Stuck Like Glue

Sasha scanned the herd of Teddy Cobs, looking for the bay gelding she had seen during her last claiming attempt. Suddenly she found him, roaming near a buckskin stallion. She referenced her Teddy guidebook, which featured photos and descriptions of every wild Teddy. The small cobs were tracked very carefully in order to preserve the breed’s integrity, even the wild ones. She found a picture that matched the small bay. Elmer. Belted Bay Teddy Cob Gelding. Height: unknown. She looked back up at the wooly pony, one of the smallest in the herd. She made a mental addendum to the guidebook. Height: Tiny. As Sasha stowed the guidebook in her back pocket, she dug around for the small bell tied on an orange string that she had stuffed into her jeans. As she pulled it out from her pocket, it let out a soft jingle, which caused a few of the ponies to perk their ears in her direction. She laughed as a small bay mare came over to her, her round ears perked in curiosity.

“If only I was aiming for you!” Sasha whispered as the mare nuzzled her face into Sasha’s hand. Giving the mare a rub between the eyes, Sasha began to plan how she would get the pony she was aiming for, Elmer. She noticed a fairy knot in his long mane, and a plan began to form.

Skirting around the edge of the herd of ponies, Sasha closed the gap between her and the belted gelding. As she approached, he looked up from his grazing, lazily chewing a mouthful of lush grass. He looked older than most of the horses there, despite the lack of sun-bleaching on his long feathers. Sasha gently sat down on a small boulder, about 100 yards from Elmer. The Teddy went back to grazing, completely unfazed by the strange young girl. 

“Am I crazy, or would you let me walk up to you right now and tie this in your mane?” Sasha said to the pony, who only acknowledged her with a faint flick of one ear. Sasha took that as a good sign, and rose from the boulder, moving closer to the gelding. 100 feet away, 50, 10. Suddenly, Elmer was only an arms length away. Sasha held her breath, and reached out to touch his shoulder. With a little whinny, the gelding launched into a grand trot, circling around to the other side of the herd. Sasha could’ve sworn he winked at her as he trotted away.

“Okay then.” Sasha sighed, and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. This was going to be harder than she thought.

After two more attempts to approach the gelding, each one ending in last minute escapes, Sasha was ready to quit. Maybe this was a sign that she wasn’t ready for a pony of her own. Maybe she never would be. The bell fell from her hand as she raised it to wipe a loan tear from her cheek. Maybe her dad was right, maybe she was too young to claim a Teddy. Maybe she could try again next year, when she was thirteen. As she bent to pick the bell up, she felt a soft nudge on her back. She turned, expecting to see the little bay mare. It was a bay, but not the friendly mare from earlier- it was Elmer! The small gelding pushed his face into Sasha’s chest, letting her hug him as she sniffled the last of her tears away. As her breathing returned to normal, the pony reached down and grabbed the dropped bell. He extended it to Sasha, offering it to her. She took it, laughing at his expression. He stood calmly as she tied the bell ribbon around his fairy knot. She knew from seeing her father’s horses after a winter out to pasture- fairy knots were nearly impossible to get out, so she figured it would be a sturdy place to tie the bell. 

“What do you think buddy? Will this last a week?” She asked the small gelding. He shook his mane, making the bell jingle softly. The ribbon stayed firm. Sasha smiled. One week, and hopefully this Teddy would be hers.