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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 12:08:34 GMT -6
Now that Andante was used to having riding equipment on him, Fiera could afford to put a bit more pressure on the equillion- literally. Accepting one’s tack was all well and good, but there were a lot heavier things that Andante would have to get used to in the future- like Fiera or another rider. Not that she was heavy, that is, she quickly corrected in her thoughts. No, Fiera was small and nimble and oh so very nubile, yep. Still, what with how untested he was with all this, perhaps it would be a good idea for Andante to get used to the weight of something that wasn’t a whole person yet. Like… saddle bags! Most riding pets she knew knew how to carry saddle bags. Yes, if Andante learned how to carry static objects first, that would be a great introduction to carrying more wiggly things without knocking them off.
Fiera 6
Andante 8.1/8.1
Carry Load 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 12:09:14 GMT -6
Not that Fiera… actually owned a set of saddle bags. Or at least, not a set that would fit Andante. Her equipment was all thundergug sized for Desert, her savannah ‘gug. As a result, she had to slap something together for this training. Well, she had some rope and some string, and her backpack and purse. That would do… right? She had to trade some things from the backpack into the purse in order to weigh it down some more though, and threw some extra rocks into the backpack for good measure. Then, she tied them together with about three feet of rope, so they were connected. Overall, they could resemble saddle bags… if you turned your head and squinted. “Whatever.” Fiera said, doing just that. “They’ll do for this. Oh, Andante!” She called, trotting over to where the equillion was nibbling at a tuft of grass growing around one of the fence posts.
Fiera 7
Andante 8.2/8.2
Carry Load 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 12:13:39 GMT -6
Like before, she let the equillion get a good sniff of the new piece of equipment first to get him comfortable with it. Once he lost interest, she walked around to his side and stood next to the saddle that had been placed upon his back. With a bit of effort she was able to lift it up and set it very gently upon his back, supporting most of the weight herself. Her arms were shaky, but she managed it well enough. Andante snorted and looked at her, and she did her best to comfort him. “It’s okay Andante, see? It’s not hurting you! It’s just a bit of… ugh… extra weight!” She said. To her relief he didn’t move or bolt away, and instead kept grazing on that one patch of grass. Once he stopped twitching every time the ‘saddle bags’ brushed against him, she took it off again, sighing with relief as she dropped them on the ground.
Fiera 8
Andante 8.3/8.3
Carry Load 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 12:14:06 GMT -6
Opening up the tied-off backpack, Fiera took out a carrot as a treat. “Good job with those saddle bags, buddy!” She said, offering it to the equillion. He took it graciously, crunching loudly as Fiera worked up the willpower to pick up the saddle bags again. It wasn’t that she couldn’t, so much as they were uncomfortably heavy. Still, she managed it and this time heaved them entirely onto Andante’s back. He nickered uncomfortably at supporting their full weight this time, but Fiera shushed him quietly and offered another carrot for his trouble. He accepted it, but still shuffled his feet awkwardly and kept glancing back at his flank. Fiera waited until it seemed like he couldn’t take it anymore, fed him one last carrot, and walked back to take the bags off again. “Good job, Andante! You’re doing really well!” She said encouragingly as she gave him a break from the weight.
Fiera 9
Andante 8.4/8.4
Carry Load 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 12:14:26 GMT -6
The next time she put the saddlebags on, he didn’t seem to mind as much initially, but he still struggled after the same length of time. Each time she put it on after that though, he seemed to mind less and less and improve more and more. It might be because he was slowly getting used to the discomfort, but she was sure that the endless amounts of encouraging head scritches, whispers, and carrots helped too. After a while, he didn’t seem to mind the load at all- it was just another piece of equipment on his back like anything else. She even led him around the training ground for a pit, holding the lead and guiding him, but he didn’t falter or kick out. He did seem well and truly used to it. For Fiera, that was a relief- with that out of the way, it meant that she could move on to more… complicated loads.
