Blue Ridge is a fictional town located deep in the heart of Kentucky. It is home to one of the most well known equestrian academies in the United States. Students and staff from all over the world join the academy for what it has to offer. Do you have what it takes to join us and learn from the Academy?
Smilys were made by Sapphire Heaven of LiveJournal.
The mini-profile hover follows a tutorial by Kagney of Adoxography.
Photos in the skin used under CC from Flickr.
Talia laughed as the Mule's ears flopped to the side as she clipped the cross ties onto his head collar. "Just think of it as a security measure." She told the john as she affectionately wobbled his chin. While she knew that he would most likely remain where he was without the cross-ties, she had also been around large animals long enough to know that anything could go wrong in the blink of an eye, so she used all measures she had to keep herself and her friend safe. With a shake of her head, she left the Mule where he was and went to collect his grooming kit and returned to his side.
She didn't have any equines to see to for a couple of hours and, unless she got a call, she was going to use that time to spend some quality time with one of her best friends - the other was sound asleep, and snoring, on her dog bed in their apartment. She picked up the rubber curry comb and began to work it in circles down Jaffa's body, bringing all the dust and lose hair to the surface, all the while humming the tune to an Israeli lullaby called Numi numi.
Post by Jessamine Smith on Feb 2, 2017 20:15:15 GMT -8
Jessa left Zohariel in the pasture after she'd finished grooming him, and walked back to the Red Willow barn with his kit. She didn't really want to go back to her room just yet, since she knew there was still a reading to be done, so after she'd stowed Zo's stuff, she walked over to the other barn to grab Fury's. She might as well give the horse a thorough groom - She wasn't sure if she wanted to ride him that day or not, but at least she could get him cleaned.
She went to go set down Fury's grooming kit in one of the grooming stalls and raised an eyebrow at the colorful horse - no, mule - that stood there. She set the grooming box down and then paused by the other animal, "Sorry for the interruption, but I just wanted to say, your mule is gorgeous, I love his color. I've never seen a spotted mule before!" Mules were pretty common for packing and hiking, but they were usually bay.
Tal blinked toward the girl who address her mid note, and she felt her cheeks head with a blush that she had been caught humming, though she beamed at the compliment; which seemed few and far between from the competitive students here who seemed to think of no more than what Jaffa would look like in a show arena. "Thank you!" She said, her voice as bright as her smile. "He's what you sometimes get when you breed a Jack with an Appaloosa mare." She tickled the john's chin as she spoke.
"How's Zo coming along?" She asked as she returned to her grooming, swapping the curry comb for the soft body brush.
Post by Jessamine Smith on Feb 5, 2017 19:00:42 GMT -8
Jessa nodded as the woman talked about her mule's breeding, "That makes sense. Most of the packing mules are draft or quarter horse crosses, they're usually black or bay." She grinned, "It's nice to see a spotty one. What's his name?" She had recognized the farrier after she turned around, but couldn't remember if she'd ever known the woman's mount.
As she was asked about Zo, Jessa shrugged, "He's doing a lot better. I rode him in the New Year's show and he did alright, so there's hope for him yet." They hadn't been able to complete one of the obstacles, but Zo had entered the arena and had done the rest, so that was a good thing in Jessa's book, "Actually, I think he's about due to see you again soon." Being barefoot, the horse needed regular trimming. "I haven't seen your farrier student around in a while." She tacked that on as an afterthought, although she immediately regretted it. How obvious an overture was that?
Tal smiled over the john's back. "His name is Jaffa." She replied. "When I first got to know my mentor, I had trouble understanding him, and when he said after, I was sure he was saying jaffa. And although I had worked out his accent before Jaffa appeared one morning when he said look after that, he became Jaffa." She chuckled at the story as she could still remember the day when they walked out on the yard and discovered the eight week old foal.
She worked on the Mule's coat as she listened to Jessa. "Sounds like he's coming along beautifully!" She commented with a grin. She pursed her lips together as she thought about the gelding's trimming schedule. "Yes, I believe he will be." She agreed with a nod. She paused and leaned against Jaffa as the question of her student came up. "No, he left for greener pastures during summer." She arched an eyebrow toward the girl. "Are you interested in getting your hands dirty?" She didn't know if the girl had asked because she was putting feelers out, but Tal put the offer out there so Jessa would know she wasn't going to turn her away for being a girl - cause that would be a laugh, as she was of the fairer sex herself.
Post by Jessamine Smith on Feb 9, 2017 15:28:44 GMT -8
That was an interesting name, for an interesting equine! However, as Ms. Ezra talked about how it had come about, Jessa had to smile, "That's neat!" It was funny how accents could make a language so hard sometimes, but at least this time, it made for a nice story on the name's origin.
As Talia commented on Zo's coming along, Jessa nodded, "I think this is a really good place for him, and for me. We're both learning a lot." She listened as the farrier said that her student was gone, her heart racing as she considered asking if the woman was willing to consider her as a replacement - Right as Ms. Ezra asked if she'd be interested. Her eyes lit up, "I would be, actually. I was just working out how to ask you." She smiled, "I've been considering going into farriery for a while now, my dad is a farrier and then with Zo being Zo, it'd almost be easier if I could do his feet." She grinned at the woman, who'd already trimmed her horse a couple of times since they'd been at the academy, and was probably used to the rodeo he could create, "You know how he is."
