Closed [The White Elk Stables] Learning to Care for a Friend

[Svasra]

Svasra Snowsong "A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots." -Marcus Garvey Timestamp: 25th of Winter, 512 AV [Early morning] Svasra Snowsong stood outside of the stables once again, for the second time in two days. It felt like it had only been minutes since she last saw the Frostfawns bustling about the horses in their maternal and paternal manners, always ensuring their comfort and health. She slipped into the warmth of the stables with ease, working past the grooms that were so dedicated some she saw sleeping in some hay. The woman looked for the familiar form of Lusina, the head groom and also the teacher. "Lusina Frostfawn," Svasra called out formally - though with an infusion of warmth - when she spotted the Vantha, moving closer with a wave of her arm to show who had called. "I hope to find you well today," she continued as she came closer, though barely paused for an answer, one to be straight-forward as to her reasons. "I was looking for some lessons," Svasra admitted with a smile. "In taking care of a horse, and riding one," she said with a small laugh at herself. She'd bought a horse yesterday, so now she had to learn how to actually take care of it - and . . . being able to get on it would be another bonus. Right now it looked like the horse would just be carrying the saddlebags and Svasra trotting beside! What a funny picture that would be. "Do you think you could teach me?" Svasra asked brightly, her wide gaze hopeful as it stared at the knowledgeable Frostfawn.

[Valkyrie]

Lusina looked up from the caribou hoof she was inspecting when she heard Svasra’s call. She saw the girl waving her arms and held up a hand to indicate that she would come in a moment. She finished inspecting the hoof and gave the caribou and a few pets on the nose before investigating what the Vantha girl wanted.

“Yes, I can probably show you some ways to help take better care of horses and ride them too.” Lusina said with a warm smile, the girl in front of her seemed a little nervous and she wanted to put her at ease. These young girls always had that excitable nervous air about them when they discovered something new, it was an adorable quality of the city’s youth.


“But let’s start with some basics. What is your name again? I know I’ve seen you about but I don’t believe you’ve been formally introduced to me. “ Lusina asked with another smile and nodded as Svasra introduced herself.

“Well then my next question is, how much do you know already? Have you ever ridden or taken care of a horse before? And I suppose I should ask, why do you want to know? Do you need to know just enough to go ridding with friends or are you looking to learn things that will help you more in the long term?” Lusina spoke quickly and then laughed at herself when she realized what a heap of questions she had just tossed at Svasra. After she finished chuckling she kept her mouth closed and listened to what Svasra would reply.

[Svasra]

Svasra Snowsong "A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots." -Marcus Garvey "But let’s start with some basics. What is your name again? I know I’ve seen you about but I don’t believe you’ve been formally introduced to me." Svasra blushed and ducked her head in mild embarrassment. In all her excitement she forgot to say her name! The woman laughed slightly and shook her head in slight mocking of herself. "Sorry, I'm Svasra Snowsong," she said with a small dip of her head. Lusina was quick to move on though, and soon rattled off questions, “Well then my next question is, how much do you know already? Have you ever ridden or taken care of a horse before? And I suppose I should ask, why do you want to know? Do you need to know just enough to go ridding with friends or are you looking to learn things that will help you more in the long term?” Svasra laughed slightly, finding it echoed by the Frostfawn as she ran over the questions again. Why do you want to know? Humming in slight thought, the Vantha thought it over herself. Where exactly would she be going to? Svasra looked to Lusina and smiled. "I know nothing, I rode a bit with my parents when I was younger but that was almost five years ago - I cannot remember much of how to take care of a horse now. I wish to know because I bought a Frostmarch, Frozen Tundra, from the Stables yesterday and wish to take him out myself rather than rely on a groom. Also, I am looking to learn things that will help me out long-term, though I am not leaving until the middle of spring perhaps, at the latest, so reviewing how to ride with friends would be great, and then taking care of my horse?" Svasra took a breath and tilted her head slightly. "Did I answer all of them?" she asked with a small giggle, excitement growing again at the thought of finally being able to ride the horse she'd bought yesterday. Funny how it happened really. She'd come to visit the stables to inquire if a Frostmarch would be suitable for warmer weather, or if she should perhaps invest in a Zavian that might not be as durable in the cold weather up here, but would be comfortable if she traveled South. Svasra wasn't even planning on purchasing one, but when she spotted Frozen Tundra she knew she could not wait. So here she was. In thought though, she quickly asked, "I know Frostmarches are especially hardy and useful in the cold up North here, but does that mean they simply are more durable in the cold, or will they be more susceptible for over-heating if I went farther South? I know even those marked by Morwen will generally get more uncomfortable with the more heat, though I was concerned about taking a Tundra south if he cannot pass a certain point." EditI edited this post slightly since I decided her mother was instead married into Snowsong, from Frostfawn, and thus would have taken her daughter out riding when she was younger - so this would be more based on animal husbandry and recalling what she's forgotten. I hope that's alright with you! ^-^

[Valkyrie]

OOCSounds great!

