Stay Clean, Just Appreciate Things

[Tobias Xayarath]

After he'd waved his class-A students off and made sure that all of the babies were secure in their shared stall, Tux took a short moment to refill his water bottle and then returned to the classroom, ready to welcome the second batch of kids. Again, a small class, and that was nice. This one, though, would be working with the yearlings for their first day. The benefits of having just enough foals for everyone!

When all five of his students were present, Tux smiled and began, not bothering to rise. He didn't stand much on formality. They knew who he was, if only by the fact that he'd just told them to sit down, “Hello, all, welcome to foal handling. I'm Mr. Xayarath, Tux if you prefer. We're just going to go over basic rules briefly and then we'll go out and meet the foals and start the lesson.” That's when he got up, walking over to the whiteboard to write down the basics of the rules as he spoke.

“Use your common sense. There's no reason to be running, if you need to get my attention or the attention of Mr. Setliff, the barn manager, walk or use your cell phones.” He wrote his cell phone number in the corner, “Secondly, while assigned to you, these horses are not yours. The barn staff can and will ask you to step back if we see an issue. That being said, you are also going to be sharing foal assignments with my second class.” He paused, “In effect, you will be splitting your time between two foals, as will everyone else in the class. You will be assigned to two foals, a weanling and a yearling, so that we can approach different stages of the cycle. Try to stay in contact with your counterpart for each foal so that you can work out times together.” He considered again the possibility of just assigning two students to two foals, but then discarded it. They would learn cooperating with multiple people at some point, why not this class?

“Before we head out, are there any questions you may have about the foals, this class, or myself?”

Cara-Jean Kitchi
Danielle Green
Gretchen Holmes
Martijn van der Berg
@ransom

[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

Between the end of her classes at the beginning the other extra-circular she was taking, Cara had made her way to her room to get changed into her gymnastics uniform, and pulled a cranberry coloured pantsuit over the top and pushed her feet into her black paddock boots - that were always clean enough to pass off as dress boots.

Grabbing her gym backpack, she put the note book she had for the foal handling class into the bag along with her pencil tin and glasses case. After fixing her hair, and makeup, she was ready to depart. Leaving the room, she made her way toward the Evening Primrose barn, passing the students exiting on her way in, and entered the classroom. She breathed a little easier when she saw the man sitting at the front of the room, at least some things hadn't changed around the barn.

Walking forward, she took a seat near the front of the room - more commonly known as her "do not disturb" area - and she took the notebook and things from her bag as she waited for things to get started, doing her best to ignore the ever-present throbbing in her head, as she slipped her reading glasses in place.

She wrote the rules into her notebook, arching an eyebrow at the cell phone thing - since she didn't have one - but she didn't think that that would be an issue. She looked up at the mention of the fact that another person would be working with the two foals she was being assigned, the idea was completely logical, it was just that it would remove her from her comfort zone. She guessed she'd need to deal or ask to leave the class, and she didn't want to do that.

She gave her head a slight shake at the question, eager to get to know the yearling she would be working with - she had enjoyed her time with From the Ashes, as a weanling, the year before and was excited - not that anyone would be able to tell - about this year's class.

[Martijn van der Berg]

Tijn glared at the mess that Sybren had left in his stall, "Really?" He didn't have the time to clean it now, with the hay spread everywhere and none in the haynet, "Guess you get to pick at it." He picked up Eir, the reason he'd poked into the gelding's stall after putting away Ritske, and cuddled the cat for a moment, picking out the straw and hay from her fur.

After a brief detour to the Blue Ribbon house to grab a notebook for Foal Handling (just in case they needed it) and drop off Eir, Tijn had to kick it up a gear and hurry to the Evening Primrose barn, slowing his pace as he drew closer to the barn and walking in, navigating to the classroom easily and then entering. A glance around the room told him all he needed to know, and he responded to the teacher's welcome warmly before walking forward to sit next to Cara.

After setting down his bag, he pulled out his hard-begotten notebook and a pencil, ready to write down any information they might need to know. Wasn't that just the way of introductory classes? As they were asked if there were any other questions, he shook his head, already excited to meet his foal... Foals? Even better!

[Gretchen Holmes]

Gretchen enjoyed foal handling a whole lot, despite how lazy her pony charge had been last year. She had great hopes for the young horses she would be working with this year and eagerly made her way to the classroom. As she walked in she smiled at the teacher before finding a seat. She didn't bother pulling anything out of her bag, knowing they would likely be heading towards the barn not long after the initial introductions. 

Once everyone was present, which wasn't a long wait since there were only five of them, Tux began. She listened attentively as he went over the rules, even though she'd heard them all before. Really he probably could have stopped after use common sense, since that seemed to be the whole of it when it came right down to it. She was surprised to hear that not only would they be sharing their foals with other people, but they would also be working with yearlings. She was really excited to get started now! Though a part of her was also a little nervous, she would have to communicate with whoever her partner was. She hoped her shyness wouldn't get the better of her. She also hoped her partner was good with the foals and didn't do anything to undermine the work Gretchen planned to do this time around now that she'd learned more.

When asked if they had any questions Gretchen remained quiet, since she really didn't have any questions. She just wanted to get started and meet her foal! 

[Deleted]

Jenna arrived at her foal handling class early, carrying only her faithful bookbag. She was a little nervous about this class, but figured that she would do alright. Jenna licked her lips and bit her tounge more times than she could count before entering the room. Not being able to pronounce her teachers name very easily, Jenna decided to stick with the nickname he had given out, Tux. Jenna listened to him speak for a little while and listened as he went over the rules. Jenna planned on staying fully awake at this class, as she couldn't affort to miss anything.

Tux's rules were fair enough, and Jenna understood the importance of common sense, so she easily could see herself doing pretty well. She was eager to get out and meet the horses, but the teacher had asked for questions first, so Jenna used the time to take deep breaths to calm herself and smile at the thought of a baby horse. Jenna personally loved her horse Sunday, but the thought of a baby horse was just too adorable. She stared longingly at the door, before snapping back into reality and listeninng to her class once more. Jenna couldn't help but let herself smile. Most people thought she looked pretty when she smiled, but Jenna didn't smile as often as she should, and didn't exactly watch herself smile into the mirror so didn't know for sure. Jenna stretched her hands behind her chair, she knew this class was going to be tons of fun.