[Windmount Stables] Sad-Dle Me I'm Sandra Dee

by **Bitt** on April 4th, 2014, 2:24 pm

10th Day of Spring, 514 AV

Bitt inhaled deeply as he and Crowe, his patron in the Syliran Knights, exited the Stormhold Citadel and made their way towards the Windmount Stables. Bitt was wearing his full chain mail and plate over his clothing. He had only been a squire for less than ten days and already wearing the cumbersome armour was feeling less and less difficult. It was not an easy achievement though; every other day Crowe had Bitt making difficult movements in the heavy metal suit to help him get accustomed to it. What started as running had quickly became jumping, crawling and all other manner of odd exercises that his old patron could conjure up. The training was hard but the sharp pain his muscles felt initially was beginning to fade into a dull, constant ache. Bitt hoped that too would disappear entirely once he got used to the training.

As they walked, Bitt's anticipation for the day began to overtake his other thoughts. Today would be his first time riding a horse... or, at least he hoped it would be. Crowe had a tendency to slowly introduce new training to Bitt. So far he hadn't so much as touched a sword in his combat training and his training in the art of magic consisted solely of meditation and various lectures. Bitt sighed softly, he half expected Crowe to merely show him a drawing of a horse and end it at that.
"Something troubling you lad?" Crowe, who was walking beside Bitt, had noticed the gesture and decided to comment on it.
"Not really..." Bitt began cautiously, he wasn't sure if he should voice his worries, “I was just curious as to whether or not I would actually be riding a horse today.” Crowe stopped walking and Bitt had taken a few extra steps before he turned to face the older knight. Crowe, who immediately realised the reason behind his squire’s worry, began to laugh.
“Of course you’ll be riding a horse lad! Sure, I’ll give you a couple of pointers and safety tips before hand, but the only way to learn how to ride a horse is to actually ride one.” Relief surged through Bitt and his excitement redoubled. It also made him realise that Crowe must genuinely feel that his slower methods in regards to the other aspects of Bitt’s training were for the best; he didn't hold back for the sake of holding back. The duo continued their trek.

It wasn't long before they reached the stables. The area was huge! Bitt followed Crowe to the main building and waited while his patron had a quick conversation with one of the men working there. It seemed Crowe had pre-organised this visit, so it was a smooth process. Crowe gestured for Bitt to catch up to him and the squire followed his patron to a relatively small pen not too far from the main stables. Inside was a light-brown horse with a single patch of white hair on its right shoulder; it was grazing nonchalantly.
“That’s a horse lad,” Crowe began with a grin, “her name is Sandy. Today, you will be riding her.”

by **Bitt** on April 23rd, 2014, 6:23 am

"Alright lad, first things's first: go get her," Crowe stood cross-armed and gestured towards the horse with his head. Bitt's glance shifted between his patron and the animal several times;
"Pardon Ser Crowe, so I just-"
"Hop this fence, go grab Sandy, and bring her here."
"...Yes, Ser Crowe" The young squire was suspicious, but Crowe's orders were absolute. Bitt rolled his shoulders and approached the fence; with a small grunt of effort, he pulled himself up and swung over the barrier, stumbling slightly as he landed.
Whoa! Almost forgot I was wearing my armour... that could've ended badly!
Sandy, for her part, seemed very uninterested in the presence of the newcomer in her pen. The horse flicked her tail a few times and snorted, but remained relatively motionless. The stoic appearance of the animal aided Bitt's confidence, and he strode out to grab the animal.

"Here Sandy, who's a good girl?" Bitt whistled and clicked his tongue in an attempt to calm the horse, all the while slowly closing the gap between the two of them. Inevitably, the animal's awareness of the young squire grew in proportion to his proximity. When he was still a fair distance away, Sandy decided the strange boy was much too close, so she trotted away; Bitt's arms dropped to his sides in dismay.
"Ser Crowe! The horse ran away!" Bitt turned his head and called out to his patron. Crowe, who had been awaiting this very outcome, began to chuckle.
"So she did lad, so she did..." The older knight let the sentence trail off, his instructions remaining unchanged. Bitt sighed and turned his attention back to the horse, who was now watching him expectantly.
Let's try this again!
The young squire raised himself to the tips of his toes, shook out his limbs, and charged. He figured that if a slow approach wouldn't work, he could try to catch the animal by surprise. Unfortunately, Sandy easily danced out of Bitt's grasp, leaving him feeling frustrated. So he tried again... and again... and again. Bitt was just too slow.
I doubt I could catch her even if I wasn't weighed down so much!
He was wearing himself out. Despite becoming comfortable walking in full-plate, sprinting was still a completely different barrel of fish. His hair was tangled in front of his head, and his breathing was starting to grow ragged. If horses could show emotion, Bitt would have sworn that Sandy looked amused.

