The sudden change in the way Rykanis was acting was clearly noticeable to Kavala. It would likely even be noticeable to someone who was not to observant. And this Konti certainly was.
There was just to much of a difference between the two. And while the first one had been very nice and open, and friendly, as he was to all, this second one was the opposite almost, in his neutrality and to the point nature. He just did not get the frivolities that so many other people participated in, even his main side. But he factored them in with his plannings, and the way he reacted, when he needed to.
He nodded in recognition of what she said, noting it... Halters for groundwork... For leading and tying up... Not for riding... He supposed that would be helpful for a packhorse, or just leading it through town or such or some thing were you did not ride it... But certainly not as important as actually riding it.
But he could already tell his main side was excited about the prospect of that. Rykanis wanted to be the one to actually ride, even if he was not the best suited for it. He once again was willing to let his other side, him, do all the training and repetitive grunt work, while he got to do the final part which was usually most important. But he would let him. No point in arguing or fighting over it, as he would literally be along for the ride.
As Kavala launched into the next bit of the lesson, he turned from Rykanis muttering, to listen to what she said. It made perfect since, and was very practical.
"Of course, I see... You would not want them getting injured or sick, that would not be good."
Rykanis went over to the hose as directed, and took the hoof pick. He brought his hand down to the inside of its ankle like she had, and squeezed, saying "Up" in a single strong bit of Tukant.
Then it was simple enough to guide its foot up, and clean out the under-bits were it stood, using the pick. Once he had cleaned it out, he slowly lowered it back down to the ground, settling it down. Once more he had done it much slower than Kavala, but had done it decently well.
He moved over and did the next to hind legs one by one. She was right, they were a bit trickier. He had to lift a bit more, and command it twice to lift up its foot before it did. But he supposed he could handle a horses leg, as long as it did not turn violent. This one certainly did not seem so. As he lowered the last foot back down carefully, he turned back to Kavala, who was ready for the next bit.
He memorized the names of them... Dandy for initial big stuff, face for face, and body for overall coat... First the dandy for big, then the face for face, and finally finish off with the body one to get the last bit of grime.
He muttered out loud as he took the first big brush the dandy one, looking at the horse. "So, go with the grain of its coat, not against... Use the dandy first, then the face since you cant do the face with the dandy, and also for the legs, and finally finish with the body one overall to get the last bit."
He used the body brush, rubbing it along in big strokes, making sure to do as she said and go with the grain of the horses coat.Honestly it was not to dirty, but it still needed to be done. He had a big dollop of dried mud on the right side, which he got out with a few strokes, and then moved on to the rest of the body which was not as bad. He was careful though at this point to steer clear of the face and legs as he had been told to.
Moving on from the dandy to the face, he brushed one hand done the nose of the horse, as Rykanis was demanding he do. He still was not sure why. Then he headed for the legs, using the smaller lighter brush to get the little legs clean. Or at least little compared to the big torso of the horse. He brushed it along the leg one by one, taking great care with each and doing it slowly but methodically.
He had a bit of trouble when he got to the joints, but after a few strokes figured that out a bit, as long as he was careful. He kept on repeating till all four legs were done, and then headed for the head of the horse. There he was careful to not get it in the eyes, brushing it down the length of its face and nose, and going along underside for its chin of sorts. Along on the sides getting its lips, and then the other side... Then finishing up with the ears and a final once over.
Then the body brush. By now he had gotten the vast majority of the dirt and detritus, only a fine layer of dirt or dust in a few places. He did a once over its entire body, starting at the face, then going over the torso and body... And finally working his way down to its legs...
Done with that, he took the brushes for its hair, and worked on the tail and mane as directed. It seemed pretty simple, just like brushing a persons hair. He recalled brushing his mothers hair back when she had still been alive, and this was just like it...
However the sudden memory was not as clinical or relevant for Rykanis, who had not been expecting a sudden reminder of his dead mother... A hollow pit seemed to have formed in the pit of his stomach, and there seemed to be a leaf or something caught in his throat... While it did not seem to bother or affect his other side, Rykanis surely was by the sudden reminder... Luckily he was not in control right now, or he would have been hard pressed to hide it... He was not good at hiding his emotions, whether happy or sad.
Finally finished with the combing, he reminded Rykanis that it was time to ride finally, and that he was going to get to ride. That seemed to assuage him a small bit, though not totally.
"So... Wasn't next riding?" |
