First Meetings - Kamon And Wrath Herding Training

Kess - 136

The farm had been clearly marked out, and Dog rode Vigilance up the path he knew very well, keeping one eye on his travelling companions as he did. It was a good few minutes ride from the gates to the main area of the farm but he didn’t need to direct his horse at all, Vigilance would know the rest of the herd was here and was picking up his pace as a familiar neigh echoed through the air.

“Uh-Oh!” Dog said softly as the horse threw himself into a gallop, heading over to a familiar fence where some very familiar horses stood. Pyre and Ashaki trotted to the fence eagerly. By the gate of the field, and oddly not contained in it stood a huge black and brown stallion, who was watching the interaction curiously.

Mudd - 80

Trinh gave a sigh of relief as they grew closer to the farm, glad to not have come face to face with some raptors. She chuckled at vigilance's eagerness to get there which soon turned into a Yelp of surprise.

Kamon at the site of Vigilance taking off picked up his own pace determined to win what in his mind was a race.

"Kamon you don't even know where you're going!" Trinh scolded a tad louder than she normally would.

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Dog hops off of Vigilance and laughs softly at the sight of Kamon moving up so quickly. He throws out a hand grabbing the halter of the huge black horse by the gate. The horse lets out a threatening neigh at the sight of this new horse he doesn’t recognise.

“Chill Wrath, they are friends. I’m here to introduce them to Tarkhan!” Dog says gently stroking the horse’s neck. Wrath, doesn’t seem best pleased, tossing his head but letting Dog give him attention. By this point the huge, fluffy cows in the field have also come over looking curious.

“And who might this friend be Dog?”, a new voice comes from the house nearby, and the door swings open. A large, muscular man comes out, a heavy looking axe on his belt, a large scar down his eye...and a tiny, fluffy rabbit with a bandaged leg tucked up in his arms.

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Kamon quickly came to a stop at the sight of the horse that almost towers a foot over him. The glare from the haspars' eyes came across very clear that he wouldn't put up with Kamon’s shenanigans.

When Kamon had come to a stop Trinh dismounted she glanced at the large man that had stepped out of the nearby home. She didn't much care about him she was more interested in the Haspar that Dog had started to try and soothe.

She slowly approached the menacing beast, "Hi there friend, you're quite handsome."

Trinh lifted her hand palm down fingers relaxed offering it to the Haspar to smell, "I have another friend just like you, she's just not as tall as you are."

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Wrath backs up as many steps as he can with Dog holding onto his, ears twitching uneasily. Tarkhan quickly moves to his horses side and strokes him gently as Dog lets go.

“Don’t worry Wrath, a friend of Dog’s is a friend of ours” he says calmly before leading Wrath forward a step. The large horse finally sniffs at the presented hand curiously and pushes his nose into her fingers.

Dog grins and moves away, opening the gate to let Vigilance re-unite with the other’s of his herd. Tarkhan is smiling at Wrath, watching him investigate this new person.

“Sorry about him, he’s a little wary with new people,” Tarkhan says, still holding the rabbit.

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Trinh pet the Haspars nose and introduced herself, “Hello Wrath, I’m Trinh and this is Kamon.” She took a break to gesture towards her jibita who was inching his way towards them not wanting to anger the much larger pony.

She moved to Wraths side to check him out, He was a well built Haspar. “Do you know if his eyes are genetic?” she asked his rider not taking her eyes off of Wrath her hands following chestnut coloration on his neck.

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Tarkhan watches this newcomer with an amused smile. At her question he looks thoughtful for a few moments, he never focused on Wrath’s eyes and had forgotten they were odd.

“No, genetic mutation unfortunately. I got him checked out to make sure it didn’t affect his sight, wouldn’t be safe for him wandering freely if it did. I found it that it doesn’t, it’s just a really odd anomaly” Tarkhan says warmly. Behind them Dog speaks up.

“Trinh, you should probably introduce yourself to the human” he calls with a low laugh as he checks over all of his horses in the field. Ashaki is looking very curiously at Kamon from the edge of the fence, she doesn’t seem phased by Wrath on the other side of the fence.

