Vhalar 21 718
Eternity was in the middle of one of her horse riding lessons. It was her second one ever and it'd been a while since her last lesson so she struggled to remember how to control the horse, named Mena, beneath her. She’d taken a long break because she’d had a bad fall last time. She felt fine, finally, but she was worried about falling again. She always seemed to injure more easily than other kids and her reluctance to do any physical labor ensured that her body would remain weak.
Her instructor was different this time around which only made things more confusing. The instructor shouted, "breathe!"
Eternity was taken aback when she became aware that she had held her breath while focused on maintaining the straightness of her body while also retaining its pliability. She inhaled deeply, followed by another, and saw that her body had naturally begun to relax.
A while later, when he observed her clenching her hands, the instructor said, "No, don't grab the reigns like that. And don't dig your feet in the stirrups. Utilizing your knees properly is essential to being a skilled rider. Keep your grip on the horse’s body and keep your eyes focused forward. Good."
"How do you stop again?" Eternity shouted. She had to utilize her muscles in a manner that she had never done before, despite the fact that getting acclimated to the horse's gait had not been overly challenging.
In response, the instructor said to "Squeeze the reins a little. You shouldn't jerk them in any way."
She did as he instructed, endeavoring to maintain a stealthy pace, and Mena was ultimately and gently brought to a halt as a result. The instructor gave the lead rope some tension and walked over to assist her in dismounting as soon as he could. It was quite similar to mounting, except the stages were performed in the opposite order. She threw her leg over the horse while the instructor carefully observed her.
She finally got free of the stirrups and started to fall to the ground. Luckily her instructor's hands reached up to grab her at the waist. He then assisted her in being lowered onto her feet in a graceful manner.
She looked up at him with a grin and said, "Phew, I didn't fall."
He gave off the barest hint of a grin as he spoke. "Not yet at least."
The instructor had been trying to teach her how to trot, and he had been pleased and impressed by how quickly she understood how to move with the horse. He wanted to begin teaching her how to canter, but he wasn't quite sure if she was ready yet.
"You are going to have such a painful day tomorrow. You probably won’t even want to get out of bed. So, for the remainder of the lesson, we are going to take things at a comfortable and easygoing pace. If you think you're exhausted now, just wait till the next time; it will be nothing in comparison."
Eternity scowled at him and struggled to get to think of words to say, but eventually she said. "I was hurting for so long after the last lesson. When’s the pain going to stop?”
“In due time,” he said vaguely.
Eternity let out a groaning sound. "This is hopeless."
She'd heard that when learning to ride that the horse would be her actual teacher, and it turned out that the rumor was right. The learning horse, ever patient, took their time teaching Eternity the intricacies of proper riding while also instructing her in the fundamentals of riding. She got a more in-depth awareness of the horse’s skills and dispositions as she became more used to the horse's movements, how it reacted to signals and stimuli and the sounds it made.
Eternity couldn't wait for her muscles to get more toned as she continued taking lessons, and she had less falling and fumbling when she was atop the horse. The saddle sores that she had suffered from during began to heal gradually, as did the blisters that had formed on her fingertips as a result of the reins and the aching that she had been experiencing in both her upper and lower body.
By the end of the lesson the teacher concluded that Eternity had reached the level of competence necessary for her to take things to the next level. By this time, she had mastered mounting her horse without the assistance of a block, as well as saddling and bridling her mount. She had committed to memory the different indications and cues that urged a horse to move along. She had also been subjected to drills on safety. She was now able to sit calmly in her saddle, and she made it her mission to ensure that she did not pull on the reins, cause an injury to the horse, or perform any other harsh or insensitive action that may cause the animal pain. This was particularly admired by the teacher; yet, he cautioned her to not be too kind-hearted, as in the end the horse was just a tool and a horse that didn't listen was useless.
The lesson ended and Eternity was supposed to go home. She wished she had her own horse so she could just ride instead. She doubted her parents would ever spring for one no matter how much she begged. She’d have to earn the money, somehow. She decided not to go quite yet because she couldn’t get horses out of her mind. She stuck around and decided if there was anything she could learn about horses, aside from riding, that might help her in the future.
The instructor was happy to have her stick around and help with caring for the horses. Ultimately it saved him time and energy since an extra pair of hands was useful. The main thing that needed to be done was refilling water. Eternity was sent off to fetch buckets of water. It was something that she knew very well how to do because of her chores at home but she wasn’t used to hauling such large buckets. She was a rather weak person so she had to put all her effort into even lifting a full one off the ground. She’d grunt, lift it a few inches, hobble forwards a few feet, then have to take a break. She tried to generate most of the necessary force with her upper body because her legs were tired from riding.
When Eternity had hauled a few buckets, she was too tired to even stand. The instructor smiled at her enthusiasm and had her take a seat next to one of the smaller horses. He handed her a brush and showed her how to brush the animal. It was soothing for both the horse and Eternity. She enjoyed feeling the heat coming off of the horse’s body, hearing it breath. She didn’t care much for the smell but that was the only thing she didn’t like about them.
“Hey, wake up.”
Eternity jolted upright and looked around confusedly. She realized that she’d fallen asleep against the horse mid-brush. She’d been dreaming about riding a horse across a meadow and she realized that her foot was twitching as if it were tapping the side of a horse.
“Oh, sorry,” she said while wiping drool from her cheek. She then wiped the crust from her eyes.
“It’s no trouble. You should head home now though. You don’t want to work yourself to death.”
“Good idea.” Eternity let out a big yawn then continued, “maybe I should get a job working around here. It doesn’t seem all that bad.”
The instructor chuckled and said, “I’ll let you know if we ever get any openings. It’s a lot of work but the owner doesn’t like to hire more people than he needs. We might need some help next arc in the spring. Till then you’re welcome to come by and help, we just wouldn’t be able to pay you.”
Eternity considered the offer and shrugged. She never pictured herself as a working girl and the few jobs she’d held had been very short term. She gave a noncommittal, “okay,” then yawned again. She hopped down from the chair and trudged on home.
When night fell, it was clear that she was hurting worse than her first lesson. Eternity moaned as she twisted in bed, unable to move much due to the intense pain she was experiencing across her entire body. It wasn't even the falls themselves that had caused it because the most of the pain was concentrated in her lower body. When she was learning the trot, she got a feeling similar to this, but it was more of a question of getting used to the up-and-down rhythm of the horse rather than clutching for dear life as it ran along. The teacher's directions to grasp with her knees had seemed so simple, but she was discovering that nothing this learning process was ever straightforward. For once she found herself looking forward to the next lesson.
[Template credit to Pyrre]
