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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 16:18:53 GMT -6
Now for the bridle… she gave it a swift flick. To her surprise, he actually listened, and began walking again. Fiera breathed a sigh of relief- if worst came to worst, at least she would have this to show for all her hard work. Andante would move when ordered- that was another trick down. She looked ahead though and realized that even though Andante was walking pretty slowly, the fence marking the end of the training ground was starting to get pretty close. Andante didn’t seem to care though, and kept plodding forward resolutely. “Uh, Andante? Want to slow down there, buddy?” Fiera said, but the equillion continued regardless. She huffed. “Of course not.” At least this would be a good opportunity to teach him how to turn though, unless he wanted to walk right into it. Thankfully, that was what bridles were designed for. Fiera picked up the reins.
Fiera 1 Andante 11.1/11.1 Bridle Knowledge 6 Go 6 Stop 6 Left/Right 6
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 16:26:51 GMT -6
Gently, she pulled on the left side of the reins. The part of the bit it was hooked to was thus pulled in Fiera’s direction, putting pressure on the side of his mouth that she wanted him to go in. Supposedly, that would cause him to turn his head in that direction to relieve the uncomfortable pressure, and the rest of his body would follow suit. Well… it wasn’t doing that. Andante kept forging ahead, stubbornly ignoring the bridle. Fiera’s eyebrow twitched, and she tugged a little harder, jerking the rein back toward her. “Andante, left.” She commanded, carefully maintaining her grip. Andante nickered, annoyed at the sensation of the bit in his mouth and shook his head. “Come on! Left!” Fiera called to him. She even got out another piece of carrot and tossed it in the direction she wanted him to go, despite how she wanted to wean him off of those.
Fiera 2 Andante 11.2/11.2 Bridle Knowledge 7 Go 7 Stop 7 Left/Right 7
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 16:27:33 GMT -6
Finally, Andante turned, heading toward the piece of carrot. “Yes!” Fiera cried. “Good left, Andante!” She said, and tossed him a whole carrot for the good effort. The equillion happily accepted them, picking them up before heading straight along the fence of the training ground. Fiera didn’t like trekking along the edge of the training area though- it made it a little hard to teach him ‘right’. So she’d have to get him to turn left again. She took a deep breath and released it before tugging hard on the left side of the reins again. “Andante, left.” She said, hoping he’d turn. To her delight though, he did, just slowly and agonizingly. Eventually they were facing straight again, heading toward the gate leading into the fenced off area. Fiera eased up on the pressure so he didn’t have to turn anymore. “Good left, Andante!” She said as he kept walking.
Fiera 3 Andante 11.3/11.3 Bridle Knowledge 8 Go 8 Stop 8 Left/Right 8
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 16:31:10 GMT -6
When they were part way there however, Fiera decided to try the other direction. Hopefully it wouldn’t take as much effort now that Andante was at least somewhat used to turning. “Ok Andante, now go right.” She said, pulling on the right hand side of the reins. The equillion sighed and refused for a moment, but relented when Fiera gave a few more insistent tugs. When he was headed toward the fence again, Fiera threw another piece of carrot in front of him. “That’s it! Good right!” Fiera said, bouncing in her seat a bit as he sped up to catch it. This was going well! He might not be happy about turns yet, but at least he performed it when asked. Still, she wasn’t sure if he was doing it based on the reins and bit, or if it was based on her verbal commands. She would have to find out.
Fiera 4 Andante 11.4/11.4 Bridle Knowledge 9 Go 9 Stop 9 Left/Right 9
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 16:31:41 GMT -6
Just to make sure, Fiera had Andante perform a few more right turns just to make sure he had the commands of both left and right in his head. He didn’t seem too happy with it, but it got easier over time. He’d respond faster to the commands and tugs and needed fewer and fewer treats to be coerced into obeying. Soon they were doing circles around the dusty training area. People glanced over the fence to see what Fiera was doing, but soon moved on when it was clear that it wasn’t anything exciting. She merely got Andante ‘turning’ in one direction for a minute or so, and then would pull on the other side and get him ‘turning’ in the other direction, going left and right and back again until he was sure that he knew the commands. He had started speeding up over time too, gaining confidence.
