Much to Trevor’s relief, it didn’t take too long to go through the line. Within just a few minutes, he and Rita were standing next to a trough at the back edge of the barn, waiting patiently as one of the staff members poured some horse feed into it.
“Dig in!” Rita exclaimed excitedly as soon as the staff member was finished and poked her head down into the trough, taking in mouthfuls of the oats and feed pellets with her dexterous lips. Trevor watched her for a few seconds before looking down at the oats inquisitively. He’d eaten grass earlier, how different could this be?
Craning his neck down, Trevor opened his lips and took in an experimental bite out of the pile. The second he bit down on the mixture, his equine eyes went wide with delight. This was even better than grass. It was like eating granola, but with nearly ten times more flavor.
He quickly chewed up and swallowed his first bit before dipping his head in for more. After getting his next mouthful, Trevor pulled his head up and looked over the barn again. It was set up sort of like a restaurant, with troughs set up in rows across the barn’s floor like tables. Various animals were lined up at each point. A few were even getting feed bags to go so they could eat outside.
Trevor had hoped to take that option initially since the intense smell of feed, animals, and the manure that littered the floor assaulted his senses when he first entered. But, much to his surprise, he’d managed to get used to it.
“So, what do you think?” Rita asked after swallowing another mouthful of oats. She’d pulled her head out of the trough and was looking back at Trevor now.
Trevor nodded and let out an excited nicker. “It’s really very good.”
“I know! I try to come here every night. I just wish a few of my other friends were here so I could introduce you.”
“Well, I do have a week,” Trevor said before dipping his head back into the trough. “So how long do you train in the arena each day?”
“About four hours, plus about an hour of warm ups and cool downs before and after.”
“So I guess you need to get plenty of sleep every night.”
“Not as much as you would think. As a horse, three or four hours each night is about all I need. Hell. I don’t even need coffee when I wake up,” she laughed. “So, yeah, this place actually stays kind of active through most of the night. Which is kind of a good thing since I think I’d go crazy being cooped up in a stall all night. I seriously don’t know how my horse handles it.”
“She probably doesn’t know any better,” Trevor suggested.
“He, actually,” Rita corrected him. “My Brooklyn’s a gelding.”
“My mistake. What kind of horse is he?”
“Brooklyn’s a blanket with spots appaloosa, brown and white.” Rita nickered and shook her head. “And I’m really starting to miss the guy.”
Trevor let out a heavy sigh through his muzzle before dipping his head back in the trough to get some more oats. Since he didn’t own a horse himself, he wasn’t sure what to say to that.
“So, you want to burn this off in the arena after you get through eating?” Rita asked suddenly, her tone much brighter now. “I think I might head over there after this.”
"They actually let you do that?"
"Yeah. It’s open to everyone after dark. It's kind of going to a skating rink. You’ve done that, right? I mean, they play music and other visitors can walk or trot around for a while. You can meet some cool people and animals there, too."