Akela was generally the life of the party in almost all regards. Her sister's whit and humor often warmed up the day and was usually delivered without an ounce of venom and instead infused with warmth giving the crowd exactly what they needed. Kavala considered it a gift that Akela ended up saying some of the most outrageous things and usually getting away with it. Kavala just wasn't sure it wouldn't be completely wasted on the two new comers in the arena. The Konti Healer wasn't exactly sure what had set them both on such edges, but they were there regardless and even Akela's humor might not bring them around. Kavala was just grateful Akela hadn't accused the said broomsticks of beings shoved somewhere else unpleasant rather than just swallowed. A wry but grateful smile was tossed Akela's way by her younger Konti sister.
Kavala left Akela standing, and slipped under a rail to enter the arena. She approached the Leopardbred first and carefully did a quick examination. Then, unexpectedly, she reached up and with the removal of a single buckle, slide his headstall off his head and then reached down to remove his girth. Tossing the bridle over the saddle, Kavala heaved the whole mess of tack off the animal and carried it to the side to set it over the rail. From off the rail a secondary piece of tack was picked up and tossed over her shoulder before she walked back over to the stallion. It was remarkable that both mounts were behaving, the two stallions standing side by side.
Kavala then gave the Leopardbred a more thorough examination. His topline was carefully stroked in which she touched each vertebra and picked up his legs. Hooves were picked out and carefully examined. His neck and chest were touched, with pale scaled hands running down his flanks. Kavala even took the time to examine his genitals and the sheath that protected his shaft, making sure there was no soreness or swelling common to stallions who's owners failed to keep their folds clean. Nodding as she finished, she caught the Akalak's eyes and gave him her approval.
"He's a fine animal. Does he have a name?" She asked, then slung the piece of tack over his shoulders that she seemed to think was going to replace the saddle and bridal both. A smooth blanket in black was spread out over his back then a yvas was added. It was a girth of shorts with a built in breast collar. At the top was a grippable set of handles and rings where gear could be fastened to the horse without hindering it. As she tacked the horse up in its new gear, she carefully explained how to do so to Ferrin.
"Saddles and bridals are crutches. They are heavy and teach the horse and rider bad habits. Your mounts will need to listen to you and you'll need your hands free of reins so you can hold weapons or whatever else it is you carry. They will both like you a great deal more if you switch to this type of gear. The Drykas, out on the grasslands use them." Kavala said, before moving to the desertbred who got equal treatment, his bridle and saddle removed and tack replaced, inspected, and pronounced a nice animal.
"Now, remove the tack and put it back on once more while I go get Akela something to ride while we train." Kavala said, and slipped under the rail again. She returned in only moments, two horses following at her heels like dogs. One was a small buckskin strider stallion who had only a yvas on and the second was a burnished gold strider mare with a liquid mane of the same color who looked like she'd be pure trouble in an arena full of three stallions.
But, as Kavala opened the gate and let the two new horses into the large structure, everyone behaved themselves. Kavala put the gold mare in line with the two stallions, but the buckskin followed her to the front of the row.
"Now, Akela you are going to be bored for a while, but since you've gotten fat and lazy and I haven't seen your ass on a horse for almost two seasons, you should probably get some practice in yourself. This is Spitfire. You two should get along just fine." Akela didn't have an ounce of fat on her of course, but it was clearly becoming evident that both sisters had an unusual way of showing love to each other. Kavala's grin, perhaps unbeknown to the newcomers, flowed across her face because at that moment, her entire and utter being simply wanted Akela to join in the practice and perhaps learn something new.
Kavala turned Windsong so that the little stallion was clearly visible to all three riders.
"This is Windsong. We've been together for a while now and he's as good as any to demonstrate how a horse and rider bond should go. Watch closely and I'll show you how to mount." Kavala said. She reached up, grasped the wrapped handle towards the very top of the Yvas on Windsong and with a leap straight up, laid her belly carefully across the horse's back, swung her leg over, then slid forward sitting up until she was perfectly balanced between his whither.
