17th July . 2pm . Broken Arrow Ranch . Optime Form

The agouti males days were becoming busy, activity filled days. Between working on the house, getting the most urgent jobs out of the way first and then working on the smaller details, gathering the summers crops of medicinal herbs for the winter when they would no longer be around, and looking after everyone, including his two horses, Saul was beginning to sleep soundly through the night once more. The house still needed to eat and while there were four adults, there were still four semi-children that were not so good at hunting for their own food that they needed to feed. While they each had their own seperate 'pods' within Cerne Rise, it appeared more and more that they did things as a family, hunting and eating together was one of those things that gave them precious moments together every couple of days. The roof still needed to be tiled, but the male had managed to rip off some of the water proofing material from a house nearby to nail to the flat boards he'd already nailed to the A-beam they'd repaired. The front door was fixed, thanks to the packs Bensen Temo. The stairs needed serious work and this was his next job.


This afternoon however, was going to be spent with his horses. Hermes and Arete had been housed in the Broken Arrow Ranch, although Saul was sourly tempted to do something about the state that the barn was in. While the front was relatively sound, and therefore safe enough to house horses in, the back was unuseable, the roof caved in much the same as Cerne Rise. His horses had taken residence in the first two stalls on the left hand side of the barn, next to each other. Arete had been clingy since he'd first picked her up and each time he came back to the ranch, she would give the greatest whiny and try her hardest to get over the barrier. Hermes was a little more docile but he was always equally happy to see his savior when the male came around. Saul found it hard whenever he came to see his horses- he always felt as though he didnt have enough time to stretch himself thin over all of them.


He entered the ranch today with a long lead rope wound around his body. He'd already found all of Hermes' tack, scournging around the damaged outbuildings of the Ranch to find a saddle and a bridle that fit the large horse, as well as brushes and grooming kits that were very useful. He'd found a lunge rope however and good training was what the large horse needed. He was rideable- Eclipse had ridden him back from the Dampwoods were he was found. But Saul had yet to ride him with his tack on and the male was excited. A little bit of exercise would be needed however. Hooking the long rope onto Hermes' head collar the male led the large draft horse out into the daylight. Arete protested, but the male ignored her for now. Leading the black and white horse out into the pasture that was mostly flat, the male let the horse walk, using a long stick to gently tap his hind legs to keep a good, steady pace going.

you should add Adela up to the member listings, so InH has a more accurate account of the animals in the barn <3 Also, Arete is a foal <33

The large horse was pleased to be moving, even if it was round in circles. The agouti male started him with a slow walk, gradually increasing the pace until the male held a rocking horse motion of a controlled canter around the circle they'd gradually worn into this section of the paddock. He threw his head a few times, the occasional click from Saul a comforting noise to him it seemed. Saul was lucky that he'd found a horse already broken- he'd guessed that the horse had been lost in the snow storm and had not yet forgotten his early training. He was yet to ride him properly though and the aim of this exercise was to gauge his endurance and burn up some energy. Work around Ichika meant that Saul didnt have as much time as he would have liked with Hermes, and especially Arete. She was only six months old or so and would soon need to be introduced to the saddle. But for now, she was happy to follow him around. Saul wasn't at first aware of the activity going on behind him, but the voice of another caused him to glanced around.


A black and white female stood at the fence before swinging herself up to sit on it. She gave him some advice and Saul looked back at Hermes. The lunge rope was just a little bit too taut and Saul nodded softly, feeding a few inches out. Hermes stayed to the circle he'd created, but his speed increased just a few notches. Smiling softly, he turned back and nodded his head again. "Thanks- this is my first time doing this and I'm only going off of the books I've read." He admitted with a slightly sheepish grin. Still, it was rude to continue and not make at least a small amount of conversation. "I'm Saul Stormbringer." He said, shifting back from his position in the center of the worn circluar grass. Hermes slowed and Saul allowed him to trot around the circle for a lap before he slowed him further to a walk. He glanced back before gusturing towards the horse. "And this is Hermes. Its a pleasure to meet you." He offered before looping the rope around his arm to gather the excess back in. It was a complicated process of walk to trot to canter, and occasionally pushing the horse into a gallop and back down again. But it was good to be working with him and the male felt a grin play across his face.

