when I started working with her - meaning they have gotten a little better since she now knows better than to walk over her handler. She is also a maiden mare, meaning that this is her first foal. Oh, and spoiled brat is a good term for her." She decided not to mention the problems that could occur with a maiden mare.

Once they had been around the arena again, Cara led the mare out of the arena and back into the barn. "Anything else you'd like to know?" She asked as she led the mare into the birthing stall and removed her halter before making a quick sweep of the stall for anything that needed fixing.

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Happily following along after Cara and the mare, and intently listening to the wisdom she was imparting, Jess decided she really would have to go along and find Doctor Clarkson. You know, sometime when she'd managed to martial all her nerve. Though probably sooner rather than later would be a good idea. I'll go ask, she told herself firmly. And he might say no. But he might say yes, too.

Grinning as Cara described Shiloh, she decided that that sounded just like the other Haflinger she knew. Some things never changed, apparently. Carefully watching as the older girl dealt with the mare, she both nodded and shrugged as she was asked if there was anything more she wanted to know. "Well, everything, really, but that's not very feasible."

Wondering if that was perhaps a hint that Cara wanted rid of her, she remained hovering at the edge of the stall with increasing awkwardness. "I guess," she said after a moment, deciding that she might as well get started on this whole 'summoning up her courage and asking questions' thing ASAP, "If you're not busy, now, um, could we maybe have a look at some natural remedies? Not if you've got anything else to do, of course, but I'm free for the next while, and..."

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Cara laughed softly when Jessica said she wanted to know everything. "Time will help you with that." She said. She hated it when people said that age would help, as age quite often had nothing to do with it.

The fifteen year old let herself out of the stall and secured the door behind her as she listened to the mare cross the stall and shove her nose into the feed bin. "Sure I'd be happy to start looking at natural remedies with you! She said. First thing though, what part would you like to start with, as there are quite a few. We could look at herbs - the ones you can add to feeds, or aromatherapy, there's also Bach flower remedies, T-touch?And where would you like to learn? We could either sit outside somewhere or we could go and sit in one of the tack rooms." While she was waiting for the girl to answer her questions, she pressed her lips together. "I'll come with you when you talk to Dr Clarkson if you would like."

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"All of those sounds really interesting," Jess said, shrugging her shoulders in indecision. Eventually, she'd want to learn all of them (in her general quest to learn everything she possibly could about life) but right now? She decided to deflect the question.

"Uh - which one do you think is most useful?" That sounded like a good place to start. Follow the expert's advice. "And maybe we could go outside? It's a nice day, and it seems a shame to hole up in a tack-room... And, do we need a horse to work with?" Maybe not at this early stage, in case the uneducated her managed to do some serious damage to a horse with T-touch, which she was pretty sure was like massaging. Maybe she'd be best sticking with herbs to begin with...

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Cara nodded. "Let's start by looking at some of the most common herbs then." She suggested. "And outside sounds like a grand idea. How about I meet you out in my assigned pasture? I need to take my ladies out for a graze and I'll gather what I need from White Oak while I'm there." She didn't know how much the girl wanted to know, but she did know that she had an empty notebook in her locker in the tack room and a pen that she would offer to Jessica should the girl want to take notes.