Lusina listened attentively and nodded at Svasra’s explanation of her desire to learn about the care of horses and how to ride them. It was an explanation Lusina had heard often enough before so she accepted it without comment. When Svasra posed her question Lusina peered up at the sky as she thought a moment before answering.

“They might be a bit more prone to overheating but if you watch them enough it should be manageable. You might just have to plan on a slower pace when you are in the southern lands. But for the most part a Frostmarch should be alright as long as you don’t plan on visiting that desert I’ve heard about. A desert might be a bit more than a Frostmarch can handle.” Lusina said and shivered slightly. For lover of the snow it was hard for Lusina to not shiver at the thought of a desert. The heat would be almost unbearable for a Morwen marked Vantha.

“Well, why don’t we get Frozen Tundra out? We can practice on him and you can work on building your relationship. If you are planning on a long trip it will be important to develop a strong relationship with your horse so that you both know you can rely on each other. He can trust you to bring him food and you can trust him to carry you steadily wherever you need to go.” Lusina said brightly and waved her hand for Svasra to follow her down the row of stalls.

“Which stall is Frozen Tundra’s again? There are so many animals in this stables that I don’t even try to keep them straight anymore.” Lusina shrugged and smiled apologetically. She often felt bad that she didn’t know every single animal in the stables like she wished she did but an entire city’s worth of hoofed animals was a lot to keep track of.

[Svasra]

Svasra Snowsong "A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots." -Marcus Garvey Svasra watched the Frostfawn as she thought silently, taking on much of the same appearance as her mother when puzzling over the well-being of one of their animals. Concerned, practical, and containing the same amount of love a mother might have for a child. In watching the head groomer, Svasra couldn't help but wonder if all the Holds made their affections so obvious. Perhaps it was only her mother and Lusina though? Did all the Snowsongs get a fire in their eyes when they told stories, told their poems, sang their music, played their pieces? In a way, Svasra hoped they did to have something heated and bright within the winter wasteland they lived in. It wasn't a wasteland though when the Vantha were involved, it was an oasis away from the whiles of others and the very roots of their people. Svasra tapped a finger against her chin silently, trying to go back into her memories to think and finds clues of this innate love the Vantha all held for their Holds. ". . . more prone to overheating but if you watch them enough it should be manageable." Svasra grunted slightly as she turned her attention quickly back to the female. She continued with the confident and knowledgeable air that Svasra trusted, "You might just have to plan on a slower pace when you are in the southern lands. But for the most part a Frostmarch should be alright as long as you don’t plan on visiting that desert I’ve heard about. A desert might be a bit more than a Frostmarch can handle." The two girls shuddered in unison as Svasra felt almost inclined to touch her gnosis mark located on the inside of her left wrist. "I think the desert would be more than I could handle either," she commented quietly with a shake of her head. No, she didn't plan on travelling quite that far. How far did she plan on going though? She barely knew the geography of Mizahar, other than Avanthal she was pulling a blank. Svasra groaned quietly and shook her head again. There was way more research that had to done for this to be doable by the Spring . . . maybe she should wait until the summer? Did she even have that much time? Who was rushing her? Svasra pushed the thoughts away to deal with later, concentrating on what Lusina was saying. Following the girl down the aisle, Svasra smiled to hear they would be able to take out the horse she'd purchased. "I wouldn't even be able to remember his if I hadn't walked back and forth between it and the main door so many times," she said with a small laugh. In order to remember which stall held Frozen Tundra, Svasra had paced back and forth to ingrain the details of the stalls before his into her mind in order to be able to find it quickly and not have to peer at the name-tags and into the stalls each time. There was that familiar looking whorl that reminded Svasra of a sun, then came the chip out a post that made the two marks above it have a smiling face, and lastly the little nail that sometimes had a bridle stuck onto it but was higher than the others on different stalls - perhaps the owner was a tall person? Either way, Svasra found Frozen Tundra easily, and smiled. His sleek white coat gleamed in the morning light and the silver dappling he had on his nose almost disappeared in the right lighting. She imitated a horse-nicker quietly, and extended a hand. Frozen Tundra seemed to remember Svasra from the day before, leveling the same keen dark gaze. "Hey there, handsome, wanna come say hi?" she asked, moving her fingers against each other to create a visual lure. For a moment the male just snorted and flicked his tail in comical rebellion before sauntering over. He sniffed her hand before whinnying - though whether in recognition or something else Svasra didn't have time to muddle over as he immediately lowered his head. Svasra reached farther to scratch him right where his mane ended between his ears, a place she'd quickly learned was a swift way to gain his acceptance. "Frozen Tundra, this is Lusina, you know her don't you?" she asked, rubbing Frozen Tundra's nose affectionately as she turned to grin at Lusina. "This is the little troublemaker I purchased yesterday. I wasn't even planning to buy one, but when you meet a personality like him how could I refuse?" she asked with a shrug of her shoulders. Displeased she'd stopped stroking him, Frozen Tundra stuck out his head with a displeased snort, ruffling the back of her hair. After nosing her cheek a few times to draw her attention back to him, he gazed at Lusina and then let out a friendly nicker.