<33

It was nice for the male to speak to someone who roughly knew what they were talking about. He'd learned the basics of riding from Liliana, but had taught himself the rest of his equine knowledge he had gleaned from books and the little experiance he had had with dealing with Hermes and Arete. It was okay once he got used to it, but it was also benefitial to the male to know that there were others out here who had perhaps a little more experiance than he did. She spoke of Phoenix Valley and Saul searched her gaze for the moment, trying to figure out if she missed the valley as much as some others did. "Do you enjoy your job in Ichika?" He enquired, wondering if she was content in her role in Ichika, whether she enjoyed doing what she did. She glanced at Hermes again and Saul took a moment to look at him. He was perhaps only 2 years old and had some growing to do, but he would estimate that he stood at a rough 15hh with room to grow. He wasnt the hugest horse he'd ever seen, but when fully grown he could see the horse expanding to a nice 16-17hh. It was a good height, especially when carrying the male.


"Thank you. I found him out in the dampwoods, lost and alone. Along with Arete... Unfortunately, her mother had been attacked and was dead. She was curled up by her mothers side. I reckon she'd be about eight or nine months old, although she's undernourished from being on her own. They both have a bit of spirit to them..."



He chuckled, realising far too late that he had rambled at the female. A sheepish grin made him turn back to Hermes and watch as he came to a walk once more. He looked okay, Saul paid critical attention to his hooves and legs, trying to gauge whether he favoured a hoof or not. Saul thought not. However, the female spoke once more announcing that she had to go and tend the other animals. Saul nodded softly, wondering why she upped and left as she did. Gathering the lunge rope up in his arms, Saul bought the black and white horse over to him. As he did so, he looked back to see Adonia on the other side of the fence, but she hadn't move away. With a smile Saul swung himself easily up onto Hermes' back, riding towards the female.


"Why don't we go on a ride Adonia? You could go and grab your horse and we could have a ride around the valley..."


He suggested with a shrug. Unclipping the lunge rope of the horses head collar, Saul desposited the coiled rope on the fence post and waited to see if Adonia would get her horse and join him.

I cannot believe I missed this one! It slipped through the net! <33

Adonia gave her answer straight away and Saul grinned in return. It was good to see them settling in here- he knew Nayru was worried a lot about the assimilation of Phoenix Valley and Dahlia de Mai and he also knew there were a few on both sides who were not happy about the merge. Saul was getting used to it now, seeing the opportunity here the likes of which he never had done in Dahlia. While he had thought Nayru a little foolish for saying that Dahlia's resources were diminished, there was nothing more to develop in Dahlia, he hadnt realised just how right she'd been until he'd actually gotten to Ichika and seen how much needed to be done. He relished the work and had his sights firmly set on the barn as his next project. He chuckled softly when Adonia mentioned the bull. He was a tricky one, and had been on the way up here.


"I can see why you'd be wary of him!"


He commented, not wanting to distract her further. Adonia made another compliment about Arete and Saul chuckled softly. She was a good foal most of the time, she just got a little excitable and happy some times. He was going to have to start breaking her in soon, getting her used to a saddle and a bridle and weight on her. Of course, she was still far too small for Saul to ride her. He though about Eclipse, her slight weight maybe would be easier to break the foal with. She was nearly nine months old by now and Saul knew it was time to start training her. Saul warmed softly as Adonia called kind and with a shrug he brushed off the compliment. "Awh, I couldnt leave her there to die... She hasnt recovered properly yet and I'm trying to feed her as much as I can to bulk her up a bit." He offered with a self conscious stroke to the back of his neck.


Although it was clear she thought it strange, she agreed to come on a ride with him. He shifted on top of Hermes, rearranging himself into a more comfortable position on the barebacked horse. It didnt take long for Adonia to come out on a black and white mare, older than Hermes but still rather young. He smiled softly as Adonia joined him and Saul let Hermes out of the paddock they'd been training in. Walking side by side towards the Valley, Saul felt a peaceful blanket wash over him. "I'm thinking about starting a breeding programme in Ichika. We have so few animals and its the same in all the other packs that it would be easier for us to produce offspring from the animals we have here. Like the cows" He chuckled, now privy to Adonia's dislike of the bull.

nomnomnom

Adonia looked thoughtful for a moment as Saul mentioned Arete's malnourishement. He knew she was probably closer to nine months, although she had the body of a six month old. He knew little about feed and he left it to Adonia and whoever else fed them, to figure out what she might need. He realised his folly- he should be communicating with the wolf who was looking after his horses and not just leaving it up to them to figure out what his horses needed. She began to speak and Saul paid better attention to what she was saying. There might be a time when Adonia was away from the pack and he had to actually feed his own horses. He thought of the little horse whose ribs showed and she seemed wobbly on her legs. He wanted to bulk her up to the normal weight of a nine month old foal, but it would be ideal if it could be done quickly. He wanted to start getting Arete used to the lead rope, the lunge line, having blankets on her back and headcollars on. These were all things that would do well in helping her to break her properly.


