Looking around the Office room that he shared with Mehrin, Amon was pleased to see that all the paperwork was finished and that it was time for him to take a basic horsemanship class. Although they could be tedious in the repetitive nature of the lessons. It was a chance to get to know the newer members of the Band, something that was not always possible having the weight of Command around his neck. Leaving the Office Amon made his way to the new stables. Here the Band kept horses for the officers and for training purposes, or if they were recovering from injury. The Cavalries main herds were kept in fields scattered around the Citadel, and watched over by local people who were only too happy to earn some hard coin. Upon arrival at the stables, Amon greeted the man in charge, and asked if there were any spare horses available, thankfully there were a few horses in the stables.

 

It was not long before Rurak arrived for the lesson, and after a few words, the two men went inside the stables, and Amon started to explain the rudiments of how to look after a horse.

 

Starting with the general care of a horse, Amon explained that you always looked after your horses needs before your own; no matter how tired or sore you were at the end of the day. “You need to rub your horse down every night, feed him and check his hooves. If you do not do this, you are showing your horse a lack of respect, and they do not like that.†Amon let Rurak examine the horse’s unchecked hoof, showing him what to look for and when they found a small stone, Amon handed Rurak the small tool for removing foreign objects. Rurak was not sure he could do this, but Amon would not let him back out and assured him that he would not hurt the horse, no matter how hard he pressed. Amon watched as Rurak struggled, and smiled as Rurak suddenly groaned as the horse put his full weight on Rurak’s shoulder. Amon, being a blacksmith in a former life, was used to this, and he was sure the horse did it on purpose, as if he was playing a game. Eventually, the small stone popped out of the hoof and a groaning Rurak extracted himself, and rubbing at his shoulder, handed Amon the stone and the tool. “You can have that Rurak I have another.â€

 

Rurak thanked Amon and listened as Amon continued talking about how to care for your horse and then, turning to one of the stable boys, asked him to bring out a horse for Rurak. When he returned, Amon thanked him then told Rurak to find a saddle and bridle and to meet Amon out in the stable yard when he was ready.

Amon (Tik Tik) Turamber

 

Under Commander, BotRH

 

Berserker for Life

 

Rurak emerged from underneath the horse cursing under his breath a venomous string of invectives against both this horse in particular, and all horses in general. A short lecture on caring for horses had been immediately followed by another short practical session wherein the horse who was the object of most of his curses had practically sat on him. Arinth allowed him to keep the tool he had used. If Rurak had his way, he wouldn't be doing that again anytime soon. So far he had gotten off on a bad start with this horse, and it was likely to improve as the day progressed.

 

They walked out of the stables talking as Arinth continued to go over the finer points of horse care, then told him to grab a saddle and bridle and meet him in the stable yards when he was finished. Rurak walked over to where the tack and saddles where hanging from a peg on the side wall of the barn and pulled a set down. He then proceeded to cinch the saddle girths and put on the bridle on the horse. He was careful to not give the horse any shots at him though. Leaning against him had been bad enough, but a kick from one of those powerful hooves would be worse. Finally finished getting everything on the horse, he led it out into the yard where Arinth was waiting.

 

Rurak

 

Amon and Rurak rode out of the Citadel and along the well worn road that led to Emonds Field, although that was not their destination, instead, after a few miles, Amon led the pair into a small meadow which the Cavalry used occasionally, to graze their mounts outside of the Citadel, pulling up hius horse, Amon turned to Watch as Rurak did the same. Amon had been observing Rurak’s style the whole time they had been riding, and although he seemed to be in control, Amon could see that Rurak and his horse were almost at war with each other.

 

“It is obvious that you have ridden some before, and I think you are self taught? If not then your teacher did not convey the basics to you very well, although you do hide this well, to a trained eye it is quite obvious.†Amon dismounted his horse, but signalled to Rurak to stay where he was. “ Firstly, always keep your heels pointed in, toes out. This will allow you to use your heels to guide your horse, offer encouragement when you need to go faster, and should prevent your foot from slipping from the stirrup. Not something that should happen when your feet and tack are dry, but in the wet, when you have mud on your boots, and the metal of your stirrup is wet, then it is another matter.†Rurak adjusted his foot as Amon said and when it was in the right position Amon continued. “You also only need the ball of your foot to be in the stirrup, this also increases your control and your balance, you will find it much easier to move with the horse if you have your foot in the stirrup correctly.†Again Rurak did as Amon commanded and when he was satisfied Amon continued instructing Rurak. “Something else that will help you is to sit up straight and not grip your reins as if your life depended on it, your grip should be tight, but loose.†Amon got the expected reaction and outburst from Rurak and merely grinned back at him, this was something he would have to learn for himself, there was no easy way for Amon to teach him. “The more you ride, and the more you improve, the more you will come to understand what I mean. Horses are intelligent, and quite often sense things that we do not. Not only does a good rider guide his horse, he lets the horse guide him, when you feel your horse wanting to go in a different direction to you, it is for one of three reasons. There is danger ahead, the horse wants to eat, or it does not trust you and is pushing the bounds of your control over it. Now, I want you to ride around me in a large circle, three times, and show me that you can put into practice what we have talked about so far.â€

 

While Rurak did as Amon said, Amon watched the young man, offering suggestions and corrections until Rurak was able to hold his posture and exhibit more control over his mount. When Amon was satisfied he called Rurak over, and Amon quickly mounted his horse while waiting.

