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Description

In the morning, Sukie met her friend Nanz at the stable. They mucked all the stalls, Boy, Princess, Biscuits, the two girls nearly ready sale, three girls early in training, and the new brunet. Nanz marveled at the size of him. They milked Princess. The men were all fed and watered.

Alfie and Pippa came a bit later with Jess, Nanz’s father, Petr, and Fina – work enough for everyone.

Sukie and Nanz brought the brunet to his knees and removed his hobble. Nanz’ foot on the back of his knee kept him from standing until Sukie returned with Boy. The two men eyes each other warily. They clipped his nose lead to the cantle of Boy’s saddle. Sukie urged Boy forward and the Mannish male stood and stumbled after her.

She began at a walk. When the man drew too close, she spurred Boy to pick up his pace and he trotted after them. Sukie varied the pace – walk, jog, stride – faster and slower. Once, he tried rushing her. Sukie snapped her heels into Boy’s flanks and brought him to an all-out run. She did not relent until the brunet tumbled and fell. She stopped, waited patiently for him to get up, and they began again. Boy seemed to be enjoying himself.

After an hour Sukie returned to the stable. She brought the men to their knees. She watered Boy and Nanz watered the brunet. The man was slick with sweat. His skin was filthy and abraded from his tumble in the dirt. The second hour went the same as the first but with no misbehavior. She went easier on him in the third hour and harder again in the fourth. As planned, he was utterly exhausted when Sukie brought him to his knees and Nanz watered him once more.

Sukie was not cruel. She used her whip to command his attention, not to punish. She saw his potential and would train him rigorously. He had so much to learn.

Once she had had him secured in his harness, Sukie knew that she would succeed. He would learn to live with his restraints and accept the grooms’ hands on his body. He would learn respond promptly to her commands and signals. With somewhat more difficulty, he would learn to accept his bit and bridle. Ultimately, he would learn to accept his saddle and the weight of a rider on his back. Sukie was an experienced trainer. She knew that he would obey her at first only because he chose to obey her.   In the end, he would obey her simply because she required him to obey and she would teach him.

She showed him his bit and bridle.

He recoiled in horror!

“No!” Tyler screamed but his volume made no more impression on the little green bitch than his mannish size. He knelt with his wrists restrained in his harness about 8 inches from his neck. The green-skinned bitch stood to his side and rested her foot heavily on the back of his knee and held him motionless. She showed him the bit again and defiantly, he clamped his mouth firmly shut and twisted away as far as he might. Her whip cut into his flank again. He grunted with the pain but did not relent.

She showed him the bit and bridle again. He held his mouth shut. She lashed him across the face with the bridle and he still resisted. Perhaps, if she hit him enough, he prayed he just might awaken from this waking nightmare.

Sukie shook her head. Would he ever learn? She stepped in front of him. Kneeling, he was still taller than she and likely carried five times her weight.

She slapped him. “Look at me!” she demanded.

He glared at her and she slapped him again. She then grabbed his nose between the thumb and forefinger of her green hand. He twisted and turned. He fought as best and as long as he was able but air hunger finally forced him to open his mouth. She jammed the bit into place and secured it with the bridle.

Tyler pushed his tongue against the bit. He found no give. He could only shake his head from side to side in a vain attempt to expel the device.

He was far from the first reluctant mount she had bitted and bridled. “That should do for you, sweetie,” she concluded with finality.

It did because he was completely unable to dislodge the bit.

He followed Nanz on Princess in the afternoon – walk – job – stride. As much as he loved to be out of the stable he was eager for some rest. They watered him generously. Lacking practice drinking with a bit in place, much of the water splashed over his chin, neck and chest, turning his dirt into thick mud. The pace was more relaxed in the afternoon and he ended the day, bitted and bridled and glad for his grooming.

