Dixie stepped back and watched the brown girl as she realized what was going on, a small grin pulling up her lips. Shaking her head slightly, she walked back to the wagon and grabbed the saddle skin, bringing it back over to the mare. Queen stood still as the little girl tossed it up onto her back and cinched it tightly around her belly, making sure it was tight enough to stay on without slipping around. The mare already had the halter on, as they weren’t confident enough in her attachment to them yet and feared that she might run away. Stepping back again, she turned to Sky and nodded slightly. Hopefully you’ve got a little ridin’ experience…if you can, hop up on and get comfy, kay? Dixie held onto the halter and lead rope, tying the far tip of the lead into the unconnected side of the halter to make a functioning set of reins. Flicking the loop over the mare’s head, she positioned the soft rope near Sky so she could grab it when ready.
Keeping her hand curled into the halter so the mare wouldn’t start moving until Sky was ready, Dixie stood there and watched. They really did look good together. The few brown spots and streaks in Queen’s coat matched Sky’s coloring perfectly, making them a good matched pair. Smiling, the little girl let her hand slide away and dropped it to her side. She’s a good girl, might spook a little ‘cause you’re a new rider…but she ain’t been buckin’ much and don’t take off without command. Feeling confident that Sky would be fine, she walked over and sat down with Wayne, leaning against him as they both watched the Mare and her new owner. The male smiled and held a piece of jerky up to her mouth, making it his duty to see that she ate something, as she usually forgot. ”You know we gotta find us a new horse now, right? Duke can’t take this burden by himself for much longer…he needs a break.” His voice was soft and spoken close to her ear so as to not distract Sky, just wanting Dixie to know his thoughts on the matter.
Dixie sighed and nodded her head, smiling as the stallion they were talking about made an appearance. The medium sized chestnut horse walked up and came to a standstill at their backs, resting his nose on the girl’s shoulder and sighing heavily, as if to confirm Wayne’s words. Frowning a little, she reached up with both hands and rubbed his face and neck, using her nails to give him a good itching. I know, Wayne…but I just can’t let that sweet girl go walkin’ on her bare feet for long distances! Not when we got us a perfectly good horse right there that we woulda given away sooner or later anyway. She shook her head a little and frowned, staring at the fire for a bit. A slightly uncomfortable feeling churned in her stomach as she thought about Sky and her long distance traveling. I get the feelin’ that she’s gonna be needin’ Queen more than us.
.dixieemaay b {font-weight:bold; color:#babeb5; letter-spacing:1px; text-shadow: 0.1em 0.1em 0.2em #4b4d49; }
.dixieemaay p {text-indent:0px; padding:5px 16px; margin:0px;}
.dixieemaay {margin:0 auto; width:450px; background-color:#888985; background-image:url(http://i51.tinypic.com/2mzqyo.png); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; border:1px solid #0b052c; padding: 220px 0px 7px 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#4e5149; text-shadow: 0.1em 0.1em 0.2em #; letter-spacing:.6px; word-spacing:.9x; line-height:13.3px; text-align:justify;}
.dixieemaay p b:before { content: open-quote; }
.dixieemaay p b:after {content: close-quote; }
</style>
[/html]