[Training] Basic Horseback Riding (mod)

[Ralston Sarwick]

8th Brightening of Immanis, Spring, Era XIV (pf)


Ralston finally had time to learn to ride a horse. He had always wanted to learn how to control a strong, massive animal intelligent enough to perform how he wanted. Also, his career in the Imperial Legions could only improve by gaining knowledge about the animals he would ride.

The Senior Legionnaire headed over to the stables. He showed his ID and asked, "Could I take a beginner's lesson in horseback riding this brightening? Or even over the next cycle or so?" He did not think it would take too terribly long to get the basics out of the way, but he did not personally own a horse to go learn with somewhere else. Plus, he hoped that learning to ride here would also teach him things he would need to remember for battle. Riding down a path through the forest was one thing, but riding down an enemy with a weapon was a completely different matter. Ralston was excited to learn and could not wait to get in the saddle.

[Slika]

The stablemaster nodded. "Do you wanna start now or what?" he asked in a gruff voice. Ralston nodded. "Stay right there." He went inside the shed to get a saddle. "By the way, theres a slip of paper on the ledge. Put a check mark by one of the breeds." Ralston tooked the piece of paper, which read:

• Plainsbred
• Jaedaxian Longhair
• Juanerro
• Mellan

[Ralston Sarwick]

Ralston was happy that he could start his training immediately. The quicker he could get on with his duties, the better. When the stable master left to acquire a saddle, the Senior Legionnaire looked at the paper. He glanced at the parchment and took up a quill, prepared to check the breed he would use. He looked for a moment at each name and stopped. He was confused with the breed names. He did not know which breed was good for what or how they looked at all.

Swallowing, he expressed his delay when the man returned. "Um, I'm not really sure which breed to check. I would like to learn how to ride a larger horse, one more similar to what I may potentially ride in battle, but these names do not tell me anything." He looked at the stable master with a brow raised, hoping he could make a decision based on what Ralston was looking for. In the end, he thought, it really did not matter too much as this was only a beginning riding course. Any horse would probably fit his needs this brightening.

[Slika]

The man laughed. "The millitary didn't teach their footmen what there horses were, eh?" He laughed again. "That." He pointed to a brown horse behind him. "Is a Plainsbreed. You usually see them because they are stupid and cheap. That." He pointed a large musclar horse. "Is a Mellan. Know for their strenght in farming. "That." He pointed at a very long haired horse. "Is a Jaedaxian Longhair. Do not ride that if you want to stay in the millitary. That is not a war horse. And the Juanerro." He pointed to a large, swift looking horse. "Tried to beat the Elvish Windstepper in speed, but lost." He handed Ralston the saddle. "Go into the stable. You will see a woman in there. Her name is Jallena. She will be teaching you how to ride a horse. Ask for a Plainsbreed. They are the easiest to start with." He nodded to him, and walked away.

[Ralston Sarwick]

Ralston studied each horse as the man pointed them out. He tried to quickly identify the features being explained to him before moving on to the next breed. After given his instructions, he quickly placed a check next to the Plainsbred horse and exchanged the paper for the saddle. He nodded and thanked the man as he adjusted his grip on the saddle and turned towards the stables.

Jallena, he repeated the name in his head before he would meet the woman. Ralston hated being embarrassed by little things such as names so he always made sure he knew who he was talking to, so long as he had the ability to do so. Moving through the stables, he looked around at all the horses and smiled, excited to learn how to control such large and intelligent animals. Glancing back in front of him, he spied a female standing a little ways before him and he focused on her.

Once he was near enough, the Senior Legionnaire cleared his throat and said, "Excuse me, miss?" He waited until he had her attention before saying, "I'm Senior Legionnaire Sarwick. I'm here for basic horsemanship lessons. Are you Jallena, by any chance?" He smiled, holding his saddle and waiting for her response.

[Slika]

Jallena turned around quickly, her cat ears pointing up. "Jallena? Yes. That's me." The half-katta looked at him through and through. "Never rode a horse before, eh? You really got some taste." She laughed. "Don't worry. It should be easy." A slip of paper flutter into the room and she caughted. "Plainbred, good enough, though I really think you should try a Mellan." Jallena took the saddle from him and clucked three times. "Ynaiv! Come here girl." A white-speckled brown horse trotted up to her. "Good girl." She put the saddle on loosly and picked up a lead. "Follow me." She led Ynaiv out of the stable and to a wooden bar.

