Flashback Shin'ta: Learning to Walk (Solo)

[Jeremiah Maccabee]

Shin'ta: Learning To Walk The 33rd of Summer 492 AV Narvaen Stables, Zeltiva TRAINING : Horsemanship, Riding. “Use the hoof pick to pick out mud, manure, rocks … whatever is there that isn't the horse.” Alaxal was showing Mac how to take care of Shin'ta's feet. “Do this at least once a day, twice a day if she's doing a lot of traveling.” Mac watched has he did each hoof. “You'll want to trim the hooves every couple months or so. And while you're looking at each hoof, you might as well examine it for any problems that might cause lameness or disease down the road.” They got the “tack” out of the barn and Alaxal showed him how put a blanket over the horse's back, then the saddle, then the girth and bridle. “Hold the reins in your left hand and turn the stirrup towards you with your right.” He demonstrated as he talked. “Put your left foot into the stirrup, hold the saddle, bounce gently in the stirrup, swing your right leg over the horse and sit down in the saddle.” Dismounting is pretty much the reverse of that.” He demonstrated dismounting and then did both the mount and the dismount again. “Now it's your turn,” he said to Mac. Mac took hold of the reins, put his left foot in the stirrup, bounced a bit and swung his leg over the horse and sat down. Then he dismounted. Alaxal had him practice this several times until he was sure Mac was reasonably comfortable with it. “Let's walk you two around a bit to get you used to her gait,” Alaxal said. With Mac in the saddle, he walked Shin'ta around the barn and corral. “If you feel like you are losing your balance, hold on the her mane.” Mac began to catch the rocking motion rhythm. “Let your arms move with the motion. Hold the reigns loosely. Let your elbows move with the horse too.” It was a strange sensation, but Mac figured he would yet used to it after a while. “Keep your heels pointing down and don't let your leg go too far forward. Think about sitting on a stool without a back as opposed to sitting back in a chair.” He walked Shin'ta in circles, watching Mac. “Try to keep your shoulder, hip and heel aligned.” Alaxal untied the lead rope and backed away. “Squeeze her with your calves to tell her to move forward. Sit back in the saddle and pull gently on the reigns to tell her to stop. Apply pressure with your left leg to tell her to turn right, and with your right let to tell her to turn left.” Mac was more than a little apprehensive about this but Alaxal didn't leave him much choice. They were standing outside a corral in which were a number of other horses. They appeared to be watching the proceedings with interest. Mac squeezed his calves inward toward her belly. She took a few steps and stopped. He did it again, trying to be a little more decisive about it. The horse set off walking along side the corral fence. Mac was pretty excited about that. He leaned back in the saddle and tugged gently on the reins, Shin'ta stopped and turned her head around to look at him out of one eye. “Yes,” Mac said to her. “I know I'm an idiot. You don't have to make a big thing out of it.” “Take her around the corral,” Alaxal said. Mac squeezed again and the horse set off at a fast walk. When the reached the end of the corral's fence line, he held the rein in his right hand out and pressed his left leg against her. Somewhat to his surprise, she turned and followed the fence down to the next corner. There he turned her again. And again she followed his orders. He held the left rein out and pressed his right leg against her. She turned to the right he kept the pressure up and she kept turning until the were going back the way they had come. Then he made a mistake. He intended to turn her to the right again, but somehow managed to kick both his heels back and in. Suddenly Shin'ta was moving at a significantly faster pace and he found himself bouncing up and down in his saddle. He felt himself slipping to one side and tried to grab for her mane but he was too late. He slid off the saddle and landed on his butt on the hard ground. Shin'ta stopped and turned around to see what had happened to him. Alaxal was leaning against the fence laughing. “You told her to go faster,” he said. “So she did. That was a trot. We'll cover that tomorrow.” Mac walked Shin'ta over to the barn and took the saddle and blanket off her. He had picked up some small apples the previous evening and he held one out to her in the palm of his hand. She peeled back her lips, exposing big white teeth, and plucked the apple out of his hand. Then she stared at him with one eye while she munched on the apple.

[Paragon]

Jeremiah Maccabee

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Horsemanship	1
Riding	2

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Riding Tack
•	Learning to Ride
•	Riding Speeds
•	Turning Corners on Horseback
•	Shin'ta Likes Apples

Legend Becomes Reality

Nice little solo. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can work from there.