His legs were sore in the morning but the morning session proceeded much like the previous day, if at a bit slower pace. They drilled him on his positions, “Kneel,” “Mount,” “Stand” for two hours around noon. Nanz stood behind him and he felt her lash when he erred or dillydallied. At least they chose to work him in the shade. They let him rest a full hour and ran him two more hours in the afternoon.

And so it went. He gained strength and endurance. He carried a saddle and then a weighted saddle. Distance and pace increased. The weight increased until he was carrying twice the weight of a Goblin.

The Goblins never told him their names but he heard them speak to one another. One does not introduce oneself to domestic animals. The two older Goblins, Alfie and Pippa seemed to be in charge. A younger Goblin Sukie was responsible for his training.

Sukie called him, Horse, after the mannish riding creature. As a trainer, she had some knowledge of the mannish language. “Horse, I’ll tell you once and not again.” She tugged sharply on his bridle. “You’ve had this bit in now for two ten-days. If you give me no grief when I have to replace it, I’ll take it out for the night. One chance and it will be some time before you get a second chance. Nod your agreement.”

Tyler/ Horse nodded. The bit prevented intelligible speech. Sukie removed his bit and bridle. This limited relief felt so good. The next morning he knelt, bent his head, and opened his mouth to accept his bit. Nanz smiled and stroked his head. “Good boy!” In an instant, he was bitted and bridled again.

The next day, Alfie ran him behind Boy for a long two hour run. When they returned, he pronounced the time right. They confined him in a narrow chute. Alfie climbed up on the gate, grabbed his bridle with both hands, and just stared him down. Tyler/ Horse glared back but lowered his eyes. Sukie slipped into his saddle and planted her feet in the stirrups.

You can’t do this to me,” Tyler screamed. “I am not your animal!” His bit made his words unintelligible. My name is Tyler and not ‘Horse.’

Sukie sat quite securely in his saddle, untroubled by his unintelligible protests. “Mount!”

Tyler/ Horse or Horse/Tyler dropped to the mount position.

“Kneel!” He knelt.

“Up!” He stood.

Sukie cycled through the simple commands and Horse/ Tyler obeyed without hesitation, even before his conscious mind had fully processed them.

Later, alone in his stall, he tried to make sense of what had happened. Why had he complied so meekly? He was tired from the run. He had felt her lash and had no enthusiasm to feel it again. Unless he had a chance to escape, he knew very well that he should mimic obedience unless he had a real chance to escape. He would spare himself the whip and they might lower their guard.

He tried to talk with the other mannish captives. The girls – he counted eight of them – were stalled in the other wing of the stable. Two had disappeared since his arrival to be replaced by three others who were undergoing training like his. The males and females were kept well separated. He tried to talk with the other mannish male – one they called Boy. He seemed to be some sort of favorite.

Boy had been in the stable a long time. He just wasn’t too bright. But intelligence was low on the list of triats desirable in goblin mounts.   He had little recollection of his earlier life and seemed to take a perverse pride in his high regard of these damned green-skinned Goblins and especially the Goblin named Sukie.

He was in the chute and Sukie was in his saddle, drilling him on his simple commands. A fair number of the Goblins were standing around. The gate swung open. Sukie’s heels snapped against his flanks and he stepped forward into the yard. He felt pressure on his right rein and he turned to the right. He felt pressure his left rein and turned to the left. Her heels snapped again and he carried her forward. She was riding him like an animal and he was letting her. All a part of his plan, he tried to re-assure himself, but whether it was his plan or her plan, he was increasingly uncertain.

Once, just once, he balked at the grooming stand. His nose ring was secured to the upright and his ankles secured to the stays in the floor. Sukie freed one wrist from his harness and he just refused to let her secure it to the crosspiece. He pulled his arm free from her grip. She stepped away and returned with her whip and lashed him until he himself placed his wrist on the cross piece. She secured his wrist and freed the other. She waited. He himself place his other wrist on the cross piece and she secured it. She completed his grooming and carefully dressed the leavings of her whip. Her lash had hurt. In retrospect, he couldn’t explain why he had rebelled with no real prospect to actually escape.

