A Brilliant Jewel

A Brilliant Jewel

Before the start of the auction, Darcy and her dad had scoped out the horses being offered in the sale. She merrily drowns in the overpowering scent of horses, and revels in the overwhelming sounds of conversation as people discussed horses and potential purchases. The father-daughter pair spoke to the owners of a few prospects, including the handler of an ornery, black filly, who showed them his horse by leading her gruffly from the stall. When he attempted to lay his hands on her to point out the mare’s excellent conformation, she struck out with a hind foot and squealed. She missed the man, but made her point. He spoke a few angry-toned words before standing insecurely by her head in his dirty sweatshirt and unkempt beard. He fumbled with the lead rope as he hesitantly answered their questions. They were skeptical of is honesty when they asked the mare’s age, training and temperament.

This was the filly who stole Darcy’s unpragmatic heart. The ill-tempered horse, even in her angry resistance, showed a kind, brown eye ringed with the white of fear. The dark horse was misunderstood. Darcy felt for her deeply. She was certain the animal could feel the connection, too as she finally met Darcy’s eye and let out a big sigh. It sounded like a great sigh of relief.

Darcy knew what she wanted. She knew what the horse needed. She could see the diamond-in-the-rough just waiting to be polished to bring out the magnificent gem. Darcy felt she could do that. In her soul, this ragged filly already belonged to her. She had even given the filly a name. In her mind, the little ebony colored horse was proudly called Jewel. She was precious. The fresh-faced girl smiled to herself. She was already making plans and envisioning the extraordinary future. A beautiful dream of a girl and her horse.

Darcy and her dad quietly walked away, checking out a couple of more impressive prospects before taking their seats in front of the bidding ring.

One by one, good-looking and well-trained horses were led or ridden into the ring by competent handlers, showing off their mounts best attributes. The auctioneer rattled out numbers and took bids before slamming his gavel on the table to announce “sold!”

Many of the horses Darcy and her dad checked into before the sale, sold for reasonable and fair prices, but Darcy was waiting anxiously for her filly to be presented before raising her own hand to acknowledge a bid.

Finally, the frightened filly entered the ring reluctantly, led roughly by the grumpy man. The auctioneer started the bid amount low and went lower as no one bit. Darcy raised her hand. The auctioneer counted to three, and with no competition, Darcy won ownership of the skittish young mare. She was ecstatic! Her Dad just looked at her with an eyebrow raised, ten shook his head with a reluctant smile at his determined daughter.

She and her dad went to the front office to claim and pay for the horse. Darcy grinned as the receptionist handed her the ownership papers and said in a pleasant voice “Thank you! Enjoy your new horse!”

They went to the back where they found the filly stalled and no handler insight. Despite the wide eyes and bared teeth feigning injury to her new handlers, they haltered and led the filly toward the exit and the trailer they had brought to transport her home.

At the trailer, Jewel balked. She set her feet, not wanting to enter the steel box. With patient, gentle coaxing from Darcy at her head, and some encouragement from behind by Darcy’s Dad, remaining wee out of kicking range, the filly finally stepped into the cozy mobile box so they could head the short distance home.

“Your name will be Jewel,” to which the filly snorted and shook her head, messing her barely combed mane. Darcy couldn’t wait to get a brush to her mane and tail and feed her a good diet to bring out the natural luster and softness to her coat. In a few weeks, Jewel would look like a completely different horse. She would feel a lot better, too. Darcy had done a lot of research on providing the best diet and care for giving a horse the chance to meet its best potential. Darcy knew Jewel would be incomparable with good care and kind treatment. She saw a kindred spirit in Jewel. The filly just needed to find understanding and trust.

Darcy started asking for a horse of her own when she was a little. Her parents finally agreed that when she turned sixteen, she could purchase a horse. Luckily, they lived on a small acreage on the edge of town where she could keep a horse without having to pay a boarding stable.

Darcy began saving up her babysitting money, her allowance and monetary gifts given to her for Birthdays and Christmas’. She read every horse training. horse-care and general horse book she could find, watched videos on riding and even took some riding lessons. She felt prepared to take on the responsibility of caring for a horse of her own. She anticipated the challenges. The first being just getting this horse safely home and into the corral they had built for her.

Jewel arrived a sweaty mess. They unloaded the nervous filly and turned her loose in the corral, where she paced and whinnied. This went on for an hour while Darcy sat on the top rail trying to soothe Jewel with a calm voice. The mare finally started to relax. Her whinnying stopped and her pacing slowed. Darcy jumped down to grab an armful of hay from the storage shed to throw into the corral for Jewel. She offered Jewel a carrot, which she hesitantly sniffed and refused. Jewel didn’t understand carrots or kindness. Darcy would buy her some irresistible horse treats tomorrow. Darcy would teach Jewel about horse treats and trust. Their journey to shining brilliance together would begin there.

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