Chapter Twenty-Six

                                    

                                          

                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          
                          
"Alright, T," I spoke as I patted his neck, "this is going to be a crazy request. But, I trust you, and we're going to have to make something work, okay?"
                          
"Seriously, Em," Molly called from the center of the ring. "You're insane! You're going all Bird Box on me."
                          
"Call me insane," I said, slipping my bandana over my eyes, "but this is for your brother."
                          
"Jesus Chr-, well okay then, we're really doing this."
                          
"A little direction would be great," I called out. I couldn't see anything except the bright red fabric in front of my eyes. Before I tacked Titan up, I had set up a couple of little jumps here and there - a good way to practice steering, but also set up a few jumping opportunities. I trusted T walking around on his own, but once we started trotting, I knew he'd be focusing on the jumps.
                          
"Okay, the rail is about five feet to your right," Molly called. "There's a jump to your left up ahead about seven strides, then about five strides after that is the corner of the ring."
                          
"Let's do this, bud," I whispered to him before urging him into the trot. He hesitated a couple of steps, feeling that something was off. But I pushed him forward and continued on with my experiment.
                          
"Approaching the corner," Molly warned, and I added my outside leg slightly. Not that T would get stuck in the corner, just as a bit of preparation.
                          
We trotted around for a few laps. Titan was very responsive and Molly called out clear and precise directions. We changed directions and went the other way as well, and of course, he was amazing.
                          
"I'm gonna canter," I told Molly.
                          
To which she replied, "I hope you have life insurance."
                          
I laughed and shook my head. "I won't need life insurance if you do your job correctly."
                          
"Fine," she said. "Corner approaching in five strides to a long side, which has two jumps within six feet of the rail."
                          
"Got it," I nodded. I pushed him into a canter, which he picked up nicely. I kept steady outside rein to keep him on the rail, as well as inside leg. I did not want him to start magnetizing to the jumps.
                          
Molly continued calling out her instructions, and we were doing well. Until at one point I felt his energetic tug towards a jump. Once he was latched on, there was no getting him off.
                          
"Why, Titan," I groaned, pulling my bandana off just in time to two-point over the little cross rail. I brought him back down to the walk and stopped by Molly. "So. This is what we need to work on."
                          
"He loves jumping too much to go by a jump without jumping it," Molly laughed. "Don't worry, that's a pretty easy fix for the most part. Archie used to have that problem. I could go through some of my dad's training notebooks and see what he did to fix it."

                          
"Your dad has training notebooks?"
                          
"Dozens of them," she said. "He probably has solutions to every problem under the sun. Barn sour? Bucking? Stubbornness? Dad has the solution."
                          
"Wow, that'd be great," I nodded enthusiastically. "Let me know what you find. We're going to make this happen."
                          
"Should I tell Leo?'
                          
"Absolutely not," I laughed. "I want this to be a surprise for him once he's recovered enough to ride. And who knows - maybe he'll regain his vision and live a normal life again."
                          
Molly gave me that look. The 'As Much As I Want To Believe You, I Know It Probably Won't Happen' look. 
                          
"Okay, look," I tried. "We have to think positively. But, we have a plan to back up on if we need to."
                          
"Alright," she finally agreed after a moment. "Okay, what do we do next?"
                          
I had Molly ride Titan next. During our conversation, it had dawned on me that no one else but me had ridden him since we got him (excluding Justine, but we can forget about her). After they walked around together and got used to each other, they trotted up and looked great. Molly was a dressage queen and it really showed when she rode him.
                          
"Wow, I need to have you ride all my horses," I laughed as she trotted by. "Go ahead and try his canter."
                          
Much to my delight, he cantered without a hitch. No buck or anything. They cantered around nicely before switching directions and doing everything the other way.
                          
"Wow, I'm very happy with that session," I said as Molly cooled him out. "It's a really good start."
                          
"I'm hopeful," Molly nodded. "I'll look through Dad's notes tomorrow. I'm spending the night with Leo to keep him company."
                          
"Don't let anything spill, I know how much you love to gossip," I laughed. 
                          
"I know, I know," she shushed me. "But seriously, it's awesome that you thought of this, but even better that we get to actually do it."
                          
"If I can do something that will make Leo the slightest bit happier, you know I'm going to do it," I said. "Now, give me my horse so you can go home and shower before seeing your brother.
                          
DO NOT under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES ever EVER try this with your horse EVER! This is a fictional book where actions don't have consequences. I can control Titan's every move - you cannot do the same for your horse. Don't be stupid! this is for dramatic purposes only.