[Valkyrie]

Lusina followed Svasra as she led the way to Frozen Tundra. She smiled as the girl petted the horse and the horse responded. It seemed like the two were beginning to develop a bond, that was a positive sign. It was always easier to teach rider and horse when the two enjoyed each other.

“Frozen Tundra is a beautiful boy. Well, I suppose we start with the basics, saddling and bridling this boy. I’ve got some old ones over here we can use for the moment.” Lusina moved to a storage room across the aisle and a few pens down from Frozen Tundra. She was gone several minutes and then returned to Svasra carrying a bridle, saddle, and saddle blanket. She set the saddle and saddle blanket on the floor and kept the bridle in her hand.

“I’m going to show you how I do the bridle first then I want to see you mimic what I did.” Lusina explained as she opened the door to Frozen Tundra’s pen. She stood next to the horse and gently petted his forehead. She whispered calming gibberish to the horse and Frozen Tundra lowered his head to better accommodate her petting.

“Until he gets more used to you doing this with him you should always try to give him lots of pets and say things in a calming voice so that he knows everything is alright and he is safe with you. The bit of the bridle needs to be slipped back between the incisors and the back molars, there is a natural space between these sets of teeth where the bit will fit perfectly.” Lusina lifted the bridle to Frozen Tundra’s face with her right hand and held the bit in her left. She raised the bit to Frozen Tundra’s lips and gently encouraged him to open his mouth with some gentle nudging and finger wiggling. Eventually he opened his mouth and Lusina slipped the bit in gently past the incisors, careful not to rub the bit across his teeth.

“Then draw the rest up carefully and slip the top over his ears but be careful, the ears are a sensitive place.” Lusina lifted in the bridle in her right hand and used her left to carefully position the horse’s ears as she drew the top strap over them.

“The last part is tightening the buckles. You want them to be secure but have a little looseness to allow for jaw and neck movement.” Lusina tightened the buckles quickly and then slid her finger gently beneath the straps to demonstrate the appropriate tightness to Svasra. With a smile at the girl Lusina unbuckled the bridle and in one smooth movement drew it down and off of Frozen Tundra’s head.

“Here, you give a try. After this we will move onto the saddle and then get you riding.” Lusina said brightly and stepped out of the stall. She held out the bridle to Svasra to practice putting the equipment on.

[Svasra]

The lessen began the moment Svasra reached Frozen Tundra's stall, and Lusina said, "Frozen Tundra is a beautiful boy. Well, I suppose we start with the basics, saddling and bridling this boy. I’ve got some old ones over here we can use for the moment." Before the Vantha storyteller could speak, she had already left them alone, seemingly disappeared into another part of the stables.

Svasra turned to her horse and smiled, stroking his velvet nose. "I'll learn how to take care of you, and soon we can go riding," she promised, nodding into his dark gaze that watched her with sharp intelligence. "Then we can go on amazing journeys together," she whispered, watching his ears flick towards her. "Without the deserts, of course," she added. Touching her gnosis to the horse's cheek, Svasra smiled. "We're too cold for places like that, aren't we?"

