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Just a fun little image of Heaven and her first time wearing a proper set of boots
Drew it a few weeks ago as one of a handful of little progression images and they're being uploaded slowly.

...

Optional Horse Training: Wearing protective boots

.

“Okay so we have options,” Austin said, dumping down a huge plastic tub in the centre of the tack room. It was overflowing, the boots stuffed in at the top only holding on because of their tangled velcro straps. “Where did you want to start?”

Joanna turned to look at Becca, absently pushing Ace’s nose out of the way before the Dalmatian could snatch a tendon boot.

“Starting with boots, not bandages?”

Becca nodded, sinking to the floor and folding herself up there as she started pulling more out of the bucket. “Yeah. Bandages will take longer to put on just right. Having things on her legs like this is new enough; we don’t want to test her patience with it as well. Not yet.”

She tore apart two fetlock boots; a shiny navy one and a scuffed leather one that looked like it might have been chewed at some point. Setting them down, she dug back in the top, shuffled aside a hock boot and an overreacher that had lost its strap before tugging out a brushing boot.

“Too big,” Joanna said as Becca lifted it up. It looked more appropriate for Opera or Romany and their denser legs with the thick feathering. It would drop right off of Heaven.

Becca threw it over her shoulder.

Ace spun around the tub and threw herself after it, tail whirring wildly. She leapt right over the fast asleep lump that was Austin’s old Jack Russell, Bagel, snatched up the boot and raced off down the barn with it. Bagel snoozed on, soaking up the afternoon sun that sliced through the tack room from the open side door.

“This one?”

Joanna turned her attention back. Becca was holding up a different brushing boot. It looked like it might at one time have been orange, but the colour had faded and old mud stains had not completely washed out. Joanna narrowed her eyes, trying to picture Heaven’s legs and line them up to the adjustment window of the boot.

“Maybe,” she said.

Austin turned away from them, heading for the far wall where the English tack lived, and dug underneath Kairi’s showjumping saddle. When he turned back to them, he was holding up a pair of padded tendon boots.

“These might fit,” he said, half sounding like a question. “Kairi’s rangy but spindly. Her legs might not be far off Heaven’s. They aren’t brushing boots, though.”

Becca’s nose scrunched up and Austin was already nodding, turning to drop the boots back into the box they’d come from.

“Say no more,” he said. “This is why I don’t work with the youngsters.”

Becca’s head snapped up. “You worked with Karma. And Poe. Rowan, too. All foals. And Camber; we’ve had her since she was really young. Then Bird-”

“Okay alright,” Austin interceded, waving at her and rolling his eyes. “I know. But you know what I mean. You and Chess were always the ones with the insight on that. I just tagged along. It’s fine,” he quickly added, before Becca’s mouth could open again. “I’m better at training than either of you so it’s only fair-”

Becca flung a skid boot at him and he ducked before it could take his head off.

Laughing to himself, Austin plucked it from the floor and tossed it gently back their way where it bounced once and disappeared into the growing piles of discarded leg wear.

“Well, if I’m no longer needed-”

He turned, scooped up Kairi’s saddle from the wall rack and slung her bridle over his shoulder. He balanced it all over one arm and, one handed, scooped up the rejected tendon boots again. “I’ll just go give her some exercise, then,”

“Yes, go away,” Becca agreed, smiling sweetly.

Austin left, and Becca snatched up something else buried deep in the tub with a small sound of triumph.

“These?”
.

With some time and lots of vetoing, they whittled down the potential pile to four suitable boots; two that were (against all odds) an actual pair, and another two mismatched due to their old partners being missing.

“Chess lost the other one of these in the Lake a couple of years ago,” Becca commented as she tossed Joanna a dusky pink boot for a left leg.

They were all a little old, beaten up and discoloured from ancient mud and grass staining, but they fitted snugly onto Heaven’s legs as she stood in the paddock, peering down at her own limbs with a mildly alarmed, very dubious expression on her face.

For a long time, she didn’t seem to think they’d let her move. She gazed at them, neck curled down to her hooves and nostrils quivering, flared wide with little snorting breaths puffing out. She ignored all attempts to call her name, or be bribed to the fence with treats, her weight shifting back and forth over her forelegs without lifting her heels from the ground. Despite the sunlight dappling down onto the grass through the trees, Joanna and Becca were joined at the gate by the pale, fluffy young barn owl who had taken up residence over Heaven’s stable.

Cosmos spun his head, a small trill escaping his beak as though in question.

Heaven, with some measured reluctance and bracing, carefully lifted a foot.

Immediately, she planted it down again, the exact place in the flattened grass she’d raised it from. She was splay-legged at the back like a baby, unbalanced deer, all her weight teetering over her front legs which stood close together and straight down from her slender, heaving chest.

“I’m going to go and sort out feeds,” Becca said, nudging Joanna. “Just keep an eye on her so she doesn’t hurt herself and keep trying to tempt her with the treats if you can. Once she’s distracted and walking she’ll adjust quickly. Yell if you need anything.”

