Post by Matabon on Oct 6, 2007 14:18:26 GMT -5
This is on Godolphin Isle, which sometimes I make and island and sometimes I make connected, stupid I know, but it's hard to have people over to ride when they can't get there, so I am a little flexible. hehe. So this is on MHS, but it's also at GS, so kind of use your imagination. (This is an older post).
"Come on Cali, can you seriously go any slower?" I said as I literally had to drag the two year old filly out of her pasture and to the barn. We passed the courtyard, which was basically like a intersection, where the paths split apart to different places of Godolpin.
Calixte, also known as Cali for short, I had bought from Kiera as a foal, and raised. She was now 2 1/2, and usually a firecracker. However today her and GS What Luck, also know as Lucky, were out in the pastures together, and did not want to be separated.
Cali dragged her hooves through the barn beside me, totally moping. I clipped her into the cross-ties and went to go grab my tack and accessories.
Cali leaned on the ties, gave a huge yawn, and glared beedily at me, proving how annoyed she was at me for taking her away from her friend, after they had been bombing around all afternoon having a blast.
"I'm sorry but you have to work sometimes you know." I said as I brushed her liver chestnut coat, and copper mane and tail.
Placing the saddlepad on her back, then popping on the saddle and doing up the girth, I stepped back and made sure everything was fitting well and was comfortable. Grabbing her new red and green Christmas polos I wrapped all four legs before grabbing her bridle.
I was dressed and ready, although she wasn't very interested as she lazily flicked back and ear and yawned for the second time. I took advantage of her open mouth and popped the bridle in, and she gave a disgruntled glare and turned and huffed her way all the way down the barn isle as we headed for the track.
We went through the courtyard, and went straight, down the coblestone pathway to the turf,dirt, and steeplechasing tracks. The Dawn Treader was a 5 furlong sprint on the turf, so I guided my extremely unenthuisiastic filly over to the turf track.
As soon as she smelt the freshly cut grass her ears pricked up, but she emediately drooped them down again when I looked at her. Shaking my head I just laughed as she started to get a little spring in her step as her hooves touched the turf.
"Alright, I see you have forgotten about how cruel I was to ruin your fun this afternoon?" I smirked as she stood like a statue for me to get on. Picking up her feet I stetched all four of her leg muscles, before placing my foot in the stirrup and kicking off so I could get on the big filly's back. I adjusted my stirrups, since obviously Ben with his long legs had been riding in this saddle.
Cali huffed and danced on her tiptoes, as most of the Godolphin horses did when they got on the track. I could feel the excitement coursing through the filly's entire body. She was ready to race!
I squeezed her sides, and she eagerly jumped into a rythmic trot, as I bended her around in circles and serpentines, loosening up her neck and warming her up.
Since she was young she wasn't as balaced and surefooted as mares like Miss Matinee, but that would all come with experience, and what better race than the Dawn Treader? It was on turf, and it was a sprint. A hard fast sprint, but nothing super long, or in the mud, which would have been hard on the filly. She was toned and fit of course, and she was prepared, but you couldn't train experience into them.
Cali gave a soft whinny as Ben brought Man O' War and Chase rode Seabiscuit out onto the track. They were both 11 now, and retired, but they still enjoyed to be worked, and on such a beautiful day as today, with the sun shining through the crisp winter air and the light mist rising off the turf.
I aided Cali into a canter and she picked up the wrong lead. I stopped her, gave her a light half-halt, and asked for it again. This time she understood and picked up the correct lead. Bending her around circles, figure eights with simple changes, as she had not truelly gotten flying changes, and serpentines, she started to loosen up and bend easily.
Ears pricked she was eager now, and whatever grudge she had held about Lucky was soon forgotten as the wind whipped through her mane and tail, and I easily sat two-point on her back, enjoying her evenly paced strides as they go steadier and steadier the farther into the ride we got.
Once warmed up, I loaded her into shoot nine, which would be the position she was racing from. My newly aquired stablehand was Jason, and he was all eager to help me prepare Cali. He pulled the lever and the gates swung open with a loud "Beep!"
