Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 351 The Degree of Concern

A sunny Monday morning in May.

Sunlight streamed into the bedroom.

The morning after the rain stopped was very bright, and the sun, which had just appeared, sent its light to the other side of the sheer curtains.

The horse owners' trip on Honshu Island concluded yesterday.

The 142nd Meguro Memorial was ultimately won by a surge in popularity.

On a track that had become slightly more difficult to navigate during the rainy season, Atalanta galloped as nimbly as a deer in the forest, displaying excellent form from the start and firmly holding the inside lead.

At a slightly faster pace, the horse in the second position, despite its desperate resistance, was still unable to close the gap with the fleeing horse ahead.

The difference in horse length, from one horse length to two horse lengths, continued to widen as they entered the long straight section of the road, leaving horse racing fans in awe. Those close to Chairman Ma had already sent their congratulations.

—A triumph built by runaway mares, overcoming heavy loads and unfavorable terrain.

With this, all three Central Grass Tournaments in May have concluded, resulting in a record of two wins out of three matches, a feat that many observers envy.

To be honest, I'm pretty much exhausted.

I pulled my phone out from under my pillow, and when I swiped the screen, it was already 8 a.m., long after dawn.

—A rare late-night commute after becoming a horse breeder.

Although I slept very soundly, the first thing I felt when I woke up was muscle soreness, especially the fatigue in my lower back.

Anyone would experience lower back pain after taking flights between Honshu and Hokkaido for several days in a row.

However, it's time to pull ourselves together.

I threw off the covers, quickly washed up, and walked out of the air-conditioned bedroom. Summer instantly returned.

The intense sunlight made me blink, and a fresh, scorched scent of grass wafted from the grazing area.

"Yo, BOSS."

He had barely entered the stables when Zep stopped him, looking at him with an expression that said, "Haha, so you can oversleep too."

Their attitude remains the same as always.

Good morning, is everything alright at the ranch today?

"When we were herding the animals at night, Tsukigami got a small scratch on his hind leg, but Kikuchi-chan has already taken care of it."

For the first five months after birth, a foal is usually raised by its mother, and Moonlight is no exception.

Somewhat timid, yet curious, the little blue deer-haired pony clung tightly to its mother's side—that was the first impression Yuehuang left on everyone at the ranch.

but--

Perhaps it's because they feel their environment is becoming more stable, or perhaps it's because their inherent nature, hidden within their bloodline, is gradually being revealed.

In short, after arriving at the ranch, Yuehuang, who was known as a "quiet stallion" in Gumoya, was almost always jumping around and even when he returned to the stable, he was restless and nibbling everywhere.

"Thank you for your hard work. I'll go check on things again."

Pick up the medical basket from the shelf, pack your things, and head towards the most spacious stable.

I had only taken a few steps when I heard the sound of something being overturned coming from the other side of the fence.

Upon closer inspection, Yuehuang was looking at the scattered grass with a pitiful expression, and her pony clothes, which she had supposedly just changed out of, were also covered with grass clippings.

"You've knocked over the feed trough again, Yuehuang."

He sighed somewhat helplessly.

Three months after a foal is born, it will start eating hay and various supplements while nursing.

As a result, the stables, which originally had their food bowls facing outwards, now had an extra small food bowl specially prepared for Yuehuang.

Because of the child's overly active nature, a specially ordered children's rubber food bowl was used.

It must be said that such considerations are still quite necessary now. After putting down the basket outside the stable, the first thing to do after going inside was to clean up the mess left by the little blue deer.

The dazzling gesture that had been comforting Sangoma turned its head away, rubbed its slightly damp nose against the back of its hand, and made a humming sound as if to say, "I'm causing you trouble again."

"Thank you for your hard work, Mu-chan."

He patted the black deer mare's head, and then, to Yuehuang's somewhat shocked gaze, swept up the scattered grass on the ground.

Foals have underdeveloped immune and digestive systems, making them much more vulnerable than adult horses, whose digestive abilities are already limited.

Although it was somewhat wasteful, this portion of the feed had to be disposed of to avoid microbial infection or foreign object ingestion.

Please prepare another batch of feed for Moonfire.

After pouring the spilled feed into the trash can, he took out his phone and sent the following message to Rachel Ho.

It seems the layout of the foal feeding bowls needs to be adjusted.

Thinking this, I spent a lot of time cleaning the grass clippings off Yuehuang's body, and I also changed the horse coat to a spare one.

It finally looks somewhat plausible.

"call--"

After a sigh, he patted the restless pony's head.

There are still some regrets about the meteor, but other than that, it is indeed quite cute.

—Although it will most likely become a mess again soon.

While the leg examination was being conducted, Yuehuang was still eagerly trying to bite its mother's tail fur.

"It's okay to be a little stricter with him, Mu-chan."

Foals raised in an environment that receives as much attention as possible are more likely to show their talents.

This breeding theory was learned from a prestigious paper, and the entire ranch supports this approach.

However, there is a difference between attention and spoiling.

—At least someone with a veterinary background can tell the difference.

Of course, this doesn't necessarily apply to other people, or even horses.

Perhaps because it was her first time becoming a mother, Xuanmu seemed quite hesitant in her attitude towards the newborn foal, and would only silently struggle to break free even when her tail hair or mane was bitten.

Left with no other choice, we had to resort to human intervention.

After confirming that the leg injury had been treated, he stood up and gently pushed away the head that the little horse with the green deer hair was biting.

"You can't do that, Yuehuang!"

The tone was somewhat stern.

Seemingly startled, the foal, which was about to launch an attack on its mother's tail, took a half step back. Even the victim's dazzling actions made her turn around and give a worried look.

A few seconds later, Yuehuang, who seemed to have calmed down, tentatively took another half step forward.

So he gently pushed the foal's head back again, while using an even sterner tone.

After this was repeated twice, the little horse with the green deer fur finally lowered its head obediently, showing a submissive posture.

"Even I was a little startled, President."

As Rachel Ho walked out of the stables after the training session, she patted her chest and said...

"Spoiling children is not a good thing."

I couldn't help but sigh again.

It has a long way to go before it becomes a truly outstanding horse breeding farm.

(End of this chapter)