[Ralston Sarwick]

Ralston was glad he found the right person, but when she said he should start with a different breed, his frustration started to come through. He had no idea which breed to learn with and it seemed like the first stable master he talked to was only having fun with him in the end. The soldier took a deep breath and settled his mind before smiling and waiting for the horse to come.

The animal was beautiful. Sure, it was probably nothing special and not very expensive, but Ralston could not tell all those details. The Senior Legionnaire watched closely as Jallena put on the saddle. Even though he assumed he would learn how to do that later, he wanted to pick up on as much as he could as quickly as possible. He followed both the horse and the teacher outside the stables and to the wooden bar, ready for his lesson to finally begin with a horse he could learn with.

[Slika]

"Good. Now what you want to do is take Ynaiv for a slow walk around the stable. You want to creat a bond with the creature." Ralston noded and slipped out of sight.
As soon as they came back, Jallena clapped. "Good! Good!" Ynaiv muzzled him softlly and Jallena gave her a carrot. "Are you ready to ride?"

[Ralston Sarwick]

At first, the thought of just walking the horse around the stable did not make much sense to him. He wanted to learn how to ride it, not walk it. As soon as Jallena explained to him that there needs to be a bond created, Ralston nodded and his thoughts aligned with hers. That did make sense to him.

Taking Ynaiv by the bridle, he started to move slowly. Not knowing how to force the horse to start walking, he hoped it naturally followed due to the fact that Ralston had a hold of it. The soldier coaxed the animal into moving a little bit using the best technique he could think of- talking to it and telling it to come with him. He used a soft voice at first so that Ynaiv would understand, if she did not know already, that he was not going to hurt her and only wanted to get to know her.

The two walked and rounded the corner of the stable. When nobody else was around, Ralston spoke to her again in his usual voice. He assumed that the best way to create a bond with a horse you have only spend a couple minutes with would be to let it hear your voice. And he assumed he should use the same voice he will use while riding it. "Come on, girl," he said, relfecting what Jallena said to the horse earlier. Once they were on their way and he knew Ynaiv would continue to follow him, he just talked. "So, we're going to ride. Please know that I'm new at this, Ynaiv. Just bear with me and we'll both be finished with this." The thought made him smile and it was obvious when they returned that he was in a good mood and ready to continue the training.

[Slika]

"Good. Now go to the right side of the horse. You want to step in to the saddle like this." Jallena clicked her tounge four times and slapped her thigh twice. A very muscular white horse came trotting up, saddle on it. "This is Peri. He is a Mellan." She took her right foot and put it in the stirrup. "Swing your left foot over the saddle and place it in the other stirrup." She waited quietly for him to do so.

[Ralston Sarwick]

Taking careful note how where Jallena placed her hands and her feet, the soldier watched his instructor pull herself up and over the horse landed easily into the saddle with her feet placed correctly. He paid close attention to her footing, as he assumed that would be the most important aspect of mounting a horse.

Nodding, Ralston moved to the right side of Ynaiv. He patted her neck softly and positioned himself appropriately. He faced the horse and carefully slid his right boot into the stirrup the same way Jallena did. When he felt like his footing was sure, he put his weight on his right foot and gripped the saddle with his right hand as he pulled himself up and swung his left foot over the back of the horse. When it came down he was sitting in the saddle and he easily slid his left boot into the stirrup to keep his balance.

When he was up, he smiled. That really was not too bad. The horse knew what he was trying to do and Ralston seemed to get the hang of it pretty easily. It felt good to sit atop the horse. He took a moment to get used to being in the saddle and what seemed like in control. He knew, however, that he had little control over the horse at all right now.