"Calm down lad! You'll never catch her like that!" Crowe called out in a stern tone, Bitt was missing the point of the exercise, "If we could run as fast as horses we wouldn't really need them now, would we lad? You've got to use your head more!" Bitt turned to see Crowe, who had procured a carrot-
Where did he get that from?!?!
and held it out into the pen. Sandy happily approached the older knight and begun to munch on her treat. As she ate, Crowe gestured to a waiting stable hand, who took the opportunity to halter and bridle the horse; apparently this entire display had been arranged by the patron. Crowe hopped neatly over the fence and grabbed Sandy's reigns before leading the animal out to where Bitt stood; the young squire stood devastated by the turn of events, and his mouth hung agape.
"Never feel ashamed to ask for help lad, too much pride is dangerous." Crowe gently scolded his squire, but quickly replaced his scowl with a smile; "Now, let's begin today's lesson! This here, is called a bridle..."

by **Bitt** on April 23rd, 2014, 8:05 am

Crowe spent the next bell naming and explaining the various pieces of tack, or riding equipment, that Bitt would have to familiarise himself with; he had sent a stable hand to fetch all of the necessary bits and pieces. "You use the reigns to steer and talk with the horse lad, neighing isn't exactly very effective." "The stirrups are where you put your feet lad, you use these for communication as well... remember what I said about neighing?" Crowe's descriptions maintained their usual quirkiness, but they were memorable. Eventually, Bitt's patron talked him through the proper method of saddling a horse. Despite his earlier frustration with Sandy, Bitt enthusiastically jumped to the challenge, happy that the horse finally seemed willing to cooperate with him.
Blanket. Saddle. Tighten the straps. Not too tight! Check to make sure the horse hasn't sucked in air to trick you. Final checks.
Bitt ran through the process in his head over and over again, and he practised it just as much. Crowe would have him saddle the horse, remove the equipment, then saddle her again until he was confident with the task. Sandy was rewarded for her tolerance and good behaviour with carrots; apparently she was an older horse used for training squires, so she was used to the treatment. Finally, after another bell of this, Crowe gestured for the squire to stop.
"Alright lad, I think you're ready to try riding her."

"Alright lad, before you get on a horse always check the girth straps; the last thing you want is to slip off of a loose saddle and die from a broken neck." Bitt nodded seriously and followed the instruction, all of his hard work was about to pay off. Crowe watched the inspection, and nodded when it was done to his satisfaction;
"Now, get Sandy's attention lad; if she decides to wander off while you're trying to mount her I doubt it will go very well." Bitt nodded before gently patting the horse and whispering assurances he knew the animal couldn't possibly understand. All the same, Crowe held on to the horse's leading rope... Bitt was still a beginner after all.
"Very good lad, now place one foot in the stirrup- no, your other foot! Then pull yourself up and swing into position, simple really." Flushing slightly at his mistake, Bitt tried to follow the order. With one foot in the stirrup and both hands on the saddle, Bitt hauled himself upwards, swinging his foot up and over the horse; wearing full plate did little to make the task easier, and actually had the adverse effect; unfortunately, he pushed too hard and his foot came out of the stirrup, causing him to fly off of Sandy and go sprawling to the ground.
Owwwwwww! Curses, that hurt!
Luckily, the squire landed on his right shoulder and was spared any serious injury. As he got to his feet Bitt stretched out his arm and winced slightly, he would have an impressive bruise the next day, but it didn't feel broken; his confidence was damaged more than the arm.

"You alright lad?! Crowe scrambled around the horse and inspected his squire. At Bitt's nod of reassurance, the older knight sighed in relief, "That's good lad, not bad for a first try. You able to give it another go?" Bitt flexed his fist several times in experimentation, his arm seemed up to the task...
"If you think I can, Ser Crowe..." Bitt was disappointed; he was hoping that riding would come to him easier than everything else he'd been struggling to learn. Crowe placed a comforting arm on Bitt's shoulder, he understood the lad's concern all too well.
"Don't feel down lad, nobody is good at anything straight away. Mastering a skill takes practice, and perseverance! So, to answer your question lad; yes, I think you can!"