Cali dug her hindqaurters into the turf and sprung out like a rocket as soon as they opened. Her starts were getting better and better, and I knew with this being a sprint she had to have a good start to get in the lead, and not get boxed in. She liked to sit third, and then at the end I would see what I could get out of her and try to win.
She pranced, extremely proud of herself as we loaded her in again. Her ears back, and body braced she was ready. She anticipated the gates a little, and was a little late, so I pulled her up a furlong down the track and rode her back.
" She atticipated that one, so make sure you wait a little longer before opening the gates, so she doesn't learn they get opened at the same time everytime and starts counting down." I called as Cali flicked back her ears and neighed to Pops and Warrior, who were having a fun match race with Ben and Chase.
"Okay," Jason called back as he loaded Cali once more and then climbed into the booth.
Cali danced a little, but I gave her neck a few pats and soothed her. She stopped dancing as I leaned over her neck, her entire body was quivering with excitement, but she wasn't jumping the gun, she was waiting. Her hind end braced and I could feel her biulding up her momentum, and I grabbed her mane and waited.
Finally Jason pulled the lever and "Beep!" sounded. As soon as the gates sprung open, she was gone. Rocketing down the track, ears back as the wind lashed at our faces. I was blown away by how fast she had exploded out of there, and gave her a good scratch on the neck as I let her run her five furlongs. I paced her around the qaurter, pretending there was horses to dodge and making her weave and dodge, slow down and speed up, as if she was actually running the race. At the half way pole I let her speed up just a little, making sure she could keep up the pace. I could tell she wsn't tired, but she had worked really hard today, and I knew she was getting a little weary. At one and a half furlongs, I let her loose. She gave it her all and used every last once of energy she had, and rocketed over the finish line.
I brought her slowly down to a trot, and had to make her circle before she walked. Breathing a little heavy, and with a good layer of sweat, she had worked great. I let her have a loose rein, as I cooled her out for a good while, before spraying her off and putting her back in her stall. I was really pleased with her, and she would just have a light lungge tomorrow, and the race was the day after that.
"Good girl Cali." I said as I gave her a bran mash and went to go get my next horse on the list to train.
"Come on Cali, can you seriously go any slower?" I said as I literally had to drag the two year old filly out of her pasture and to the barn. We passed the courtyard, which was basically like a intersection, where the paths split apart to different places of Godolpin.
Calixte, also known as Cali for short, I had bought from Kiera as a foal, and raised. She was now 2 1/2, and usually a firecracker. However today her and GS What Luck, also know as Lucky, were out in the pastures together, and did not want to be separated.
Cali dragged her hooves through the barn beside me, totally moping. I clipped her into the cross-ties and went to go grab my tack and accessories.
Cali leaned on the ties, gave a huge yawn, and glared beedily at me, proving how annoyed she was at me for taking her away from her friend, after they had been bombing around all afternoon having a blast.
"I'm sorry but you have to work sometimes you know." I said as I brushed her liver chestnut coat, and copper mane and tail.
Placing the saddlepad on her back, then popping on the saddle and doing up the girth, I stepped back and made sure everything was fitting well and was comfortable. Grabbing her new red and green Christmas polos I wrapped all four legs before grabbing her bridle.
I was dressed and ready, although she wasn't very interested as she lazily flicked back and ear and yawned for the second time. I took advantage of her open mouth and popped the bridle in, and she gave a disgruntled glare and turned and huffed her way all the way down the barn isle as we headed for the track.
We went through the courtyard, and went straight, down the coblestone pathway to the turf,dirt, and steeplechasing tracks. The Dawn Treader was a 5 furlong sprint on the turf, so I guided my extremely unenthuisiastic filly over to the turf track.
As soon as she smelt the freshly cut grass her ears pricked up, but she emediately drooped them down again when I looked at her. Shaking my head I just laughed as she started to get a little spring in her step as her hooves touched the turf.