Joanna nodded, turning over the apple she’d brought as bribery between her hands. The gate rattled as Becca swung off of it and Cosmos let out a dull hoot of reproach as he took off as well. He glided, silent and pale over to Heaven and landed with a practiced gentleness on the high arch of her neck, downy talons reaching for her mane so as not to scratch at her coat.

Heaven blew out another breath.

Joanna pocketed the apple and instead dug out a boiled sweet. The plastic wrapper was much louder, and after just a moment of fussing with it, Heaven’s ears swivelled up, her head tossing and almost unseating the owl.

She whickered, rocked on her legs, and then snorted in annoyance.

Joanna laughed, rustled the sweet some more. “If you want it you have to come here.”

And so, carefully weighing her options, Heaven made another frustrated sound and started to walk.

Joanna barely got her phone out to record it in time.

She snatched with her knees and kicked with her hocks; a sprung, high-stepping gait of a walk that was either an overcompensation for how much she thought the boots weighed, or an attempt to shake them off. She started to trot, as though that might help, and instead her action got higher and she almost skidded into the fence, legs askew.

She stretched out her neck hopefully for the boiled sweet, all the while balancing on three legs while kicking out with her right hind. Cosmos landed on the fence rail, feathers a little ruffled, and shook out his tail indignantly.
Joanna held out the sweet to Heaven, rubbing at her forehead.
“Sorry, Pea,” she said quietly to her. “But one day you’ll need to know how to deal with them.”
Heaven crunched down, turning her head out of reach and flicking her tail.
Joanna slid off the fence and patted her as she tracked past the filly and out to the centre of the paddock.

“Come on,” she called behind her, glancing back to check Heaven was watching. She pulled out the apple again and bit into it as obnoxiously as she could. Heaven’s ears turned and she stopped kicking idly at the air. “A little longer and I’ll take them off,” Joanna promised. “I’ll make it worth your while.”

...

Just a bit of a hasty, kind of stylistic image but I'm actually really happy with how it came out considering I saw it in my head so clearly. I also am so so bad at doing flat colour images :/ Its so easy for me to get carried away and shade so this took restraint haha.

Also. I was given an idea recently so if things go okay and I have enough time, this year might turn into a bit of a life-experience one for Heaven. But it does depend on time - I have some written projects I need to get done and I'm also going to view a very real horse in a week so if that pans out free time will be even harder to come by. But progress is being made slowly

No references used
Art, characters and story copyright to Tattered-Dreams
Nordanners are not mine
Do not take, copy, edit, redistribute or manipulate.

Description

Just a fun little image of Heaven and her first time wearing a proper set of boots
Drew it a few weeks ago as one of a handful of little progression images and they're being uploaded slowly.

...

Optional Horse Training: Wearing protective boots

.

“Okay so we have options,” Austin said, dumping down a huge plastic tub in the centre of the tack room. It was overflowing, the boots stuffed in at the top only holding on because of their tangled velcro straps. “Where did you want to start?”

Joanna turned to look at Becca, absently pushing Ace’s nose out of the way before the Dalmatian could snatch a tendon boot.

“Starting with boots, not bandages?”

Becca nodded, sinking to the floor and folding herself up there as she started pulling more out of the bucket. “Yeah. Bandages will take longer to put on just right. Having things on her legs like this is new enough; we don’t want to test her patience with it as well. Not yet.”

She tore apart two fetlock boots; a shiny navy one and a scuffed leather one that looked like it might have been chewed at some point. Setting them down, she dug back in the top, shuffled aside a hock boot and an overreacher that had lost its strap before tugging out a brushing boot.

“Too big,” Joanna said as Becca lifted it up. It looked more appropriate for Opera or Romany and their denser legs with the thick feathering. It would drop right off of Heaven.

Becca threw it over her shoulder.

Ace spun around the tub and threw herself after it, tail whirring wildly. She leapt right over the fast asleep lump that was Austin’s old Jack Russell, Bagel, snatched up the boot and raced off down the barn with it. Bagel snoozed on, soaking up the afternoon sun that sliced through the tack room from the open side door.

“This one?”

Joanna turned her attention back. Becca was holding up a different brushing boot. It looked like it might at one time have been orange, but the colour had faded and old mud stains had not completely washed out. Joanna narrowed her eyes, trying to picture Heaven’s legs and line them up to the adjustment window of the boot.

“Maybe,” she said.

Austin turned away from them, heading for the far wall where the English tack lived, and dug underneath Kairi’s showjumping saddle. When he turned back to them, he was holding up a pair of padded tendon boots.

“These might fit,” he said, half sounding like a question. “Kairi’s rangy but spindly. Her legs might not be far off Heaven’s. They aren’t brushing boots, though.”

Becca’s nose scrunched up and Austin was already nodding, turning to drop the boots back into the box they’d come from.

“Say no more,” he said. “This is why I don’t work with the youngsters.”

