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Post by Mustang on Aug 6, 2008 2:48:04 GMT -5
Lily walked into the barn, clad in riding boots and half-chaps, breeches, and a t-shirt, gloves in hand. It was fairly early, but the sun was shining bright and warm on this wonderful autumn day. She walked down the aisle, stopping at Deductive's stall. "Good morning, buddy. Rise and shine, we've got a long day ahead of us. School is now in session." Grabbing his halter and lead, she opened the gate and stepped in. She gave him a scratch behind the ears, then slipped the halter over his head, latched it, and led him into the aisle where she cross-tied him.
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Post by Shadz on Aug 7, 2008 1:19:36 GMT -5
Deductive lifted his head as he heard someone approaching, he poked his head out of the stall and saw Lily, Greeting her as she approached. With a friendly nudge Deductive followed her out of the stall and over to the cross ties. Deductive parked himself where he needed to be and let Lily tie him, He stood watching Lily with his ears pricked.
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Post by Mustang on Aug 7, 2008 1:42:40 GMT -5
"Good boy. You're learning very well. Keep this up and you're gonna get a couple of apple slices today. Brought them specially for you." She ducked into the tack room and came out shortly with a grooming kit. Setting it down by the wall beside him, she picked up a hard brush and started brushing his neck, working her way back to his rump before starting on the other side. Lily hummed lightly as she worked. He didn't seem all that dirty, so this should be pretty quick. No clumps of dirt that she could see. What luck.
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Post by Shadz on Aug 7, 2008 1:53:21 GMT -5
Deductive started fidgeting when Lily walked away, she was always leaving him alone, but she always came back. Bobbing head head Deductive enjoyed the brush, anything that meant he was the centre of attention, except if he was in trouble that was never good. He looked at Lily and tossed his head.
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Post by Mustang on Aug 7, 2008 1:57:17 GMT -5
"Easy there, sweetheart. Good boy. I bet you like that, huh?" She put down the hard brush and picked up a soft brush, going through the same motions she had before, but this time, when she was done with his body, she stood in front of him with the brush out so he could sniff it. "It's ok, sweety, I'm just going to brush your face off a bit, alright?" She carefully reached up and starting brushing his face lightly, careful not to hurt his eyes.
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Post by Shadz on Aug 7, 2008 2:01:31 GMT -5
Deductive chewed on the cross ties, until Lily came in front of him, He pricked his ears and sniffed the brush curiously, Once Lily started brushing his face, Deductive lifted his head up. Snorting, He shook his head and flicked his tail. It was weird how Lily brushed his face, but it sorta felt like a scratch, a weird scratch.
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Post by Mustang on Aug 7, 2008 2:04:10 GMT -5
"Hey now, stop that. Bring your head down here. It's not going to hurt you, it's just a brush, silly. You've got dirt and loose hairs on your face, and I want to get them off for you so it doesn't itch so much." She tugged on his halter just a bit, putting slight pressure on his poll so he'd lower his head. Maybe he'd never had his face brushed before.
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Post by Shadz on Aug 7, 2008 2:12:38 GMT -5
Deductive lowered his head as he felt her touch his poll, even before she'd applied pressure, He stood flicking his tail putting up with her brushing his face, but soon enjoying it. Deductive nipped Lily's fingers and pawed the ground.
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Post by Mustang on Aug 7, 2008 2:17:21 GMT -5
"Thatta boy." Lily finished that quickly, then grabbed a hoof pick and started at his left foreleg, running her hand down from the knee to pick up his hoof. She scraped out the mud and yuck that had accumulated there, being sure it was clean before moving to the left hind. She continued in that circular direction until she finished all four of his hooves. Then she dropped the pick in the bin and went back inside the tack room, this time coming out with a saddle, pad, and bridle. "Time for some serious work, today."
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Post by Shadz on Aug 7, 2008 2:25:54 GMT -5
Deductive Lifted his feet as asked, leaning on Lily everytime he picked up a foot, He nudged Lily playfully and whinnied. Watching Lily walk away Deductive Fidgeted and bobbed his head when she returned, with something? With his ears pricked Deductive Snorted, he wasn't sure what was going on now.
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Post by Mustang on Aug 7, 2008 2:33:14 GMT -5
Lily set the tack down on a rack outside one of the nearby stalls and slowly and carefully started to tack him up, humming the whole time. It was a light, soft melody, like a lullaby, soothing to hear. As the saying goes, music calms that savage beast, and it had always worked for her. The blanket was in place, so she lifted the saddle and gently placed it on his back. Then she started to buckle the girth, leaving it a touch loose for now. With that, she grabbed the bridle and the lunge, which she'd also brought out, took his lead and unclipped the ties, walking him toward the arena.
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Post by Shadz on Aug 7, 2008 2:44:54 GMT -5
Deductive shifted around slightly when the blanket was put on, he turned one ear towards Lily and eyed the saddle, suddenly realizing what was next. Deductive snorted as Lily put the saddle on his back but didn't make any attempt to throw it, then moved around while she did the girth.
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Post by Mustang on Aug 7, 2008 2:48:20 GMT -5
Walking into the arena, she hooked the lunge and unclipped the lead, giving him the signal to trot off. Her idea was to get him used to the tack before she tried the next step. She wasn't even sure she would get to the bridle today, but she had it on her just in case. She wanted to be ready and not have to run back over to the barn. After all, he seemed like a pretty quick learner, but she didn't want to push him too far too fast.
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Post by Shadz on Aug 7, 2008 2:55:25 GMT -5
Deductive walked beside Lily to the barn, he was used to having the saddle there, he'd been lunged with it plenty of times, he'd also been lunged with a bridle. Trotting off on the cue, Deductive started trotting around in a circle around Lily, not bothering at all about the saddle.
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Post by Mustang on Aug 7, 2008 3:00:40 GMT -5
She let him warm up a few laps, then asked him to come back toward her. Redoing the lunge, she then asked him to trot off in the opposite direction. Lily wanted him to be warm and loose before really getting down to business. After a few minutes that direction, she brought him in once again. "Good boy. Now I'm going to put your bridle on, and then probably have you buck me off. That ok with you? Good." Slipping the halter off, she slid the bridle over his head, buckling it into place and flipping the reins over his head. She stood at his side and adjusted the stirrups, first one and then the other. Moving him toward the mounting block, she stopped him beside it and stood on the top step, waiting to see if he was going to move before she did anything else.
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