The First Step of Training

"Have Mejiro Tenma... help?"

Ogawa Kanna repeated it in a somewhat hesitant tone.

"Are you an idiot?!"

The girl knocked her younger brother on the head.

"That Pegasus guy will only lead O-chan astray!"

Although Pegasus could carry out training tasks well enough, she simply could not imagine what training with Pegasus assisting would look like.

It would definitely turn into something pretty strange—

"Having Pegasus assist with the training..."

Ogawa Joe, on the other hand, seemed to be genuinely considering the suggestion.

Ogawa Masaru would not have proposed such an idea without reason.

When he had taken Mejiro Tenma out to graze, he had noticed Ocean Fleet2024's seemingly inconspicuous movements.

Besides showing fear, it had also displayed submission toward Mejiro Tenma, the lead horse.

That indicated Ocean Fleet2024 could, at least to some extent, be influenced by the lead horse.

Thoroughbreds were highly social animals. They assessed the safety of their surroundings by observing the behavior of their companions.

If the lead horse remained calm in the face of a particular stimulus, the other horses in the herd would consciously imitate it, shortening the time they needed to adapt.

Furthermore, the presence of a lead horse could provide timid horses with psychological support and reduce their anxiety.

Young horses were more likely to relax when beside a familiar and trusted "role model."

However—

Even Ogawa Joe had little confidence that Mejiro Tenma could take on the role of a "role model."

The fact that it usually intimidated other horses was enough to give him a headache.

Expecting it to play a positive role in training would probably be difficult.

"It should be worth a try."

After considering it, he still nodded.

Using the lead horse to help timid members of the herd train had never been attempted, but in theory, it suited horses' natural habits.

Of course, during assisted training, the lead horse's negative reactions could also spread to the foal being trained as a negative example.

Still, they had no better options.

"Good job, A-Sheng."

Having received his father's approval, the boy, who had been feeling a little uncertain, immediately looked smugly at his sister.

"Tch—"

Ogawa Kanna deliberately turned her head away.

After grazing ended, Ogawa Masaru led Mejiro Tenma and Ocean Fleet2024 into a somewhat larger stall together.

As usual, after intimidating Ocean Fleet2024, Mejiro Tenma, its body covered in quite a bit of mud, occupied the center of the stall.

The chestnut horse could only curl up in a corner.

Ogawa Joe rubbed his head with a headache.

This was not an auspicious start.

Still, they had to give it a try.

The moment he brought out the electric crab, Ocean Fleet2024 immediately assumed a posture as though facing a formidable enemy.

Mejiro Tenma, by contrast, merely glanced at it a few times before turning its head away.

It did not care at all.

Ogawa Joe activated the toy and placed it beneath Mejiro Tenma's hoof.

Then he led the other two out of the stall.

In normal desensitization training, guidance from the trainer was necessary.

When progress was not going smoothly, trainers sometimes even took on the role of the "lead horse" themselves to help the horse being trained.

But Ocean Fleet2024 was a special case.

It was simply far too timid.

Mejiro Tenma tilted its ears slightly forward and casually pinned the electric toy scurrying around on the ground with one hoof.

Then it lifted its hoof again.

After the crab crawled some distance away, it stepped on it once more.

It looked completely as though it had started playing with it.

In the corner, Ocean Fleet2024 cautiously turned one ear toward it.

After a while, the chestnut horse alternately lifted its forehooves in small movements and slowly edged closer.

The muscles in its neck remained tense.

Then it began bobbing its head up and down frequently.

Outside the stall, the three watched this through the observation window.

"Looks like it really works!"

Ogawa Masaru lightly pumped his fist.

"It's still too early. Let's keep watching."

Patting the boy on the shoulder, Ogawa Joe lowered his voice.

The desensitization exposure had only completed the first stage.

The more important step still lay ahead.

Ocean Fleet2024's muzzle gradually drew closer to the electric crab.

Then, like a dragonfly skimming the water, it lightly rubbed against it.

"Success!"

Even Ogawa Joe's face relaxed at that.

Horses usually touched target objects with their lips or muzzles, using this kind of "marking" behavior to indicate that they accepted the stimulus.

At the very least, Ocean Fleet2024 had successfully overcome its fear of the electric toy before it.

"Now we need to press our advantage."

Ogawa Joe turned and instructed, "A-Sheng, go get the soft brush!"

When horses were curious, their learning efficiency often improved.

But thoroughbreds had shorter attention spans, usually shifting their focus after two to three minutes.

"Got it, Dad!"

Ogawa Masaru hurried toward the tool room.

Before long, the boy returned, holding the soft brush Ogawa Joe had requested.

What Ogawa Joe planned to do was touch desensitization, another basic training exercise.

Normally, this was training that should have been done while establishing trust between humans and horses during the yearling stage.

The Training Ocean Fleet2024 had fallen behind on at one year and five months old went far beyond this alone.

Taking the soft brush, Ogawa Joe cautiously approached the chestnut horse.

It immediately became alert.

It seemed he would have to use the same trick again.

With a sigh, he shifted his target to Mejiro Tenma first.

As the soft brush passed over its neck with appropriate pressure, Mejiro Tenma let out a satisfied snort.

Only after repeating this for a while did he slowly shift his attention back to Ocean Fleet2024.

The chestnut horse's muscles immediately tensed.

However, its attitude had softened considerably compared to the beginning.

Using the gentlest pressure possible, Ogawa Joe brushed the short neck of Ocean Fleet2024.

He could clearly feel the chestnut horse's body trembling.

Rather than hastily expanding to sensitive areas such as its belly or legs, he kept the touching limited to Ocean Fleet2024's neck.

"Good boy... good boy..."

Meanwhile, Ogawa Masaru kept trying to soothe the chestnut horse with verbal cues and gentle pats on its shoulder.

Ogawa Joe continued repeating the same movement until Ocean Fleet2024 relaxed.

"What a difficult case—"

He led Ocean Fleet2024 back into its stall, then shut the gate.

Both physically and mentally, he could feel the obvious exhaustion.

Judging by today's progress, even the most basic breaking work would probably take more than four months.

"Still, at least we have a way now."

What they could do should be more than Murata Farm could.