Donna was overjoyed with her first horse. She had been begging and borrowing rides for a couple of years now, and taking lessons whenever she could afford it. A nice bonus at work finally enabled her to look for her very own horse. Through her sister, she heard of a neighbor who occasionally sold horses, and before long she had settled on a little bay mare called Star. She wasn't an overly expensive mare, as nice riding horses go, but she still cost more than Donna's cash reserve. Also, she had to get a saddle, bridle, saddle pad, blanket, brushes, and various other bits of horse tack. She got a second hand saddle, pad and bridle from the man that sold her the horse and found the other items she needed at "tack-swaps". Fortunately, the person she bought the horse from agreed to trust her to pay the balance over the next year.
Star and Donna got along well, and were suited to each other, mostly due to Star's patient disposition and Donna's determination to become a good horsewoman coupled with a good amount of grit and persistence. Donna felt that this was the best thing that had happened to her in years, and apart from the birth of her daughter, maybe the first good thing in several years. Last year she had been passed over for a promotion, but that was not quite as crushing as her divorce four years before that. It annoyed her that her busty sister had mentioned once or twice that she would be better off with a different bra that might "improve" her somewhat flat-chested figure. She had gained a bit of weight too, and it had been hard between her job, commuting, her shattered confidence and motherhood to find time to even meet men, never mind dates. Her riding gave her a new and wonderful sense of accomplishment and freedom. Her daughter was able to stay with her sister and play with her cousins when Donna would ride. Donna was drinking in her first small taste of freedom and accomplishment in many years as she developed a connection with her mare, and it felt good.
She became braver, her self confidence grew, and she felt a long lost sense of control coming back into her life. Star was good for her in more ways than she had anticipated. Even her reactions, her balance and her timing improved. She lost some weight and developed a bit of strength and flexibility. She was starting to know what her mare was thinking, and Star was picking up Donna's thoughts, cues and body language. Donna was beginning to anticipate every move Star would make as she rode her, and the feeling of togetherness with her mare grew. She knew that she had finally accomplished something she had always wanted since she was a teenager. She actually was a tiny bit proud of herself. She took Star to few training clinics and was thrilled to find that in addition to learning a bit more each time, she was actually a much better horsewoman than many of the other riders.
Donna's confidence seemed to overflow into other areas of her life. She was able to handle her mother's occasionally barbed tongue far better than ever before, and she was less annoyed by her sister's smart-ass comments. At work, she was given more responsibility and a small increase in salary. Life was a lot better, and a big part of it was due to her relationship with Star, her developing riding ability, and the resulting confidence she felt. Also, she enjoyed the people she met at her stable, especially Bob, the man she had bought the horse from. He always had an encouraging word for her and helped her work through the occasional issue with her mare. She knew that he enjoyed her company and from time to time she noticed him watching her closely as her breasts bounced when she trotted Star. It felt good to be noticed and appreciated.
The stock market downturn came like a thief in the night. Her whole industry was in trouble, and it didn't look like it would get better very soon. It wasn't long before her boss called her in for "the talk", and soon afterward she, as well as several others, were cleaning out their desks and carrying boxes of personal belongings to their cars. The only good thing was that she was getting over four months of severance pay. She elected to have it paid monthly so it wouldn't push up her income taxes for the year.
Nevertheless, although she was feeling frightened and a bit hollow inside, she got her resume together and began looking for a new position. She needed the income to keep her apartment, cover her living expenses, and do her best for her daughter. On top of that she still owed quite a bit for Star, and she had a board bill to pay for stabling the horse every month. She really liked the barn where she kept her horse. Star fit in there nicely, received good care and was turned out to pasture daily with a group of mares she was "buddied-up" with.