Training continued. He practiced his gaits- walk, jog, stride, and sprint. He learned to answer to her crop and spurs. He learned to back – even pressure on the reins when he was stopped and he was to take a step back.

Sukie took him on the trails. At first, someone always came along, sometimes Pippa on her Biscuits or Alfie on his Princess but often Lem or Nanz on Boy. He liked running amidst the trees under a blue sky.

Boy was palpably jealous that Sukie rode him. Somehow he enjoyed Boy’s displeasure and tried all the harder to please his rider, though he would deny it if asked.   When Pippa, Alfie, or Lem rode him and Sukie rode Boy, he was jealous too though he tried to deny it. Boy equally njoyed his rival’s discomfort.

On morning. Sukie led him from the stable. Horse felt Boy’s jealous eyes on him and gloated. She rode him far, leaving the stable far behind. He ran hard for his rider. He answered her reins, spurs, and crop, giving her everything that she required. Once - twice, she took him to the mount position, dismounted, and brought him to his knees and let him drink from a crystal clear stream. She found no need to hobble him. She took him to his limit and seemed satisfied when they returned. He was exhausted and dripping with sweat when they returned but he basked in her approval. Boy’s envy only added to his pleasure. Lem and Nanz saw to his grooming and tired beyond exhaustion he fell quickly asleep happy

The next morning, he was tethered on one side of the paddock and three of the newly trained girls on the other side for inspection by a knot of unfamiliar Goblins guided by Alfie and Pippa. They inspected the girls one by one. A Gob and a Goblin mounted two of the girls and rode them around the paddock. Then they turned to him.

A Gob examined him carefully and just chuckled. He understood nothing of the Goblin language beyond the language simple commands. Alfie took him through his commands and Pippa rode him around the paddock. HE did not see Sukie.

On different day, an unfamiliar Gob rode him around the paddock but didn’t let him go faster than a walk. A Goblin rode him and put him smartly through his paces. A second young Goblin had a heavy hand on his reins and flopped around in his saddle like a sack of potatoes. One by one, the girls were sold off.

The first Goblin returned two days later and took him on a long ride. Her riding skill was obvious. She tested his speed and endurance. She tested his response to his reins and spurs. She went to her crop and took him to his utter limits. When they returned, Lem and Nanz walked him until he caught his breath, watered him, and secured him to the grooming stand. They washed him painstakingly.

The Goblin returned with Sukie and examined him thoroughly. Sukie called her Lulu. He hung helpless and spread-eagle on the grooming frame and prayed that Sukie would protect him. She lifted his upper lip to inspect his teeth. She thrust a green finger into his mouth. She felt his neck and under his arms for lumps or bumps. She ran her hands over his strong chest and broad back and down his flanks and brawny legs. She examined his feet most carefully –one by one. She took his scrotum in her hand to check for a hernia and inspected the end of his penis for redness that might mark an infection. She spread his muscular buttocks to examine his anus for hemorrhoids and concluded her examination with an almost affectionate slap on his rump. Sukie called her Lulu. The two Goblins walked off chatting and Lem put him back in his stall.

Boy saw him and hooted his derision. He knew that something new and likely unpleasant was happening. It wasn’t like the sting of the crop or spurs. It wasn’t like the pain when they placed his nose ring or branded him but the deep ache was real.   He didn’t know exactly what or really did know but simply refused to acknowledge the unpleasant truth.

Lem and Nanz tacked him up again and replaced his bit, bridle, and saddle. They led him out of the stable. Lulu and Sukie were shaking hands. Lulu turned to him and grasped his bridle in her right hand. She stared him in the eye until he lowered his gaze. Then she held out her left hand with a slice of apple.

He hesitated for a long moment and looked around as best as he was able. The fragrance was enticing. Finally he dipped his head to take the slice in his bitted mouth. When he took the apple, slice, Lulu grabbed his bridle with her left hand and stepped up into his left stirrup and swung herself into his saddle.