"Alright, I see you have forgotten about how cruel I was to ruin your fun this afternoon?" I smirked as she stood like a statue for me to get on. Picking up her feet I stetched all four of her leg muscles, before placing my foot in the stirrup and kicking off so I could get on the big filly's back. I adjusted my stirrups, since obviously Ben with his long legs had been riding in this saddle.
Cali huffed and danced on her tiptoes, as most of the Godolphin horses did when they got on the track. I could feel the excitement coursing through the filly's entire body. She was ready to race!
I squeezed her sides, and she eagerly jumped into a rythmic trot, as I bended her around in circles and serpentines, loosening up her neck and warming her up.
Since she was young she wasn't as balaced and surefooted as mares like Miss Matinee, but that would all come with experience, and what better race than the Dawn Treader? It was on turf, and it was a sprint. A hard fast sprint, but nothing super long, or in the mud, which would have been hard on the filly. She was toned and fit of course, and she was prepared, but you couldn't train experience into them.
Cali gave a soft whinny as Ben brought Man O' War and Chase rode Seabiscuit out onto the track. They were both 11 now, and retired, but they still enjoyed to be worked, and on such a beautiful day as today, with the sun shining through the crisp winter air and the light mist rising off the turf.
I aided Cali into a canter and she picked up the wrong lead. I stopped her, gave her a light half-halt, and asked for it again. This time she understood and picked up the correct lead. Bending her around circles, figure eights with simple changes, as she had not truelly gotten flying changes, and serpentines, she started to loosen up and bend easily.
Ears pricked she was eager now, and whatever grudge she had held about Lucky was soon forgotten as the wind whipped through her mane and tail, and I easily sat two-point on her back, enjoying her evenly paced strides as they go steadier and steadier the farther into the ride we got.
Once warmed up, I loaded her into shoot nine, which would be the position she was racing from. My newly aquired stablehand was Jason, and he was all eager to help me prepare Cali. He pulled the lever and the gates swung open with a loud "Beep!"
Cali dug her hindqaurters into the turf and sprung out like a rocket as soon as they opened. Her starts were getting better and better, and I knew with this being a sprint she had to have a good start to get in the lead, and not get boxed in. She liked to sit third, and then at the end I would see what I could get out of her and try to win.
She pranced, extremely proud of herself as we loaded her in again. Her ears back, and body braced she was ready. She anticipated the gates a little, and was a little late, so I pulled her up a furlong down the track and rode her back.
" She atticipated that one, so make sure you wait a little longer before opening the gates, so she doesn't learn they get opened at the same time everytime and starts counting down." I called as Cali flicked back her ears and neighed to Pops and Warrior, who were having a fun match race with Ben and Chase.
"Okay," Jason called back as he loaded Cali once more and then climbed into the booth.
Cali danced a little, but I gave her neck a few pats and soothed her. She stopped dancing as I leaned over her neck, her entire body was quivering with excitement, but she wasn't jumping the gun, she was waiting. Her hind end braced and I could feel her biulding up her momentum, and I grabbed her mane and waited.
Finally Jason pulled the lever and "Beep!" sounded. As soon as the gates sprung open, she was gone. Rocketing down the track, ears back as the wind lashed at our faces. I was blown away by how fast she had exploded out of there, and gave her a good scratch on the neck as I let her run her five furlongs. I paced her around the qaurter, pretending there was horses to dodge and making her weave and dodge, slow down and speed up, as if she was actually running the race. At the half way pole I let her speed up just a little, making sure she could keep up the pace. I could tell she wsn't tired, but she had worked really hard today, and I knew she was getting a little weary. At one and a half furlongs, I let her loose. She gave it her all and used every last once of energy she had, and rocketed over the finish line.
I brought her slowly down to a trot, and had to make her circle before she walked. Breathing a little heavy, and with a good layer of sweat, she had worked great. I let her have a loose rein, as I cooled her out for a good while, before spraying her off and putting her back in her stall. I was really pleased with her, and she would just have a light lungge tomorrow, and the race was the day after that.
"Good girl Cali." I said as I gave her a bran mash and went to go get my next horse on the list to train.