Getting it Right (open)

[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

Cara saddled Kettle in a brand new Bates dressage saddle, she was hoping that with the mare actually wearing the proper tack it might encourage her to remember what she supposedly already knew. She rubbed the nose of the Bay Morgan and got her to open her mouth and accept the bit so she could put the bridle on. All in all, the mare was a very sweet horse, as long as you didn't push her too far or get another horse too close to her.

The girl put her helmet on her head and led the mare out of the barn and toward the dressage arena. It had been a week since their last disastrous training session in the indoor arena, and Cara hadn't tried schooling the mare again since then. She ridden Kettle, but hadn't tried to actually ask her to do any work. However, time was running short, and Cara knew that she needed another mount that she could show on, and if this mare knew some dressage, it shouldn't be hard to build on what she already knew.

Arriving at the large arena, the girl smiled when she saw that it was empty. And with the size of it, there was plenty of room for company - unlike the other smaller arenas. Tightening the girth, she pulled the stirrups down and vaulted onto the mare's back, settling into the new saddle before she nudged her forward toward the gate. The mare was quiet, so Cara wasn't al all worried about asking her to stand nicely while she opened the gate, and the mare didn't disappoint the girl's opinion on her as she moved like she was asked - this let the girl know that she was most probably used as a trail mount so she knew all about opening and closing gates.

Once in the arena, the small rider had the mare warming up on the rail, working her through her gaits and then transitions. Kettle did well going from one to the other in order, but became confused when Cara started asking her to go from walk to canter and then canter to halt. Jotting it down as something to work on, she began to work the mare in a twenty meter circle. The girl closed her eyes and shook her head as Kettle struggled to follow her rider's instructions and bend her body without her hindquarters falling in.

Returning to the rail, Cara decided that she could revisit the lesson from the indoor arena and try and get the mare to do a pure walk. She tightened her abdominals and deepened the seat. Keeping upper body straight, she closed both calves on the mare's side. Maintaining rein contact, but yielding slightly when Bunny walked forward, she relaxed seat and calves, and followed the mare's movement at the walk.

When the horse was walking, the girl's hands moved with the mare by maintaining elasticity in the elbows. As the bay's head moved forward and down, the elbows opened. And this is where everything fell to pieces as the mare's weight shifted so she was no longer working from behind. Shaking her head, Cara dropped all contact and used her seat and legs to push the mare forward, which just annoyed the mare and caused her to kick out.

The small rider reined the mare in, dropped her stirrups and dismounted. She didn't care if they were being watched, and the other person though she was giving up, she was sick of going around and around in circles with the mare and getting nowhere. Running the stirrups up, she lifted the saddle flap and undid the girth. "Easy love." She whispered as she removed the saddle and pad, and took them over to the fence where she put them down and walked back to the mare. "Let's get you to yield." She said. Standing behind her horse's shoulder (where the girth would be. Using the rein she asked the mare to flex her neck. She then placed her free hand against her side roughly where her lower leg would be. With light pressure from her hand she asked her to move her hindquarters away from her while maintaining the flex. Keeping her breathing steady, she had to use a little more force before the Morgan moved her hindquarters like asked and Cara instantly removed the pressure - the fence does not follow the horse - and rubbed the mare's neck.

[chase]

Chase was starting to get used to the workload that Blue Ridge presented, it wasn’t that work was a foreign concept more so that he was used to a different kind of work these days. Working for Steffen had been physically demanding, they never seemed to stop riding all day with the occasional bit of paperwork and giving the odd lesson was something he could arrange. This being a full time teacher thing was coming with more paperwork and more students than he was used to, and while the students were proving to be a good time – the paperwork was as boring as ever. He had spent the morning revising his lesson plans, adjusting the classes and moving around some expectations. He decided to take a break before the office work made him totally crazy. Both horses needed to be worked, there were also a few of the academy dressage horses he wanted to get on in the event he had to work with them in a lesson he would have a greater idea of how they went under saddle. No matter the case he headed to Donny’s stall first, figuring he would tackle the bay beast first.

Donny wasn’t bad, he was just a pest. Rolling his eyes as he opened the large geldings stall door he smirked as the horse instantly went for his hat – Chase beat him there. Tapping the large horse on the nose Donovan pulled his head away instantly and did his best impression of innocence. Chase chuckled and proceeded to step into the stall to pull off the horse’s blanket. He swatted the gelding away once more as he bent down to undo belly straps, the horse was after his leather belt this time and Chase had made the mistake of wearing a pair of his white full seat jods today. They were a schooling pair but he still didn’t like the nose print Donny had left on his hip. He pulled the blanket over the geldings head, his coat was freshly clipped just a few days old. His whole body was sleek – the only hair left was a small outline of a half pad; Chase knew better than to give Donny a reason to be a dink.

