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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Sept 3, 2024 10:00:17 GMT -5
Once everyone was in, the tractor started forward. Rather than participate in the conversations around her, Saylor watched as they circled the grounds, going the opposite direction they had on their tour. They passed the indoor arena, trailheads, the school, and the outdoor arenas in half the time it had taken them to walk the same distance. When Bob pulled over beside the path to the mare and foal barn, it almost felt like no time had passed at all.
Grace got out first and immediately started down the path toward the barn, leaving her students to hurry after her. Upon reaching the barn door, Grace spun around to face them. "Right. This won't be a dramatic showcase like it was for the school horses. The mares are heavily pregnant, and some of them are becoming quite cranky because of it. So you can just wander the stalls and meet them, and then we'll meet up in the feed room and the barn manager will show you video clips of the mares when not pregnant, as well as some action shots of the sires. Got it?"
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Sept 6, 2024 14:17:20 GMT -5
( Whoops. My bad. But that works too. xD )
Grace took a deep breath — summoning patience, Saylor guessed. "In the case of stillborns, rare as it is, we breed seven mares each year rather than six. The extra is in case of several contingencies: stillborn, absorption, or twins. Because if we catch it in time, and we usually do, then we terminate a twin pregnancy before it can progress too far, for the safety of the mare. However, if a twin pregnancy does slip by undetected, then the student would only get one of the foals and the school would keep the other."
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Sept 7, 2024 15:13:16 GMT -5
With no other questions forthcoming, Grace finally opened the barn door and entered into a foyer — if barns had foyers.
Rich ones do, Riley decided, looking around in awe.
The floor was cobbled, the ceiling high, with skylights letting in the afternoon sun. Two cushioned benches sat on either side of the doors. To the left was a lounge room, with a couple of chairs, a loveseat, a coffee table, a little kitchen area, and even a vending machine. To the right was an office. The door was closed, but a sign on it read: Barn Manager.
Directly ahead was the barn itself. The cobbles continued down the wide aisle, as did the skylights above. And to either side were the stalls. There was a dozen of them, six on each side, and each one was twice the size of the average horse stall. A few curious horse heads appeared over stall doors, and Saylor felt her excitement growing again.
Grace stopped in the doorway of the foyer and barn aisle and waved the students on. "Go meet the mares. Be quiet and calm, and don't take offense if they're a little grumpy. You try carrying a hundred pound baby around for the better part of a year and not get grumpy about it."
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Sept 8, 2024 23:37:45 GMT -5
Saylor thought the barn was beautiful as well, but she was more interested in the mares. Like she had with the school horses, she made a point to meet each one, always waiting for them to be free of other students first. Most were willing to meet her and the others, their heads hanging over their stall doors for pets; the rest hung back farther in their stalls, out of reach, eating or napping.
Moving from one to the next, Saylor saw that each stall had a name plate on the door with the mares' names — their show names on top, and their barn names in slightly larger letters below. Most also had show ribbons hanging above their doors. Blues and reds, mostly, with a few whites and greens and yellows. Looking at them, Saylor saw most were in-hand shows, but there were still plenty of others, like show jumping, dressage, and three-day eventing.
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Sept 10, 2024 9:41:32 GMT -5
One thing was for certain: all the mares were all very well skilled. The amount of awards that hung from the top of the stalls proved it. In fact, many had more than Melanie would have expected. Then again, if you wanted good potential in offspring, you had to use the best of the best. And all the mares that lived in this barn proudly displayed what they were the best of. Yet she wasn't going to let the amount of awards, or their placements they represent, be a main factor in her decision-making. With proper training, any foal born of any mare could become a fine show horse. It just took patience and a lot of dedication.
So after she admired the ribbons adorning the stalls, Melanie studied the mares they belonged to. She didn't try to interact with any that didn't already have their heads above the stall doors. If they wanted the attention, she gave it. If not, she let the poor mother's-to-be have their privacy. As Grace had mentioned, many looked ticked off and ready to burst any day now. As much as she would love to pamper them and try to help ease some discomfort, she kept her distance and tried not to make her presence add to the stress of pregnancy.