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Trinh frowned hearing that the haspars eyes wouldn’t pass to offspring, but that would be fine.

She blushed as Dog called her out on ignoring the other rider, “Oh! Did I not introduce myself, I thought I had. I’m Trinh, I have a farm about an hours ride east of here.”

Kamon nickered his hello, “And this is my helper Kamon.”

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Tarkhan lets out a warm laugh and nods to Dog in thanks. Wrath seems to have relaxed slightly seeing this other human talking to his.

“I’m Tarkhan, but you probably already knew that! This big boy is Wrath” Tarkhan says moving slightly away from his horse to offer a hand to Kamon.

“So, what brings the two of you here? I was expecting Dog last night, didn’t think he would have company. Although he has mentioned you before, helped him out a few times from what I hear!”

Mudd - 171

"Yeah, Dog ended up in one of my storage sheds for the night,'' She said, "It sounds like he and Vigilance had a bad run in with raptors."

Kamon happily sniffed the new males hand and felt my courageous and approached the Haspar for a friendly greeting.

"Dog doesn't like to stay on my farm with out helping out and I'm all caught up with my farming and I," she paused for a moment beginning to get nervous to ask for this new man's assistance.

"Uhm," she tripped over her words, "I was hoping to look into maybe getting livestock to help fill out areas that I uh… Dog said you might be able to help me get Kamon used to other smaller animals so when I get some myself he won't need as much training?"

She ended her sentence in a question without really asking anything. Trinh turned her gaze to the ground, she had been so comfortable with Dog she had forgotten how nervous other humans made her feel.

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Tarkhan didn’t say a word as she spoke, just listening, his eyes darted over Dog and Vigilance, quickly looking for any injuries. He was pleased to see the pair looked okay, although Vigilance was sticking close to his rider. Wrath gently gave Trinh a nudge as she looked at the ground and made an effort to snuffle the end of her scarf.

“You want to learn to herd?” Tarkhan says finally. “Cause if that's what you are asking me and Wrath would love to help. He’s a great herder, Sierra my mare is too” he says and gestures to the field where a red dun mare is stood with Dog’s herd.

Mudd - 185

Trinh smiled at the Haspar as he tugged on her and rubbed his nose again.

“Yes, I would like to learn how to herd,” she said before looking at the horse the new man had gestured to.

Her eyes lit up she recognized that Jibita and exclaimed, “She’s one of mine! Well not mine, but she’s one of my foals I bred her about 4 or 5 years ago. Her parents belong to a friend of mine, who is like Dog and never stays in one place for long, so sometimes I end up with his Jibitas in exchange for me being able to make breeding plans with them while he’s off racing.”

Kamon had wandered off towards Dog and his horses, wanting to check out the mare that his rider was so excited to see again.

“Is she doing well for you? Her dad is a bit of a pain, very stubborn but her mother is super sweet and friendly. Oh I bet she’s fast too both of her parents are built to race.” She asked without leaving much room for Tarkhan to answer.

Kess - 116

Tarkhans eyes get wider as this stranger recognises his mare, he lets out a soft whistle and Sierra trots over to the gate which he swings open, leading her out beside Wrath.

“You bred her? That's amazing, well, she is a credit to you. She can be a pain, as most mares can, but she definitely gets to work when she needs to” he says gently patting the mare who tosses her head eagerly. “She’s certainly fast, we had to work on her cornering for a while, she was so focused on going forwards as quickly as possible that she would overshoot the corner and sent me flying once or twice” he says his grin growing.

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Trinh grinned, “I sure did. If you couldn’t tell I can remember Jibitas, well ponies, better than I can with most humans.”

Kamon had trailed after Sierra after the new male human had let her out and found his spot next to his rider.

“That is really good to hear, I’m glad she has found herself a spot in your herd,” she paused not sure where to take the conversation then noticed a small pen nearby, “You can herd rabbits?”

Kess - 143

Tarkhan lets out a soft laugh and Sierra snorts at Kamon curiously. Tarkhan glances over to the rabbit pen and rubs his head thoughtfully.