“Donovan, Donovan –at nine years old you think you might have things figured out?”

He laughed lightly because he knew the horse would never change, Donny would forever be the annoying but mostly adorable horse he was today. Leading him to a wash bay next to the tack room he put him in the crossties, it was safer than leaving him in the alleyway because the gelding liked to spin around in the crossties. The walls of the wash stall discouraged such behaviour, Chase picked up a red jacket in the tack room and slipped it on then grabbed his newest saddle – the one that seemed to fit Donny the best. The horses snaffle bridle and some saddle pads, polo’s and bell boots were somehow balanced on top of the saddle as Chase returned to the horse. Donny was standing on an angle in the wash rack and Chase could only rolled his eyes, he went to work on wrapping the horses legs in the white polo’s with a touch of plaid, furry bell boots went on his two front feet to prevent damage from over reaching in the workout. Placing the Back on Track pad onto the geldings back followed by the half pad, then the saddle, he was patient with the girth Donny was sensitive.

Chase attached a pair of spurs to his dress boots, he grabbed a bat and some gloves before slipping the bridle over the horses head, Chase proceeded to the dressage arena where he paused at the gate and called out “gate” then proceeded to pause before entering. Closing the gate gently behind him and Donny the gelding followed the man, his ground manners evident though cheekiness prevailed when Chase had to fish the whip out of his mouth. Eyes looked over to Cara who was working with a dark bay mare from the ground.

“Hello Cara, how are things going?”

ooc - was slow, sorry.
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[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

After she had repeated the request another couple of times, just to make sure that the first time it hadn't only bee the mare shifting her weight and accidentally crossed one back foot over the other - and she was pleased that the mare yielded to the touch quicker each time. In the long run, the girl wanted the horse to yield to a suggestion, meaning that simply moving her leg slightly backward when mounted would get Kettle to yield her hindquarters.

She moved to stand in front of the bay Morgan and made a huge fuss over the mare, telling her that she was so clever and smart, using a high-pitched voice so there was no chance that the mare would confuse the praise for the growl she used to reprimand the mare.

Moving to the other side, she repeated the process. She already knew that the mare's off side was going to be a little trickier than her near side, as horse's were known to favour one side to the other - the same way humans are right of left handed - so if she had had trouble with the other side, she knew this would have been a breeze. After the mare had yielded twice, she stopped and returned to the mare's head to make a fuss over her again.

She then went back to the near side and took up the position as before, then clicked her tongue and asked Kettle to walk forward, before stopping her and asking for that bend again. Placing her right hand just in front of the girth, where her toe would be if she was sitting on the mare, and applied a hint of pressure. When the mare didn't move, she pressed harder and grinned as the mare moved her left foreleg over her right and yielded her forequarters. "Good girl." She said, releasing the bend. She then repeated the process and grinned as the mare moved as soon as she applied pressure. "So, we just need to get you to learn to bend." She whispered.

She was so wrapped up on the mare, and the Morgan on her, that neither of them noticed the arrival of another horse and rider and the girl jumped at the sound of a male voice, her blood turning to ice before she turned around, as she expected to come face to face with her social worker. She knew the man would be furious if he knew she had purchased another mare. She relaxed slightly when she saw the dressage instructor. "Hello, Sir." She replied as she bowed her head before turning back to the mare. "They are going well." She gathered the reins, bent her legs and vaulted easily onto the mare's back - even if she did stand at 15 hands - and settled onto her bare back before taking up the reins and asking her to move forward. She wanted to see if she could get the mare to perform what they had just worked on while she was on the mare's back, but without the bother of a saddle.

[chase]

Chase noted the girl’s evident attention to her task and smiled, reminded him of himself some days. He got caught up in his rides and work a like, he didn’t press the girl for a response but went about preparing for his own ride. Checking his girth Chase slipped it up another hole and Donny didn’t even flinch, the suddenly happy go lucky gelding was distracted by Cara and her mare. Pulling down both of his stirrups he lead the dark bay gelding over to the block before he put the reins over his head, holding the bat with his reins in the left hand he swung onto the horse with ease. Both horse and rider were tall and while Chase could mount from the ground but he refused to – it wasn’t nice on his horses back. With his feet in the stirrups and reins in two hands, almost at the buckle he asked the gelding to walk on with his seat – legs were still. Donny snorted right away, it was a good sign, one that their ride might be short and sweet. Paying attention to Cara whom had jumped earlier he smiled to her as she spoke, he had told the whole class about the name thing and figured she was smart and knew he didn’t like being called Sir but she evidently continued to do so for a reason – one he wouldn’t mess with. He nodded to her, the smirk on his face obviously a response to being called Sir, but he stayed silent. Eyes worked over the bay mare, she was not the horse from their lesson.

