A grumpy welcoming

[Vincent Fiordalis]

Vincent had finally had the time to come and say hello to his mare, he spent this time wisely. Tying her up to the front of her stable to a piece of bailing twine he had sourced out the hay barn. He then went about her, scraping back her bedding turning the banks into mounds on each of the three walls. He took out poos that were there and in the way of the mounds, after he scrapped it all back. He removed the wet, he was lucky with his mare. She generally wee'd in one spot which was normally the back right corner.

He pulled her bed back down and made the banks all even and pretty. Taking the wheelbarrow out to the muck heap and returning, he put the wheelbarrow and fork back where he had found them and then started to make a fuss of the mare. Taking off her head collar and lead rope, she reacted flailing her head in the air. She hit Vincent on the side of the head in doing so all he could say was "You daft idiot mare! All i do is love you and you treat me like that!" He left the stall in a huff and stood outside leaning on the door. He muttered unde his breath "I should have sold you when I had the chance."

[Maeve McKenna]

Maeve walked out of the bathroom, where she'd washed her hands after mucking out Remi's stall; she wasn't normally so worried about getting her hands dirty, but she'd been trying to work as quickly as she could, and in the process got a bit dirtier than normal, when she had slipped and ended up almost face-first in the wheel barrow - thus the need for clean hands.

She had noticed the arrival of a new horse, and had done her best to remain away while the new mare got a chance to settle in, but now that she saw someone standing by the stall, even while her inner dialogue was telling her to stay away, she stepped forward. "Your horse is really pretty." And there was no doubting that. "What breed is she?" Yup, a completely novice question, but she wasn't going to pretend she knew everything and then end up looking like an idiot.

[Vincent Fiordalis]

Vincent was slightly concussed by his mare, but he wasn't going to give up on her so easily. It had taken him three years to get this far. He noticed a girl that seemed to be talking to him, he looked at his mare that was by now trying to apologise by nussling him and licking his shoulder. He couldn't help but smile and reply "Yea she is. She's just a handful, sometimes."

He smiled at the question, he didn't really know himself. She was given to him as an Akhal-Teke but her stature had changed since then. He thought she could be a cross breed at the end of the day. He replied what he thought was a good answer with a smile on his face. "She's an Akhal-Teke. A very lively one at that. She seems to be settling in well which is good." he patted the mares shoulder. He looked at the girl and asked politely. "You have your oen horse here as well? Or do you loan?"

[Maeve McKenna]

Maeve nodded, as his answer was common for most horses, or at least the ones around here... and the wild ones she knew, though they were a handful all the time.

She nodded again, making a note to do a little more reading on the breed; as what she had read so far had told her that they were waay out of her price-range and she shouldn't even be looking at them. "I'm pleased she's settling in well, always makes things easier." She shook her head to the question of having her own horse. "I ride one of the school horses, a bay tobiano, American Bashkir Curly Horse. Her stall is a few down, though she's currently out in the pasture enjoying a little free time." Free time, and the fact that Maeve wasn't really competent enough to take her out on a trail ride solo.

[Vincent Fiordalis]

Vincent couldn't help but laugh a little as his mare nudged his head and started nibbling on his hair. He couldn't lie, his mare was his prode and joy. He listened as the girl before him spoke, he smiled and nodded in agreement to her first statement. He then nodded again, when she told him she didn't have her own horse here. He wasn't shocked or surprised, most students he'd met hadn't had their own horses here.

He couldn't resist the urge to ask one question, and so he did it "Would you like to say hello to her? She is polite. Shemight nip but apart from that she is pretty nice." He moved over slightly making room at her door, the mare stuck her head out and looked at each of them before waiting for someone to show her attention.

[Maeve McKenna]

Maeve's eyebrows shot up, and she beamed from ear to ear at the offer. "I'd love to!" She gasped. Drawing in a calming breath, she stepped forward and offered her hand to the mare, which no doubt still smelled of the flowery-scented soap from the bathroom - it seemed that the smell took forever to go away. She giggled as she couldn't help buy wonder why they didn't use apple or mint scented soap.