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Sept 10, 2024 16:49:03 GMT -5
The TV in the lounge was on now, paused with the word "Indroducing..." on the screen. Once everyone had found a seat — Saylor on the floor, because there were only six seat — Grace hit Play.
The first mare was Chamomile. The video included several pictures of the chestnut mare, from her foalhood right up until she got pregnant. The pictures showed her training, competing, and interacting with other horses. There were short videos of her that displayed her confirmation and graceful movements. The last slide was a list of facts: her breeding and pedigree; her height and healthy (not pregnant) weight; and how many foals she'd had previously.
The next several slides were all about the stallion she had been bred to this year. There were no videos or foal pictures of him, but there were lots of action shots paired with written facts explaining what he did and how good he was at it.
The next six mares were shown off in the same way (they went in alphabetical order, Saylor noted). Each mare and stallion had about five minutes of screen time, so all seven took over half an hour.
When the last mare — Starlight — was done, Grace shut off the TV. "You have two minutes to think on everything you've seen and learned. When you're ready, go stand in front of the stall of the mare you want. Try not to fight over any this time." And she left the room, leaving them to think it over.
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Sept 12, 2024 9:44:39 GMT -5
Melanie watched closely, knowing that most of the details could easily be missed if one wasn't paying attention. All the mares were gorgeous, and Iris Glo's videos cemented her as her choice. There had been less talking among the students this time around, so she had no idea if anyone had the same opinion of the mare as she did. If so, she was certain she could fight for her choice, even if her second pick would be just as good as her first. She didn't really need much time to think it over. So she made her way to stand in front of the mare's stall, not too close, as she was one of the ones standing away from the door, wanting her space.
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Sept 17, 2024 20:13:09 GMT -5
"Oh, good. You kids finally learned how to play nice." Grace spoke in a patronizing tone that was a little uncalled for, in Saylor's opinion. Their mentor walked down the isle, writing down student names next to horse names. Unlike with the lesson horses, she didn’t pause to consider if it was a good or bad fit. It was the foal they were getting, after all, not the mare, and the foal was a wild card.
When she was done, she turned around and started back the way she'd come. "Until the foals are born, you can visit your mare as often as you like, between classes and lessons, of course. In fact, the more time you can spend with the mare, the better. If you're a familiar and welcome sight, she'll be more willing to let you around her new baby. Now, most of these mares are experienced moms, so they probably won't mind either way. But it's something to keep in mind."
"Now." Upon reaching the front of the aisle, Grace spun around like a military commander and pinned them all with her glare. Then she actually smiled, which was almost more unnerving than the glare. "Who wants to do something fun?"
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Sept 18, 2024 8:53:35 GMT -5
All heads nodded as Grace recommended spending time with the mares. Melanie doubted that was something any of the students would have needed to be coaxed to do. They couldn't ride their lesson horses all day long, and there was only so much grooming one horse needed during the day. Not to mention, they would need some time to rest and eat. So having another horse to spend that extra time with would help fill in the want and need to care and bond with the horses. Plus, it would be exciting to be with her mare and spot exactly when she might be going into labor.
As Grace walked down the aisle, Melanie was preparing to follow if their mentor wasn't going to stop. She assumed there might be more on their schedule for the day, so she wasn't going to linger and add to Grace's annoyance. But the woman didn't leave. She did in fact stop, and smiled. An odd sight, since that was the first time that day she had worn anything other than a blank expression or a frown. However, her question was more intriguing than her smile was concerning.
"Is the sky blue?" David asked in turn. If Grace's smile seemed suspicious, he didn't show any signs of being bothered by it. In fact, he took it as a good sign.
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Sept 23, 2024 18:56:10 GMT -5
Grace’s smile vanished in an instant with his comment, her more familiar scowl taking its place. She muttered something Saylor didn't quite catch, then barked, "Then let's go, ya brats." And she marched outside and climbed into the tractor trailer.
Soon, they were circling the grounds once again. They turned down the first path that led up to the barn, and Saylor's heart leaped. They were doing something with horses! No, wait, logic cautioned. Maybe Grace was going to make them muck stalls or clean feed bins. Saylor knew that these were essential parts of owning a horse, but even she could admit they were far from the best parts.