“Another horse of yours? I think I might like her.”

He was blunt and honest with everyone, evidently one to practice the old saying “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all” especially around his students. Most of the time he could keep negative opinions to himself, the mare did have some nice features. Her legs looked good, clean and solid, a little long through the body perhaps but a decent shoulder on her. He could further criticize but he needed to focus on his own horse for now. Donny wasn’t perfect either, but he functioned very well for what Chase needed. Steffen had continually told Chase that the horse was going to be a bigger winner and better finished product than Calvin was. Donny had presence and spark, animation that the schoolmaster couldn’t match every day but getting the dark bay gelding to stay focused and on task was another thing. Chase was critical of his horses, they were both international quality – Olympic bound Calvin should have been this year and Donny for the next games but instead Chase was teaching here. He pushed the frustration aside and got to work. He put the gelding on the rail, well 8 feet off of it in order to start him at the walk he exercised what he told his students.

Finding himself at one end of the arena he put the horse on a 20 meter circle and kept his hands soft but closed on the reins, the horse knew the drill and stretched down instantly. Chase touched his hock area with his bat and the horse instantly quickened his hind end while maintaining the balance and softness he walked with naturally. The better his walk was the better his ride would be, he did tense up slightly and peer over to the other horse in the arena but a poke with a spur brought him back to focus. After a few circles to the right Chase used the diagonal to change directions, asking the horse to extend through the change Chase smiled as there was no hesitation or ear pinning. On the new circle the horse was slightly stiff, once more Chase used the bat to quicken his hind end and with his leg and a touch of hand he flexed the horse from left to right for a few circles alternatively before he let him go straight on the circle once more. The result was a softer horse in both directions the resistance to the inside bend was diminished and Donny snorted once more.

ooc - .
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[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

A hint of emotion crossed the girl's face, possibly disgust, as the man complemented her horse. "Yes, she is mine. The feeling of like may not be mutual." The last was said through gritted teeth, as she was still on the fence on how she felt about the mare and was worried that she may have rushed into purchasing the bay. Although, like everything else, the mare was bought because Cara had liked what the Morgan's face had told her - now it was just up to Cara to bring that personality to the surface.

Sitting tall on the mare's back, she remained down the other half of the arena, keeping out of the way of Mr Mathies, as the man was already deep in work with the gelding that he was riding. The girl shook her head to banish the face of the bay Westphalian out of her head, she would worry about analysing him later, right now, she needed to concentrate on Kettle and getting her to work with her rider and not against.

Sitting deep, she asked for a little more impulsion. Shaking her head when the mare kicked out, upset that she was being asked to do something she didn't want to. She applied more pressure - to the point that her legs ached - until she gave the mare a sharp boot, following the same principles she had used while on the ground, as as soon as the mare got the idea and began to stride forward, moving powerfully from her haunches, the pressure from the lower legs was gone. Sitting tall, Cara began to think about how much the mare reminded her of the gelding she rode for mounted games, except the mare she was riding was half the gelding's age and was too young to know dirty tricks unless she had been ridden by loads of people and picked up bad habits.

After she had just had the mare power-walking around their half of the arena for a couple of laps, she asked the mare to turn down the diagonal so that they could change rein. As soon as she applied pressure with her inside leg, the mare dropped her shoulder and lost the lovely outline that she had begun to develop. Shaking her head, Cara rode her across the diagonal and then once they were on the rail again, she got the mare walking forward nicely again.

Kettle was really beginning to show how beautifully she could move as they strode along, until she began to get lazy and every time they came near the gate, the mare began to nap. Want to cut that in the bud right away, every time the mare napped toward the gate, she circled the mare five times and then continued on. This only too another six times before the mare realised that playing up just made her work harder so she stopped napping toward the gate.

The girl was so engrossed in the mare that she had forgotten that they had company. As they walked down the long-side of their half of the arena, she brought the mare in off the track and decided that it was time to try out the yielding that she had taught the mare on the ground. Making sure she was moving forward and balanced nicely, Cara flexed the mare's head to the inside shifted her inside heel back subtly and applied pressure. She released the flexion and patted the mare's neck as she crossed her inside hind over her outside as they continued moving forward, thoroughly proud of the mare.