He shied with his surprise. “Easy boy, easy now,” she whispered, trying to calm him. She let him feel her spurs and he quieted. “Better, see how much better.” She snapped her spurs into his flanks. “Home, home now! Let’s see how quick you really are.”

He surged forward at the touch of the spurs. Her words meant nothing to him but her vocal voice was calming. The spurs, he understood very well. He ran. Limited by his blinders and check reins, he tried briefly to look for Sukie. Lulu jabbed him again with her spurs. He increased his pace and quickly lost himself in the rhythm of his stride.

The steading was fully two hours away. Lulu varied his pace to conserve his strength and allowed him one brief rest. When they reached her steading, two Goblins came out to greet her.

“You bought a boy?” asked Biggles, a young gob as she brought Horse to the ‘mount’ position. Most goblins preferred girls as mounts. Intact boys were notoriously stubborn, lazy and eager for violence.

“Pretty obvious,” answered Lulu with a smile as she stroked Horse’s cheek. “Sukie from Osyth broke him and trained him herself.” She led the tired boy to the water trough and encouraged him to drink. Then she brought him the grooming stand and secured his nose ring to the upright. She removed his saddle and bent to secure his ankle to the stay in the floor.

"Do you plan to geld him?" asked Babs.

The boy knew nothing of the goblin's words. His feet were free and he thought briefly about kicking at Lulu. He was not hobbled but he was bound to the grooming stand by his nose ring. He could kick but he could not free himself. Was it worth it?

While he was still deep in thought, Lulu secured his right ankle and started on the left. Then she freed his right wrist from his harness and he did not resist when she secured him to the cross piece. She did the same with his left wrist and began his grooming. He was a strongly built animal.

Horse/ Tyler resigned himself to another day in captivity. He had long lost count. He closed his eyes. Lulu’s hands felt good on his tired body.

Description

In the morning, Sukie met her friend Nanz at the stable. They mucked all the stalls, Boy, Princess, Biscuits, the two girls nearly ready sale, three girls early in training, and the new brunet. Nanz marveled at the size of him. They milked Princess. The men were all fed and watered.

Alfie and Pippa came a bit later with Jess, Nanz’s father, Petr, and Fina – work enough for everyone.

Sukie and Nanz brought the brunet to his knees and removed his hobble. Nanz’ foot on the back of his knee kept him from standing until Sukie returned with Boy. The two men eyes each other warily. They clipped his nose lead to the cantle of Boy’s saddle. Sukie urged Boy forward and the Mannish male stood and stumbled after her.

She began at a walk. When the man drew too close, she spurred Boy to pick up his pace and he trotted after them. Sukie varied the pace – walk, jog, stride – faster and slower. Once, he tried rushing her. Sukie snapped her heels into Boy’s flanks and brought him to an all-out run. She did not relent until the brunet tumbled and fell. She stopped, waited patiently for him to get up, and they began again. Boy seemed to be enjoying himself.

After an hour Sukie returned to the stable. She brought the men to their knees. She watered Boy and Nanz watered the brunet. The man was slick with sweat. His skin was filthy and abraded from his tumble in the dirt. The second hour went the same as the first but with no misbehavior. She went easier on him in the third hour and harder again in the fourth. As planned, he was utterly exhausted when Sukie brought him to his knees and Nanz watered him once more.

Sukie was not cruel. She used her whip to command his attention, not to punish. She saw his potential and would train him rigorously. He had so much to learn.

Once she had had him secured in his harness, Sukie knew that she would succeed. He would learn to live with his restraints and accept the grooms’ hands on his body. He would learn respond promptly to her commands and signals. With somewhat more difficulty, he would learn to accept his bit and bridle. Ultimately, he would learn to accept his saddle and the weight of a rider on his back. Sukie was an experienced trainer. She knew that he would obey her at first only because he chose to obey her.   In the end, he would obey her simply because she required him to obey and she would teach him.

