Everyday Life in the Stable

The day after the race.

"It's bath time, O-chan."

Ogawa Masaru poked his head through the stall gate and spoke as gently as he could.

A chestnut horse curled up motionlessly in the corner greeted him.

In truth, she was not dirty enough to absolutely need a bath.

Ocean Fleet 2024 was not the kind of horse who liked making a fuss.

Even when startled, she would usually just stay obediently where she was, or look for a nearby corner to hide in.

Compared with Mejiro Tenma, who often got herself so dusty that she had to be bathed every week or two, Ocean Fleet 2024 usually stayed relatively clean.

She was the type who would not show any obvious signs of dirt even if she went a month or two without a bath.

Still, Ogawa Masaru strictly followed the schedule his father had made and regularly cleaned every horse in the stable.

Today was Ocean Fleet 2024's bath day.

"Be good. We're going to take a bath."

He slowly approached the corner and, without much difficulty, successfully clipped on the lead rope.

After spending these past days together, Ocean Fleet 2024 was no longer as resistant to being around him as she had been at first.

Of course, overly intimate contact still seemed to be out of the question.

The trip to the washroom with Ocean Fleet 2024 went smoothly.

But what came next would probably be another matter entirely.

The small chestnut horse, who feared most things, naturally resisted bathing as well.

It was not that she hated baths themselves, but that she was afraid of things like showerheads, washcloths, brushes...

Ogawa Joe's solution was still desensitization training.

But until that training was complete, bathing would remain a somewhat difficult task for both Ocean Fleet 2024 and Ogawa Masaru.

After fastening the lead rope, the boy first took out his phone.

He picked a slow, soothing song and pressed play.

Rather than using the showerhead right away, he gently wiped her head first with a wet washcloth.

The chestnut horse's lips trembled slightly, but she obediently closed her eyes.

Only after Ocean Fleet 2024 had mostly relaxed did he point the showerhead, specially turned down to a gentler setting, at her body.

The next moment, Ocean Fleet 2024 let out a shrill squeal like a pig being slaughtered.

"Easy now~ Easy now."

Ogawa Masaru had no choice but to use one hand to cradle and stroke the chestnut horse's head back and forth, trying to soothe her that way.

But it did not seem to be working very well.

And it was quite exhausting.

Before long, his arm was filled with a numb, aching sensation.

But if he lowered his hand, Ocean Fleet 2024's head would start shaking restlessly again.

So he could only keep up that posture.

After rinsing the area above her neck, Ogawa Masaru temporarily put down the showerhead.

Ocean Fleet 2024 immediately lifted her head and let out a somewhat aggrieved whinny.

Yet her ears still showed no sign of pinning back.

Perhaps because he had dealt with Mejiro Tenma before, bathing Ocean Fleet 2024 felt especially easy.

She would not suddenly raise a hoof to kick him, nor would she snatch things away when he was not paying attention.

When it was time to clean the bottoms of her hooves, even if she was a little unwilling, she would obediently lift them.

"All done—"

After combing her mane neatly, Ogawa Masaru let out a satisfied exclamation.

It had taken only two-thirds of the time Mejiro Tenma required!

One day, even Mejiro Tenma would surely be something he could handle calmly.

Ogawa Masaru thought so.

But after her bath, Ocean Fleet 2024 looked utterly dejected.

"All right, you can go back now."

He gently patted the chestnut horse's head as he spoke.

Ocean Fleet 2024 somewhat unwillingly shook his hand away.

Even the carrot pieces he held out to her as a reward were pushed aside.

The relationship they had worked so hard to improve seemed to be heading in a worse direction.

All Ogawa Masaru could do was hope his father would show what he was capable of and complete O-chan's desensitization training as soon as possible.

Back in the stable, the chestnut horse hid in her familiar corner as soon as he removed the lead rope.

"Come eat, O-chan—"

Ogawa Masaru grabbed a handful of fresh grass and waved it in his hand.

Ocean Fleet 2024 turned her head, but she did not seem tempted by the grass.

She even turned to face the wall and pointed her rear at Ogawa Masaru.

Though her ears were still not pinned back, he could clearly tell she was angry.

She really did hate him now, didn't she?

"Then I'll leave it here for now."

Scratching his head, he put the fresh grass into the feed trough.

Then he shut the stall gate and left the stable.

After a while, Ocean Fleet 2024 quietly turned her head back.

Her ears turned forward with it.

After confirming that Ogawa Masaru had left, she slowly stepped toward the feed trough.

Only then did she finally bury her head in it without worry.

Beside the surveillance monitor, Ogawa Kanna's eyes curved into crescents.

She clipped that segment of footage and downloaded it to her phone.

While uploading it to the farm's official account, she also sent a copy to Kitano on LINE.

A little while later, Kitano replied with a sticker of a chibi gray horse giving a thumbs-up.

"Tch. Slacking off from proper work."

Ogawa Masaru took out his phone and curled his lip disdainfully.

Still, he reposted the video Ogawa Kanna had just shared using his private account.

And gave it a like while he was at it.

Only then did the boy pull open the stall gate in front of him.

A powerfully built bay mare stood motionless in the stall, staring into space.

Even with someone entering the stall, she showed no intention of moving.

Ogawa Masaru first crouched down to check Mejiro Sakuya's legs.

They did not seem abnormal.

The temperature under his hands was normal.

The newly installed floor-heating system also seemed to be working properly.

Only after completing his inspection did he pick up the feed bucket.

"Make sure you eat all the flaxseed too, Sakuya."

As he spoke, he poured the pre-mixed feed into the trough.

While he lowered his head to clean the bedding, Mejiro Sakuya finally seemed to notice him and slowly walked over to the feed trough.

Then she began eating at the same unhurried pace.

She often stared blankly into space and did not like moving much, whether out at pasture or in her stall.

During normal training, she required more attention, but the training itself was neither particularly worrying nor especially impressive.

Outside the racetrack, Mejiro Sakuya was this sort of horse—gentle in temperament, but otherwise very ordinary at first glance.

If there was anything special about her, it was probably how easily food, or rather carrots, distracted her.

Whenever carrots were added to her feed, even her eating speed seemed to increase a little.

Though her lame leg required careful attention, spending time with Mejiro Sakuya gave Ogawa Masaru a brief sense of relaxation.

For quite a while, he simply stood in the stall, doing nothing as he watched Mejiro Sakuya eat.

Then he let out a satisfied sigh.