A Period of Equine Training [Chocolate]

[Zokia Zora]

Continued from here...
Primus Gaudeo > The Western City
[The Primus Gaudeo Equestrian Centre]

Zo nodded and then all of the rest of that evening she had a look around until she finally retired in the loft above the nearest stable. Surprisingly the Esh and her daughter slept well. It was a night of rest that she needed very badly.

The next brightening came slowly to life, the illumination peeking every so teasingly from between the clouds, Zo grinned when a ray happened to find her Elvin features, it was warm and inviting. With a new day brought new rays of hope. Finally perhaps she'd be able to learn something that would help her to survive materially. No long would she have to rely upon a man to help her along, since that proved to be disappointing more times then not.

The Esh got her and Kai around. With a renewed sort of spirit she sauntered over to where the man had directed her to come. Sternly she rapped upon the wooden door. Her keen ears thought that she had heard a stirring within, which caused a smile to pull at the corner of her lovely lips.

She was patient and waited, knocking one more time for good measure...

[Chocolate]

42nd Melora, Winter, Era XIII

The door opened two seconds after the second knock to reveal a fellow elf, but lightborn. A girl, really, going by her features, with dark brown hair scraped back into a ponytail, green almond shaped eyes and a healthy tan that seemed unaffected even at the end of winter. Dark green leggings and a grey shirt were topped by a heavy linen tunic, with a woolly rainbow scarf wrapped around her slender neck and matching gloves. “Zokia?” she asked with a tilt of her head, before sitting down on the step. “You’re the new apprentice, right? Serale, I’m Kristyle, head apprentice, I’ll be showing you the ropes.”

She pulled on a pair of boots, one of many pairs that were lined up along the side of the step, and looked up unsmilingly at the esh’lahier elf. “You’ve missed rosyun. We have it early here. Mrs Toppig likes us all to eat together first thing so we’re start work ready for the brightening. I’ll give you a rap on your door tomorrow so you get up in time. You’ll get used to waking before dawn soon enough. Harry! Get some rosyun for Zokia here!” the elf bellowed over her shoulder, and then finally grinned up at Zokia. “You can eat as I show you about, all right? Has your kiddie eaten yet?”

As she finished lacing up her boots, another figure appeared behind her, a lad of about fourteen ordinations with a face full of freckles and ginger hair. He was dressed in a similar fashion to Kristyle, except for the scarf and gloves, and in shades of brown and was of a wiry tall build. “Here you go, Zokia,” he said, offering her a hunk of bread and cheese in one hand and a mug of warm milk in the other. “I’m Harry, another apprentice. Nice to meet yer.” His grin showed one tooth missing at the front of his mouth, but it was a genuine smile of welcome.

Behind him other faces appeared, the stable workers who lived on the site, and curious glances were thrown at Zokia as they trooped out, each claiming their pair of boots and starting to wander over to the stable block.

[Zokia Zora]

Zokia said nothing for a little while. She felt like an actor upon a stage. It seemed that all eyes were upon her and quite frankly she wasn't use to such a thing. The beautiful Elf would rather blend into the shadows then be a beaming ray of sunshine. Softly she cleared her throat and then swallowed hard. "Yes I am Zokia Zora and this is my daughter Kaiota Abbie." Kai smiled as if she knew that she was being introduced, and perhaps she did. Such things were evidence that she was certainly going to be an outgoing and quite attentive child.

Zo's penetrating violet orbs however didn't miss a thing. The bread, cheese and milk were handed to her and she scooped them up rather quickly but not rudely. First thing was first... she ushered Kai toward her and gave her the biggest pieces. She marked her child for survival and it was clear that she'd go with very little so that her daughter could thrive. Evidence showed that they have been through some rough times. Slowly the Esh stuck a piece of bread into her mouth, relishing the taste of it as her eyes closed so savor it a little longer.

Once a chunk had been chewed and swallowed Zo adapted a tiny smile and then nodded toward them both and then toward Harry. "Thank you Harry. It's nice to meet you as well." Zo's eyes then trailed to the others, the ones that said nothing to her. Quickly they made their exit and the Esh merely shrugged it off. Perhaps they weren't morning people, she reasoned.

