Welcome to Hickstead, home to both Seven Oak Stables, and Blue Acre - two rival stables. Both offer opportunities for their clients to reach the highest level of excellence. Each stable differs from the other, so choose wisely and never forget, loyalty is everything... Meanwhile as the stables battle it out, there's trouble brewing at the university. Be careful, if you don't pick a side you may get caught in the cross-fire...
This is an chilled out rpg with a super friendly and relaxed atmosphere! Remember to sign up with your characters full name in all caps and don't forget to do your claims! Thank you and Welcome, we've been established since 10th March 2009 but unfortunately have had to close guest view of our boards due to multiple sites ripping off our hard work, such a shame! Come chat to us in Discord before joining if you like!.
Shannon was busy clearing out Monster's stall, his thoughts mildly troubled. He dealt with that wild card of a stallion a number of times, and whilst he seemed fine, Shannon knew the stud had a dark side. He'd been there when he'd effectively trampled a young man into the ground. If he hadn't have been coming back into the barn at that time, he would've hated to have seen what would've come from that. He had rushed in and managed to get the stud pulled away and shoved into a vacant stall regardless of which ever horse usually had claim of it, and then rushed to the young man's side.
It was horrific to see, but some how he'd kept his cool, ordered someone to dial the emergency services and called it in personally with his clearance - an abuse of power, given he was outside of work hours - and he would've done it again for anyone else if they had been in the same set of shoes. Ever since then, he'd been more cautious with the stallion, there had even been a brief call from some people to try and have the animal put down but there was an even greater call for that not to be the fate of the horse. Everyone knew that stallions were just that little more dangerous with all those hormones in their system, but even more so the general consensus was that it could've been any other horse.
Still, Shannon made sure to be highly aware of the horse, and since that point, he'd made a habit to check in with the youngster who'd been hospitalized. He hadn't known him before then, but once the boss of the stables had told him he was another member of staff - Maverick Breckah. Of course the last name rang some bells for him, he'd been around a few times on account of escorting Jace Breckah home when he'd been found walking in the middle of the streets at three am, and the horrific crash his colleagues had informed him of. So it was needless to say he held nothing against the family whatsoever - grief did some awful things to people.
But that didn't matter in the moment as he was cleaning. He was more so keeping an eye out for Maverick, having taken making sure he was ok - offering advice if he was asked for it, or an ear for the young man whenever he wanted it.
there was no one maverick blamed for what had happened those few weeks before. it had just been one of those things. horses were unpredictable and it could have been his own horse trix who could have done the exact same thing if something had spooked her enough. that was the risk of working with animals. he wasn't officially back at work yet but he'd needed to get out of his house. it wasn't exactly the place it had once been, while once there had been order, as much cleanliness as you could get in a house full of boys, home cooking and laughter. now it was full of washing piled high, dishes stacked in the sink and he couldn't remember the last time the trash had been taken out. it wasn't like he'd been in any condition to help clean it when he'd first been let out of the hospital. mentally or physically. since then he'd felt that if no one else in the house was going to bother, he wouldn't. at least not yet. there were at least four other kids in the house who had the ability to pick up a broom or a dishcloth and they weren't coming back from the brink of dying so he was going to wait. until his dad bucked up and cleaned or one of his brothers did. whichever miracle came first.
this was the first time he'd been back at the barn since the accident, having been assured by naomi that people were caring for his horse. but he'd reached his limit of not being able to do anything. he wasn't an inside person and he wasn't built for just sitting around. so he was here, at the very least to check on twix and see monster. it took him three times as long to do the chores he needed to with twix, grooming her, cleaning out her stall and just spending some time with her to make up for being gone for the last month or so. then he grabbed some of the treats he used for her and he'd made his way down towards monsters stall. he didn't know how other people felt about the horse now but he hoped they could see some sense about it. he heard someone in the stall as he came to stand by the door and he saw shannon there. he knew that shannon had been there when he'd had his accident, not that he could remember, and he had seen him a few times since then. "did he make enough mess for you?" he said with a grin to hide the grimmace as he brought his elbow up to lean on the stall door.
"Did he make enough mess for you?" he said with a grin to hide the grimmace as he brought his elbow up to lean on the stall door.
Shannon looked up at the voice, his smile warm, "Mild by his standards, it's not so bad," he chuckled, "He won't be here for very long though, he's getting moved on account of the attack - some people just weren't comfortable coming by his stall to get their own horses. Shame people can't see things through the animals eyes."
He leaned on the pitch fork he was using, "And what about you - how are you? Honestly."
He couldn't help that trickle of concern he had for the young man, after all, it had been one hell of a stomping. He hadn't seen a well off horse like that inflict so much damage outside of the rodeo ring.