Fiera 10
Andante 9.0/9.0
Carry Load 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 12:15:21 GMT -6
Fiera took the saddlebags off, letting them drop to the ground. Then she untied them, disentangling her purse and backpack from the whole mess. “Come on, come off… there we go.” She said, finally pulling her handbag out. “Whew.” Now that she knew that Andante could handle a bit of extra weight without putting up a fight, she could add her own weight to the ring, so to speak. That is, she was going to try and get Andante to accept a rider. She knew that pure equillion were rather sensitive creatures, or perhaps just haughty, and as a result were difficult to train for things like this- but she was determined to do what it took to get on his back and stay there. Well, perhaps not all it took. Fiera would prefer not to go to the hospital today if she could avoid it. Anything short of that though, she would do.
Fiera 1
Andante 9.1/9.1
Carry Rider 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 12:15:39 GMT -6
To start out with, Fiera shoved as many carrots from her backpack in her coat as she could. She’d need these to keep him placid, if she had to guess. Then she slowly approached the equillion, making sure he could see her as she came up to his side. “Hey, Andante.” She said, petting him hard enough that he could feel the pressure. Then she offered him a carrot. “Are you going to be good for me today?” She asked cheekily. Andante accepted the treat, but clearly made no promises. From there she rounded his side and gripped onto the saddle, putting some of her weight onto him like she was about to put herself up. She paused for a moment and Andante gave a low nicker- a warning, no doubt. She stopped for a moment and gave him another carrot. “It’s ok, see? The more you let me do, the more treats you get!”
Fiera 2
Andante 9.2/9.2
Carry Rider 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 12:15:53 GMT -6
While Andante was chewing, Fiera made her move. She pulled on the soft material of the saddle and managed to scramble up some, belly flopping onto the equillion’s back. It wasn’t her most graceful move, but she knew that she needed to act fast to avoid getting thrown off. He tried to whinny, but stopped himself when he almost spit out his carrot. The equillion grumbled as he chewed faster, and Fiera took the opportunity to get off again, watching as his smoky mane and tail flared ominously. “Whew, ok! Good first try there, Andante!” She said, giving him another carrot just as he was finishing off the last one. She gave his shoulder an encouraging pat- they were making progress here! They’d just need to work a little harder. While Andante was eating that treat she returned to the saddle, followed by his glare. She didn’t let it affect her, though.
Fiera 3
Andante 9.3/9.3
Carry Rider 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 12:16:13 GMT -6
Instead, she prepared to climb back on, rubbing her hands together. A quick flop later, and she was back to square one, flopped over his saddle. Andante nickered lowly, but didn’t seem quite as upset as last time. Fiera slowly but surely rearranged herself, moving her limbs until they were evenly distributed on each side of the saddle. Andante flicked his tail with irritation, but she tossed another chunk of carrot in front of him to help him calm down. “It’s ok, buddy!” She said, petting his shoulder from her position on the saddle. “I’m not hurting you, see?” She said. She was still clinging to his back, not even sitting up, but he didn’t seem likely to throw her off or attack her with his smoky vapors like last time. Instead, she just laid there for a while as he ambled around, letting the equillion get used to her weight.
Fiera 4
Andante 9.4/9.4
Carry Rider 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 12:16:29 GMT -6
After about ten minutes, Andante had been eating grass for most of that time and Fiera was starting to feel a little silly. “Alright.” She said, mostly to herself. “Let’s make me a REAL rider, hm?” She said, and put her hands on the front of the saddle. Then, she slowly but surely pushed herself up until she was in a proper sitting position. Andante looked up at her and she held her breath, hoping he wouldn’t be upset at the sudden motion… and put his head back down. Fiera sighed with relief and adjusted herself a bit more, but the tiny movements didn’t seem to bother him. She had done it- he was fine with a rider. Or… well, she couldn’t call it riding yet, considering she couldn’t make him go. But he was at least fine with her sitting on him, and that was all she wanted out of this.
