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Post by Administrator on Dec 16, 2011 19:36:49 GMT -5
Here's where the champions are kept, careful, people snooping back here can get in trouble!
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Post by Jax McCloud on Dec 28, 2011 20:06:53 GMT -5
<New Day - Reserved for Butch>
It was always astounding the way the senses work, at least that's what Jax thought as he stepped into the stables at Sheepshead Bay and breathed in deep - the scent of horses and hay filling his nostrils. He knew to some it held no charm, brought about no fond memories or joy, but to Jax it was as familiar to him as home. And he supposed that's what he was after when he had wandered down to the track and bypassed the stands in favor of snooping around on the grounds. A little piece of the life that he had left behind, of the home that he might someday return to but for now remained a distant and fond part of his soul.
He was fairly certain that he wasn't supposed to be just strolling into the stables unannounced and unaccompanied, but Jax hadn't ever been one for playing strictly by the rules. Someone wanted to come chuck him out they could give it a good try, but until they did Jax intended to savor the familiarity. He turned his head and caught sight of the horse in the first stall, a large bay with beautiful lines and the sort of fire in it's eyes that Jax always liked in his own horse. "Hey there," He said softly, approaching the stall slowly and making sure the horse was aware of him and wouldn't be taken by surprise when he reached up a hand and swept it across the strong muscular neck of the animal. "Ain't you a pretty thang," He drawled, smiling to himself as the horse responded to his touch and he took a step closer to the stall.
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Post by Butch Bailey on Dec 28, 2011 20:23:29 GMT -5
For Butch this was home. Or as close to it as he could get all the way out here in New York. He was a ways from his real home in Tennessee, but at least he had some good horses to comfort him. He was a little too early for his shift today, but that just meant that he had more time to brush down the horses, talk to them, offer them sugar cubes and just relax before he took them out for a good ride. They needed their exercise too. A stiff joint was still a stiff joint. Even in an animal.
It wasn't till he was halfway into the stables that he saw the new person, and Butch just raised an eyebrow, tilted his had a little lower on his head and leaned against wooden frame on the door. "If it ain't intruding on your visit, I'd like to ask what yer doing here." He clucked to the horses and moved forward to the second stall, offering a cube to the horse in it, eyes on the new man. "Since I don't think you belong here."
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Post by Jax McCloud on Dec 28, 2011 20:35:08 GMT -5
"You ain't intrudin'," Jax commented with a slow grin, turning his head slightly and eyeing the man that was leaning against the frame of the door. He detected an accent in the man's voice, a hitch that was perhaps a bit like his own though clearly they hailed from different parts of the country. The hat he donned was just as familiar and Jax lifted his shoulder in a lazy sort of shrug as he turned back to the bay and rubbed his neck with practiced ease. "Probably don't, but here I am."
On another day, he likely would have left it at that, see if the man pressed him and left before things got too dicey. But as it was, Jax was feeling relaxed in the familiar atmosphere of the stable and it really hadn't been his intent to stir up trouble, just find a little bit of home. "Not tryin' to cause trouble," He said, keeping his eyes on the horse and unable to keep away the smile that lingered as the animal responded once again. "Guess you could say I was lookin' fer somethin' familiar and this fella," Jax patted the horse's neck one final time before stepping away, not wanting to appear like he wasn't aware he was trespassing. "...this fella reminds me of someone I knew once."
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Post by Butch Bailey on Dec 28, 2011 20:42:09 GMT -5
"Right, You're the intruder." Butch was grinning anyway though. It wasn't often that he walked in to find someone else in the stables and paying attention to the horses. He'd gotten pretty used to being the only one that took them out for a run. It took a while to train each horse every night too. Much less to tack them all up and then everything after. Which meant that he got out of here a little too late to have much of a social life. So company was nice to have, for once. Besides. The other man wouldn't be here unless he loved horses.
Butch had learned that from the start. Not many came here except the lovers. "It'll tell you what. You give me your name, tack him up, and help out with his training, I'll let you tell me your whole life story." Butch moved past the man in question to grab the saddles and gave a sugar cube to each horse he passed. "'Sides. I could use the help. I'm hoping to be out of here in time to catch the dinner rush somewhere. I could use some cooking other than my own."
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Post by Jax McCloud on Dec 28, 2011 21:23:43 GMT -5
"Name is Jax," He replied, reaching over to grab a saddle from where the other man had secured his and went through the motions that rushed back to him with each familiar movement. "'Fraid my life story ain't for sale but I'll tell ya I come from Montana and know my way around a horse," Jax explained, flashing the man a smile almost gratefully. Jax didn't regret his choice to leave home, to see the country that had laid out before him and he had no desire to set aside his wanderlust. But that didn't mean there weren't a great many things that he missed, and this man had just offered him a wide open door to one of them.
Once he had the saddle securely on the horse and he was sure that it was comfortable for all parties involved, Jax opened the stall and led the horse out, clucking his tongue appreciatively. "This beaut got a name?" He asked, knowing full well that the animal probably did and wanting to be able to use it once they got out on the track.
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Post by Butch Bailey on Dec 28, 2011 23:41:50 GMT -5
Butch kept his eyes on the other man for a moment, evaluating him per say. He seemed to know his way around a horse. The way to tack him up and everything. "I can see that you know your way around a horse. I'm sure that they appreciate it too." He just grinned. "The last guy to work 'em was an ass." He paused. "So what are you doing all the way out here?" He'd needed help, and here was a man that knew horses and he would be a great help to him hopefully catching food later. Goodness knows that he hadn't been out of here at a decent hour all week.