[Chocolate]

“This way,” Kristyle said, a little brusquely, unmoved by the sight of Zokia’s daughter beyond a nod. She led the esh’lahier along to follow the other stable hands to the stable blocks. There were many, arranged in a series of horseshoes around several courtyards that in themselves were placed about a large barn. Beyond this were a series of paddocks and then fields to where some horses from the blocks further away were already being led out by rope halters. “I’m not sure what you’ve arranged for your kiddie to do while you’re working but it’ll be dangerous to have her around the horses underfoot unsupervised. Missus Toppig might be able to have her in the main house …” Kristyle trailed off and then called out to one of the stable hands. “Not Kotter, keep him in as he’s being shod later on!” Admonished, the young groom turned about with the black plainsbred stallion and led him back into the stalls.

As they passed the first stable block, Harry was beginning to open the top half of each of the stall doors so that some of horses began to arch their necks over the half doors to watch them walk by, eyes curious and ears pricked at Kristyle and the new apprentice. There were a few whickers and a couple of bangs as the stable doors were kicked by the more impatient horses.

“You’ll be starting in this stable block,” Kristyle said to Zokia. “with five horses as well as your own under your care for the first few cycles and then as you come up to speed, you’ll have another fifteen added to your charge. I was told you have no experience at all? Right? There are forty in total in this particular block, some of them are out at pasture and only brought in at night, but with the spring coming up they’ll be spending the darkenings out there too. Some are kept in though for most of the time, and with others are kept in the paddocks where we can keep a closer eye on them, especially with the season changing and when the foals start to come along. There’s a lot to do and a lot to know,” she continued, pausing to pat the a dappled grey on the neck as she reached forward with her nose to nudge the head groom.

“This is Pallie, one of yours. Gentle thing she is. Hoping to have a foal out of her this era. You’ll be responsible for being the first to spot a potential problem with your horses, along with feeding and watering them, cleaning out their stalls, grooming, cleaning out their feet, exercising them with a lunge line or sometimes riding them. But the first thing to do each morning is to feed them, and all the supplies are kept in the barn. We’ll go over there in a minute.” Kristyle stopped to let Zokia see the five horses, including Pallie, who were grouped in this particular section. “You’ll be working for eight brightenings out of ten, with one of those a half-brightening. Just need to clear it with me first in advance when your time off is so I can arrange cover for your horses. Asides from that, we start early and end only a candlemark before dark. There’s a break mid-brightening for about four candlemarks.”

OOC: Feel free to describe the other 4 horses in the stalls alongside Pallie, as they’ll be in your PC’s charge. Take care to not age Kai too quickly – she’s still only about 6 months old and an elven baby! PM me if you need to discuss this further, but she’s probably not even crawling at this age for the end of winter timestamp.

[Zokia Zora]

OOC- I appreciate your correction on the matter of Kai's age. I'll be careful of that in the future. Thanks. In my defense I sort of forgot that this thread was before the others since I haven’t been able to post to it.

This was all a bit overwhelming for Zo but she girded herself up, inwardly and outwardly as her posture straightened. She was determined to be strong. It was the only way so that she could get through this, in turn making something of her god given life. "Yes Kai does well with a babysitter. We could do that."

Zokia jumped a little when Kristyle shouted toward a stable hand. Indeed this whole change in atmosphere was something that she'd have to get accustomed too; she'd force herself to do it!

The Esh's eyes glanced about and even though she didn't know the names of the each breed though she could tell that they were different, each glorious in their own way. There was a variety in this place. There was practically every breed, from the Elven Windstepper to the Landpacer. Some Zo could tell were a more noble breed while others were bred for the purpose of working. All of this fascinated the female as she was introduced to her own lot that she'd be caring for.

In her horses she saw a variety. Each seemed to have a different color, build and as far as personalities, and without being able to spend time with them as of yet, Zo could see the spunk in some while others seemed laid back. Details of such things would surely be learned and rather quickly once she began her hands on training.

Her face was an expression of eagerness and excitement. She simply wanted to jump out of her skin as she spoke. "I want to learn as much as I can. I'm willing to work hard and long hours in order to accomplish this. Please show no mercy on me." Zo grinned and then stepped forward in order to pet Pallie gently on the bridge of her nose.

Energy ran through her Zo’s veins, causing her to shudder slightly. And then she looked toward Kristyle and smiled. ”When can I start? I’m sure that there’s a schedule that I must follow.” So many things to think about and yet her lack of knowledge stunted her imagination on the matter.

[Chocolate]

“You can start now,” Kristle answered with a short smile, as Pallie nodded her head and gave a soft nicker in seeming agreement.