[chase]

He kept the large gelding on his circle, ensuring the horses body bent around his inside leg. His outside leg was slightly back to prevent the horse’s hip from falling out and even though the horse was stretching down into a soft contact his outside rein was the balance field that kept the horse to his track. He was focused solely on his ride now, and while he was aware of the other rider in the arena and yielded accordingly he didn’t have to think about working around them at all. He touched the horses hocks lightly with his whip and felt the impulsion surge through him instantly, the power and quality increased tenfold. The horse had some schooling ahead of him, but he was going to be fantastic eventually. Moving him from the circle Chase gathered the reins some and then he turned down the quarter line, the horse half-passed back to the rail smooth as silk with Chase sat in the saddle equitation nearly flawless as he moved with his horse. When they reached the corner he prepared to do the same thing once more and again the gelding complied, reaching across in a large sweeping motion like it was nothing the horse snorted again – he was being weirdly good today. Chase rode it while he could, and asked the horse to canter in the next corner. Sure enough Donny surged forward in an airs above the ground, Chase was ready he was still in the saddle and took the horses nose to his knee upon landing, pushing him forward down the rail at a canter flexed totally to the outside.

“Weiner, why do you still test me?”

Once he snorted Chase released the flexion and rocked back on his seat bones to collect the horse some, Donny hesitated ready to change leads as that’s what he anticipated to come next, slightly tense he stayed on the lead he was on because he hadn’t been asked to change. Chase took both reins in one hand and ran his now spare hand down the geldings neck, and let if fall back to the horses haunches as they cantered on a 20 meter circle now. The horse snorted and relaxed once more, his canter step was soft and animated as it should be. Smile returned to Chase’s features as he took the horse off the circle and rode him down the rail, allowing him to extend the gait a little the horse snorted again, foam from his mouth was flecked over his warm chest. Through the diagonal he did a simple change of leads, despite the horses ability and desire to do a flying change Chase didn’t like to school them too much with the gelding because he learned to anticipate quickly. Instead he asked the horse to walk and let him stretch down, they would pick up again in a bit and do some lateral work at the canter before calling it a day.

“With some work, preferably not bareback I think she will be a nice little horse.”

Chase didn’t like it when people rode bare back, it wasn’t good for the horse or rider. In small doses it wasn’t bad but anything over 10 minutes and more than a couple times a week made him cringe. Horses were not ever meant for riding, and when people ride bareback they often don’t realize the damage they can cause. Saddles (the solid tree) were invented to raise the rider above the horse’s spine and distribute the weight evenly on each side of the spine. Riding bareback pin points the pressure at the seat bones onto the horse’s spine and creates soreness at the weakest part of the animals back. Many people brushed this opinion off and he felt sorry for their animals, letting Donny stretch out a little his mind ran to Jack, the dog was in his apartment in his crate but Chase figured he would swing home after getting on Calvin and take him for a walk – he would take his paperwork home tonight and do it with the dog.

ooc - low muse, sorry!
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[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

At the man's words. Cara bowed her head, refusing to look over at the dressage saddle she had removed from the mare's back not too long ago. "With all due respect, Sir, riding her bareback is only to make sure she understood the cues I was teaching her from the ground. With the added distraction of a saddle and stirrups, a young horse oft gets confused." Even though Cara was riding bareback, she still sat as though she were sitting in a saddle. She had been riding for so long that she had a secure seat and didn't fall into the trap that novice riders went in, with sitting too far forward and having her feet between barrel and shoulders for grip. She sat tall with her heels down and ankles flexed just enough so that she had a good grip with her upper legs but her lower legs didn't give the mare confusing signals. Well, it was either that, or the fact that she weighed sixty pounds. And they may allow riding in bitless bridles in a competition, but they still required horses to wear saddles.

She was pleased with how the mare was working and decided that it was time to put the saddle back on, as Kettle had figured out what she was asking pretty quickly. She asked the mare to halt and she vaulted off - and the off side - shaking her head as the mare skittered to the side. "Not used to being mounted and dismounted from both sides, huh?" She asked as she rubbed the mare's neck and walked back up to the mare's side. "See, just because I'm here, it's not going to kill you." She took a handful of mane in her right hand, and placed her left onto the mare's back and bounced up and down. "See, you're alright." She then vaulted onto the mare's back again. "Good girl." She sprang back down to the ground.

Leaving the mare ground-tied - a lesson she actually caught on to quite quickly - the girl walked back over to the fence, took up her saddle and blanket and returned to the mare. "You remember this?" She asked as she showed the mare the saddle before she placed the saddle pad on her back, smoothing it into place, followed by the saddle. After she had done the girth up a couple of holes, she vaulted onto the mare's back. Sure, she could have used the mounting block, but that would have made her feel lazy. Pulling the girth up another couple of holes, she took up her reins and squeezed the mare forward once again.

[chase]

He faced the potential that he had made the girl feel awkward, but the well-being of horses was his forte. People not so much, he wasn’t always handy with words and while he usually got along with most people he didn’t connect on a deeper level with as many as he would have liked. No matter the case he continued to focus on his own ride, he wasn’t giving a lesson to the girl at the moment but he was entitled to his opinion and it was clear in his mind. He didn’t care how little you weighed or how good your seat was, both were applicable to Cara -you put pressure on the horses spine when you rode bareback which was detrimental over time. He nodded to her; they evidently had very different opinions on how to start a horse or restart one for that matter. If a horse couldn’t understand a cue while you were seated on them, saddle or not there was a hole in their schooling somewhere and they needed to go back to the basics. His tone was neutral, honesty wasn't always appreciated but Chase didn't like to beat around the bush - especially not when horses were involved.