“Oh yeah, you don’t ride the horse to herd the rabbits, Wrath can act very sheepdog when he needs to” Tarkhan says before shifting the rabbit in his arms. “It involves a lot of arm waving, and a lot of Wrath nudging them with his nose, but they recognise bedtime and move themselves in the right direction usually” Tarkhan explains petting the bunny gently.

“Wrath is also a bit of a watchdog when it comes to them, we had a few predator incidents and then he started chasing them off. Now things are usually pretty relaxed, until someone decides to get onto the roof of the hutch and leap off” he says gesturing to the one he is holding.

Mudd - 70

Kamon snorted back at Sierra and inched his way closer to her.

“Poor guy,” Trinh said taking a step closer to pet the bunny herself, “Do you only have rabbits?”

She found it interesting that rabbits could be considered a herding animal, but wasn’t what she was expecting when Dog told her that his friend herded for a living. She was hoping to get some experience with slightly larger animals.

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Tarkhan gestures over to the field where Dogs herd had been saying. A group of huge, fluffy cows were grazing at the other side of the field.

“The rabbits are for fun, the cattle are my main focus. I also have goats and sheep in a field further down the hill.” He says with a smile. He moves the bunny so that she can pet it properly, it seems to be half dozing in his grip.

“Your welcome to a cuddle if you want? With the rabbit of course!” He adds.

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"I wouldn't want to hurt him any more than he already is," she answered stepping back after a moment, she didn't realize she was closer to Tarkhan than she's normally comfortable.

Kamon had made his way to Sierra's side and gently nipped her shoulder with a nicker and a shake of his head.

Trinh took a better look at the cows she had missed earlier, "I was thinking of getting a cow or two, some goats, and maybe chickens, more animals for personal use not really something to take to the market. Not all at once but I guess my question is which do you think would be better to start with?"

Kess - 107

Tarkhan grins and moves over to the rabbit pen, Wrath close at his heels, he pulls a small, thin fence out creating a separate section and puts the injured rabbit in. Wrath watches and grabs some hay, dropping it into the pen. Then Tarkhan moves back to Trinh.

“Out of that list? Probably chickens, cows you need a couple and they can be quite difficult if your horse isn’t trained. But of course we can sort that! Goats are a pain, wonderful, but a pain. Sheep are just smelly, lumpy, lazy things. So chickens, then cows!” He says thoughtfully going absent as he got into his flow.

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Trinh followed behind Wrath watching the Haspar and rider pair. She smiled as Wrath helped with the care then had a quiet laugh realizing she would never have the help Wrath provides. Her herd would make this simple task so much harder.

Kamon quickly noticed his rider was gone and trailed behind her.

"Oh, sorry," she apologized when Tarkhan turned around and nearly tripped over her.

"Chickens, then cows." She repeated, "Would you be willing to let me bring Kamon to train with your cows and well you I guess? I don't have much of an idea of where to start."

Kess - 155

Sierra finally notices Kamon as he moves away and lets out a frustrated snort at losing the attention.

“Of course I wouldn’t mind!” Tarkhan says getting his balance back, he looks thoughtful for a moment, he looked like he was planning something, finally he nods.

“I have an idea!” He says and looks over his shoulder. “Dog, c’mere, I need a favour” he calls and the other rider joins them, hopping over the fence.

“What’s up?” He says curiously as Vigilance looks up and moves back to the fence. Wrath also moves over standing there like a third rider.

“So, Sierra, Ash, Vigilance, and Pyre are going to be perfect help with herding practise. Essentially, If me and Dog send the horses in we can get some practise splitting out specific animals, then we can move the cows down to there secondary field, which I needed to do in a few days anyway!” Tarkhan suggests.

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Trinh listened to Tarkhan's plan, she suddenly felt unprepared. She did come all this way to try and train Kamon but she wasn't sure what exactly she was expecting.

Kamon rested his head on Trinhs shoulder to both try to comfort her and soothe his own hurt ego from the mare not even paying him a look.

"So we will be pulling the horses out of the cattle herd?" She asked to be certain.