“First thing to do in the morning is feed your horses and water them. Then each horse is groomed and their hooves are checked, before we let them into the paddock. After that cleaning their stalls and changing their bedding if needs be. After that there’s numerous things which can be done depending on what needs doing. Some horses need exercising by lunge or by riding. Then there’s tack cleaning and keeping the yards clean. By then you’ll find its time for your mid-brightening break for a few candlemarks. Anything that hasn’t been done in the morning is done in the afternoon and when you’ve got twenty horses under you, you’ll find that’ll amount to a lot. Also Mister Toppig might want you to do something specific, especially if there’s a horse that’s about to be sold and needs getting ready for showing. Or there might be a client needing lessons and you’d help out there with leading a horse that’s being ridden by a beginner. Then of course there’s the breeding program and you might be involved in aiding that as time goes on. Last thing before the end of the day is to return the horses to their stalls, check them over and give them their final feed of the brightening. We then gather for pracenda in the main house and after that your time is your own.”

The elf spoke matter of factly as she led Zokia to the main barn in the centre of the complex. It was a large wooden construction, with high rafters and once inside the Esh’lahier would see that the inside was mainly given over to an inside school for riding, the ground covered with sawdust. However a quarter of the barn was given over to the storage of the horse feed that was boarded off from the main area, along with numerous buckets and implements that were necessary for the distribution of the feed. It was busy with the other grooms, each intent on scooping out from various sacks the mixes of horse feed into buckets. Some looked over at Zokia with nods and smiles, others remained focused on what they were doing.

“If you’ve got no questions so far, I’ll show you what needs doing regarding feed, hay and water for the horses?” Kristyle asked. The elf wasn’t smiling, but seemed to be rather brusque and business like, wanting to push on with the tasks ahead.

[Zokia Zora]

Wow! There was much more to know about horses then Zo anticipated but still she remained up for the challenge. Something in her life needed to be finished and this would be one of them, come hell or high waters.

The Esh nodded and such when appropriate and then spoke when she was questioned, of course after making their way to yet another building where she received many welcoming expressions, some verbal while others simply a smile or a wink. "No questions as of yet. I'm ready to learn how to feed, hay and water the horses."

Zo stepped forward and displayed that she was still as eager as ever.

[Chocolate]

“Okay, the feed is taken from these different sacks,” Kristyle continued, satisfied that there were no questions about Zokia’s schedule for each brightening. “Oats are in this one, and sweet grain are in this one,” she began, pointing out the sacks which were distinguished by a slightly difference in the colour of sacking. “Each horse under your care gets the same amount of feed, a scoop of the oats and a scoop of the sweet feed mixed together. Best way to work it is to make up the feed here, mix it up thoroughly with your hand and then take the bucket around the stalls to distribute between the horses. You’ll find a bucket in each stall hanging on a hook on the wall that you put the feed into, so you just put two scoops from the main bucket into the stall bucket.”

Kristyle tended to move as she spoke, not wasting time, and as she explained the horse feed the elf also took a wooden bucket from the side along with a large wooden scoop to give to Zokia. There was an expectation in her expression that Zokia should begin to make the mixture up now. It would be noticeable that the sweet grain was darker in colour to the oats and rather moist. “Now when you’ve distributed the feed, you check the water buckets in each stall. Best really to draw fresh water so whatever’s left is thrown over the courtyard and then you pump fresh water from the water pump at the side of the courtyard. You might want to use a pushcart so you can fill all the buckets at the same time. There’s usually one available, but if you’re running late, you might find that they’re all in use. The water buckets are put in a back corner of the stalls.”

“There’s also a rack in each stall attached to the wall that is used to hold hay. On the other side of this barn, there’s the haybarn where the bales of hay are stored. Each bale is made up of ten flakes of hay and you want to give each horse two flakes. Make sure when you put the flakes of hay into the racks that you pull it apart a bit so it’s loose and easy for the horse to grab at and eat. Again use a push cart if there’s one available to carry the bale of hay around to the stalls first to cut down on going back and forth.”

Kristyle stopped speaking to see how Zokia was getting on with mixing the feed, inclining her head in a critical manner. The room was emptying by now as the other apprentices were making their way out. “Of course, when the weather gets warmer and the horses are out in the paddock more or out in the fields, then this changes a bit. This is the routine for the colder months”

[Zokia Zora]

Zo grinned and then went about her business. She's had to tend to her child so she wasn't afraid to get her hands a little dirty. And so she began to mix the feed, the sweetness already floated beneath her nostrils, which compelled her to take a scoop up and smell it. It smelled good enough to eat, like molasses. She was sure that the horses would enjoy it immensely.