"I'm glad you're up and moving though," he said, smiling.
He stopped leaning and resumed working, knowing that he could and should've been doing both. He wasn't one for standing too idle for long.
mav couldn't help but frown when he heard that the horse was being moved. and it was because of what had happened? that didn't sit well with him. the blame was being put onto the wrong being and he didn't like it at all. "he's being moved? that's stupid." he said as he looked at the horse in the stall. he didn't know what had caused the snap within the horse but he was 98% sure that it had been something around them than something either he or the horse had done. anyone who looked at the horse could see he hadn't always been treated the best and that wasn't something to hold against him. he just needed a chance.
he felt his back pocket for some of the leftover treats he'd brought for trix and he turned them around in his hand before he pulled them out, distracted for a second by shannon's question. he shrugged a shoulder carefully before he answered. "alive. honestly." he said with a slight grin as he straightened his hand with the treats in his palm in case the horse wanted to trust him enough to come over to him, he hoped the horse would see it as a show of trust on his part and wouldn't try to take his fingers off. but who could blame him if he did anyway. he'd probably been treated like crap by the people in the barn who were scared of him. "well don't tell my doctor you saw me." he said with another small grin. if there was a terrible patient in town, it was him.
"He's being moved? That's stupid." he said as he looked at the horse in the stall.
"Yeah. Like I say - people just aren't comfortable about him. Makes me wish we could see through their eyes and understand all the more how they feel," he agreed, looking over to Monster who seemed to glower in a corner, "It's silly, I agree, to move him on a few people's whims but the boss has to do what she must to keep her clients happy."
Monster's ears were back as the treats were offered out to him. There was a look in the stud's eyes that wasn't malicious as he bumped the hand with his nose before turning away from them both, sullen and without the usual snappy fire that came with him. It made Shannon's heart ache as he gently patted the dark shoulder.
"Not like him," he murmured.
"Alive. Honestly." he said with a slight grin. "Well don't tell my doctor you saw me."
He looked over and smiled, nodded, "Yeah, I get that. I won't say squat, on my honor."
He moved out of the stall and shut the door behind him, "Speakin' of horses though, I might have an offer for you, if you're interested."
he really didn't get people's desire to try and make everything as safe as it could be. they were scared of an animal for acting like an animal? that really didn't make any sense. if he was being honest he could have been just as badly hurt in the middle of a boxing ring but no one would be crying for the destruction of his opponent or for him to leave town because of it. he watched as monster stood in the corner of the stall and he really felt bad for him. he'd been thinking about buying him at one point but he couldn't now. his savings were being eaten away by needing to help support his family so the idea of getting a second horse wouldn't be on the table for a while now. he needed to make sure he could afford the one he had before he thought about getting another.
he held out his hand, the treats in his palm but it didn't seem like monster was interested in them from the get go. he brushed his muzzle against his hand but he left the treats there, untouched and mav sighed just a little. "i promise they aren't poisoned mate." he said but he sat reached into the stall a little to drop them into the horses feed bucket, just in case the hand that was offering them to him was the problem and the reason he didn't want to eat them.
he smiled a little when shannon promised to keep his secret and he was glad of that. not that he was worried about being ratted out but because it made him feel slightly more like he wasn't being treated with kid gloves. he hated that, from the moment he'd been released from the hospital he'd tried to go about as normal, surviving on painkillers and the will to never show weakness to his family. he stepped back as the stall door opened and shannon stepped out and he nodded curiously as he said he had an offer for him. "yeah i'm listening." he said as he wondered what the offer could be.
Shannon chuckled, "A positive sign. Anyway, I recently purchased another horse - my gelding, whilst still very capable in his duties, will one day need retiring. So I looked into another sturdy horse, but I am not entirely sold that she's suitable for my needs. Walk and talk."
He made sure Monster's stall gate was shut and began walking down the isle with his barrow and fork.
"Her name is Rockstar - I didn't pick it, but it fits her like a glove. She's a good looking horse," he said as he looked over at Maverick, "But in the few rides I've had on her, she's not quite what I was told. She's more suited, I think, to going fast. She jumps high and is incredibly bold. And the atypical chestnut mare stare if ever there was a face to behold."
He shrugged as he started on a vacant stall, "She's something else. I almost want to say she's like Monster in some regards. Has fire, spirit, temper and admittedly, she's a little bit on the hard side to rein in, but she's a good sort. I'm doubting she'll settle into my training and will be more of a hazard, so I'm offering you the chance to take her out whenever you feel like it. I'm going to let her have a year or two of freedom, if you will, and I thought I'd offer you the chance to try her. No catches, nah-dah."