"You won't always have tack. You won't always be able to rely on a saddle which is just a big crutch anyhow. You need to learn to mount unassisted and safely both for you and the horse. Do it like I've shown you and you should be able to manage. By the end of our training in the next few days, I'll be expecting you to use your horses' mane as a handle and get up unassisted without even a yvas." Kavala said, then without seemingly moving, the little strider stallion started walking a circle around the group.
"Alright, mount up. If you bring weapons to riding practice, make sure you mount on the side where you won't be dragging your blades across your horse's back. That means from the left for you, Akela." Kavala said, shifting her weight on Windsong slightly and watching each person closely.
Kavala turned, eyes on Nauvi, and watched her especially closely.
"It's incredibly important for you, Konti, to be able to do this fluidly and quickly. You cannot stand and fight against most enemies out on the Grass and indeed all around us. A horse will become your lifeline and your safeguard. He's a desertbred so Ravnoth can keep you safe, but you owe it to him to learn enough about him to make his job doing so as easy as possible. That's why we are here." She said, waiting until all three had mounted.
"Now, sitting a horse. If you sit too far forward like this...." Kavala scooted forward on Windsong to show them what crowding his withers looked like.
"... you risk interfering with their shoulder's movements. We call the shoulders on a horse their withers. If you slide too far back, you are putting unusually harsh weight on their lower spine and your legs will be gripping thumping their kidneys painfully." She added, sliding backwarks until Windsong snorted his displeasure, laid his ears back and swiveled his head around to give Kavala a disgusted look.
"That's why riding double is not a good idea unless its an emergency. Find the place on your horses back that feels perfect, behind the withers in front of the hips, there'll be a magic spot. You'll feel it when your rump settles into it." She instructed, then let her legs fall down and gently gip Windsong's torso.
"Lets straight, hands lightly on your thighs though you can reach out and hold their mane or the handles on your yvas if you feel it makes you more secure. Gently grip their sides, but do not press in and do not let your legs just dangle. Now, visualize someone tying a string around your spine, inside, about where your belly button is. Then visualize the string sliding upwards through your torso and out the top of your head like a marionette doll. Feel that invisible imaginary string go tight and lift your body up into a straight line. Memorize how that makes your back feel, how less or more its curved, where your shoulders are... keeping that imaginary string taught the whole time." She instructed.
Kavala kept riding Windsong around, checking their seats. When satisfied, she nodded.
"Now, ask your horse for a walk simply by shifting your weight forward and thinking 'walk' . If they do not step out immediately, click once with your tongue and ask them for a walk verbally." Kavala said. Akela's little mare had her ears flattened and was looking exceedingly stubborn and almost as if she was going to bite the Konti even though as of yet she hadn't offered too.
"Now, keeping your strings taught, I want you to relax your hips. Let them roll slightly with the gait of your horse so that you find your own motion as the animals walk. This will settle them down considerably for if your flexing on their back as they walk, it smooths out their ride and they don't get nearly as annoyed as they could be with carrying a rider." Kavala said. She rode among them, weaving, as they walked their horses forward. She let her hands fall to her hips and showed them the figure eight motion of how she let her hips roll with the steps of the little stallion she rode.
"Now... first things first. I'll go ahead and teach you how to steer, stop, and switch gaits with your horses... then we'll move on to one of the most important things you'll ever learn... and that's falling safely from a horse. Once we've learned how to get off in a hurry without getting hurt, I'll run you through the gaits your horse has moving on from a walk, trot, into a canter and finally we'll be galloping in a few days and actually dismounting at a gallop. In about three days, we'll start making Akela earn her bread by trying to unhorse you deliberately." Kavala said, giving them a foreshadowing of what was to come.
"After each lesson we'll talk about horsemanship: Your horses care, health, emergency treatments, and how to spot illness and soundness both. Any questions?" Kavala asked, giving this little lecture as they all walked around the arena perched on their horses practicing the correct 'seat' to ride with.