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!.
Piper was nervous. She was hoping for this person that called would actually take care of the horse. Montana had been with the facility for a year now, and despite trying to find the right person – everything had fallen through. While the family hoped to have her stay, the mare just didn’t fit their program. She was young enough for someone to mold her a discipline. They were prepared to have her forever if needed, but it didn’t seem fair.
The young woman took the mare and cleaned her up well, giving her a deep cleaning – something the horse loved. Montana whinnied a bit as Piper sprayed her down outside, almost prancing a bit at the water massage the hose was giving her. The mare had a lovely personality. Could be seen as a bit energetic but died down after a solid exercise.
After Montana was all cleaned up, Piper dried her off a bit – and lead her back into the stalls of those that weren’t part of the program. The rescues that were available. It wasn’t a rare thing for horses to come to Helping Hooves, but most got snatched up quickly. By clientele that would board with them, or other EAPs.
Piper took her time to clean herself up after bathing and setting Montana up. After prepping some tea, she headed down to the main office where she would meet this potential buyer. There she sat, sipping away – hoping and dreaming that this person would be the right fit.
Morgan had been trying horses to buy for a few weeks now. Her clients were starting to take the horses she rode for them off to competitions around Europe. She was proud of the horses she worked with - they had come so far, but it was time for her to get her own.
She had heard about Helping Hooves through one of her clients at the gym, always wanting to help a horse who needed a forever home. Morgan had called and arranged a meeting - maybe even a test ride if she was allowed to. The red head was excited when Piper had agreed and was now on her way to the barn she had never been to before.
After getting in her car, she typed the address into her phone and let it guide her towards her destination. Thirty minutes later, she parked her car in a free spot and headed towards the main office. She knocked on the door and opened it. "Hi, sorry to interupt. I'm here to look at potentially buying a horse from you? I spoke with... a Piper over the phone." She remembered the woman's name as it wasn't one she had heard often. The red head closed the door behind her, in case this was a private conversation. Things in the equestrian world spread like wildfire through the community.
Piper looked up and smiled. “Hi, that’s me! Morgan?” she greeted, standing up and offering a hand. “A pleasure to meet you, Thanks for coming out.” Piper knew it could be a bit of a drive for people, but the silence and sereness made it the best place for those who could get overstimulated.
“Before we go meet Montana, do you have any questions or concerns?” Piper asked, sitting back down. She reached for the file as well as a clipboard. The file had everything about Montana that Piper knew. Unfortunately with rescues, there wasn’t a lot of information. Especially if they were dumped. If they were surrendered, there was paperwork that could be filled out.
"Yeah, that's me. It's nice to meet you too. Thanks for inviting me out, I'm excited to meet Montana." She had been itching to have her own horse for years now - one who needed training from the ground up. It was a rewarding process. "My first question would be, how long has she been here and have you been able to do any work with her?" She needed to know how much work the mare would need. Morgan was thankful she was able to ride all different kinds of horses - it made her a better rider and ultimately led to her doing catch riding as a job.
“Did you have any questions for me though?” It was quite often that it was the case as most people wanted to know what kind of home their horse was going to. She hadn’t quite decided on a barn yet, though Seven Oaks was somewhere she often did her catch riding. “And also, what kind of information do you have on her, if any?” Coming from a rescue, she did know that it wasn’t always possible to have everything the horse had done previously.
“Sure. We’ve had her for a year. She had potential but it fell through a few months back. Doesn’t have discipline, really. But she has been receptive to both Western and English, though we have a feeling that she may be better at Western. Since she did enjoy a lot of the training she had with some more advanced Western riders. But she’s moldable to whatever you want her to be. Albeit a bit stubborn, so she’ll need some patience.
Information-wise, she came from an abusive home – which is why we can’t keep her. She’s not a fan of children, which is a lot of our clientele. Can get a bit nippy, but she is very confident in her ways of showing dissatisfaction in something. Again, stubborn. The vet says she’s around five. Despite her background, she does well with women. Men, children, and dogs are what kind of triggers her.”
Piper knew that was a lot to be given out, but it was better than having someone get mad about missing information. However, there wasn’t much to begin with. At least, they knew her background – instead of the random horses being dropped off without any notice.
“Mainly, how long have you ridden? Do you already have a place we can drop her off? References such as fellow riders, vets, and stable staff.”
It took Morgan a moment to absorb everything. She hated what the mare had been through, though she was happy to change that. "Well, that's perfect. I've ridden both Western and English so I don't mind putting in the work." The redhead didn’t have much of a life outside of work, which meant the horse would have more care than anyone else. “She is a chestnut mare, that’s to be expected.” Morgan laughed softly - the stereotype existed for a reason after all. Morgan was a rider who didn’t care what the horse looked like as long as the two of them got along and had fun. “Have you ridden her yourself?” It was a fair question - people who rode the horse tended to know them better - especially under saddle.
The woman nodded, expecting some sort of traumatic situation. Not many rescue horses came from good homes - or else they would have stayed there. “I really don’t understand why people decide to be abusive. Did someone drop her off here or did you and your family find her?” It would be heartbreaking either way, though maybe there was a shining light that the owners admitted defeat and trailered her to the closest rescue. “As for myself, I’ve been riding since I was six and competing when I was eight. Both in English and Western. I’m actually a catch rider so I’ve had experience training horses, even if they weren’t my own.” It was something she enjoyed so much that she turned it into her job - though having to say goodbye to horses she had grown attached to wasn’t something she was used to feeling. “I have discussed with Naomi Clarke if I can bring her there. Blue Acres is where I tend to have the most clients right now.”
She took her phone out and scrolled through her contacts. “I can give you the phone numbers of a few clients in town I’ve worked for. As for coaches, I’ve taken lessons from several coaches. Mainly Aurora Sky, Cassandra McLellan and Tobias Oliver. I can give you their phone numbers, they’ve been coaching me on various clients horses since I moved here.” Morgan really had nothing to hide and her coaches would stand behind her on it.
“Yeah, that would be great. We can get all that paperwork sorted after you go meet her!” Piper led Morgan out to the stall where Montana was placed. There were a few other horses, but thankfully not as many as there could be. A lot of neighbors had helped as they were all looking for horses themselves.
Piper lifted her hand and Montana nudged it right away. “We find she likes carrots and sugar cubes. Apples, she likes to spit out. We can get a lead on her and you can walk her in our ring a bit, just so you can gauge her walk and all that?” Almost like test driving a car, it was easier to see how a horse behaved. While some hidden issues came out later, despite everyone’s best attempts to list everything. But true owners and riders would put the time in.
“Do you have your phone or a piece of paper? I can write their numbers down for you.” Sometimes coaches all knew each other - the horse world tended to be small, even in a horse town like Hickstead. The Western riding was slowly becoming more and more popular. “Perfect, I can’t wait!” She was excited to have her own horse for once - used to riding horses that belonged to other people.
Morgan followed Piper and stopped as soon as they arrived at their stall. The redhead smiled as the mare nudged the other woman. “At least you found treats that she likes. I know it’s hard sometimes with a new horse.” The redhead approached carefully and moved her hand towards the mare. “That would be wonderful. Maybe in the arena if possible with some light?” She suggested - more to be able to see the horse’s confirmation and what she would potentially be working with.
“Did you halter train her or did someone else do that before she got dropped off?” She didn’t mind either way - though some people tended to be rough when handling young horses. It didn’t give them a good start to their training though.