“I’ve never had it happen, or approached things that way, but she is your horse to do as you please.”

He had worked with lots of green horses, they were confused often at the start but should have been packing a saddle for so long now that it wasn’t a bother to them and if it was they weren’t ready to be ridden – that was how he had always been taught. That was how his horses were started and each horse that went through the farm he worked for, worked in hand without tack, add a saddle, add a bridle continue the work on the ground and in the lines. Once they figure things out in the lines and on the lunge a person got on and went from there. If the horse struggled they went back to the lines, they never pulled off a saddle to solve a problem. But each person had their own approach and was entitled to it, evidently the whole world wasn’t going to agree on one way of doing things. Letting Donny stretch a few steps longer he gathered him up coming out of the corner, he took his time and collected the horse properly – back to front. Keeping the activity in the walk even as he asked the horse to bridle up and collect his gait a little, he went from the walk to the canter. The transition was smooth, his hands soft for the horse but almost a little too soft with the contact Donny liked more contact than Calvin did – especially in the snaffle and sometimes Chase forgot to be there for him all the time. Using his seat to collect him a little more he shortened his reins a touch and kept his hand soft, the horse snorted and relaxed as a result of the new contact.

Turning him down the quarter line he half passed the horse to the opposite quarter line and asked the gelding for a flying change, knowing it was coming the change was correct and fluid he halted the horse square after as he didn’t like to run through elements of the test very often. From the halt he asked the horse to counter canter, the transition was a little pushy but with a touch of spur the horse reconsidered. Driving his haunches down the horse was balanced on the incorrect lead almost as well on the correct. Donny really was doing a good gob today, Chase couldn’t complain and asked him to walk after a circle of the counter canter. Letting him stretch down again he considered working on his piaffe and passage but decided to call it a day with the horse being so good he didn’t want to push things past that mark. The horses canter pirouette and piaffe were where he needed the most strengthening, today would have been an ideal day to work on both but Chase didn’t like to over school the movements and wanted Donny to settle more before he upped his training regimen again.

ooc - again muse is le dead!
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[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

Cara took note of how she had spoken to the man and fear gripped at her stomach as she thought of it getting back to her social worker. Her hands shook as they held the reins, causing the mare to become confused and dance to the side, almost sending her started rider tipping off the side.

Cara shook her head as her eyes started toward the man as she slid off the bay's back and stood holding Kettle's head. "I am so sorry, Sir." She said, her voice rushed as she tried to convey her apology. "I forgot my place. I should never have spoken to you like that." She hated herself for turning into this almost medieval peasant whenever she knew that she had done something that might displease a male. "I truly am sorry." If she allowed herself she would have tears streaming down her cheeks, but she wouldn't allow herself to display self-pity atop the pleading apology. Her heart was hammering as she tried to think of the repercussions to a slip of the tongue. She could feel her whole body trembling, which she instantly ordered it to stop. she was sorry for speaking out, but she refused to allow herself to be a quivering milksop!

Pulling herself together, she drew in a breath through her nose and let an even longer breath out through her mouth, breathing out the stress she could feel that had been building up in her stomach. And, she instantly felt calm again. "Sorry 'bout that, little lady." She whispered softly to the mare as she rubbed the bay's forehead. "Let's try those yields again." She walked around to the mare's near side, gathered rein and mane and vaulted onto the Morgan's back. She liked the fact the mare was really no taller than the high beam, which made her easy to vault on. If she were any bigger, the girl would possibly need a mounting block even to vault.

Letting herself sink into the saddle, she took up the reins and closed her hands around the plaited leather, asking the mare to give her head. She had the feeling that Kettle was going to be a bit like Ember, but the reason the Academy pony was like this, was because she lived for jumping. This mare however, was supposed to be dressage trained. Closing her legs around the mare's side, she asked her to walk forward as they headed around their half of the arena once again. When she was happy that the mare was listening she gave the cues; tightened abs, deep seat, even contact with her hands and legs, and the mare moved forward into a pure walk. Cara smiled, allowing the happy emotion of flow through her body and into the mare. She then moved her outside leg ever so slightly, by opening her hip, and the mare performed a perfect yield of her hindquarters.