Intently she listened to what she was instructed to do and then went over it in her head.
Two cans of grain, one regular and one sweet. Mix.
Fresh water.
Two flakes of hay and loosen them a bit.

Got it!

Quickly she then sauntered over in order to gather up a cart, the very last one. Once back at the recently mixed feed she began to load it up. Certainly the moving receptacle would make things easier, though she'd likely still have to make a couple of trips.

[Chocolate]

Kristyle nodded with brief approval as Zokia got stuck into mixing the feed with out any squeamishness. “I’ll let you get on with it then, and when you’re finished, you’ll find me by the first paddock,” she said, happy to let Zokia get on with feeding the horses and seeing to their water. Everything which the esh’lahier had been told about would be found where described. The waterpump was easy to find, more so because there would be other grooms hard at work pumping water into buckets there. The haybarn was a large construction with a wide entrance, inside which a host of bales of hay were stacked to the ceiling, each bound with a rough twine. All in all, it appeared to be a fairly straight forward process.

All that really needed to be negotiated were the horses themselves – and five curious heads were turned towards Zokia as she approached with her handcart and bucket of feed. The handcart left to Zokia was the last to be collected, and for a good reason, as it had a rather obnoxious squeak as the wheel turned, but it called the attention of Harry who was working the stalls alongside to Zokia. His head popped over the stall door and he grinned as Zokia.

“Don’t take any nonsense from them, Zokia!” he chirped brightly, with a nod to the waiting horses. “Pallie’s a soft sort, but the others aren’t as easy. Give ‘em a shove against their shoulder with your body if they won’t move over, or get in yer way. Big strong buggers some of them and they won’t notice if they’ve stepped on yer feet.” He glanced down at Zokia’s feet and hoped that she was wearing strong boots.

Above each stall, a small wooden board hung with the horse’s name painted on it. The stalls themselves were roomy and airy, the water bucket in a back corner, the wooden rack on one wall and the feed bucket hanging off a peg. Along with that, the ground was covered with straw, somewhat soiled after a darkening’s use by the horses.


OOC: Over to you to describe Zokia’s experiences before finding Kristyle again. If you want me to jump in before then to mod other grooms or anything, no probs. Once again, the horses are up to you to describe and try to make them varied in temperament.

[Zokia Zora]

Zo's Esh features blushed deeply when she realized just how noisy her cart really was. It became clear to her as to the reason why the cart had remained for so long. Lightly she shrugged her shoulders and continued onward, reasoning that having a squeaky cart was better then having none. The female had to admit though that she was glad when she had to stop. A small chuckle could be heard coming from her.

Still though she didn't forget what her duty was. Harry popped his head over the stall wall, causing Zo to grin as she looked down at her feet. Surely her attire wasn't appropriate but then again she was just starting out. Eventually she'd have all the right equipment. She'd be even happier though if she were already in the routine of farm life.

’All in due time’, she thought.

Zo nodded in Harry's direction. He had a way of making her heart feel light. Yes she'd enjoy being around him and was quite happy that his stalls were so near to her own. It would be good to have a friend close by... just in case she had some questions until she could get to Kristyle.

The female stood back and took a deep breath, her hands placed lightly upon her hips. She noted the names that decorated each stall, save for her own, Cool Blue, who was new to this barn. Her horses consisted of five others though, three mares and two studs/stallions. She went over their names in her mind and then tried her best to associate them with their color.

3 Mares
Pallie - Dappled Grey
Dawn – Red Roan
Reta - Bay

2 Studs
Raven – Black
Majestic - Buckskin

Each had their own personality, which Zo would soon find out...


OOC- Due to limited time this morning I will be adding another post to this either tonight or tomorrow morning. Thanks!

[Zokia Zora]

She nodded toward Harry and his advice and then adopted a determined expression upon her face. The first that she'd feed would be Pallie, since she was already introduced to her, knowing that she's kind and gentle. Of course she was correct in her assumption, she was a piece of cake. Zo pet her neck and praised her to the high heavens, telling her what a good girl she was.

Then it was on to the next and then the next. Dawn seemed a little passive. She'd much rather stay away from Zo then to greet her. Perhaps that would change in time. Reta on the other hand was a spitfire and clearly knew that she was beautiful. Eagerly she danced and pranced about the stall and from time to time Zo had to give her a gentle shove with her shoulder, like Harry said in order to keep her feet safe.

