Ties that Bind (Sunshine & Shadow Book 3) Read Online Free PDF

turned mean.
Horses don’t just snap.” Damian strode from stall to stall, dropping carrots into
each bucket, and forcing April to keep up with him.
         “Horses like Prime Time do. He’s dominant,
probably the most dominant horse I’ve ever met, and he’s been tolerating her, because that’s what he was taught to do, until he just couldn’t do it
anymore.”
         “So what does this mean? What are you asking me?”
He stopped and turned to look at her.
         “I need to take him back to basics. He needs to
respect humans, but he won’t until we show him that we can speak in his language, not expect him to understand ours.”
         “You’re not putting that horse in the round pen,
April. He’ll kill you.” Damian started moving again.
         “I won’t right away. Like I said, I’ll start from
the ground up. He has to build a partnership with me. We need to work together
to get over his lack of trust.”
         “He’s in the wrong profession if someone has to
build a relationship with him before they can ride him. We just don’t have time
for that.”
         “You’re right.” April stopped, making Damian turn
around to look at her. “He is in the wrong profession.”
         “You know what the boss will do if he’s not going
to cut it?”
         April looked at the ground. Horses that didn’t
make it often found themselves at the sale, and not the saddle horse kind. They
went for meat.
         “He’s got a lot of potential, Damian. I just need
your permission to try and get it out of him, and figure out what the hell it
is.”
         Damian put his hand to his forehead. “You have a
week. Show me what you can do. If it’s not going to work, we’ll send him away.”
He came closer. “Look, April,” he said. “I like that horse. He’s got fire, and
so do you. It’s a rough business we’re in, I know. But that’s life. I wish I
could give you more time. But around here, we just don’t have it.”
         April watched him leave, wishing the conversation
had gone better. Grabbing a rope from the wall hooks, she headed to Prime
Time’s stall.
     
         The horse’s eyes were dead. He seemed to be
expecting something. When nothing happened, he looked over at April, lifting
his ears. He hadn’t moved when she had placed her fingers against his flank,
and she knew why.
         Prime Time knew Violet by now. It was almost like
he was goading her, though April didn’t think horses were that smart. He would
refuse a command and let her hammer away at his sides or yank on his mouth,
biding his time. But with April things were different. She wasn’t going to get
angry, or increase the pressure. She was simply going to show him what she was
asking. She was going to translate .
         Keeping the tips of her fingers against his flank
she reached for his halter and gave it a small tug towards her. As his head
turned, he took a step with his back hooves, swinging his hind end away from
her.
         She stopped. Taking her hand immediately off his
flank and releasing his head in one motion, she waited.
         “Good boy,” she cooed, gently.
         The horse’s ears were pinned on her and she
stroked once down his strong, wide neck. His lips twitched and she watched as
his tongue swiped just once over them. April smiled.
         “Good boy,” she said again.
         She tried again. Placing her hand against his
flank and pressing slightly with her fingertips, she said, “Over.”
         If she wasn’t mistaken, his leg had twitched, but
he hadn’t taken a step. She showed him again, taking hold of his halter and
turning his head. He stepped. She removed all pressure and stroked once down
his neck.
         “Good boy.”
         April watched as this time, his tongue licked all
around his lips and he dipped his head twice, almost like he was nodding at
her.
         All right , she could imagine him saying, I
get it