[chase]

Chase was focused on his horses walk, though as he passed Cara he noted something wasn’t right. Chase hoped he wasn’t the cause of her discomfort, perhaps he better reconsider the way he spoke with the student in particular. She seemed very confident in her knowledge, someone interesting to speak with as she had her own beliefs and methods and obviously applied them with some success. Chase was merely conversing with the individual the way he would a colleague, he hadn’t agreed with every professional he worked with in the past and neither had every trainer he worked with agreed with him. The disagreeing, the challenge and constant battle to find the most effective, most human and most impressive way to work with these animals was what kept the sport advancing. If no one ever challenged a trainer, or suggested their own idea the training of horses would not have progressed much at all. Just because Chase didn’t employ a method, or find it useful for himself and his training didn’t mean it was wrong – he sometimes forgot that as a teacher, students felt the need to obey. While he wanted them to listen and follow his rules he liked it when they questioned him, asked why or brought another idea and method to the table.

He wasn’t always going to agree with them, or the idea they presented but he needed to make a mental note to praise the idea and the thought that had gone into it – like he hadn’t with Cara. He was adjusting to teaching in a school, he taught out of a private training barn previously. A private barn where people went because they liked their ideas and methods, so didn’t regularly question them. The students he taught were all on the same program, and while they differed in some ways the foundation, end goal and most of the buttons and schooling on their horses was the same so Chase could easily direct and tell them what would work and would not. Reviewing what he had said to Cara he realized how she could have taken it incorrectly and as soon as the student’s apology filled the air the light bulb went off. If he had interacted like that with a fellow trainer back home they would have both went back to doing things the way they wanted – here at school Chase had a different impact on his students apparently.

“Cara, don’t apologize. You are just as entitled to an opinion as I am. The world would be boring if everyone felt and thought the same way.”

His attention went back to Donny who was relaxed still walking forward beneath him long and low the horse knew it was the end of the ride from the way Chase held the reins with one hand and the horse was happy to stretch down and just walk forward. Chase steered the horse with his legs, one hand on the reins and the other ran through his hair before resting it on his hip. Reaching back he pet the horse on the haunches, the gelding snorted and continued to walk too tired apparently to be distracted by much – which was a nice change for the horse. The foam that had formed at the horses lips was white and had dropped all over his front legs, Chase had already decided he would hose him with warm water and Vetrolin liniment back at the barns before putting him to bed with a back on track cooler while he worked Calvin.

“I like it when my students come up with their own idea’s, just because I don’t use them doesn’t make them wrong. I don’t want you to stop thinking and trying different things; if I made you feel like you were wrong to do so I apologize, that was not my intention.”

Chase halted Donny at the center and hopped off the horse, running up his stirrups he turned to Cara and the little bay mare, smiling now he was sincere as his tone had been – waiting for a response before he headed out to put Donny away and grab Calvin.

ooc - again muse is le dead!
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[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

Cara lowered her head as the man spoke, she knew that his words were true, but she hadn't been trained to think for herself, she was trained to listen and obey, which funnily enough was how she found another way to connect to horses. She also learned to listen to them, to learn how to connect through to them without the need for the whips and spurs that most of the trainers that had surrounded her would bring out as soon as a horse stopped listening.

After she had asked the mare to yield another couple of times, she dropped her stirrups and crossed them in front of the pommel, it was time to allow the mare to wind down even though she really hadn't even broken a sweat. Cara had got what she wanted accomplished though and didn't want to push the mare any more for today.

She finally reined the mare in, it was probably time to take her in and give her another good massage. She glanced up at Mr Mathis before she lowered her head again. "Thank you, Sir." She said. She knew that how she worked with horses didn't impress a lot of people, but her way - like so many others - gave her the results she wanted so she would continue with them until she encountered a horse who stopped responding and then she would find another way of doing it.

Sliding out of the saddle, she undid the girth and removed the saddle again. Leaving the mare groun-tied, she took the saddle to the edge of the arena before returning to the mare. Running her hands along Kettle's body, she could feel the tension there, which told her that the mare had done what she had done under duress. Cara then spent the next ten minutes just walking the mare around the arena before she took her back to the barn, rubbed her down, massaged her, put a cooling sheet over her and then got Ella ready for the arena.

She massaged her shoulder as she led the mare out of the barn. "Come on beautiful." She whispered as she tightened the girth and then vaulted onto the mare before riding her toward the dressage arena.

"Woah girl." She said as the black tovero mare plunged to the side, eyes wide and ears flat as she looked at the arena, as though it were a monster that was trying to eat her.