Fiera 5 Andante 12.0/12.0 Bridle Knowledge 10 Go 10 Stop 10 Left/Right 10
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 16:32:08 GMT -6
Fiera was quite happy about that, if she was being honest. The more comfortable Andante was with carrying her, the safer she would be when riding him and the faster that they could go together. Still, teaching him how to officially go faster and slower with the use of commands would have to come later. For now, she just wanted him to obey these more simple commands. Speaking of, she let Andante go straight and dropped the reins. Time to test out his lefts and rights. “Okay Andante… left.” She said, keeping her hands in her lap. Obeying her word, Andante peeled off to the left, heading toward the fence along the treeline. Fiera let him straighten out for a moment before she opened her mouth again. “Alright Andante, go right.” She said, and the equillion turned in the opposite direction this time. She had done it! Or he had figured it out. It was a group effort overall.
Fiera 6 Adante 12.1/12.1 Bridle Knowledge 11 Go 11 Stop 11 Left/Right 11
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 16:32:33 GMT -6
Then she picked up the reins. Without the use of any words this time, Fiera tugged on the left side. Just as soundlessly, Andante turned off to the left, relieving the pressure from the bit. Excited, Fiera waited until he was done turning and then gave a gentle tug on the right side of the reins. Sure enough, he turned that way as well. She tried that a few more times and then, just for fun, she started switching between commands. She’d give him a tug on the bridle to go right, and then give a verbal order to go left. To his credit, Andante performed flawlessly. Fiera beamed with pride, even though to anyone else this would just be simple riding skills. Still, she was happy that Andante had stuck with her long enough to get this far. They weren’t done though, not yet. They still had a couple more things to go over.
Fiera 7 Andante 12.2/12.2 Bridle Knowledge 12 Go 12 Stop 12 Left/Right 12
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 16:33:57 GMT -6
First and foremost, Fiera hadn’t really figured out… how to make him stop moving yet. When they had just started, it was nearly impossible to get him to move, and she had to resort to rampant bribery to do it. Now though, he was moving at a nice fast walking speed and didn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. Fiera peered off of the side of the equillion as the ground traveled beneath them. She doubted she’d get hurt if she just went ahead and jumped off of Andante’s back and waited for him to catch up, but she didn’t think that Aster would want to do the same. It wasn’t exactly a viable method of dismounting, especially considering that you’d have to run to catch up with him to grab the reins. So Fiera would definitely need to teach him to stop before she did anything else.
Fiera 8 Andante 12.3/12.3 Bridle Knowledge 13 Go 13 Stop 13 Left/Right 13
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 16:34:49 GMT -6
With a bridle though, it was supposed to be pretty easy. Instead of tugging on one side or the other to get him to turn, she could just pull on both sides at the same time to pull his head back a bit and get him to just slow down and stop in general. First, she made sure that Andante was going in a straight line so she wouldn’t just be confusing him in the middle of a turn. Once he was settled, she gave the command. “Stop, Andante.” She said firmly, and pulled back on the reins. He whinnied and shook his head, but she didn’t relent, and instead just repeated herself louder this time, refusing to let go of the reins. She braced herself against the saddle, clinging to the equillion with her legs. Then, she cracked a squeezed shut eye to see if she was making progress.
Fiera 9 Andante 12.4/12.4 Bridle Knowledge 14 Go 14 Stop 14 Left/Right 14
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 16:35:13 GMT -6
To her relief, she was. Andante’s footsteps had faltered and slowed since she had started pulling on the reins, and as she fully opened her eyes again, he stopped. Fiera couldn’t help but cheer- sweet stillness! “Good stop, Andante!” She said, and tossed a whole carrot in front of him. Andante clearly wasn’t happy, flicking his tail and shaking his head dangerously, but the comparatively huge treat seemed to calm him down some as he leaned down to take it. That was certainly a rough stop, but at least he had done it. Now she just had to get him used to doing it on command. She waited until he was done with the carrot first, and then flicked the reins to get him moving again, walking around the training area. Soon they were up to speed and riding back at their original pace, heading down the center of the field toward the gate.