The sound of footsteps approaching drew both Svasra's and Frozen Tundra's attention as they swiveled to peer at the oncoming figure. It was only Lusina though, burdened with equipment that she placed near the pen. "I’m going to show you how I do the bridle first then I want to see you mimic what I did," she said as she opened the pen, immediately beginning to stroke Frozen Tundra gently with some words that made no sense ... perhaps they're Common or some other language? "Until he gets more used to you doing this with him you should always try to give him lots of pets and say things in a calming voice . . . " Lusina explained, carrying on to talk as she demostrated how it was done.

Watching closely, Svasra's hands twitched in mock copies of the groomer's actions, also staying attentive to Frozen Tundra's reaction. He seemed calm through it, and at ease, shuffling a few times in his impatient manner as though he sensed riding was to come. Svasra moved around Lusina as she worked, looking at his mouth as the Vantha expertly wriggled the bit in - careful not to brush any of the teeth on the way to the spot, Svasra noted - and made sure the ears weren't pressed against the bridle strap.

"Here, you give a try," Lusina said as she backed out of the stall and offered the bridle. Right. Blinking, Svasra took it gently and nodded to the teacher.
"Alright," she murmured.
"After this we will move onto the saddle and then get you riding."

Svasra stepped into the stall, and smiled at her white horse. "Hey there, aren't you pretty. Y'see, to go riding, we have to bit on all this fancy stuff," Svasra said in a soothing voice, assuming that speaking in Vani would be fine seeing as she didn't know any other languages like the one that Lusina spoke to the horse. "I know it might be a bit uncomfortable, but Lusina says that it should be fine, so I trust her. Don't you? Well, you should trust me at least, or you will learn to, because I'm your new friend. I will feed you, and pet you, and take you on lots of adventures," she continued while petting Frozen Tundra's nose. Her left hand went to the bit, and right to the bridle.

Step one done.

Holding the bit close to Frozen Tundra she pressed it against his lips slightly, cooing that he should open his mouth. The horse opened it fractionally, and Svasra nodded encouragingly, poking a couple fingers in there seeing as she instinctively didn't want to rub Frozen Tundra's teeth with the bit. Luckily he was no nipper and allowed his mouth to be opened wide enough for Svasra to slip it over his teeth carefully to settle in the back.

Step two done.

Peering at the bridle part, Svasra carefully moved it over Frozen Tundra's head, and made sure his ears weren't caught anywhere. "Alrighty, almost done," she said absently to the Frostmarch, fixing his ears slightly as she moved the strap into the correct place.

Step three done!

The Vantha woman stifled a cheer, letting it expand in her mind instead as she worked the buckle. "Not too tight, not too loose," she told Frozen Tundra, as though he was the student. She always found it helpful to talk aloud. Svasra nodded to herself and struggled for a moment to do up the buckle until it slipped in neatly for her to finish off. Testing that her slender finger moved underneath with a fair amount of ease, Svasra looked at Frozen Tundra. "How does that feel, boy?" she cooed, though he only snorted in a horse-y reply. Smiling, Svasra turned to look at Lusina and tilted her head slightly. "Did I do it right?"

[Valkyrie]

“That looks great!” Lusina nodded and smiled brightly at Svasra. She took a moment to slip a finger beneath the bridle straps to ensure it wasn’t too tight or too loose and nodded her head again in approval once she finished.

“Lets get to the saddle then! We are almost ready to ride. “ Lusina said and stepped over to where she had placed the saddle on the stable floor. First she grabbed the saddle blanket and stood next to Frozen Tundra.

“First we need to put on the saddle blanket. You want to put it really high on the horses withers. Once we put it on we will slide it back a little to make sure all of the horses hair is going in the right direction. If the hair is going against the saddle blanket it’s going to be uncomfortable for Tundra.” Lusina explained and then began demonstrating by placing the blanket high on Tundra’s withers then sliding it back an inch or two.

“Next we have to put the saddle on top of the horse. Try to be gentle and not just drop it on the horse’s back, make it a comfortable process for both of you. It feels kind of heavy and awkward at first but once you get the hang of it it will become second nature. Oh, and make sure the cinch and stirrup are folded back onto the saddle so they don’t fling down and smack the side of the horse.” Lusina lifted the saddle and gently placed it on Tundra’s back in one smooth movement. She made a few slight adjustments to ensure that the saddle was sitting centrally atop the horses back and wouldn’t flop to the floor once she let go. Lusina took the folded up stirrup and cinch and let them gently hang down the side of the horse.

