Chick Magnet

Jarin was at his wits end, trying to find something for his mare, Jellybean, to be a part of. She had the potential for great movement, when she wasn’t falling over from exhaustion. She was so fat, everything seemed to tire her so quickly. She could hardly take ten steps from her stall and she was sweating already. Ask her to trot on the lunge line and she was huffing by the second lap.
His instructors had mixed suggestions on what to do with her. Tristan recommended using her as a brood mare and just do some ground work activities with her. Sydney had offered to make a half-decent western pleasure horse out of her. Both had a resounding feeling that Jarin wouldn’t get much out of her, regardless of what he chose to do with her. She just lacked any sort of spirit or willingness to work.
But he couldn’t just watch her waste away either. She was cute and when she wasn’t throwing a fit about working, she was quite a sweetheart. So Jarin got it in his head that maybe if she got in shape, she’d be able to work better for whatever discipline he ended up choosing for her. So he started taking her out with him on his runs. Obviously, not on his runs to the city. (It didn’t go over well when she laid down in the middle of the street to catch her breath and Mrs. Johnson filed a complaint about horse poop in her front yard…) He used the nearby trails at the stable instead.
Jarin started this routine early in the spring when it wasn’t as cold so JB wouldn’t catch a chill when she started sweating. It turned out to be good timing as some of the baby chicks had gotten loose! Jarin happened to be out on trail when he ran into staff on horse back trying to find the little fuzzy creatures. Since he was already out and about, he volunteered to help look for the defenseless babies.
He searched high and low…mostly low…very low… He didn’t know where baby chickens would go without their mothers to guide them. He hoped nothing bad had happened to them. There were plenty of foxes, raccoons, opossums bobcats, and more that would love to swipe a chick for breakfast.
He hurried on his way. He could tell JB was getting tired again. They’d have to stop and rest soon or she’d just fall over and demand a rest. She got grouchy when she was tired so Jarin tried to keep her happy in the meantime.
That’s we he thought he heard a little peep. He looked at JB who stared back with a blank expression. It wasn’t her that peeped. Jarin came to a clearing and heard several more peeps. He saw a little yellow puff hop over a clump of grass. His heart seized, unable to fathom how adorable the little chicks were! They were so fluffy and so clumsy, fluttering about the grass, picking at seeds and bugs.
He approached slowly so he didn’t scare them off. These chick’s were raised around humans so they came hopping and skipping, expecting food or treats. He knelt down and scooped one up ever – so gently, scared to hurt it.
JB flopped down in the grass, taking full advantage of the stopped to take a break. One thing could be said about JB’s work ethic: she wouldn’t be the horse that ran away.
“JB,” Jarin swooned, “Look at the babies! Aren’t they adorable!” He crawled over to her to show her the chick, trusting she wouldn’t harm it. He sat between her legs, fully knowing she wasn’t getting up for some time.
JB snorted at the little bird. It flapped to regain it’s balance and settled into Jarin’s warm palm. She deemed it uninteresting to her since it didn’t smell like anything she could eat right away. Maybe if she were hungry enough… but there was plenty of grass in front of her to munch on for the time being. She took a large mouthful and chewed with determination. No telling when the human would make her get up and move again.
The baby chicks swarmed Jarin, hopping onto his legs and shoulders. They fluttered onto JB and picked at any bugs crawling on her. She swished her tail and moved her ears to the sides. She wasn’t necessarily happy to be a circus attraction for these birds but then again, it wasn’t like they were demanding her to work so she just kept on chewing away.
Jarin figured so long as they were being watched now, they could stay put a little longer. They were so fluffin’ cute! And so happy to be hopping around in the grass, on the human, and the exhausted pony!