Time to Teach - Moren Ezen Inspection

It was a warm day, the sun beating down on the clearing the three riders  had met in just hours before. Dog and Alisha were there for some help  from Trinh in inspecting there horses, making sure they were all in good  condition and safe and ready to breed. Zuza a stunning almost blue  mare, Jubilee a stunning patched brown and cream mare, and Ashaki a pale  dusty brown mare were all tethered nearby as the riders had a  conversation and got to know each other. Dog and Trinh were familiar  with one another, but Alisha was someone they had met just recently at a  Halloween bonfire. The conversation of inspections had come up and Dog  had admitted he was a complete novice, luckily Trinh wasn’t and was  happy to give him a hand. Alisha had overheard and asked for some  pointers as well.

   The three mares were eyeing each other as  the humans got to know each other. Zuza shook her mane, puffing her  chest out to make the most of the few centimetres extra height she had  over the other two. Ashaki was happily blanking her, snuffling at the  short grass between her hooves, snacking away. She had been hoping for  some nice snacks, but apparently grass was what she was getting for now.  Slightly more irritated, Jubilee twitched her ears and made a point of  looking in any other direction. All three of them looked up as Dog,  Alisha and Trinh walk over and untether them, moving them slightly  further apart, Dog and Alisha standing somewhere Trinh can see them  both.

   “Move slightly further apart, you need to be able to get  to every part of your horse without getting in each other’s way!” Trinh  explains as she tethers Jubilee to a wooden post she had driven into the  ground.

   “So, first step first, let’s get everyone tidied  up. It was a dusty ride and it’s hard to see any issues or injuries  under the grime” Trinh says pulling a brush out of her pack, stroking it  along Jubilee’s body, making sure to get all the dust, dirt, bits of  plant and everything else out of her coat. Running a comb through her  mane and tail, unwrapping twigs and leaves. Jubilee stood letting her  head hang, enjoying the feeling of being tidied up. Across the clearing  Dog was working vigilantly on tidying up Ashaki, even going so far as to  gently dip his hand into his paints, highlighting the colours in her  mane and tail that had faded away. He remarked her neck, swirling the  colours so that they almost mixed. Alisha, a woman of few words is  silently grooming Zuza, wiping down her legs with a damp cloth, cleaning  up the white and almost grey-blue streaks on her butt, also re-doing  the paints on Zuza’s leg. The mare, like the other to looks super  relaxed at the attention, her tail gently swishing while not being  tended to.

   When they are all cleaned up Trinh walks over and  checks their work, looking pleased. The three mares are almost  sparkling, not a hair out of place. Hooves cleaned and lightly oiled,  Ashaki, Zuza and Jubilee all look very pleased with themselves.

    “Make sure you take a good look at any injuries, any scrapes, make sure  they are clean and cared for. You don’t want them getting worse because  even small things like that can cause lifelong issues. They won’t  prohibit breeding but they can cause discomfort” Trinh explains moving  back over to Jubilee. The mare tosses her head looking smug as Trinh  leads her across the clearing.

   “You want to make sure Ashaki and  Zuza pick their legs up, check there pacing. You don’t need good  confirmation to breed your horses. But it is better, you don’t want to  risk breeding something that can cause harm, or health issues” she adds.  Dog and Alisha are watching as Jubilee walks out, stepping around the  clearing like she owns the place.

   “Keep an eye out for any  oddities in how they walk, that's part of why it is good to do this in a  group. Someone else can have an eye on the horse while you walk it, can  notice things you can’t. “ as she speaks her and Jubilee finally come  to a stop and she pats her happily.

   “Do one of you want to go?”  she says tethering Jubilee again. Alisha nods and gently leads Zuza out,  the mare steps high, head up, tail raised. Zuza is almost prancing,  trying to show herself off and the quiet Alisha cracks a small smile at  the sight.

   “See Dog, from here you can basically see every muscle  move. It’s a lot easier to pick up anything that isn’t right. Alisha,  take her in a loop, a figure eight if you can, `` Trinh says as Ashaki  rests her head on Dog’s shoulder watching curiously. Jubilee is half  dozing by a tree, knowing her work is done for the day.

Alisha leads Zuza to a stop, looking pleased. She gently strokes the mares neck and moves over to the other two riders.

“How  did she look?” Alisha asks curiously. Zuza looks smug, like she knows  she did well. Her head tossing up and down, prancing around as Trihn  lets out a soft laugh.

“She did fantastic. She has beautiful form,  she moves seamlessly. Like it takes her no effort, and I think she knows  how pretty she is” Trinh says smiling. Alisha nods warmly and leads  Zuza to the side, tethering her and giving both her and Jubilee some  carrots out of her pack, so she can watch Dog and Ashaki show themselves  off.

Dog, is super nervous, feeling a burning in his stomach.  Ashaki hadn’t been in his herd long, and he definitely didn’t know her  as well as he did some of his other horses. She was a lot more relaxed  than Vigilance, a lot less stubborn and prideful than Pyre. He led her  out in front of Trinh and Alisha, hands shaking slightly. He was glad  Jubilee and Zuza were distracted, hopefully Ashaki would behave and not  try and show off quite as much as she could. He led Ashaki through her  paces, smiling at the horse got into the flow very quickly.

“Good  girl” he muttered proudly as he led her around the clearing, moving and  turning at Trinh’s directions. Ashaki snorted softly, watching him and  moving effortlessly with him. Finally they stopped and Dog patted her  proudly.

“Another fine horse, no flaws that I could see. She seems very fond of you” Trinh said warmly. Dog smiled and nodded.

“Were  all lucky, I think these three are three of the prettiest ladies I have  seen recently” he says nodding to Alisha who smiles back.

“So,  you can see all three of them are in perfect condition for breeding.  Just, ensure you don’t overbreed, you don’t want to cause health issues  by overworking them. If they do get an injury somehow make sure they are  healed up and it is still safe for them. But, you both care about your  horses and I have no doubts that you will make some fine foals!” she  gives Dog a knowing look, he knew about her minor obsession with one of  his horses.

“Don’t worry, Vigilance is next!” he promises with a small shrug.

“Who  is Vigilance?” Alisha asks curiously. Dog looks at Trinh, trying to  work out if she wants to explain. She doesn’t seem fussed so he speaks  up.

“Vigilance is a horse of mine that Trinh is a fan off, he’s a  handsome stallion. Marl, trust me, if you have a marl Trinh will be a  fan of it” Dog admits with a laugh.

After a little more  conversation, the three mares, Zuza, Ashaki and Jubilee seem to be  getting impatient, the sun is starting to drop in the sky.

“I think  we should all get moving. It was wonderful to see you again Trinh, and  it was nice getting to know you Alisha. We should do this again!” Dog  says saddling Ashaki up and swinging himself onto her back as she  prances around eagerly. Trinh and Alisha saddle Zuza and Jubilee and  also mount up.

“It was a pleasure meeting you” Trinh says dipping her head to Alisha. The other woman gives her a warm smile.

“The same to the two of you” she says before her and Zuza vanish in the opposite direction. Trinh looks at Dog and Ashaki.

“You  want to sleep in my shed for the night? Rather than riding back all the  way to your friends?” she offers kindly and Dog nods gratefully. It  would be nice to have a night somewhere safe before he went and  retrieved his herd.