The tractor came to a stop where the packed-dirt path met a cobbled walkway. Grace disembarked and headed for the barn; Saylor and the others followed. The barn doors were large, and thrown wide open. In curved slant above were the words South Wing.
"This is where the second-years stable their horses," Grace told them. "You guys are in the East Wing."
Like the mare and foal barn, the hallway here was wide. To the left was a tack room, and to the right a feed room. After that, seven stalls lined either side. Those on the left were empty, but on the right... were not.
Saylor smiled as six heads popped out over stall doors one by one. She saw immediately that these were young horses — yearlings, if they belonged to second-year students. They would have been born this time last year. Saylor very much wanted to pet each velvety nose, but she refrained. They weren’t hers, and she didn't know what kind of training they were going through.
"Each Wing has the same setup," Grace was saying as they reached the end of the aisle. Here the hallway curved around a large circular room at the very center of the barn. The sign on the door read Student Lounge. Grace ignored it and turned right.
"And here we have... the East Wing."
This hall was set up the same as the South Wing, as Grace had promised. Only this time, the stalls on the right (well, left when looking at it from this angle) were empty, and the other side had horse heads. Saylor immediately recognized their horses. Hers, Ace of Hearts, was even in the stall closest to them.
( The rest, just FYI, are in the rider’s alphabetical order. So, the list on the front page shows what order the horses are in. ;D )
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Sept 28, 2024 9:52:40 GMT -5
Melanie was silent as they rode back to the main barn, her brain generating all sorts of ideas on what the "fun" could be. By the time they reached it, she was fairly sure she had narrowed it down to two options. They were either going to be spending some free time caring for their lesson horses, or they would be getting the chance to ride them.
Upon entering the East Wing, she glanced around, taking in and memorizing the layout. It was similar to the other sections of the barns, but that didn't mean it was any less impressive. Yet the architecture took a quick backseat to the horses. It wasn't hard to tell that they were stalled in alphabetical order, so she walked down the aisle until she found her horse.
Lucky Charm was in the third stall down, his blue eyes watching the group as they entered. She wanted to walk over to him, but she wasn't sure what Grace had in mind. The last thing she wished to happen was Grace yelling at her. So she stayed put for the moment, waiting on their mentor to explain what they would be doing.
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Sept 30, 2024 16:52:27 GMT -5
Saylor wanted to stop and say hello to her horse as well, but Grave hadn't stopped walking, so she reluctantly moved on, following her coach and the other students to the end of the aisle.
Like the South Wing, the East Wing had a pair of double doors open to let in fresh air. On one side was a tack room, and the other a feed room. Grace entered the tack room, leaving the door open for the students to follow her in.
It was a large room. Two big windows sat high on the far wall, and tack lockers lined the walls on either side. Below the windows was a shelving unit that held an assortment of tools for tack repair, cleaning, and polishing, as well as a pair of saddle racks and bridle hooks to place said tack when cleaning or fixing it.
Grace seemed more focused on the lockers. "Each horse and student pair has their own locker," she informed them. "Luckily, every tack room has an extra. Six for the students, one for the coach, and one to keep it even. You can find your locker later, since you won't be needing anything in it yet. Right now, each locker only has your horse's name on it. Your names will be added later."
Grace opened the first locker on the right. "This is mine. Gather round and take a peek. Every locker is set up the same."
Saylor inched her way forward. She didn't want to butt in front, but she also didn't want to be stuck in the back and unable to see
The inside of the locker was quite spacious. There were two saddle racks attached to the back; a bridle hook on either side; a shelf above for saddle pads, rain sheets, and winter blankets; and on the inside of the door were three small hooks with a riding crop, a dressage whip, and a standard riding helmet. At the bottom was a grooming kit, polo wraps, and jumping boots.
"Each of your horses comes with what you see here," Grace told them. "Except the helmet. You should all have one or even two of those already. The saddles and bridles are custom-made for your horse, but the rest is simple fair because most students want to pick out their own color schemes and patterns when dressing their horse. To do so, just fill out one of the forms on the clipboard hanging from the tack room door and give it to me."