by **Bitt** on April 23rd, 2014, 10:36 am

Crowe placed a hand on Sandy's neck to steady the horse. Bitt had already run through all of the preliminary checks, as per his patron's instructions, and was once again preparing to attempt a mount. He was determined to succeed;
I have to improve... even if it's just a little bit each and every day, I have to improve.
The young squire placed his foot in the stirrup, grabbed hold of the saddle and heaved. A lance of pain shot up his arm, causing him to grit his teeth, but he suffered through it and swung up his leg. Suddenly, all movement ceased, and his loose foot found purchase in the other stirrup.
I... I did it!
"Great work lad!" Bitt barely heard Crowe's congratulations, he was too busy taking in the view. He was used to heights, he'd spent his childhood playing in the rigging of a ship... but this was different. Sandy shifted her weight beneath him, and he rocked slightly to the side. Each of her breaths send a shiver up his spine, and he could feel the thudding of her large heart. Yes, this was different, this was;
Incredible...
"...-and we'll see if you don't fall off. How's that sound lad?" Bitt hadn't heard most of what his patron had said, he was lost in his own thoughts. The young squire flushed slightly and looked down towards the older knight;
"Sorry Ser Crowe, could you please repeat that?... Instead of the frown Bitt was expecting, Crowe shot him a warm smile;
"It's pretty amazing, isn't it lad?"
"Yes, Ser Crowe."

Crowe begun to slowly lead Sandy around the perimeter of her pen at a slow walk; Bitt clutched onto the reigns and struggled to keep his balance.
"You've got to shift your weight with hers as she moves lad!" Crowe would call out tips like this on occasion, but ultimately left Bitt to his own devices. This early into his training, he needed some practical experience more than anything; refining the technique would come later.
This is harder than it looks!
Bitt was tense, which he thought was probably a bad thing, but he couldn't help it. With each of the horse's steps, he would sway in a seemingly random direction, and be forced to correct the shift in his position. Often, he would overcompensate and almost throw himself from the saddle, which did nothing to improve his mental state. Wearing chain mail and full-plate made every movement difficult, Bitt's muscles grew stiff, and after a few chimes his rump began to ache; it was one of the most uncomfortable activities the young squire had ever had to endure. Keeping his balance demanded all of his attention, and he was worried even that would not be enough. After half-a-bell of this, Crowe called out to his squire;
"Pull back on the reigns to ask her to stop; not too hard though!"
Mercy!
Bitt cautiously pulled back on the reigns, and the well-trained Sandy slowed her walk until she stood motionless. With a sigh of relief, Bitt let the reigns fall from his hands, confident the horse wasn't going to bolt while Crowe still held her lead.
"Alright lad, I know you've already successfully completed one dismount, but let's try it a bit more elegantly this time." Crowe's good-natured gibe was accompanied by a grin, and Bitt smiled at his patron;
"Yes, Ser Crowe."
"Well, hurry up then! I've got to show you how to rub her down!"

Bitt quickly learned that to 'rub a horse down' meant to give it a post-ride grooming.
"See lad, even though she was just taking a stroll, Sandy here still built up a bit of sweat. Wouldn't be nice to let her stay like that after she was nice enough to carry you around, now would it lad?"
"Yes, Ser Crowe." Bitt agreed wholeheartedly with the sendiment; learning to look after a horse was just as important as learning how to ride one as far as he was concerned. After removing the tack, Crowe led Sandy towards the stables, and Bitt followed whilst carrying it all;
"See lad, the walk without the extra weight actually serves as a way to cool her down. If we let her stand still her muscles would get all cramped up."
"Yes, Ser Crowe." When they reached the stables and led Sandy to her stall, Bitt was handed a large brush;
"Brush all of the sweat out lad, she'll love you for it. Like this, see," Crowe mimed the appropriate action in the air, and Bitt begun to run the brush through Sandy's hair. After some time, and a few corrections to his technique, Crowe was finally satisfied with the result. Sandy was fed a carrot for her good behaviour, and the horse was left content in her stall.
"Alright lad, normally we leave cleaning the tack to the stable hands, but for today lets make an exception; I want to teach you how to do it."
"Yes, Ser Crowe."
"Nothing special really, just give it a good wipe with a damp cloth. Crowe led his squire back outside, where a bucket of water and a rag had been left next to the used equipment.
Crowe must have had a stable hand leave this here for me.
So, Bitt set to work. Crowe was right, the process was relatively straight forward, and he was done in no time at all. Pleased with Bitt's efforts, Crowe gestured back towards the citadel;
"You've done good lad, let's call it a day." Bitt nodded and grinned at his patron. His muscles were stiff, his arm was sore, and he was exhausted both physically and mentally; it was a day well spent.
"Yes, Ser Crowe."

by **Radiant** on April 23rd, 2014, 2:03 pm

Bitt :

Notes :

My radiance is not bright enough?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, beam me a PM and we can work it out.

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+2 XP
Riding: Horse	+2 XP
Animal Husbandry	+2 XP
Endurance	+1 XP

Completed [Windmount Stables] Sad-Dle Me I'm Sandra Dee