Becca’s head snapped up. “You worked with Karma. And Poe. Rowan, too. All foals. And Camber; we’ve had her since she was really young. Then Bird-”

“Okay alright,” Austin interceded, waving at her and rolling his eyes. “I know. But you know what I mean. You and Chess were always the ones with the insight on that. I just tagged along. It’s fine,” he quickly added, before Becca’s mouth could open again. “I’m better at training than either of you so it’s only fair-”

Becca flung a skid boot at him and he ducked before it could take his head off.

Laughing to himself, Austin plucked it from the floor and tossed it gently back their way where it bounced once and disappeared into the growing piles of discarded leg wear.

“Well, if I’m no longer needed-”

He turned, scooped up Kairi’s saddle from the wall rack and slung her bridle over his shoulder. He balanced it all over one arm and, one handed, scooped up the rejected tendon boots again. “I’ll just go give her some exercise, then,”

“Yes, go away,” Becca agreed, smiling sweetly.

Austin left, and Becca snatched up something else buried deep in the tub with a small sound of triumph.

“These?”
.

With some time and lots of vetoing, they whittled down the potential pile to four suitable boots; two that were (against all odds) an actual pair, and another two mismatched due to their old partners being missing.

“Chess lost the other one of these in the Lake a couple of years ago,” Becca commented as she tossed Joanna a dusky pink boot for a left leg.

They were all a little old, beaten up and discoloured from ancient mud and grass staining, but they fitted snugly onto Heaven’s legs as she stood in the paddock, peering down at her own limbs with a mildly alarmed, very dubious expression on her face.

For a long time, she didn’t seem to think they’d let her move. She gazed at them, neck curled down to her hooves and nostrils quivering, flared wide with little snorting breaths puffing out. She ignored all attempts to call her name, or be bribed to the fence with treats, her weight shifting back and forth over her forelegs without lifting her heels from the ground. Despite the sunlight dappling down onto the grass through the trees, Joanna and Becca were joined at the gate by the pale, fluffy young barn owl who had taken up residence over Heaven’s stable.

Cosmos spun his head, a small trill escaping his beak as though in question.

Heaven, with some measured reluctance and bracing, carefully lifted a foot.

Immediately, she planted it down again, the exact place in the flattened grass she’d raised it from. She was splay-legged at the back like a baby, unbalanced deer, all her weight teetering over her front legs which stood close together and straight down from her slender, heaving chest.

“I’m going to go and sort out feeds,” Becca said, nudging Joanna. “Just keep an eye on her so she doesn’t hurt herself and keep trying to tempt her with the treats if you can. Once she’s distracted and walking she’ll adjust quickly. Yell if you need anything.”

Joanna nodded, turning over the apple she’d brought as bribery between her hands. The gate rattled as Becca swung off of it and Cosmos let out a dull hoot of reproach as he took off as well. He glided, silent and pale over to Heaven and landed with a practiced gentleness on the high arch of her neck, downy talons reaching for her mane so as not to scratch at her coat.

Heaven blew out another breath.

Joanna pocketed the apple and instead dug out a boiled sweet. The plastic wrapper was much louder, and after just a moment of fussing with it, Heaven’s ears swivelled up, her head tossing and almost unseating the owl.

She whickered, rocked on her legs, and then snorted in annoyance.

Joanna laughed, rustled the sweet some more. “If you want it you have to come here.”

And so, carefully weighing her options, Heaven made another frustrated sound and started to walk.

Joanna barely got her phone out to record it in time.

She snatched with her knees and kicked with her hocks; a sprung, high-stepping gait of a walk that was either an overcompensation for how much she thought the boots weighed, or an attempt to shake them off. She started to trot, as though that might help, and instead her action got higher and she almost skidded into the fence, legs askew.

She stretched out her neck hopefully for the boiled sweet, all the while balancing on three legs while kicking out with her right hind. Cosmos landed on the fence rail, feathers a little ruffled, and shook out his tail indignantly.
Joanna held out the sweet to Heaven, rubbing at her forehead.
“Sorry, Pea,” she said quietly to her. “But one day you’ll need to know how to deal with them.”
Heaven crunched down, turning her head out of reach and flicking her tail.
Joanna slid off the fence and patted her as she tracked past the filly and out to the centre of the paddock.

“Come on,” she called behind her, glancing back to check Heaven was watching. She pulled out the apple again and bit into it as obnoxiously as she could. Heaven’s ears turned and she stopped kicking idly at the air. “A little longer and I’ll take them off,” Joanna promised. “I’ll make it worth your while.”

...

Just a bit of a hasty, kind of stylistic image but I'm actually really happy with how it came out considering I saw it in my head so clearly. I also am so so bad at doing flat colour images :/ Its so easy for me to get carried away and shade so this took restraint haha.

Also. I was given an idea recently so if things go okay and I have enough time, this year might turn into a bit of a life-experience one for Heaven. But it does depend on time - I have some written projects I need to get done and I'm also going to view a very real horse in a week so if that pans out free time will be even harder to come by. But progress is being made slowly

No references used
Art, characters and story copyright to Tattered-Dreams
Nordanners are not mine
Do not take, copy, edit, redistribute or manipulate.