Son of a Gun 1

Gun sniffed at the small treat in the palm of a stranger's hand. It was a peppermint. He wasn't a fan of those; he had never been. They smelled far too strong for him. Gun snorted, shaking his head, pawing at the ground before trotting off. The stranger sighed, mumbling something before walking off to go greet some of the other Teddy Cobs that were lingering around the fence. He trotted by a few more people. They were looking over the small herd Gun was living with temporarily; a few of them already had bells tied into their manes. One of the geldings even had two! Gun wasn't so sure about that just yet. He enjoyed the paddock he was living in. Maybe he'd stand still long enough to get a bell tomorrow. If he saw somebody he liked, that is.

The sight of a young child made him pause, and he walked over, lowering his head to let the small hand pet his nose through the fence. He snorted softly, his ears pointing forward as the child giggled, grabbing towards her parents behind her. She was given a peppermint, and she offered it to Gun. Another peppermint? Gun rolled his eyes, his short tail flicking, but he ate this one anyway. He might not like peppermints, but that didn't mean he was going to hurt the little girl's feelings. Gun crunched down on the peppermint, bobbing his head as the smell overwhelmed his senses. Ugh. But the kid's eyes lit up as he took the treat. That made it worth it. Gun gently nudged her hand before moving on.

He walked leisurely, observing the other people scattered along the fenceline, trying to get the attention of the horses. Were all of them handing out peppermints?! He could see little flashes of red whenever a horse walked up to snuffle at the people's hands. The owners of the farm must have given them out to people to win over some horses. Gun let out a loud sigh, turning away from the fence, trotting further into the paddock. Gun was starting to get hungry, but it didn't look like he'd find anything good from the people who were visiting today. There were a few feeders scattered around the paddock for the horses; they had access to hay at any time. But Gun wanted something sweet.

Gun hesitated, realizing something. There was a small patch of grass in one corner of the paddock where the plants outside of it had started to creep under the fencing. It was almost always down to the roots; it was popular with the herd. But there were only a few of them left now; maybe the others hadn't gotten to it in the last few days. There was only one missing from the small herd around the fence. It was an older horse that was a permanent resident, tasked with welcoming the new Teddy Cobs into the paddock before they found their permanent homes. So it had, at the very least, been left alone by the herd for most of the day. Maybe Gun could get to the patch before anybody else got to it?

Gun tried to be subtle as he started trotting towards the back corner, his head ducked down, trying not to draw attention to himself. He was moving quickly, though, light on his hooves and excited to snack on something a little sweeter. If the farm owners saw it, they would probably work to tear the patch out; he was fairly sure there was clover mixed in. It was a small amount, but he had seen what too much clover could do to horses sometimes. It was always a little freaky to see a horse drooling uncontrollably. Gun knew the taste of clover, though, and he'd do his best not to get too much of it.

As Gun trotted over the small hill in the back of the paddock, before stopped short as he reached the top of it. The elderly mare was already grazing in the corner, walking slowly as she snuffled to find what she wanted. He hesitated, his tail flicking back and forth and hitting his flanks as he debated with himself. The mare had always seemed a little grumpy, welcoming them nicely enough, but keeping to herself for the most part.

Gun still approached, walking slowly until he reached the edge of the patch, longer grass sticking up through the short foliage of the paddock. He watched the mare as he lowered his head. She turned his head to observe him as he bit off a small bit of grass with his teeth. Gun felt his shoulders tense as they just watched each other for a second, before she turned her head back around and continued eating. Gun did the same, huffing out a relieved breath as he walked further into the paddock corner. Finally, he sniffed out some of the sweet type of grass that grew there, happily munching at the tall plants, getting a few mouthfuls of clover with it before he moved to see if there was anything new growing in the little area of wild grasses. He was finally content, enjoying the slightly overcast day and a delicious snack.