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Tarkhan looks up from where he was gazing over the herd and nods at her. Wrath flicks his tail eagerly as he realises they get to herd soon.

“It’s useful to be able to pick a specific animal out, you never know if your going to have an animal that’s sick or hurt. They often are unable to move out of the herd themselves to be treated” he said gently.

“So, we move the herd away from around them, and then tend to the animal. It’s something we have done before!” He says nodding at Dog.

Mudd - 25

"I see," Trinh nodded then mounted Kamon, "I will follow your lead I guess."

She was still uncertain but trusted she was in good hands.

Kess - 317

Tarkhan moved to his shed and grabbed Wrath’s saddle, he got the large stallion tacked up quickly and opened the gate sending Sierra into the field. Dog, who had done this before hopped the fence and sent his horses into the middle of the cattle.

“So, I’m going to start with Ashaki, as she is the most wary of strangers, and the most likely to give you issues” he says pointing out the buckskin mare who had happily wedged herself between two cows. He rode up around the side of the herd, Wrath moving effortlessly across the ground. They swept around towards the two cattle who didn’t want to be part of the group. Tarkhan put his fingers to his lips and let out a loud whistle, a large part of the herd started moving to the sound, most of them going the wrong way.

One of the two beside Ashaki, an older cow knew the queue and started to band up with the group, the second stood its ground giving horse and rider a look before stubbornly continuing with it’s grazing.

“So, lots of the older cows know the signals for it being time to move. Most of the time they will just get on with it and your main job is to watch for stragglers or anyone not moving as a group. But, Mrs Bullhead here doesn’t want to move, she is content with staying in that one spot” Tarkhan explains before moving in slowly with Wrath. The cow holds it’s ground and Ashaki flicks her ears, looking as amused as a horse can. Finally, when Tarkhan and Wrath were only feet away the cow gets the hint and bolts over to the others.

“They don’t want you too close, even if they are used to you, so it’s a case of showing your not going to be the one to back down!” he adds.

Mudd - 127

Trinh nodded watching the mare try and get lost in the herd of cows who quickly accepted her in their ranks.

Kamon quickly followed Tarkhan's lead keeping a quick pace alongside the scary Haspar. He stood back as they neared the stubborn cow uncertain if he should approach the not horse thing. Once the animal joined the rest of it's friends he trotted to Wraths side understanding that he is the dominant species of the two.

"And what if they all don't want to move?" Trinh asked thoughts of a stampede in the wrong direction crossing her mind. She could tell kamon was getting an idea of how this worked which relaxed her a bit, but as much of a pain he is he's her best Jibita.

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Wrath lets out a snort and ducks his head nudging Kamon happily. The stallion had done good, for an amatuer.

“Uh, well that happens sometimes” Tarkhan admits and pulls a stick up from the ground and pokes on of

the cows on the backside. It lets out a huff but moves.

“They don’t usually get angry, and when they realise what’s going on they want to group. But a small prod, preferably from a few feet back usually gives them a jolt. Then they realise how exposed they are” Tarkhan says flashing Trinh a smile.

“You did good! Both of you!”.

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Kamon jumped away from the Haspar spooked by the nudge, then nickered at the larger horse in thanks realizing it was a good thing.

“A small prod,” Trinh repeated quietly after Tarkhan.

The pair kept along side the haspar and other riders.  She flashed a huge grin at Tarkhan at his compliment, “Thank you. I think Kamon is a natural, because I know I didn’t do anything.”

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Tarkhan nods grinning at Kamon and nodding his head, the horse had picked things up remarkably fast.

“He is very attached to you!” he comments quietly. “Now, would the two of you, and Dog of course, be up for helping me move the herd down to the other pasture? I can do it alone, when Sierra behaves. But it’s easier with help!” he adds.

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Trinh nodded, “I can help, but if it gets too dark I might need an escort.”

The Trio managed to move the herd to Tarkhans other pasture, Kamon over eager to go home for the day made a couple of mistakes causing the task to take longer than originally expected. With the sun setting Tarkhan offered to take Wrath and help Trinh and Kamon get home safely while Dog rested from his travels.