baby let me love you down; [open]

[Shaelyn McAndrews]

Work was stressful, family life was growing stressful, and she needed a release. Some people turn to exercise, others to sleep, some to alcohol; but Shae needed a different outlet. She nearly got a speeding ticket as she cut through the sharp turns of the road, her hands gripped tightly on the wheel. Her brakes whined as she hit the brake pedal, coming to an abrupt halt outside the barn. She flung open the door, slamming it shut and stomping in to the barn. She felt so tense and worked up, and she needed to get back to a place that was familiar and welcoming. Dante stood lazily at the back of his stall, head hung low and his rump facing the door. Without a word she opened the stall door and haltered the gelding, leading him out in to the cross ties. The weather was quite humid for it being only eight in the morning, and Shaelyn was happy to of had chosen a tanktop over a t-shirt. Her jeans were a little uncomfortable for the weather today, and her half chaps made the skinny style feel even more constricting to her but she pushed on. She didn't spend as much meticulous work on grooming, enough to get the loose dust and dirt off and picked his hooves before saddling up, and then they were off.

It was just her and her horse, the way she loved to be; the sun glared down on her bare shoulders and she swore she could feel the sunburn forming already, but she didn't care. Her hair was swooped up underneath her helmet, her feet firmly in her stirrups and her hands gentle on the reins as the pair wandered down towards her favorite trail. It was speckled with different cross country jumps, and they would work over a few of them in a little while, but only the smaller ones. Dante's tri-color coat seemed dull in the light, an obnoxious grass stain on his right hip from his nightly roll in the pasture. It was such a job to keep the gelding sparkling clean, and he was plenty comfortable and a good splash in the stream would cure some of the filth. The Irish Sport Horse arched his neck, snorting and shaking his head. He paused to itch his nose against his right foreleg, and Shae didn't urge him on, only waited patiently. He moved on once he was satisfied, mouthing at the bit and staring ahead at the empty trail ahead of them. It was well-worn and packed down, and the trees helped filter out some of the sunlight but some still snuck through their leaves and made an irregular pattern on the ground.

Shae urged the gelding in to a trot to warm up, and he reluctantly moved forward through the thick air. His trot was rather bouncy and not Shae's favorite gait at all, but she rode it well enough to look decent. They plodded along at a relaxed pace, this being more of a recreational outing than one for training. Eventually the pair worked up to a canter, which was smooth and comfortable to sit to. His hooves thudded against the dirt, his ears swiveling at the sounds of different birds and the wind blowing gently through the tree limbs. Shaelyn felt her body relax, melting in to the motion of her horse and the breeze cooling off her body. A light sheen of sweat was working up on Dante's neck. "Woah baby," She crooned, leaning back in the saddle slightly and slowing him to a walk. They were coming up on their first target fence, a small log that they had been over hundreds of times. Circling him for a better approach, they worked up to a good pace at the canter. Shae focused just beyond the jump, learning to never look down but beyond it. 1...2...1...2... in four strides they popped over the small jump, the gelding taking it without blinking an eye. The next jump, however, they had never been over and Shae was feeling up to the challenge. As she aimed him towards the oxer decorated with shrubbery and different flowers, she felt him hesitate beneath her.

Encouraging with her legs, she kept him in front of her leg and kept her shoulders back in case he were to refuse. She had learned the hard way not to get ahead of him, and that he needed a lot of support when it came to new things. They closed in on the jump and he lifted his head, tensing and eyeballing the decorations. Working for him to go the entire way, they made it over only with a short awkward stride before the jump but managed over it. It may not have been the prettiest jump, but it was a success to Shae nonetheless. Enthusiastically patting his damp neck, they went over a few more smaller fences before slowing to a walk, the sound of the trickling water in the distance calling to the hot and tired bodies of the pair. Allowing the gelding to walk at his own pace and holding her reins only at the buckle, Shae removed her feet from the stirrups and allowed her legs to dangle. A small sweat mark had formed in the small of her back, and she felt very warm as the day was approaching noon by the time they reached her favorite section of river.

Turning towards the trail leading to her "spot", Dante picked his way down the incline carefully. Stopping expectantly at the bottom along the pebble-lined shore, the gelding pawed at the soft footing and shook his head. Dismounting, Shaelyn led him to a tree where she had hung a cheap halter for this sort of event. His bridle was replaced with a halter and hung on a tree branch, a cotton lead rope there as well. Removing the saddle pad and saddle, she rested it against a rock and laughed as the gelding nudged at her face, the whiskers on his muzzle tickling her skin. She glanced around, knowing that nobody had followed her here; or so she thought. Peeling away her tank top and taking off her boots and half chaps, she glanced around again, listening carefully, before removing her jeans. After all, undergarments usually covered just as much as bathing suits do anyway...

Wading in to the cool water at the shallow part, Dante followed her willingly. The water struck her skin like a thousand icy needles but soon she grew used to it, the temperature coming as a great relief to both of them. Letting go of the lead once they were deep enough for the water to reach Dante's knees, she knew the gelding would stay still. He stood patiently, occasionally dipping his nose to sip at the cool water while Shae cupped her hands and lifted water to drop on to his sweaty marks. Soon she felt his chest to check that his temperature was cool again before leading him back out, hitching him to the same tree his bridle hung. They had done this dozens of times when the weather had heated up; fairly worked down from being out in the pasture all night and having a workout over the fences, the gelding propped a hind hoof on its toe and dozed off now and then, sometimes picking at a few grass shoots growing near the tree.

Shaelyn on the other hand wasn't ready to leave the water, and she waded back in, going to the deeper part. She took a deep breath before going under, the cool water striking her face and soaking her hair. Luckily she had not put on makeup today, or she would have typical raccoon eyes. Her feet brushed against the smooth stones at the bottom, the current gentle and slow in this part of the river. She resurfaced, the sunlight glinting brightly off the water's surface. Floating there, she closed her eyes a minute, listening to the trill of a nearby songbird's call. Her soft complexion looked rejuvenated from the water, the freckles on her nose seeming to have thickened from their exposure to the sunlight. Her red-brown hair was darkened with dampness to a mocha color, and she looked over to her horse to see him happily sleeping in the shade. She felt the stress leave her body as she floated there among the slow push of the current, leaning her head back, face up to the sky as she soaked in the relaxing qualities of being there.