Once done with the mares it was on to the stallions. Majestic was simply lovely and very cooperative, having the personality of Pallie. This was a good thing due to his size. He was a breeze and so was Cool of course since he was already very acquainted with Zo and her tactics/mannerisms.

It was going all to easy for the female. Raven the black stallion was the last on her list. He snorted and stomped his feet at her as if he was irritated that he was the last to be done. Zo wasn't afraid to admit that he scared her just a little. He had a fire in his eyes, one that radiated and told her that he felt that he was number one and that he was more then a little peeved that he had to wait. Still though the Esh couldn't help but to admire him.

Raven shoved and pushed her around a bit in the stall, even pinning her with his rump on one occasion, likely going to leave a few bruises. Zo first gave him his grain. This occupied him long enough so that she could water and hay him. By the time she got out of his pen she was sprinkled with hay. She looked rather comical as she sat down on a nearby bale of hay, gasping until she could collect herself enough to go find Kristyle once more.

Of course she'd find her just where she said that she would be. Zo must have looked a sight for sore eyes but still it felt good to be working and at the same time learning.

[Chocolate]

As Zokia approached the paddock, Kristyle was finishing off talking to a tall man who cast a bemused look at the state that the esh’lahier had got herself into. He raised his eyebrows at Kristyle and then nodded his head, leaving the elf to return to instructing the newest groom of the yard.

“All done?” Kristyle asked, with a faintly amused smirk and then reached out to pick a particularly long piece of hay that was sticking out of Zokia’s hair. “Okay next on the routine is to groom the horses. When the weather improves we’ll be letting them out to grass for the summer but as they’re stabled for a lot of the time now, we groom them on a daily basis. When a horse is kept out in the pasture, it’s better to not groom them so regularly as it removes the natural oils in their coats that protects them from the weather.”

As ever, Kristyle was rarely still when she spoke, and was already leading Zokia around to the tack room. “Here’s where you can pick up a grooming kit and we also store the head collars and leads,” she said picking one of each up and passing them to Zokia to carry, before rummaging through several boxes that kept a variety of brushes, combs, picks and finally a linen cloth. “Once you’ve finished grooming a horse, you then have to clean out its stall, but we’ll come to that later. Now asides from the obvious of getting rid of any dirt or sweat, any other ideas about why you should groom a horse regularly?”

Long strides carried them quickly back to the stalls. Harry was nearby and he nodded at the head groom with an approving nod to her quirked brow, an unspoken question and answer passing between them. Kristyle put the equipment down and took the head collar and lead from Zokia, slipping into Pallie’s stall and swiftly slipping the head collar over the gentle mare’s head. With the rope lead tied to the head collar, the mare was led out of her stall and brought to a stand by a metal ring fixed into the outside wall. “Watch how to do this knot,” Kristyle said, demonstrating how to make a simple knot that would easily release if the hanging strand was pulled quickly.

“Two main brushes. This one here you can see has longer bristles and they’re quite stiff – this one’s for getting mud and dirt of the body and legs. Don’t use it on the face, mane or tail. You won’t be needing it too much while we keep these horses stabled. This other one has shorter, softer bristles and you can use it to groom the whole horse, but be gentle when brushing the face. You also use it for the mane and tail, but you can also use your fingers to untangle those. You start grooming …” she continued starting to demonstrate with confident firm strokes going down Pallie’s neck, “from here and gradually work back over the whole body, brushing in the direction that the hair grows.”

The brush was put down and the cloth was then picked up. “After that you take this cloth, dampen it down and gently wipe over the body to remove any surface dust after brushing. Important to remember to do this especially if a horse is going to be shown to a buyer. Finally the hooves.” The small metal pick was collected from the small pile of equipment and the elf ran one hand down the back of Pallie’s left foreleg, before lifting the hoof up. “You don’t want to scrape this part of the hoof by accident,” she said referring to the soft padding that ran down the centre of the hoof. “Very sensitive, you might get kicked in the face if you do that. Instead use the pick to clean out any dirt that’s lodged in the hoof, working from the heel to the toe.”

“Once you’ve groomed a horse, lead it over to the paddock where you found me and let it loose there, but keep the head collar on as you’ll find it easier to catch later on. Make sure you shut the gate before you let the horse loose, so it can’t nip around you and get out. I’m going to be giving Harry a hand with his horses so I’ll be nearby if you need help. Any questions?”


OOC: Highlights of Zokia's experiences of grooming her horses please!