She showed him his bit and bridle.

He recoiled in horror!

“No!” Tyler screamed but his volume made no more impression on the little green bitch than his mannish size. He knelt with his wrists restrained in his harness about 8 inches from his neck. The green-skinned bitch stood to his side and rested her foot heavily on the back of his knee and held him motionless. She showed him the bit again and defiantly, he clamped his mouth firmly shut and twisted away as far as he might. Her whip cut into his flank again. He grunted with the pain but did not relent.

She showed him the bit and bridle again. He held his mouth shut. She lashed him across the face with the bridle and he still resisted. Perhaps, if she hit him enough, he prayed he just might awaken from this waking nightmare.

Sukie shook her head. Would he ever learn? She stepped in front of him. Kneeling, he was still taller than she and likely carried five times her weight.

She slapped him. “Look at me!” she demanded.

He glared at her and she slapped him again. She then grabbed his nose between the thumb and forefinger of her green hand. He twisted and turned. He fought as best and as long as he was able but air hunger finally forced him to open his mouth. She jammed the bit into place and secured it with the bridle.

Tyler pushed his tongue against the bit. He found no give. He could only shake his head from side to side in a vain attempt to expel the device.

He was far from the first reluctant mount she had bitted and bridled. “That should do for you, sweetie,” she concluded with finality.

It did because he was completely unable to dislodge the bit.

He followed Nanz on Princess in the afternoon – walk – job – stride. As much as he loved to be out of the stable he was eager for some rest. They watered him generously. Lacking practice drinking with a bit in place, much of the water splashed over his chin, neck and chest, turning his dirt into thick mud. The pace was more relaxed in the afternoon and he ended the day, bitted and bridled and glad for his grooming.

His legs were sore in the morning but the morning session proceeded much like the previous day, if at a bit slower pace. They drilled him on his positions, “Kneel,” “Mount,” “Stand” for two hours around noon. Nanz stood behind him and he felt her lash when he erred or dillydallied. At least they chose to work him in the shade. They let him rest a full hour and ran him two more hours in the afternoon.

And so it went. He gained strength and endurance. He carried a saddle and then a weighted saddle. Distance and pace increased. The weight increased until he was carrying twice the weight of a Goblin.

The Goblins never told him their names but he heard them speak to one another. One does not introduce oneself to domestic animals. The two older Goblins, Alfie and Pippa seemed to be in charge. A younger Goblin Sukie was responsible for his training.

Sukie called him, Horse, after the mannish riding creature. As a trainer, she had some knowledge of the mannish language. “Horse, I’ll tell you once and not again.” She tugged sharply on his bridle. “You’ve had this bit in now for two ten-days. If you give me no grief when I have to replace it, I’ll take it out for the night. One chance and it will be some time before you get a second chance. Nod your agreement.”

Tyler/ Horse nodded. The bit prevented intelligible speech. Sukie removed his bit and bridle. This limited relief felt so good. The next morning he knelt, bent his head, and opened his mouth to accept his bit. Nanz smiled and stroked his head. “Good boy!” In an instant, he was bitted and bridled again.

The next day, Alfie ran him behind Boy for a long two hour run. When they returned, he pronounced the time right. They confined him in a narrow chute. Alfie climbed up on the gate, grabbed his bridle with both hands, and just stared him down. Tyler/ Horse glared back but lowered his eyes. Sukie slipped into his saddle and planted her feet in the stirrups.

You can’t do this to me,” Tyler screamed. “I am not your animal!” His bit made his words unintelligible. My name is Tyler and not ‘Horse.’

Sukie sat quite securely in his saddle, untroubled by his unintelligible protests. “Mount!”

Tyler/ Horse or Horse/Tyler dropped to the mount position.

“Kneel!” He knelt.

“Up!” He stood.

