**Chapter 16 Stride Talk**
"You still don't like to eat it like this?"
Ogawa Masaru scratched his head, looking troubled at the grey horse in front of him.
He had received what was supposedly high-quality fresh pasture from Horse Owner Kitano.
However, judging by Mejiro Pegasus's reaction, it seemed to have little interest in even this quality of pasture.
"Since it likes apples, how about trying to juice them and mix them into the hay?"
Ogawa Kanna, who had been watching the scene with her arms crossed, suddenly spoke up.
"Will that work?"
Ogawa Masaru was a bit hesitant.
He had tried mixing finely chopped apples with other feed before.
At that time, Mejiro Pegasus, still called Flax2023, was already smart enough to precisely pick out the apple pieces and eat them.
As for the other feed, most of it remained untouched.
"Who ~ knows ~ about ~ that ~"
The young man clenched his fists.
But a moment later, he released them.
He decided to try this seemingly unreliable suggestion.
If it didn't work, he would settle the score with his silly older sister!
Soon, Ogawa Masaru began to act.
He took out an apple, washed it, peeled it, cored it, and put it into a juicer with a little clean water.
He wasn't even that particular when eating apples himself.
He poured the freshly made apple juice into the feed trough, mixed it with the hay, and then carefully retreated outside the stable.
Mejiro Pegasus approached the feed trough, snorted, and then curiously curled its upper lip.
Then, it flicked its tail and walked away.
It failed after all, didn't it?
Ogawa Masaru looked unhappily at the person who had given the idea.
"I never said it would definitely work."
Ogawa Kanna yawned, looking indifferent.
"Besides, look, isn't Pegasus eating now?"
The young girl pointed behind Ogawa Masaru.
Turning his head, Mejiro Pegasus had indeed buried its head in the feed trough.
Although it was chewing very slowly, even to the point of being considered slow and deliberate eating, it had indeed started to feed.
"That's great!"
Ogawa Masaru breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled very naturally.
Beautiful and fragile, racehorses are just such creatures.
The future Derby horse—
Every ranch would call their home-bred colts this.
The Tokyo Yushun · Japan Derby, a high-stakes Central race, was something Nishiken Ranch, established just two years ago, could not hope to achieve even with all its might.
But even local producers would cheer for the figures galloping on the racetrack.
What was carried on the horse's back was not just the jockey, but also the dreams of professionals and horse fans.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead with some excitement, Ogawa Masaru took out his phone.
He wanted to tell Kitano the good news.
"It ate? That's great!"
On the other hand, Kitano, who received the call, also showed a happy expression.
"Oh dear—did you receive some good news, Kitano?"
The white-haired old lady beside him asked with a smile.
"I received news from the ranch that the horse's appetite has improved slightly, Grandma Takamura."
Grandma Takamura ran a ranch by herself.
Though called a ranch, it couldn't compare to Nishiken Ranch in terms of size or the scale of its horse herd.
While both could be called ranches, they were not actually the same thing.
Ranches can generally be divided into three types: production ranches, rearing ranches, and retirement ranches.
While primarily engaged in the production of foals, Nishiken Ranch also undertook the rearing and training of individual racehorses.
Grandma Takamura's ranch, on the other hand, was one of the very few retirement ranches.
Kitano had been invited to perform physical examinations on the elderly horses at the ranch.
Previously, similar commissions would usually be given to Tanaka.
However, since last month, Tanaka had been forced to temporarily close his practice due to frequent back pain and travel to a large hospital in Tokyo for treatment.
Therefore, the examination request was transferred to Kitano.
"Really? That truly is good news!"
Grandma Takamura clapped her hands and said with a smile.
"Rather than that, let's finish the examination first."
Kitano did not forget the task at hand.
"Alright, alright!"
Grandma Takamura nodded repeatedly, leading the way.