“Now it’s time to hook the cinch. The cinch is this large strap that goes beneath the horse and holds the saddle on. Reach underneath the horse to grasp it and pull it towards you. We use this strap that comes from the top of the saddle lace through the cinch. Once you’ve got the strap laced through the cinch you bring it back up and loop it through this D-ring so it’s not hanging in your way.” As she explained Lusina grasped the cinch beneath the horse and brought across his belly. She grasped a strap that hung from the top of the saddle and pulled it through the ring once then stopped to look towards Svasra again.

“You should tighten the cinch slowly or you might frighten the horse. You want the cinch to be tight of course but not so tight as to restrict Tundra’s breathing. Another to beware of is that some horses will anticipate the saddling process and take a big breath while you are tying the cinch. If you don’t notice it, the cinch will loosen when he exhales and you will slide right off the horse once you try to mount. If you notice that he is holding in his breath you can make him take a step or two forward and that should get him to exhale the extra air. “ Lusina turned back to Tundra and slowly tightened the cinch. Once she had the cinch to a desirable level of tightness she pulled the strap through the cinch’s ring a few more times for security then led it back up to the top of the saddle and knotted it around a D-ring.

“Well, that’s the basics of saddling your horse. I will take the saddle and blanket off so you can try it out.” Lusina set to work in unsaddling the horse. She untied the cinch straps and carefully removed the saddle and blanket. She set the saddle down outside Tundra’s stall and handed the blanket to Svasra with a smile.

[Svasra]

Once Lusina checked the tightness of the bridle herself, her smile was approving. Svasra beamed underneath it, and her eyes lit up with excitement, colors flecking into her bright green gaze. The woman moved on quickly, saying, "First we need to put on the saddle blanket. You want to put it really high on the horses withers ..." Again, Lusina demonstrated as she spoke, her sure manner and gentle hand something Svasra admired. It seemed to take a matter of breaths as Lusina spoke easily, running a hand here, smoothing out the blanket, tightening the straps, ensuring Tundra wasn't breathing in.

Then, the Vantha woman presented her the blanket. Svasra blinked and slowly took the blanket. Frozen Tundra eyed her with a spark of intelligent curiosity, probably wondering why he was being tacked - then untacked - then tacked again. Smiling reassuringly at the handsome horse, Svasra lightly settled the blanket high on his shoulders, then pulled it down to ensure all the hairs ran the right way. "Withers," she said to herself as she stroked Tundra's cheek that had swung her way to peer at the young storyteller. "Those are your withers," Svasra said to Tundra with a grin, trying to commit the anatomy to memory.

Bending down to pick up the saddle, Svasra almost dropped it in surprise. "Holy heatstroke, this is heavy!" she muttered to herself, huffing as her body adjusted to prepare to support the weight of the saddle. It was sadly obvious Svasra's lack of strength as she eyed the top of Frozen Tundra's back for a moment and then glanced at the saddle. Leaning in on her hip for a moment, Svasra quickly put the stirrups and cinch on the top, then moved and slowly lowered it over Tundra's back - ignoring the protest of her arm muscles. Svasra let go with one hand, keeping another close by as she watched it to ensure it wouldn't slip. When the saddle stayed put, Svasra took the stirrup on the side she was on and hung it downwards, then walked to the other side to lower the other stirrup, with the cinch. She assumed pushing it off the saddle to knock against Tundra's side would kind of defeat the point of putting them up on the saddle to prevent such in the first place.

Svasra walked back over to Lusina's side, humming lightly to herself as she passed behind Tundra. She reached down to grasp the cinch and poked Tundra's belly. He seemed to be breathing lightly though, and Svasra watched his sides as she cinched the strap. She pulled it tightly, while cooing nonsense to the Frostmarch, but took a step back to see if Tundra was breathing easily, which he seemed to be doing fine. She copied Lusina in securing the cinch through the loop, then pulling it through the D-loop to keep in place. Svasra leaned lightly on a stirrup, seeing if Tundra did take a breath and she didn't notice, as she supposed by putting some weight on the stirrup would tip over the heavy saddle if it wasn't it place. The saddle didn't move though, and Svasra looked over to Lusina with a meek grin. Her eyes asked the woman's approval, glowing with pride and excitement to ride her beautiful horse.