Sukie cycled through the simple commands and Horse/ Tyler obeyed without hesitation, even before his conscious mind had fully processed them.

Later, alone in his stall, he tried to make sense of what had happened. Why had he complied so meekly? He was tired from the run. He had felt her lash and had no enthusiasm to feel it again. Unless he had a chance to escape, he knew very well that he should mimic obedience unless he had a real chance to escape. He would spare himself the whip and they might lower their guard.

He tried to talk with the other mannish captives. The girls – he counted eight of them – were stalled in the other wing of the stable. Two had disappeared since his arrival to be replaced by three others who were undergoing training like his. The males and females were kept well separated. He tried to talk with the other mannish male – one they called Boy. He seemed to be some sort of favorite.

Boy had been in the stable a long time. He just wasn’t too bright. But intelligence was low on the list of triats desirable in goblin mounts.   He had little recollection of his earlier life and seemed to take a perverse pride in his high regard of these damned green-skinned Goblins and especially the Goblin named Sukie.

He was in the chute and Sukie was in his saddle, drilling him on his simple commands. A fair number of the Goblins were standing around. The gate swung open. Sukie’s heels snapped against his flanks and he stepped forward into the yard. He felt pressure on his right rein and he turned to the right. He felt pressure his left rein and turned to the left. Her heels snapped again and he carried her forward. She was riding him like an animal and he was letting her. All a part of his plan, he tried to re-assure himself, but whether it was his plan or her plan, he was increasingly uncertain.

Once, just once, he balked at the grooming stand. His nose ring was secured to the upright and his ankles secured to the stays in the floor. Sukie freed one wrist from his harness and he just refused to let her secure it to the crosspiece. He pulled his arm free from her grip. She stepped away and returned with her whip and lashed him until he himself placed his wrist on the cross piece. She secured his wrist and freed the other. She waited. He himself place his other wrist on the cross piece and she secured it. She completed his grooming and carefully dressed the leavings of her whip. Her lash had hurt. In retrospect, he couldn’t explain why he had rebelled with no real prospect to actually escape.

Training continued. He practiced his gaits- walk, jog, stride, and sprint. He learned to answer to her crop and spurs. He learned to back – even pressure on the reins when he was stopped and he was to take a step back.

Sukie took him on the trails. At first, someone always came along, sometimes Pippa on her Biscuits or Alfie on his Princess but often Lem or Nanz on Boy. He liked running amidst the trees under a blue sky.

Boy was palpably jealous that Sukie rode him. Somehow he enjoyed Boy’s displeasure and tried all the harder to please his rider, though he would deny it if asked.   When Pippa, Alfie, or Lem rode him and Sukie rode Boy, he was jealous too though he tried to deny it. Boy equally njoyed his rival’s discomfort.

On morning. Sukie led him from the stable. Horse felt Boy’s jealous eyes on him and gloated. She rode him far, leaving the stable far behind. He ran hard for his rider. He answered her reins, spurs, and crop, giving her everything that she required. Once - twice, she took him to the mount position, dismounted, and brought him to his knees and let him drink from a crystal clear stream. She found no need to hobble him. She took him to his limit and seemed satisfied when they returned. He was exhausted and dripping with sweat when they returned but he basked in her approval. Boy’s envy only added to his pleasure. Lem and Nanz saw to his grooming and tired beyond exhaustion he fell quickly asleep happy

The next morning, he was tethered on one side of the paddock and three of the newly trained girls on the other side for inspection by a knot of unfamiliar Goblins guided by Alfie and Pippa. They inspected the girls one by one. A Gob and a Goblin mounted two of the girls and rode them around the paddock. Then they turned to him.

A Gob examined him carefully and just chuckled. He understood nothing of the Goblin language beyond the language simple commands. Alfie took him through his commands and Pippa rode him around the paddock. HE did not see Sukie.