Tal grinned, pleased that she had picked up the correct cues from the girl's questioning. "I'd be happy to have the extra help." She replied and she nodded to the thought of Jessa learning to trim her own horse's hooves. "You can even practice on Jaffa here." At least that way if anything went wayside, the john didn't get ridden enough to be an issue if he needed some time off. And the mule was so laid-back he was more prone to falling asleep while having his feet done than pulling any nasty tricks.
Tal swapped brushes again and began to brush Jaffa's face, covering his eye with her hand when she needed to brush close. "Is there anything you'd like to know about your new job?"
Post by Jessamine Smith on Feb 9, 2017 18:40:09 GMT -8
Jessa grinned as the woman effectively gave her a job. That was a lot easier than she'd feared! She smiled at the mule as she was told she could practice on him, "Sorry, Jaffa! Not your lucky day." She had more confidence in herself than that, but still.
As she was asked if she had questions about her job, Jessa realized that there was a lot of fine details to work out. How much was she expected to work? What happened during exams? Was it going to be formal with time and stuff? But all of that could get worked out later. There was only one question right now: "When can I start?"
The ear closest to the teenager lifted when Jaffa heard his name before it dropped down again when he worked out that just because he heard his name didn't mean he was going to get anything. Tal laughed as he heaved a long sigh as she brushed over the poll of his lowered head.
She laughed again at the single question, when she had been expecting to have one after the other thrown at her until she didn't know where to start. "You can start as soon as you like." She replied. "I don't have anyone booked in for another couple of hours, which is why I am here."
Post by Jessamine Smith on Feb 10, 2017 10:22:03 GMT -8
Jessamine nodded as she heard that there was nothing in the schedule for the next few hours, "Good. I was going to take Fury out for a bit of work!" She glanced back at where she'd forgotten about her grooming box, glad to see that nobody had needed the stall that she'd been occupying for no reason, "I should go grab him, I'll be right back."
After retrieving the chestnut from her stall, Jessa clipped him into the cross ties in the next grooming stall over, where she could still converse with Talia as she worked, "I guess I should ask you about the technicalities. How much you want me to be at the farriery and stuff?" She wasn't exactly sure how this part worked.
Tal nodded with a chuckle as Jessa mentioned getting her horse and she began to comb out the John's two-toned tail. She always kept his mane hogged, as it looked untidy otherwise, no matter how much she worked with it so it was just easier for there not to be one at all.
Tal watched as a chestnut was clipped into the next set of cross-ties, shaking her head as Jaffa looked up, ears perked, long enough to look at the horse before he dropped his head, ears flopping to the sides, and seemed to doze off. "Your jobs will be pretty simple; holding horses, keeping them calm while I work on their feet, helping to keep my tools clean and sorted, and the oh so fun job of helping with stocktake." She grinned. "If you're up for it, I can even get you to email clients when they are almost due for their next visit, and answer calls if they come through while I'm in the middle of working on a horse."
Post by Jessamine Smith on Feb 12, 2017 11:52:09 GMT -8
Jessa started brushing Fury's side, looking at Talia over the horse's back as she listened to the jobs she'd be doing, "I can do that!" She grinned, "Yes, I can even help with emailing and calls if you want me to." She could learn even just being around the farriery for the start.
She swapped brushes and went back to work on Fury, "So how many horses do you see in a normal day? I mean, you pretty much look after everyone at the academy, right?"
Post by Talia Ezra on Feb 12, 2017 13:03:48 GMT -8
Tal grinned. "And in return for the work, I'll teach you the tricks of the trade." She said. "I won't teach you how to shoe a horse, because that could lead us into a whole lot of mess, though I will teach you how to trim hooves, things you can do at home, and keep Zo's hooves tidy... though then he'd have to stop terrorizing farriers."
She shrugged as she thought of a normal day. "I can see anything from one to a dozen horses." She replied. "And yes, I look after everyone here, from the foals that Tux looks after to the patients that Dr Carr looks after. You'll also get to work with the foals and patients too, as there are a few that will need all hands on deck, while others will only tolerate having one person touching them."
Post by Jessamine Smith on Feb 12, 2017 13:20:30 GMT -8
Jessa grinned back, "Sounds fair enough." She had no plans to have a shod horse anyway, and she'd learn that eventually if she did actually get into farriery. "I think that'd probably be better for the farriers involved, if Zo can't terrorize them." She chuckled, "And I'm sure he'll have someone else to terrorize." She did hope that keeping his hooves trimmed herself would make the gelding's life a little bit easier, though.
She listened to the answer to her question, "Just tell me when and where, and what you need, and I'll be there!" She was looking forward to (watching) trimming the babies' feet! That must be adorable - Although she could imagine they weren't too used to farriers yet.
Post by Talia Ezra on Feb 12, 2017 14:06:31 GMT -8
Tal finished grooming Jaffa and put everything back in her box. "You're probably going to find that you are a pretty quick study with the whole thing, since you've probably been watching your dad work for a while." She was actually keep to know what the girl already knew without knowing it.
"How about you stop by tomorrow?" She suggested. "I have a couple horses coming in to see me around lunch time, and it would give you a chance to observe." She smiled as she removed the cross-ties from the john's head collar. "I'll leave you to Fury." With a smile, she led the Mule from the grooming stall with a smile. She might even have enough time to take her Rottie for a walk before she had to do anymore work.