[chase]

Chase nodded to Cara smiling; he headed out of the arena and towards the barn. Mind ran to Calvin, he decided he would ride the horse in his full bridle. Calvin had worked well in the snaffle for the last few days so it was time to get him in the full bridle and work on his upper level movements, he wanted to get a few pirouettes accomplished and then the lateral movements as well. Right now the man’s focus was getting Donny put away properly, he started out by grabbing a cooler to put on the gelding as the saddle came off his back. The horse stood quietly in the wash bay crossties, cooling off while Chase put away the tack. He wiped the saddle down and girth as well. He hung the back on track saddle pad in the tack room and then rinsed the bit off before hanging Donny’s bridle on his hook under his registered name “Don Juan”. He went next to his tack trunk and pulled out his tin wash bucket, the sponge and Vetrolin liniment had a permanent residence. By the time he made his way back to the snoozing gelding he was cool enough to get washed down.

“Okay man, it’s time for your favorite part of the day.”

The gelding actually enjoyed his sponge downs with the liniment mix, then the warm rinse off after. Chase mixed the liniment with the warm water from the hose, he liked the smell and Donny just stood, waiting patiently. Pulling the horse’s cooler off he got to work sponging the horse down and massaging his muscles, the horse snorted in an obvious approval for the liniment and rub down. Once Donny was completely wet with the water and liniment mixture Chase turned on the hose and let it run till it ran warm enough for the horse. Rinsing the horse down didn’t take any time at all and the man had used a sweat scraper, and towel dried the horse before putting a cooler on him and letting him loose in a fresh bed of shavings. The black bay gelding had fresh hay so it was a toss-up whether or not he would roll, either way the cooler had leg straps so would stay in place. Chase averted his attention to Calvin, the horse was in the same barn just a few stalls down. He pulled the liver chestnut out of his stall and pulled his blanket before giving him a quick groom.

Tacking up Chase watched Calvin dose in the crossties, it was funny how the horse was such a dragon in his stall – a danger really and out here a child could climb all over the horse and he wouldn’t even stir. The gelding knew all about kids, he knew they were smaller people and he needed to be careful around them – he also knew they usually just pet him and gave him treats, all the more reason to be kind to them. The hose was ready to go just moments later; his legs wrapped all four in white plaid polo’s, bell boots for extra protection. Chase had used another one of his back on track pads with the thin line half pad he liked so much. Over top of Calvin’s saddle he had set a cooler, the horses coat was short and Chase anticipated him sweating and didn’t want to risk hurting the horses muscles while cooling him out. Leading him to the dressage arena he halted a good distance from Cara and her pinto mare who seemed to be having some problems.

“Cara are you okay up there, need anything?”

ooc - slow, stupid school.
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[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

Cara pushed her weight into her stirrups as she kept her seat light on the mare's back, her legs not holding too tight as she got the mare to circle away from the arena. "Easy, girl." She soothed as the mare plunged from one side to the other, her ears now flickering back and forth. "Enough." She said slowly, a firm tone to her voice now rather than the soothing sing-song tone from before, as the mare shied to the side at the sound of a man's voice. "I am fine thank you, Sir." She replied. "Not enough training and too much arena time." She said as she turned the mare toward the arena again.

Some days their entire session would be just getting the mare to enter the arena, however today, with a loud snort and giving the gate a cautious look as they went through it, Ella trotted into the arena and skidded to a halt in the centre.

Cara shook her head at the mare, kicked her feet free of the stirrups, pulled the reins over the mare's head and led her back to the gate. Her biggest pet-peeve with horses was when they didn't have manners and trotting into an arena like that, was just rude! She bowed her head toward Mr Mathies as she stood back so that he could enter with his horse and she promptly led Ella out of the arena.

Leading her a distance away from the arena - but so they could still see it - she put the reins back over the mare's head and vaulted onto the Hanoverian's back. She then took up the reins and squeezed the mare forward. The girl wasn't stupid and was beginning to think that Ella's reaction to the dressage arena was becoming a learned habit. As they approached the arena this time, every time the mare acted up, the girl made her turn in circles - much like she had done with Kettle when the Morgan had started napping at the gate.

This mare though didn't take it into her stride as easily and sulked when she worked out what the girl was doing. However, she did enter the arena without a hitch at a controlled walk and Cara leaned down to closed the gate. The girl asked the mare to move forward at a gentle but forward walk. With all the fuss the mare had been causing, she was only slightly damp - the first sign that the mare wasn't actually scared, as she would be drenched if she had been genuinely afraid.

The girl sat tall in the saddle, though her body was relaxed and moving with the mare's stride. She tried to work out what was going on in the mare's head, and what had happened to her in her past.

Sitting deep, she squeezed with her legs and asked for a trot, which Ella picked up nicely. She smiled as the mare bobbed her head and accepted the bit easily, but the student's smile vanished as the mare's beautiful outline, even with the girl's feather-light touch, suddenly changed and she brought her chin in even further in hyperflexion, her head behind the vertical. A frown marred the girl's face as she asked the mare for a walk again, all but letting go of the reins to get the mare to return to a normal outline.