 

“As you no doubt know, a horse can move very quickly if it’s rider wants it to, this is called a gallop. But a horse will also canter and trot, and each speed has it’s own demands from the rider, so we will now concentrate on teaching you how to trot, follow me, but not too closely, and do as I do, find the rhythm of you mount, and move in time with it. If you do not, you will find just how uncomfortable it can be to have your arse smacked by the saddle time after time†Amon grinned at Rurak and clicked his tongue to get his horse moving, then gently dug his heels in to indicate his horse should pick up the pace. Amon hoped Rurak could find his rhythm quickly; otherwise he was going to be black and blue by the end of this lesson.

 

Amon (Tik Tik) Turamber

 

Under Commander, BotRH

 

Berserker for Life

 

OOC: Rurak, post getting use to the suggestions Amon has said, and then do the trotting thing, you can either get it right, or not your choice. End your post with us returning to the Citadel ,and I will

take it from there…oh and it is Amon not Arinth*bg*

 

OOC: Man, can't believe I got those two screwed up. Sorry about the name switching.

 

IC: After practically dragging his horse out of the stables, Rurak mounted his horse for a short jaunt outside the citadel's walls. Light be praised it was a short jaunt anyways. The few miles they managed to cover before entering a clearing were enough to have Rurak gritting his teeth against the jarring impact of the flaming animal's every step. He knew how to ride..he had taught himself, but it wasn't something he exactly enjoyed. Solid ground was always best. After stopping in the clearing, Rurak was treated to another lecture on the finer points of exactly how to ride the bloddy horse. A simple thing you would think, but Rurak ate it all up. After all, In archery it was amazing the results just the tiniest adjustments in your shooting could bring. When Amon mentioned having a loose grip on the reigns though, Rurak wasn't able to hold in the outburst that was just itching to come out.

 

"Leave the bloody reigns loose?!! What do you expect me to do next, start kicking him in the ribs so he throws me off?! Light, what kind of advice is that!" Rurak continued to grumble to himself "Leave the reigns loose. Oh sure, you can lead with your knees, yet I'm supposed to be here for bloody beginning lessons and already he wants me to let it go wherever it wants!" The list went on as Amon had him trot around in a circle exhibiting all the finer points of what he had been taught, growing more imaginative as time wore on. Eventually though he was reduced to leaving those thoughts in his head as he had to concentrate on the task at hand since Amon was unsatisfied with his horsemanship.

 

The final task of the day was to trot around. A simple thing one would thing, especially since that was what the cavalry did most of the time, though everyone else called it prancing. It was much harder than it looked though. The day war on and on, and Rurak finally got it down and they returned to the Citadel. Rurak slid unceremoniously from his saddle and flopped down on to his back in the dirt, though the landing reminded him of exactly where everything hurt. Sliding one of the small shovels from out of his back, he stuck it point down into the ground right next to him. "Bury me right here and get it over with, at least being buried alive would be more merciful!"

 

Rurak

 

The rest of the week Amon and Rurak worked on Rurak’s control and abilities with his horse. It was obvious that the more time he spent in the saddle the easier he found it, but even so the going was not that easy for Rurak, and Amon well knew how straining horse riding was on the muscles that were normally not used.

 

Early the next morning, Amon and Rurak were once again out in the field they had first started in, this time though the field was covered in obstacles of various heights and widths. Although Rurak was not a member of the Cavalry, Amon saw no point in not teaching what he though his students would need to know, even if they did not agree with him, which was most cases.

 

“Today, and for the next five days you will be jumping over all these obstacles from whatever direction I want you to. This may seem more than basic training to you, but how else would you get round an obstacle that is blocking your path, if there is no alternative than to jump it?â€

 

Amon did not expect an answer to his question; the answer was obvious to both of them.

 

“Now when approaching the obstacle, you do not need to gallop at full tilt, it is much better to keep your mount under control, and actually steady him before the jump. Now earlier I told you not to grip the reigns so tightly that are even more important when jumping. You must allow the horse to jump; at that stage you are basically as much use as a sack of potatoes. All you can do is hold on with your knees, and if the horse has a long enough main, you can grip that, although it is better not to. Imagine how you would feel if someone grabbed a handful of your hair, not the best inducement to get you to do somethingâ€

 

Amon and Rurak walked their horses over to the nearest jump, which resembled a small hedge. “Now you should approach the jump standing up in your stirrups, with your knees slightly bent. The reins should be held loosely in your hands, just tight enough so that you can still indicate any changes of direction. When you feel the horse start to jump, or spring, extend your legs as the horse leaps. Then when he hits the ground, absorb the impact with your legs and thighs, watch and learn.â€

 

Smiling, Amon wheeled his horse away, and then turned and approached the jump. To Rurak’s surprise, Amon took his hands away from the reins and put them behind his head. Horse and rider cleared the jump with ease, and Amon repeated the exercise from the other direction, and then pulled up alongside Rurak, still smiling.

 

“Obviously I do not expect you to do this with your hands behind your head, that was just to demonstrate control without your hands. For now, just try and get over the fence without falling off.â€

 

Amon (Tik Tik) Turamber

 

Under Commander, BotRH

 

Berserker for Life

"just go over the fence without falling off he says" Rurak mumbled to himself. If there was ever a place an archer didn't belong, it was on a horse. Rurak sawed on the reins a bit to get his horse pointed in the right direction, then gave a thump to the ribs and just held on. This much weight was not meant to go flying through the air, especially without any control over where it was going! Rurak mistrust of the animals was merely growing rather than waning, and as he landed with a jarring thud on the other side, he was surprised to find that through some grace of the creator he had managed to stay in the saddle through the whole endeavor. A few more encounters with the horse and the fence and he was ready to call it quits. If he ever survived this training, he would buy a round for anyone in the tavern.

OOC: Hey, I'm back from a long absence and I want to finish this if you're still around.