"How long have you had her and what kind of riding do you do?" She could remember reading that the Akhal-Teke were remarkable jumpers and wondered if that's what this pair did, though she was still learning to pick up on these things by just looking at a horse, and wasn't brave enough to make an assumption. Not just based off the breed and what she had found in a book.

[Vincent Fiordalis]

He smiled as she got to the mare, his horse was kind and gentle. Greeting her with a nudge and a slight nibble. He couldn't help but wander why she was so interested in this breed, it's just sheer power and defiance, well that's all he had found with his.

"Well I've had her for three years now. She does working hunter, which is a few jumps and then showing off her gaits." He was getting carried away talking about it all. "She also does a little bit of Dressage. He smiled and gave his mare an ear scratch, then a slappy pat on her neck.

[Maeve McKenna]

Maeve nodded as she stepped back from the horse. "Thank you for letting me say hello." At least she remembered her manners.

She really wasn't quite sure where she wanted to go with her riding, and was loving the ability just to learn from other people and what they did with their horses, as well as the few she got to work with. "So... hunters and dressage are similar then, minus the jumps of course, the whole showing off how your horse moves and responds to you?" She couldn't help but wonder what Narcissus would think of dressage and made plans to do some research about dressage groundwork.

[Vincent Fiordalis]

He nodded in a respectful and thanking way to her first comment, he was quite surprised that his mare was so kind, maybe it was fhe way she approached her he smiled and spoke "Feel free to say hello whenever you want to, she craves attention from anyone." He laughed slightly, gently cupping and stroking the dnd of his mares face.

He nodded again, leaving no hesitation "Exactly that! Except Dressage is more of a dance routine, it really makes you both have to work as a team to get the movements right. Hunter is nearly the same except, you don't have to do as many movements, nust a figure eight showing the judges the horses gaits on both reins." he shrugged slightly "Well that's how I would explain it. It's harder to put in words than you'd think actually." he laughed at himself, Vincent looked at the girl, he thought he should at least introduce himself, this far into the conversation. "I'm Vincent Fiordalis the new Dressage and Hunter Instructor. Who would of thought." He let out another laugh.

[Maeve McKenna]

Maeve grinned and pointed down to a bay overo Quarter Horse further down the barn, who was looking over his stall door. "He's the same! Likes to try and gain any attention of people who walk passed him." She had yet to meet the owner of that horse though.

She nodded as she listened, wondering if she should be taking notes. She had always heard that dressage was similar to a pas de deux in ballet, which really didn't surprise her, as they both had loads of French terms in them. "I'm Maeve McKenna, completely new to riding." Not something she openly blurted out to her fellow students, but this was an instructor. "I'll probably be in your classes in a year or so." She had a feeling it was going to take her at least that to get a hold of all the basics of riding, before she even thought about getting into all the technicalities of riding disciplines too.

[Vincent Fiordalis]

He followed with his eyes to where she pointed, looking at the bay overo quater horse with a smile on his face. A lot of horses wanted attention he thought to himself. "There seems to be a few with the same goal in this barn then." He laughed at himself slightly.

He smiled happy to realise she had introduced herself back, he nodded when she had finished speaking. There seemed to be a lot of beginner riders around here. But he was always polite to those he met, his attention was back on the girl and his horse who was still nudging him, getting rougher when he didn't touch her face "That's not so bad! I'm sure you're doing a great job!" He tried to give a reassuring smile of sorts not aware of if jt came out the way he had hoped. "I'm sure it won't take you that long! You will be fine, just keep your head up, sit up and keep your heels down. The most important things in any discipline."

[Maeve McKenna]

Maeve grinned and nodded. "I've found that there are also a few that pretend they want attention when they would rather eat fingers." Or at least she'd got too close to a few and only barely missed their teeth.

She pulled a face, not too sure about this man's confidence in her. There was a whole lot more to this horse riding thing than she had thought from what she'd read in books, and she had the feeling she'd be lucky to move up a level within a year, if not longer. She nodded to his advice, wishing that she'd had a little more hands on work with horses and riding before coming here. "It was nice to meet you, and your horse, Mr Fiordalis. I need to get back to my jobs so that I can bring Remi back in and give her a groom." She gave a bright smile as she stepped backward and then turned to return to the mare's stall to tidy up her bed and make sure she hadn't missed anything.