After several months Donna still hadn't found a decent position. She didn't want to take a job with a big drop in pay as she needed the income level she was used to, and also she needed the time to look for another position that would value her skills and experience. As things got a bit tougher financially, she met with Bob who had sold Star to her and explained her predicament. Donna sensed that he didn't seem overly concerned, and she felt good that he had said "she was not the kind of woman who would just not pay him what she owed." However, she worried about her stabling bill, as she had paid it only partially for three months. She didn't even want to think about moving her mare to another facility, and in any event she was already getting a pretty good deal.
Her mother called one day and made the helpful suggestion that perhaps selling Star would be a "logical course of action."
"After all," she said, "it's only right to put your daughter first, as you order your priorities." On top of that, her mom thought that it seemed ridiculous if Donna ever expected help from the family that she was still spending money on a "non-essential". Donna was pretty annoyed at that comment as she had not asked anyone in the family for help, but it did set her to thinking.
She decided she had better have another talk with the stable owner to whom she now owed money not only for her horse but also for the growing sum for board. It took her a week or more to mull over her options. She figured that even if he would take back the horse and cancel that debt, she still owed more for board. She considered offering to do some part-time work for him, but that would eat up job seeking and interviewing time. She wasn't the kind of woman who had ever walked away from her responsibilities, and she knew that if she stiffed him she would almost certainly lose her horse. That thought was too hard to bear, and her pride wouldn't let her walk away from the debt. On top of that, if she didn't pay, word would get around quickly that she was a deadbeat and she couldn't bear the thought of that. Likely no one else would ever trust her or sell her another horse, as she knew that bad news travel quickly among horsemen. Donna was getting desperate.
She knew that Bob liked her and she noticed him looking at her more and more, and he had a gleam in his eye from time to time.
For his part, Bob was enjoying her company. She was bright, enthusiastic and funny as well as cute. Something about her attracted him. He liked her type, her personality, her looks, and her good natured banter. From time to time he imagined her nude, and he wondered just what her pussy would be like. He saw her breasts bounce when she rode, and his mind wandered to mental images of her tits bared and ready to be played with. He daydreamed a bit about her, thinking how nice it would be to take her clothes off, to explore her nooks and crevices, to kiss her pussy and bring her to an orgasm. He imagined himself sliding deep into her pussy and her responding as he pumped in and out of her.
Finally, she decided to meet with him to discuss her situation as her board bill grew. He seemed fairly calm about the whole thing, much calmer than Donna felt, but then of course she knew that he knew he had the option of taking her horse back. They talked for almost half an hour. She had taken the opportunity to time her talk to take place when they were able to go for a ride in the bush together. They rode slowly, mostly at a walk. When they stopped to talk it was nice to see her mare stop and stand quietly and patiently as Star felt Donna sit down and relax in the saddle. Donna felt rather proud when Bob commented that she had done a good job of "putting a nice handle" on Star. The mare was relaxed and obedient, and responded to Donna's tiniest cue. She was a bit puzzled that he didn't suggest what he expected her to do about her debt, but instead he just asked her what her plans were. As they sat silently, Donna was desperate for an answer but none came to her. She was right out of ideas. She listened intently for a clue from him, but none was forthcoming. She had learned to watch both people and horses carefully, partly from her experience with Star and partly from her experience with her job and most of all with divorce lawyers. She knew he liked her, and that he probably lusted after her. After all, "he was a man" she reminded herself. As she watched Bob she had an idea that he was looking at her as if he was possibly undressing her mentally, even though he really had never made any inappropriate suggestions to her that she could remember. But then again, she thought, "he's a man", they do that, and sex is never far from their minds.
Donna was a cute woman. At thirty-five she still had the energy and bounce of her youth. She was as slim now as she had been for years, even though she didn't class herself as skinny. Men had often told her that she had a cute face. Donna was a bit less than thrilled with her breasts. She felt they were a bit small, but at least they didn't sag too badly. She knew her shoulders were a bit wider than those of a model, but to compensate for that her hips had a nice curve to them. Her legs were a bit on the short side relative to her torso, and they were muscular, but she knew that men still looked at them. Her mother often had said that she was "strongly built", a term she detested, but she knew there was an element of truth in it.
