Post by S u N f r O s t ~ on Mar 31, 2007 9:54:45 GMT -5
While Dancing In The Sand, Let The Ocean Bear Witness
A slim girl atop a burly black stallion trotted along the seashore. Her seat experienced, her hands light and firm. The stallion beneath her placing his hooves upon the sandy ground with deerlike grace, though he is a stallion. In perfect harmony the doublet moved that morning, with grace and speed. Alas, Amber Black of the famous Indigo Mornings rode her horse at a trot closer to the sea. Building her stallion up to be bombproof was difficult, but they were improving well. The horse she rode was Dancing In The Moonlight, named for his graceful strides and ebony black coat. As they neared the water, Moonlight nickered, a quiet sound in the silence of early morning. In reply, the waves of the ocean lapped at the shore. The ebony black stallion watched the waves carefully before responding to Amber's cue to move forward. He looked about the water, surely scared of it swallowing him up. The girl on his back smirked slightly. What was to fear from water? Obviously the stallion thought the same thing, for he now ignored the water and waited for another aid from his rider. Amber steered him away from the water at a steady trot. One beat, two beat. Exactly like a trot should sound. The stallion took the trot with ease, and they had the two-beated gait to the other end of the beach. Amber then pulled her mount up, turning him to face the beach again. It was time. Time for the canter. The slim girl would not gallop her stallion. Not if she wanted to build his stamina. At the slightest urging from Amber, the stallion moved forward in a freely flowing three beated gait. The canter. No sweat showed on his neck as the burly stallion cantered. About halfway through the beach, Moonlight's neck was damp, and he was panting slightly. But his canter was calm and collected, allowing him to run as fast as he wanted at the slower pace. One quarter to go. Sweat dripped off her stallion's neck, and he was panting heavily. Three yards away from the finish, Amber halted her massive thoroughbred stallion. He was panting heavily. Whether the work would have an effect on him was a different matter. Patting the sweat bathed neck, Amber slowly walked him home along the quickest route possible. It was a good endurance work.