The student swallowed hard as she thought back to her cues for the mare to trot, she hadn't tightened her hands on the rein, the only cue she had given was to ask the mare to trot, was with her seat and legs. She rubbed the mare's neck in apology as Ella stretched out her neck. Though, no matter how many times the girl went over it - and it happened all the time in any arena - she never did anything to bring the mare into rollkur

[chase]

Chase was glad to hear the girl was okay, he nodded to her smiling. Cara seemed to have a good handle on her horses, despite their prevalent training problems. Chase had worked with his fair share of problem horses, and it was good for you as a rider though finessing your aids was vital to a professional riding career as well. Chase was as good of a rider as he was because Chase spent time on schooled horses, practising with the fine details involved in riding high level dressage – the girl would have her time too. He waited patiently, the liver chestnut by his side quiet and still only his ears flickering back and forward observing the situation. Calvin was well schooled, quiet and a perfect gentleman now that he was out of his stall. Once Cara and her pinto cleared the entrance Chase gave them a moment, he then led Calvin into the arena the horse still humble and quiet. Pulling down his stirrups the gelding snorted, Chase smirked and put his reins over the horses head and checked his girth. He didn’t adjust it; he didn’t like the girth to be too tight when he warmed up he found it inhibited the horse’s movement. Leading the gelding to the block he used it to get on, it saved the horses back.

One seated in the saddle Chase found his stirrups and picked up his snaffle rein, his spur touched the horse’s side and sent him forward into a long low and flowing walk, the horse snorted once more. Chase peered over to Cara and her mare; she seemed to have settled some. Though the mare clearly fell behind the flexion at the trot, Chase frowned slightly – that was one of the most difficult things to unschooled and from the girls hand and seat it was evident she wasn’t the cause in the first place. Chase held his tongue; he didn’t feel he should instruct Cara – though silence was awkward. He smiled and spoke,

“Another nice mare, you have your work cut out for you with her too.”

Picking up his reins Chase was careful to keep the curb rein longer than the snaffle his leg sent the horse forward into his classic warm-up. Long and low, the horse trotted forward into the snaffle contact – chase responded by loosening the curb rein even more. The horse stretched down ears flicking back and forward, he moved through the serpentine that Chase cued with his leg and seat. Staying soft he carried his own hand, driving the horse into the contact. Even as schooled as Calvin was a sure way of backing him behind your leg and behind the vertical was to pick up your curb too strongly ever, especially in the warm up. The horse was sensitive in the way that made you a good rider. Keeping his hands firmly closed on the snaffle rein, he was soft through his elbows and seat which further encouraged the gelding to step up from behind.

ooc - slow, stupid school.
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[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

Cara nodded her head to the man's words. She knew that she would have her work cut out for her when she was made to purchase the mare she rode now, she had just hoped that she was buying the mare that Kettle was said to have been. Ella though, she hoped would be a diamond in the rough. She had the mare moving at a nice walk, her neck stretched out long and low as they both relaxed into the mare's movement. The small rider looked up toward the man and his horse and lowered her gaze again, trying to find the courage to speak up and ask his opinion on the mare. She closed her eyes as she silently went through what she wanted to say before she looked up again, and opened her mouth this time. She lowered her head though when nothing came out.

Shaking her head at herself, she put her mind back onto the mare she was riding. Pulling in her abdominal muscles, she took up the reins and closed her legs on the mare's sides. Already anticipating the mare falling behind the flexion, she closed her inside leg on Ella's side and asked the mare to spiral inward. She liked the bend the mare had and as soon as she seemed to tighten too much, the girl spiralled her back out again and then asked her to trot around the half of the arena they were using. Not wanting to chance the mare losing her beautiful outline again, she made sure to keep flexing the mare's neck to the right and left.

As they were trotting around the arena, Cara was busy planing out everything she wanted to accomplish with the mare that day. If the mare was to remain her team mount, she needed to even out the Hanoverian's dressage faults. Sitting deep, she closed her legs around the mare and let her breath out in a rush as she closed her hands around the reins and tightened her elbows. She smiled as Ella came to a neat halt. Patting the mare on the neck, she cued her to move off at a trot once again. As they approached the corner, she sat deep, asked for slightly more collection with the reins before closing her legs on the mare's sides, inside leg on the girth and outside leg slightly behind the girth.

At the corner, with a playful flick of her tail, the mare made a perfect strike off with her outside hind leg and leading with the inside foreleg. She sat to the mare's smooth canter, allowing her lower body to absorb the movement of the mare, before she sat deep, turned the mare off the track and asked her to transition back to a trot and the walk before moving back to the middle of the arena and asking for a halt. Letting out a gentle sigh, which the mare echoed. Cara then asked to moved backward. "Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six." She counted out loud before squeezing the mare forward once again into a trot.