On different day, an unfamiliar Gob rode him around the paddock but didn’t let him go faster than a walk. A Goblin rode him and put him smartly through his paces. A second young Goblin had a heavy hand on his reins and flopped around in his saddle like a sack of potatoes. One by one, the girls were sold off.

The first Goblin returned two days later and took him on a long ride. Her riding skill was obvious. She tested his speed and endurance. She tested his response to his reins and spurs. She went to her crop and took him to his utter limits. When they returned, Lem and Nanz walked him until he caught his breath, watered him, and secured him to the grooming stand. They washed him painstakingly.

The Goblin returned with Sukie and examined him thoroughly. Sukie called her Lulu. He hung helpless and spread-eagle on the grooming frame and prayed that Sukie would protect him. She lifted his upper lip to inspect his teeth. She thrust a green finger into his mouth. She felt his neck and under his arms for lumps or bumps. She ran her hands over his strong chest and broad back and down his flanks and brawny legs. She examined his feet most carefully –one by one. She took his scrotum in her hand to check for a hernia and inspected the end of his penis for redness that might mark an infection. She spread his muscular buttocks to examine his anus for hemorrhoids and concluded her examination with an almost affectionate slap on his rump. Sukie called her Lulu. The two Goblins walked off chatting and Lem put him back in his stall.

Boy saw him and hooted his derision. He knew that something new and likely unpleasant was happening. It wasn’t like the sting of the crop or spurs. It wasn’t like the pain when they placed his nose ring or branded him but the deep ache was real.   He didn’t know exactly what or really did know but simply refused to acknowledge the unpleasant truth.

Lem and Nanz tacked him up again and replaced his bit, bridle, and saddle. They led him out of the stable. Lulu and Sukie were shaking hands. Lulu turned to him and grasped his bridle in her right hand. She stared him in the eye until he lowered his gaze. Then she held out her left hand with a slice of apple.

He hesitated for a long moment and looked around as best as he was able. The fragrance was enticing. Finally he dipped his head to take the slice in his bitted mouth. When he took the apple, slice, Lulu grabbed his bridle with her left hand and stepped up into his left stirrup and swung herself into his saddle.

He shied with his surprise. “Easy boy, easy now,” she whispered, trying to calm him. She let him feel her spurs and he quieted. “Better, see how much better.” She snapped her spurs into his flanks. “Home, home now! Let’s see how quick you really are.”

He surged forward at the touch of the spurs. Her words meant nothing to him but her vocal voice was calming. The spurs, he understood very well. He ran. Limited by his blinders and check reins, he tried briefly to look for Sukie. Lulu jabbed him again with her spurs. He increased his pace and quickly lost himself in the rhythm of his stride.

The steading was fully two hours away. Lulu varied his pace to conserve his strength and allowed him one brief rest. When they reached her steading, two Goblins came out to greet her.

“You bought a boy?” asked Biggles, a young gob as she brought Horse to the ‘mount’ position. Most goblins preferred girls as mounts. Intact boys were notoriously stubborn, lazy and eager for violence.

“Pretty obvious,” answered Lulu with a smile as she stroked Horse’s cheek. “Sukie from Osyth broke him and trained him herself.” She led the tired boy to the water trough and encouraged him to drink. Then she brought him the grooming stand and secured his nose ring to the upright. She removed his saddle and bent to secure his ankle to the stay in the floor.

"Do you plan to geld him?" asked Babs.

The boy knew nothing of the goblin's words. His feet were free and he thought briefly about kicking at Lulu. He was not hobbled but he was bound to the grooming stand by his nose ring. He could kick but he could not free himself. Was it worth it?

While he was still deep in thought, Lulu secured his right ankle and started on the left. Then she freed his right wrist from his harness and he did not resist when she secured him to the cross piece. She did the same with his left wrist and began his grooming. He was a strongly built animal.

Horse/ Tyler resigned himself to another day in captivity. He had long lost count. He closed his eyes. Lulu’s hands felt good on his tired body.