Fiera 5
Andante 10.0/10.0
Carry Rider 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 16:12:14 GMT -6
With Andante being okay with Fiera sitting on her back, it was time for her to get him to actually… you know. Do stuff. There wasn’t much point in having a mount if you couldn’t get it to actually take you places, and she suspected that that is what Aster hired her to train. Now that Andante was okay with her sitting on his back though, she suspected that it wouldn’t be too hard to teach- just time consuming. He seemed to be a pretty easy pet to teach so far, so with any luck this wouldn’t be too different. First things first though, she had to swap out the lead she had on Andante’s head for a bridle and reins, which would be needed for the training. She gently unclasped it and slid it off of his face before bunching it up and putting it in her canvas backpack.
Fiera 6
Andante 10.1/10.1
Bridle Knowledge 1
Go 1
Stop 1
Left/Right 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 16:16:09 GMT -6
It served her well, but she needed to upgrade to a proper bridle now. She didn’t actually own a bridle per se, as all of her mounts had learned how to operate without one, but she did rent one for the day. It was a simple one with no bells or whistles, and would hopefully be all she needed to teach Andante. She managed to get it onto the equillion without much fuss, and threw the reins over his back. With that, his riding getup was complete, and she could begin the training. With a bit of effort she was able to clamber onto his back and arrange herself on the saddle. Once she was settled, she dropped the bag of carrots between her legs in front of her, along with a long pole she had tied a piece of string to earlier. The “carrot and stick” method might be old fashioned, but hopefully it would work.
Fiera 7
Andante 10.2/10.2
Bridle Knowledge 2
Go 2
Stop 2
Left/Right 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 16:16:41 GMT -6
Once the items were settled, Fiera took ahold of the reins. “Ok Andante… go!” She said, kicking his sides. He didn’t move. “Come on, yah!” She said, shaking the reins. The equillion continued to graze. She sighed, unsure why she thought that would work. Fiera picked up a carrot and broke it in half. “Ok Andante, go!” She said, throwing it ahead of him. When he looked up and saw it, she snapped the reins and said “Go” again, making sure that he felt the movement of the bit and heard the command. With any luck, he’d be able to connect those to the motion she was trying to encourage over time. It took only a few moments for him to locate the carrot and start ambling toward it. “Yes, good job Andante!” Fiera called from his back. “Good go! Keep it up!” She said as he got closer and closer.
Fiera 8
Andante 10.3/10.3
Bridle Knowledge 3
Go 3
Stop 3
Left/Right 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 16:17:06 GMT -6
When he got to the carrot though, he stopped to eat it. “Augh, no! Keep going!” Fiera said, poking at his sides again. Andante merely snorted and flicked his tail. Fiera sighed and broke a few more carrots in half, realizing that this was going to take a lot more effort. And carrots. “Ok Andante, go!” She said, flicking the reins and throwing another carrot even further ahead of him than before. He saw it before it landed this time and trotted after it, giving Fiera a good ten feet of movement before slowing again to pick it up. Fiera groaned and waited for him to finish it this time- it’s not like she could get him to go anywhere else while his mouth was already full. When it looked like he was done though, she flicked the reins again and gave the command. “Andante, go!” She said impatiently, hoping that she wouldn’t have to spend more treats.
Fiera 9
Andante 10.4/10.4
Bridle Knowledge 4
Go 4
Stop 4
Left/Right 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 16:18:18 GMT -6
To her surprise though, he DID go- at least a little bit. Andante sighed and took a few slow steps forward, stopping after a couple of feet. He had done it! Sort of. She’d have to encourage more uh… distance. “Good go, Andante!” Fiera said, tossing another piece of carrot in front of him. He snapped it up eagerly, his tail swishing, and Fiera hoped that the encouragement would only help him out. When he was ready to go again, Fiera set the reins down for a moment. She wanted him to know how to do this with and without the bridle, after all. “Ok Andante… go!” She said. Sure enough, he started plodding forward, one foot in front of the other. It wasn’t speedy, but it would do. “Good go, Andante! Great job!” Fiera said, and threw him another slice of carrot. He stopped a moment to eat it, but was soon ready to go again.
Fiera 10
Andante 11.0/11.0
Bridle Knowledge 5
Go 5
Stop 5
Left/Right 5
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