He leaned on the fork for a moment, "It's entirely up to you, I just figured you might like the chance to give her a whirl, let her give her all and maybe prove me right or wrong. What do you say?"
he listened, he might have had a mouth on him but he did know when to shut it at times. he'd learned to grow up to be loud, sometimes it was the only way to get the point across in a family such as his. when you had as many brothers as he had you needed to be loud to get above the noise. he nodded a little as shannon asked if he could walk and talk and he stepped back from the door so the other man could walk out of the stall and he tucked his hands into his pockets as he kept listening to shannon talk about the horse called rockstar. she sounded like a great horse, right up his alley and something he'd very much like to try out. but it was almost a little unbelievable for him to think that someone would offer him the chance that shannon was offering him.
"i can't promise i won't teach her any bad habits." he said with something of a grin as he leaned against the door of the stall shannon had started to clean out. he couldn't accept taking her out when he wanted without giving shannon something for it. that wasn't the way the world worked, at least not to him. "i'd love to." he said honestly. he'd been looking at getting another horse when he'd been hurt by monster and now his mother had died and his savings pretty much gone, this seemed like a good option. "but only if you let me pay for her food and board." he didn't post it as a question, not leaving much room for it to be asked either and he had a bad habit of being stubborn.
"I can't promise I won't teach her any bad habits." He said with something of a grin as he leaned against the door of the stall Shannon had started to clean out.
Shannon raised a brow at that, but smiled all the same, "She's got plenty already, it might just leave you wondering how much she knows. But she's not a mean horse, I can assure you that she doesn't share the same desire to kick people as Monster does, but she will put her foot down to you if she's in a mood."
"I'd love to." he said honestly. "But only if you let me pay for her food and board."
He looked up and leaned on his rake for a moment, looking Maverick over. He wasn't about to doubt the young man's willingness to pay, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to go about doing that, least someone assume that Shannon had proposed the arrangement - not that mattered really.
"Fine, food and board only. I still pay for the rest - that means vet, farrier, dentist, chiro, worming, and so on. She's already had her general checks and vaccines done, and Grey has already done her feet for the next six weeks. I've got to do her worming today, but that's neither here nor there - she doesn't make too much fuss."
He continued working about the stall, forking out the soiled bedding with ease, "We can swing by her stall once I'm done here, introduce you to her. Yes?"
he smiled a little as shannon said that she probably had plenty of bad habits already. well that might have been true but there always room to learn so many more. not that he was going to set out to teach her the bad habits but he wasn't an expert when it came to horses and there was always the chance something would slip through and it would settle as habit in a horses mind. but as long as shannon knew that, he had no problem in taking on his horse for him. it would give him an extra challenge, something else to keep his mind of the troubles at home and an extra excuse to spend more time here at the barn. there were only so long he could hang around with his work and his job until people started asking if he was okay, so a second horse would just mean he could do nothing but hang out here and no one would bat an eyelid. he doubted anyone in his family would even notice if he started bunking down in the hay loft rather than coming home at night. well creven might notice but it would take a few days.
he could accept that. eventually he might ask to take over some of the other costs, if he and the horse worked well together. they could be an absolutely horrible match and then he could only imagine the deal would be off because if the horse hated him, he wouldn't push it with her. it wasn't fair to the horse. "that sounds like a deal to me." he said with a grin and a nod, verbal but a deal so he'd arrange to have her board taken out of his pay as well, like he did with twix now. he'd give it the six weeks that shannon had told him, when her feet were due to be done and he'd see if he could convince the other male to let him cover that cost too. he didn't like his chanced but he wouldn't be him if he didn't ask. he nodded a little as shannon asked if he wanted to swing by her stall when he finished this stall. "yeah sure, i'd love to meet her." he said honestly as the grin on his face spread just a little.
"I think she'd like to meet anyone other than me most days," he laughed, "Gives me that classic mare stare. If she were any other breed of horse, I would've safely said she was perfect - but she ain't no Quarter Horse."
He went back to work, forking out the spoiled straw and adding new straw on top before shutting the gate. He wheeled out the barrow, adding the muck to the heap before putting his equipment away and ducking into the feed room for a handful of treats. Then he led the way over to the mare barn.
The loud accusing whinny caught his attention as Rockstar spotted him walking down the aisle, her ears pinned back as she seemed to glare.
"Afternoon you moody bitch," Shannon laughed as he reached her stall, "I brought you someone new to play with. Maybe you'll get along better with him than you do with me, hmm? Sounds about bloody right."
He slipped in, pulling her halter off the rails of the upper gate and got it up over her nose just as she tried to nip him.
"Stop it," he muttered, "Cow."
He clipped her lead on once he had the halter on and lead her out of the stall, "Rockstar, meet Maverick. Maverick, this is Acantho Rockstar - or Rockstar for short. Though the name Acantho does mean Thorny, so... Whatever works."