[Slika]

"Good. Good." She purred in approvel. "You are the first to get this far and do it right, with no complaints." Her ears twitched. "Moving on. Grab your reins, gently kick Ynaiv with your heels, and click your tounge. Any trained horse should move foward. Kick harder to make your horse trot, and yank the reins and kick hard when you want him or her to gallop. To slow down, raise you reins to your chin. To stop, pull back. Got that?" Her ears perched foward to hear his answer, her spin tingled at her new student.

[Ralston Sarwick]

Ralston could have guessed that he needed to hold on to the reins. He had been able to acquire that knowledge just for having common sense. How to use them, however, was a completely different idea which he knew absolutely nothing about. He listened to Jallena and repeated her instructions again in his mind.

To move, gently kick and click your tongue, he went through the motions in his mind. The soldier had to admit to himself that he was slightly afraid that he would kick too hard and hurt or startle the horse. At the same time, however, he knew he needed to do it with the right amount of force so that Yvain understood that he was in control right now and would follow his commands.

To move faster, kick harder, and to gallop, kick hard and pull the reins. It all seemed pretty simple now, but Ralston knew that as soon as he was actually moving, he would confuse things or get them wrong and lose control easily. That was why he was simulating all of it now while Yvain stood still and tolerated his slowness.

Though getting the horse to move, and at the correct speed, would be the natural first steps, it made sense to Ralston that the more important commands were those to slow and stop the horse. A horse could gallop on command, but if it failed to stop it would pass every target you ever intended to stop at. To slow, lift reins to my chin. And to stop, pull back. Perhaps it was luck, but it seemed to Ralston that slowing and stopping were much more simple commands than to get the animal moving. Somebody was thinking logically when they decided to standardize horse training in that manner.

Going over everything one more time in his mind, Ralston looked over at Jallena and said, "I think I got it. It does not seem too terribly confusing. I think I'm ready now." He smiled. Hopefully these basic controls were as easy to execute as they were to remember.

[Slika]

"Good," Jallena purred. "If you want to do anything else, just give me a holler. I think you are ready to hit the road. You are doing good." She climb off her horse, and untied a red and blue piece of string from Ynaiv's neck. "She is yours to keep, sir. Name her what ever you want. I can't spare the supplise for brushing and feeding. Oh. Yes! Brushing." She comanded Ynaiv to stay and called to Peri. She went inside the stable. "Climb down!" She latter came out with two brushes. "I want you to brush down Ynaiv after and before every time you ride. Just make sure that the horse can feel you by putting your hand on her back or side. Brush with the flow of the hair, and brush hard. These are soft bristle brushes."
When they were finished, Jallena took the brushes and put them inside the stable. She also took a piece of paper off a rack. "Here. I put together a list of what to do. So long, sir." The list read:

• Brush your horse, follow the hair.
• Saddle. Put the first strap into the first strap on the other side, under the chest. Pull up to tighten. Pull down to loosen. Make sure is snug.
• For reins, put the metal piece in and put it all the way back. Secure when leather straps are around ears. Make sure there are 1-2 wrinkles at mouth.
• Put one foot in stirrup. Swing other around.
• Kick and click till the horse moves in a walk.
• Kick and click more to move faster.
• Kick, click, and yank at reins to gallop.
• Reins should be down low. Pull left to turn left. Vis versa for right.
• Raise reins to slow. Pull to stop.
• For feeding, use a large metal tub. oats, barely, and wheat should be alright for Plainsbred. Check with the owner for any reaction.

[Ralston Sarwick]

Ralston was glad that he had learned the very basics of how to ride a horse. When Jallena complimented him, he was proud of himself and patted Yvain on the neck, glad that she put up with him while he was starting out. When Jallena said that the horse was his, the soldier perked up and thought he was only hearing things.

"I'm sorry," he started, "Did you say he was mine?" It seemed odd that she would simply give the horse to him. Sure, they had started to create a bond through training, but he thought that was only because it was the first horse he had ever really interacted with on that level.

Senior Legionnaire Sarwick took the parchment and read it while listening to Jallena. Grooming instructions seemed pretty simple and was probably a great way to create and maintain a strong bond between the animal and the rider. Now, if Yvain did in fact belong to him, he would need to buy food and grooming tools for the usual upkeep of owning a horse- something he would be glad to do if he had the opportunity to own her.