Fiear 10 Andante 13.0/13.0 Bridle Knowledge 15 Go 15 Stop 15 Left/Right 15
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 16:35:56 GMT -6
Before they got there, Fiera opened her mouth and gave the command again. “Andante, stop.” She said, and pulled on the equillion’s reins again. She didn’t do it as hard now that the equillion had done it at least once. She doubted that it hurt or anything like that, but it was probably uncomfortable. He still didn’t seem to like it though, snorting and shaking his head. Still, Fiera didn’t relent and repeated the command until he started slowing down. She noted that he did it faster this time, stumbling to a stop and giving his tail one last irritated flick, causing a small puff of smoke to break off from it and go floating away. Amused, Fiera tossed him another piece of carrot. “Good stop, bud.” She said, satisfied with his progress so far. “Let’s give it another go though, okay?” She said as he ate, waiting for him to finish.
Fiera 1 Andante 13.1/13.1 Bridle Knowledge 16 Go 16 Stop 16 Left/Right 16
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 16:36:39 GMT -6
When Andante was ready, Fiera told him to go, and they were off again, cantering across the training ground. Fiera was glad that she picked one of the larger fenced areas. Now that Andante was more comfortable carrying her, he could move at a pretty decent clip. Not exactly running or even trotting, but enough that he could cover forty feet pretty darn quickly. She didn’t let him stay at top speed for long though, and soon gave the command again. “Andante, stop.” She said firmly, and gently tugged on the reins again. Andante slowed even more quickly than before this time, skittering to a stop. It was still pretty bumpy though, all things considered, as if he had to take a moment to remember what the command meant, and then go “Oh, right.” and stop on a dime. It was fine for Andante, but a little rough on Fiera’s body.
Fiera 2 Andante 13.2/13.2 Bridle Knowledge 17 Go 17 Stop 17 Left/Right 17
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 16:37:25 GMT -6
She still gave him some carrot for his trouble, but was hoping they could still improve this trick a bit for her comfort. She let him walk around for a longer amount of time this time, letting him get used to walking instead of her just asking him to stop right away. When it seemed like he was ready for it, Fiera pulled back and held the action on his reins again, albeit more gently than before. “Ok, stop.” She said, and to her delight Andante slowed down instead of stopping right then and there and stumbling for a few feet. It was as smooth as she could hope for, and she found herself perfectly comfortable as he finally stopped walking. “Great job, Andante!” Fiera cried, clapping. She tossed him another large carrot, even though he didn’t really need it. She was just happy that he had finally gotten the picture.
Fiera 3 Andante 13.3/13.3 Bridle Knowledge 18 Go 18 Stop 18 Left/Right 18
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 16:37:49 GMT -6
From there, Fiera just rode him around for a bit. He could probably do with the exercise, after all. Who knew how cooped up he was between training sessions? If Andante’s steadily increasing speed was any indicator, he probably enjoyed this as well, trotting around the perimeter of the training area and turning when Fiera asked. She went over all the combinations of commands, but he seemed to have it down pat by this point. He didn’t need any bribery with treats, which was a relief. She was starting to run low on carrots, and didn’t have a lot left to offer him. Still, the fun of riding seemed to be enough for him, at least for now. Fiera glanced out across the field, looking at the long grass beyond the fenced off training area. It rippled enticingly in the breeze, a wide open plain unbounded. Fiera raised an eyebrow.
Fiera 4 Andante 13.4/13.4 Bridle Knowledge 19 Go 19 Stop 19 Left/Right 19
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 16, 2020 16:38:49 GMT -6
Now there was an idea- why did they have to stay in here at all, now that he knew what he was doing when she was riding on him? She pulled on the reins to bring Andante to a stop, and quickly packed up her bags. She threw her backpack over her shoulder and trotted over to the front gate, unlatching it. Andante ambled over, curious as to why she had stopped so suddenly. Before he could investigate though, Fiera threw herself up onto his saddle again, scrambling into position. “Ok Andante… let’s go exploring!” She said, and pointed out of the gate. Happy to obey, Andante walked out of the training area and into the field, ready to carry her to wherever she wanted to go next. Did they still have other things to train? Of course. But to Fiera’s delight, they no longer had to do it trapped in a box.
Fiera 5 Andante 14.0/14.0 Bridle Knowledge 20 Go 20 Stop 20 Left/Right 20
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