"But not today." Grace shut her locker, left the tack room, and crossed the hall to the feed room
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Oct 3, 2024 9:08:58 GMT -5
The lockers were something Melania hadn't seen before. Her family did have a tack room where all the equipment was stored neatly, and while the permeant residents of the barn had their tack labeled, the rest was not. Her home was a breeding and training farm, after all. Most of their stock was trained and then sold. Rarely did they keep any of the foals birthed, unless something went wrong during the pregnancy or birth and left the foal with a disability. Then they would keep them and make sure they had a good, loving home where they wouldn't have to worry about being treated unfairly. Her parents never got rid of special cases like that, especially since they happened so rarely, they could afford to keep the foals whenever it happened. In fact, Melanie's favorite was old Faith, a mare that had been born blind. She was reaching twenty now, and while the world might have been dark, she certainly didn't act like it was.
But that was neither here nor there. Point was, her family didn't need dedicated lockers since the tack got bounced around horse to horse during training. They had saddles of different makes, so they tried out several to see which ones the horses liked and wore the best. It was the same with bridles and bits. Everything was then noted down and given to the owners of the horses so they could then acquire similarly made tack to use for themselves. It worked for them, but here in a school setting, Melanie liked the idea of her horse's tack being kept in his own locker. That way, she wouldn't have to worry that someone else was using the same saddle, or just happened to misplace other supplies. It would make things a lot more organized and quicker to find.
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Oct 3, 2024 9:39:01 GMT -5
Across the hall, the feed room was the same size as the tack room, and also had two windows on the rear wall. That was where the similarities ended. On the left were various feed bins, all clearly labeled. Under the windows were shelves with an assortment of equine supplements and treats. And on the right was a deep sink and a long work table, upon which were seven clipboards leaning against seven feed bins.
Grace moved to the center of the room and turned to face them. “Each of your horses needs to be on a good diet. Right now, they're all a little chunky from spending the last year gorging on grass and other wild plants. These clipboards all have a variety of different diet plans, each one geared to a specific horse and taking into account each horse's differences, like size, gender, age, and underlying health issues. The options also include variations based on the physical activities they will be performing over the year. It is up to you to choose which diet plan to feed when. Any variation to the diet plans given must first be discussed with me or our horse dietitian. No exceptions. You can replace the current, standard feed bins with fancy ones of your choice later, in the same way you request different tack. Any questions?”
( I don't know too much about horse food, other than that there are many different kinds that serve different purposes. So, I'm leaving this brief and we can just wing it if ever horse diet comes up. xD )
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Oct 3, 2024 10:18:14 GMT -5
( No worries. We're trying to get through the barn tour quick so we can get to the good stuff anyway. xD )
When no one spoke — not even David — Grace nodded approvingly and led them from the feed room.
Back in the hall, Grace gestured to the row of empty stalls on the right. “These are for your foals, once they're fully weaned from their mothers. The stall directly across from your school horse is yours to do with as you wish until then. You can store extra equipment or tack in there until your foal moves in, or you can use it as a spare stall for your school horse if he or she decides to make a particularly big mess in their stall. Whatever you decide to use it for, it is your responsibility and no one else's. Your easiest course of action is just to leave it empty.”
She switched her attention to the opposite row of stalls. “The school horse stalls have been assigned, and you cannot trade or shuffle around. What you see is what you get. It is up to you if you want your horse on indoor or outdoor board, but I will say I want to see all horses outside during the day unless a health issue pops up and demands otherwise. Overnight, however, you may keep your horses inside if you'd prefer. It is your job to clean your horse's stall, no one else's. It's your job to keep your horse clean and healthy. It is your job to take care of your horse's tack. No. One. Else's. Are we clear?”
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Oct 7, 2024 9:52:19 GMT -5
“Good. Now, the hall, tack room, feed room, and wash stalls here in the East Wing need to be kept clean as well, and those responsibilities belong to all of you as a group. You can work out a cleaning schedule among yourselves to determine who cleans what, when. I don't care how you work it out, so long as this Wing is always nice and clean for the weekly barn inspection. Oh, and did I mention that the students with the cleanest Wing will get a special, horse-related prize for their efforts? No? Well, now I have. Keep your Wing clean.”.
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