Stables - Afternoon

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

There were no disembodied hands in the stables today to help Faramir out with saddling Baru. If he were truly honest, Faramir would admit that he did prefer it this way.

"Will you be kind to Rudolf?" he asked the horse, and Baru nuzzled the pouch on Faramir's belt in response.

"Aye," Faramir laughed and patted Baru's neck. "For that you will be," he agreed and he took a handful of salt from the pouch, offering it to the horse as bribery.

[Open, sure.]

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[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

Dolf made it to the stables on time, of course. He was a little excited - horses! He'd never ridden one, not once, especially not a real, proud one.

He had his hands down the pockets of his jeans as he entered, but also a big smile on his face. "Faramir! I guess this is Baru?"

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

"Good day, Rudolf," Faramir smiled at him in greeting and motioned for Dolf to join him.

"This is Baru," he agreed, there was some pride in his voice as he regarded the horse. "He has promised me he won't pull any tricks on your today."

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

Leonardo's donkey had always liked it when Dolf held out his hand to him first; so he tried that now, stepping a closer with his palm up and his hand extended.

"What kind of horse is he?" he asked.

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

Baru was much like any horse and he sniffed at the offered hand and soon pressed his nose against it.

"He is a horse of Rohan," Faramir said, despite knowing the name would mean very little. "That is the country North of Gondor, the people there are horsemen and they breed the finest horses of Middle-earth. Baru has been trained to not spook in battle, but he's a ranger's horse more than a warhorse. He is very fast."

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Dolf carefully rubbed his hand along the line of the horse's head, taking that as a good sign. "Warhorses are heavier?" he guessed.

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"Yes," Faramir nodded, watching with approval as Dolf and Baru seemed to get to know each other. "Warhorses will have to carry soldiers in full plated armour, so they have a stronger build. Some of them are more fiery in character, but they would be trained not to spook at the sound of battle as well."

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

"So do you have another horse for war?" Dolf asked, and slanted a look in his direction. "Or do you not wage war at all?"

Faramir did remind him of a nobleman's son.

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

"The war hasn't come to Gondor yet," Faramir said, "but it will. I have fought in skirmishes, mostly. Ambushes on bands trespassing our borders."

He untied the pouch of salt from his belt and held it out to Dolf. "You can give him a little from this on your palm," he said before he answered the other question. "Baru is my personal horse, but when the need come, I will be given a warhorse from the stables like any other soldier who would be riding with me."

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

Salt? "Horses eat salt?" Dolf said, blinking. It wasn't that the rest of Faramir's story wasn't interesting; he was genuinely surprised. "I thought they just ate sugar cubes?"

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

"Horses need salt," Faramir's look mirrored Dolf's at the mention of sugar. "Is the sugar a reward? I do give him apples."

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

"Yes," Dolf said, his eyes sliding back to the horse's head. "There was a thing on TV, a long time ago. With a horse. He ate sugar."

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

"Perhaps I shall try it," Faramir mused. He studied Dolf for a moment. "You haven't changed your mind then about learning to ride?"

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

"I haven't!" he said, a little stricken despite his better judgment. "You wouldn't get me to leave now for the world."

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

"Good then," Faramir grinned at him and he reached for Baru's reigns. "Then we should go outside. I must warn you, I haven't taught anyone before."

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

"And I've never been taught how to ride a horse before," Dolf said, mostly because it reminded him of something Leonardo would have said, "So I'm sure we will rule each other out."

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

"That seems fair," Faramir said with amusement as he led Baru out of his stable. "And we are in luck, for the first lesson to learn is rather obvious. I can't teach you to ride if you don't know how to mount the horse."

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

"He is taller than they look on TV," Dolf agreed. He followed, only now getting a really good look at the huge creature. Horses, he reflected, were a lot bigger than donkeys.

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

"Your teevee is small," Faramir pointed out, thinking of how tiny the men on their bicycles had been.

He brought Baru to a stop once they were outside the stable and patted the horse's head. "I'll be keeping him steady so it shouldn't be too hard," he promised.

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

"Yes, but you get used to how things on TV look like in real life," Dolf argued, as he walked over towards the horse's flank. "It's not the same."

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

"Perhaps, I think I am still getting used to teevee," Faramir moved to stand beside Dolf.

He made certain the girth was secure before he started his explanation. "Alright, the most important part to remember is that you should not pull yourself on top of the horse. You'll be pushing yourself off," he explained. He first showed Dolf how to place his hands, holding both the reins and a tuft of the mane in his left hand, then proceeded to show how to put one foot in the stirrup and push up and into the saddle.

"Do you want me to show it to you again or do you want to try?" Faramir asked as he jumped back out of the saddle.

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

Dolf had been watching very, very closely; he was used to it, and he wasn't in the habit of making people repeat an action until they got frustrated with him. "I think I have it," he said, and very carefully placed his hands as Faramir had shown, and pressed his foot into the stirrup.

It took a lot more strength than he'd anticipated. He exhaled loudly in effort as he pushed and nearly slipped off, scrambling a little at the back of the horse.

He was stubborn, though, and so with a grace that was utterly clumsy, he finally got there.

Not completely steadily, but there.

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

"You did much better than I did the first time I attempted that," Faramir said approvingly. He let go of the reins, trusting Baru to stay still, so he could move to Dolf's side.

He checked the stirrup and shortened it a little. "Does this feel comfortable?"

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

"Not really," Dolf admitted, wriggling his toes in his shoes. "But I don't think it's supposed to."

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

It did seem better to Faramir at least, so he moved to the other flank so he could do the same there.

"It will get more comfortable even if it does not feel like it will right now," he assured him. "It's important too as you'll mostly want to use your legs to steer and not depend too much on the reins. So if you want me to adjust them later on, do not hesitate to ask."

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

Dolf pulled a face - not because of the discomfort, but because 'use your legs to steer' seemed a little counter-intuitive. "So my legs steer?" he said, dubiously. (And all right, the stirrup could have been a little more comfortable, but he couldn't really tell the difference just yet.)

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

"Yes," he nodded. "You could steer your horse with only the reins, but it works better if you use your legs as well. It will allow you later to free up your hands," he smiled at Dolf. "But only later."

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

"Right."

Right now, Dolf was mostly just relieved he was managing to keep the horse still, let alone move anywhere.

"So... uh... how do I steer?"

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

Faramir chuckled at the question, but he needn't more of an invitation to start explaining how Dolf should pull the reins and try to use his legs as well to lead the horse. He kept on hand on the reins, just below Baru's chin, to entire time to prevent the horse from taking an explanation as a true command.

"I think perhaps you should try first to get Baru moving and to make him stop again?" Faramir suggested. Knowing how to stop felt important.

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

"Okay," Dolf said again, and frowned heavily. He urged Baru pretty ineffectually with his legs, and then yanked a little hard on the reigns, unsure how and unable to apply the right force in the right direction.

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

"Gently, that'd make him stop," Faramir told him. "Use your feet, he knows to start at the nudge."