Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 14: Resting and Grazing

In the grazing area, many horses were lowering their heads, concentrating on searching for the few remaining grass roots on the ground.

The white horse Mu Baima, who was grazing alone, seemed to have no interest in the grass beneath him, except for occasionally running to the fence to drink some water.

The reed-haired horse just stood there quietly, yawning from time to time.

"After recuperation, the planned training direction will still focus on increasing strength."

Ogawa Jō crossed his arms and explained to Kitano his thoughts on training Medaipei.

Although there has not been much progress in weight management, Ogawa Jō still wants to try his best.

For mud track racing, Medairo Baima's current muscle mass is far from enough.

Kitano nodded and opened Medahira's panel.

In the panel, basic abilities such as [Speed] and [Stamina] are followed by an inconspicuous upward arrow.

The inclination angles of the arrows are all different. He guessed that it might be related to the growth rate determined by the system.

But without exception, the upward angle is very small.

For abilities like [Xian], which already have high base stats, the upward angle of the arrow can only be noticed by careful observation.

Moreover, apart from [Virtuous] and [Growth], there is still a long list of question marks about the abilities.

Isn't it obvious that nothing can be seen?

After closing the panel, Kitano continued to listen to Ogawa Jō's training plan.

"At least in the short term, Pegasus won't be assigned too heavy training tasks."

In fact, there was no training to be arranged.

Judging from the performance in the first game, both the exit and desensitization are no longer a problem.

I even received comments from riders like Ochiai that "I have some kind of intuition about the competition."

As for activities such as swimming training or forest slope practice that require high venue requirements, Nishiken Ranch does not have the ability to carry out these activities.

This is also the norm in local horse racing.

In the short interval between races, it is already very good if the horse can recover a little from fatigue.

"What do you think, Mr. Kitano, regarding both training and competition?"

After explaining his idea of ​​training at the ranch, Ogawa Jō turned to ask Kitano about his thoughts.

The fact that Mubai Baima was able to escape successfully in one battle without any loss is exciting news for all parties involved.

In this way, at least there will be more room for choice of games, instead of having to run around in one unwinnable game after another.

"Regarding training, let's follow Mr. Ogawa's ideas."

In areas that he does not understand, Kitano always respects the advice from professionals.

"As for the competition."

After a brief pause, he continued, "At least for this year, just compete with the goal of gaining experience. There's no need to rush."

After saying this, he patted the gray head of the white horse that was sticking out from the railing.

Unlike most new horse owners, Kitano was not carried away by the momentary victory and did not make arbitrary demands on trainers and riders such as "you must win the race."

On the day the game ended, he gave the same statement when asked by Master Tanaka.

Both Tanaka at the time and Ogawa Jō in front of him were somewhat surprised by Kitano's choice.

Although the damage to the horse's body is not serious, the prize money for local competitions is very limited.

The cost of foster care, which is the biggest expense, is still a considerable amount, even if it is not as high as the central government's cost of nearly one million yen per month.

For this reason, horse owners in many places will frequently let their racehorses participate in competitions.

Kitano's expectation for Medaima is that he will not suffer too much loss.

If we can accomplish more tasks along the way, that would be even better. As for not being able to, there's no need to force it.

From this point of view, Kitano's personality as a horse owner is somewhat Buddhist.

"and--"

Kitano withdrew his hand and continued, "Your body is still developing. I'm afraid participating in too many competitions wouldn't have a big impact on you, right?"

As a veterinarian, Kitano would not consider arranging an overly tight schedule for racehorses.

"That's right—"

Xuhe Zhang nodded, then turned his head to look at the collective grazing ground not far away, wondering what he was thinking.

"Mr. Kitano, I've already laid the bedding!"

Ogawa Masaru's voice came from the direction of the stable.

The boy trotted all the way to the grazing ground.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Kitano nodded at the boy.

"Nothing, nothing~"

Picking up a towel and wiping his sweaty face, Ogawa Katsu showed a bright smile.

At this moment, Mu Baima suddenly lay down and rolled on the ground.

Didn't manage to flip over.

After trying a few more times, it finally stood up somewhat dejectedly.

Everyone laughed out loud at this somewhat funny scene.

Only Ogawa Sheng was rubbing his head in distress as he looked at the mud all over Mubai Ma.

After Kitano left the ranch, he sighed and picked up the bucket, ready to wash Medaipei's body.

The dirty reed horse seemed to be enjoying the grazing very much and kept shaking its head on the way to the bathing room.

"He was the quiet type when he was little, but now he's become so troublesome."

While hanging the fixing rope on the halter, Ogawa Katsu muttered softly.

He turned down the water volume and tested the temperature with his hand before pointing the shower head at the dirty reed horse.

Medaima's not-so-long hair was quickly wet, and the originally not-so-obvious muscle lines on his chest could be vaguely seen.

Ogawa Masaru started working.

When cleaning the top of the head, the gray and white little ears will dodge very cleverly, and if the nozzle moves downward, they will cooperate by closing their eyes.

The only thing is that he is still as smart as when he was a child.

It can be said that I have mastered the art of bathing.

Ogawa Katsu moved the shower head toward the front, and Mudanma took the opportunity to grit his teeth and drink the water in big gulps.

"It's so ugly."

Ogawa Katsu smiled, patted Mudaiba's upper lip and said, "If you want some water, wait until we get back to the stables. It's bath time now!"

After saying that, he put down the shower head and picked up the brush instead, and began to comb the messy mane of the white horse.

Mudaishima's head shook more violently, and Ogawa Katsu's clothes were splashed with water.

Later, when he was drying his body, Medodayama took the towel while he was not paying attention, and only let go reluctantly after Ogawa Katsu begged for a long time.

After a long time, the cleaning work was finally completed.

After sending the clean and refreshed Meduhira into the stable, Ogawa Katsu, exhausted both physically and mentally, sat down on the floor.

(End of this chapter)