Thurrg was waiting in the fog of the practice feild when Epona trotted up behind him to lay a hand on his shoulder. "You ready to go to work, then?" He turned, unstartled to grin up at her. "Ready when you are Epona." "Then mount, and tell me What weapon we'll be using today." Thurrg mounted fairly easily. He wore no armour today, nor did she. No saddle either. He shifted a bit getting used to the feel of riding bareback. "I thought perhaps a mace might be worth a try today." He found his seat but his legs were hanging loosely on either side of her barrel. "Try using your legs to grip. You need to know how to ride bare back as well. You won't always have access to a saddle. Bend your legs at the knee so your calf runs at an angle to the ground, and squeeze. It'll take some practice and you'll get sore muscles but after a while it'll be eaisier." Thurrg followed her instructions and soon found that he felt more secure in his seat this way, but still a touch precarious. "Try relaxing your back a bit, it's not all about strength. You'll need to learn how to feel how my muscles move, how your's react, and then find a way to mesh the two. Once you can do that you won't feel the need to squeeze quite so tightly, and you'll know when you do need to." Thurrg smirked. "I guess you are uniquely qualified to give lessons. not only are you intelligent, but you can feel the things a horse could and communicate your needs so I can meet them. With practice enough, I feel you and I will become a formidable team, and I hope great friends." Even though he couldn't see it she was smiling. "I'd like that, but we need to get down to business for now, alright?" "Of course. Can you start at an easy pace so I can get a feel for riding bareback without being thrown?" "Sure. We'll start at a walk, and when you feel comfortable with that, let me know. Perhaps we should practice with the mace tomorrow and focus on this for today." "No problem with that!" Epona began at an easy walk, but she could feel he was a bit tense still "You can rest your hands on my waist if it helps at first, but I won't let you hold on for long. You will need to know how to do this hands free eventually." Thurrg's releif could be heard in his voice. "Thanks." Seconds later she felt his broad hands on her human wais just below her ribs. She also felt him relax a little. Good he'd be ready soon. "I think I'm ok back here, could we try going faster?" "Sure. Remember though, a trot is a jolty pace for a rider, so you'll need to keep a good firm pressure with your legs." She felt his legs squeezing on her sides, and she moved into the trot, paying close attention to him. He was caught by surprise and at first he thought he was going to bounce off, but his hands were firm on her human portion and soon he figured out how to move his body with hers to avoid so much bouncing. Epona slowed down and came to a stop. "Why are we stopping?" "Because too much of this and you'll be so sore you won't be able to train for a while. This way you'll be sore, but your muscles will remember the position easier. This is because you won't have to wait so long between sessions." "I see." Thurrg dismounted, sliding his body fairly easily down her side, on hand still rested on her flank. "Thanks for taking time to teach me this,Epona." "No problem. It gives me something to do in my down time. We should wait a day or two before trying again. You'll be sore and need time to recover." "Sure thing. I'll get ahold of you later on then. Bye" "Bye" And bothe were soon lost in the fog on thier seperate paths.