"That sounds ideal actually. She's just so small and I would guess her to be around nine months old, but she certainly doesnt look like it. I want to start training her soon, but she doesnt have a lot of energy or muscle mass. Would that be okay to set up?"


He asked, glancing across at her as they exited the range of the ranch and began to move out over the valley. The day was nice and warm and he could feel Hermes beneath him, warming up beneath him. He hadnt ridden him bareback a lot and it was a little uncomfortable, but it was a lot simpler than having to tack him up every time he wanted to ride him. Adonia looked across at him as he mentioned his plans and Saul chuckled softly at her response to his jibe about the cow. Of course, the cow and the bull would procreate on their own and Saul wouldnt be surprised if the cow was already pregnant or something of the sort. Adonia's tone turned serious as she asked about the cow population- as of now they only had one cow and that was not enough to seriously raise their numbers. She asked about trading and Saul thought of Anathema. Perhaps they'd accumilated some cows throughout their time living in the mountains.


"I guess trading would work, although I don't know which packs might have more than a handful of cows as well. Perhaps we might be able to find some wild grazing cows now that we've moved past the mountains. It would be a long shot, but there might be a herd or two roaming around that we could take a few cows from. And the obvious thing it- we'd have to trade something to get a cow from another pack and what would we trade, we need all the animals we have here..."


It was a difficult situation and one that required proper thinking and planning. Saul wasnt too sure about which packs had cows, if they had many. Of course, trade with Inferni was out, despite Ichika's pledge to bring peace amoung those of Nova Scotia. They hated wolves and those from Dahlia knew all too well how much. Saul fell silent for a few moments before looking back up. "Well, I don't think breeding our horses is going to be much of a problem, although I think we would have to keep careful documantation about who we breed together. I intend to get a mare soon and breed Hermes with her." He said, glancing down at the horse beneath him. He was very big and he hoped he would find a mare that would be able to withstand that amount of weight on her back, even if it wasnt for very long. Pushing thoughts like that from his mind, he glanced back across towards Adonia, to see if she had anything else she might add.

nomnomnom

For a moment the female beside him looked happy to have more knowledge than Saul himself had. It was a familiar feeling, especially when Saul was able to fix someone up or heal them when they were injured. The superior knowledge was infectious and in this case, Saul was glad she had come to know horses so well that she knew how to help Arete. Left to Saul, he would have had no idea how to make the filly gain weight as Adonia did. Smiling softly as she spoke about a plan she had, Saul nodded at appropriate moments. He was glad he'd come to the ranch today to train Hermes- Adonia was a pleasent face to talk to and she had an intelligence that made for an engaging conversation. She looked a little sheepish, amending herself as if she'd said something wrong. Confused for a moment, he replayed her words in his mind, trying to find anywhere that might have seemed rude. He couldnt find any.


"Hermes was alright when I found him- I think he might have been lost in the snowstorm but he was already broken when I found him. Arete on the other hand was born wild, so I'll have to work a lot with her. I appreciate your help Adonia- I would be seriously lost if I'd been trying to get Arete's weight up on my own... Thank you."


He said warmly as they continued. Adonia thought for a moment in silence before voicing her opinion on perhaps capturing some wild cows. Saul had no idea where they would be able to find them, but it made sense that on horseback they would be easier to capture. Although they could probably act in the same way sheepdogs did in an earlier time, using the horses would help in rounding them up. "It would take a while for the cows to become domisticated enough to milk and interact with, but its possible. I'll talk to Nayru if you'd like about getting a couple of us to go up into New Brunswick and see if we can spot a herd or two." He said, knowing Nayru would be more than pleased to increase their livestock whatever way possible. Of course, he knew his sister in law would prefer that they trade, but he had no idea about who had any cows, let alone what they could trade for said cows.


Saul noticed Adonia's surruptitious glance down at her own horse as Saul mentioned breeding horses. He couldnt quite make out her expression and didnt know what she thought about using her own horse. Of course, it was completely up to the owners of the mares if they wanted them to breed- unless the horses took it into their own hands whilst out grazing one day. Still, her light chuckle was taken as positive as she looked towards Hermes. "I'm sure I'll find one out there soon enough. Although when we do start breeding the horses we'll have to keep a detailed log of foals and their parents to avoid inbreeding down the line." He said, thinking of how disasterous it would be if Hermes bred with every mare here- they'd all be related. Luckily for him, there were other stallions in Ichika that would diversify the bloodlines somewhat.