"He's got a registered name, but I call him Hunter. He's got that fierce look about him. This one here is Bullseye." Nicknamed mostly for his pretty off reddish brown coat. "And he likes sugar cubes." He jogged over to the horse to pet his hand down his hair and just held the other out so he could take the cube. "We gotta loosen them up and then continue their training."
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Post by Jax McCloud on Dec 29, 2011 19:20:41 GMT -5
Jax knew it took a special touch with the animals, who had power in spades but could be gentle giants in the right hands. He'd grown up on the ranch learning the eccentricities of such things and was finding he rather enjoyed empl0ying it now, even if he was a bit out of practice. He shrugged at Butch's question not committing to an actual answer, "Just sort of ended up here." It was partly the truth anyhow, Jax's exact path to New York had been a bit windy, maybe even a little bumpy considering the way he'd gone about it; but he wouldn't have changed it for the world.
"Hunter it is then," Jax said, nodding at Butch's comment on the fierce look to the animal, the half wildness in his eyes that had drawn Jax to the animal in the first place. "Lead the way..." He motioned with his hand, willing to follow Butch's lead if it meant he got to get astride a horse and ride again - he missed it. The conversation was also bringing to mind something that Lucky had mentioned to him when they'd caught each other on the roof one day, lamenting their lack of want to sell papes. Jax was hardly a hawker and peddlin' papes wasn't really in his list of skills. But this, Jax thought as he reached up and rubbed a hand along Hunter's neck in a practiced and familiar action, this was more like it. "You lookin' for any help around here?"
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Post by Butch Bailey on Dec 29, 2011 19:37:00 GMT -5
They really were amazing and wonderful animals. They were dependable and smart, and very good with training. "I'm from Tennessee myself. Helped out on a neighbors farm, learned about horses and fell in love with them." He patted his own horse and grinned. "They're beautiful." He'd cycle through the horses, doing their stretches and training each one before he went home to change and out to grab a bite to eat. It was a good job, a steady job, and he loved it.
"This way." He murmured, slipping up onto Bullseye and clucking for the horse to giddy up. He moved at a slow trot and Butch just ran fingers through his hair, smiling. "It's mighty hard work getting them all done everyday. Honestly it brings me out a little too late by myself. Good pay, steady job, and I get to be with the horses." He paused to consider. "But yeah. I could use some help with it. It'd sure get me outta here a little earlier than I'm used to." He took a look at the other man and nudged the horse. "We're gonna trot them around the practice area and then we'll get to the training."
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Post by Jax McCloud on Jan 2, 2012 15:51:01 GMT -5
"They are incredible animals," Jax acknowledged with a grin before following Butch's lead and settling onto Hunter's back with ease. The horse was young and powerful and heeded easily and willingly to Jax's commands. They were simple moves, starting in a slow trot as the two men settled the horses into a good pace and they were still able to talk, the speed still slow - a steady warm up. "Be glad to lend a hand if we can work out a fee that's agreeable," Jax said with a nod, clucking his tongue a little and idly rubbing at Hunter's neck as they worked.
"Make most of my money in the boxin' ring, but some weeks ain't as good as others," Jax explained with an almost cheeky grin as he shrugged. He was good in the ring and proud of it, but no one could win all the time and the fights took their toll on his body if he took on to many. Working at the stables might help to balance things out, give him a little breathing room when things got tight inside the ring. "Would help right much to have a little extra when things are thin."
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Post by Butch Bailey on Jan 2, 2012 21:37:40 GMT -5
Butch had no problem sharing the profit with the other man, so long as he'd do the work. The biggest reason he hadn't hired on anyone else yet was because he needed someone that knew their way around a horse. He wanted someone he could trust to give the horses their proper work out and then train them to the best of his abilities. So far he hadn't found a good enough person to do it. But Jax here looked like he could be trusted enough to handle the horses.
If anything his slow trot was showing that he knew how to handle them. That he'd at least been around them a time or two. "What's a reasonable figure that you've got in that mind of yours." If they could settle on a good figure that split the cost pretty well then he'd be the best bet that Butch had for an easier time with work, and a possible social life. He clucked to the horse and patted his mane. "Come on boyo, gotta get you to hop that fence for me. We're gonna run them 'round real fast and then hop some fences."
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Post by Jax McCloud on Feb 1, 2012 19:19:18 GMT -5
Jax rubbed at his chin as Hunter trotted underneath of him and he fell naturally into the rhythm of the horse's gait, as easy to Jax as breathing after growing up on the ranch. Butch seemed of a fair enough mind and he seemed eager for some experienced help and as long as they could work out an arrangement with his boxing schedule since his bouts brought in more coin, it might be something that could work for them both. "What do you say to seventy cents an hour, couple times a week? Throw in meals and I can close up some nights if you'd a mind for me too," Jax offered after a moment, grinning when Butch explained they'd be running the horses.
There was something he missed, the freedom of being astride a horse and feeling it's powerful movements beneath him. Animals had been such a part of his childhood and while there were some here in the city, there weren't quite that many like the plethora that had surrounded him out West. So it was with a quick upturn of his mouth that he kicked Hunter into a bit faster gait, clucking his tongue in encouragement as he followed Butch's instruction.
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