DragonKnight - Donita K. Paul [19]
An unbroken kindia would spin and buck and even roll to remove the pest on its back. The most common way to tame one just required stamina and agility. Six to twelve uninterrupted hours in the saddle, and the breaker usually broke the kindia to accept a rider.
Bardon had never done it, never witnessed it, but he’d read about the process. His eyebrows rose as he heard the words form on his lips.
“Where do I find Hoddack?”
7
BREAKING A KINDIA
When he saw the six unbroken kindias, Bardon thought first of his dragon friend.
I am so grateful Greer isn’t around to add his insightful thoughts on the folly of this endeavor. If I can avoid his ever finding out, my peace of mind will be preserved. Otherwise, I’ll never hear the end of it.
The kindias grazed in a large field surrounded by a ten-foot-high, wooden slatted fence.
Hoddack looked first at the young squire, then at his valuable animals. “Five hundred grood for each one you break. I don’t pay for fixing you up or the time you spend out of work if you’re injured.”
Bardon nodded.
“When can you start? They’re going to be two-year-olds in three weeks. If you know anything at all about kindias, you know if you don’t break ’em by two, you might as well turn ’em loose.”
Bardon nodded again and forced his voice past the lump in his throat. “Heard that.”
“Well, do you want the job or no?”
“Yes, I’ll start now.”
“Never done this before, have you?”
“No. I’ve ridden several, but never broken one.”
“Remember, I don’t provide care for you if you’re busted up.”
Bardon nodded.
“You want a drink or something? I don’t recommend eating. Likely make you sick.”
“I’m fine. Where’s the saddle?”
Hoddack pointed out a tall, brindled kindia as they walked to the barn. “That’s Mig. She’s the oldest, and the one that tossed my last breaker into the fence. Best start with her so the others know you mean business. I got other things to do. I’ll get one of the boys to sit on the fence to haul you out should you take a fall. You don’t get paid ’less you finish the job. Remember that.”
Hoddack sent an o’rant named Ilex down from the main barn. The man helped Bardon corner Mig and get the saddle on.
“All I’m going to do is sit on the fence and watch,” Ilex explained. “I thank you for the time off from real work.” The older man grinned, showing two teeth missing from a crooked row. “Hoddack’s a hard man, but he won’t let a man break alone down here. Someone needs to be on hand to pick up the pieces when the breaker comes off.”
“Nice of him.” Bardon stroked Mig’s neck. He had to reach up, since his head came to her shoulder. Seems to me the kindias in Wittoom were shorter.
Her muscles quivered beneath his hand.
Bardon lengthened his stroke. Her smooth coat felt silky beneath his fingers. “There, there, girl, this isn’t going to be so bad.”
She jumped away, and he brought her back with the reins.
Ilex scrambled up the fence, away from flying hooves. Once he settled on the top, broad plank of wood, he took out a stick and a whittling knife. “Don’t be surprised if some of the other boys wander down here whenever they got a minute. Hope you don’t mind watchers.”
Bardon thought of the few tournaments he had participated in. When you’re busy trying to keep from being killed, you don’t think much about who’s watching.
He just nodded to Ilex. The other animals in the field had moved away, as if to distance themselves from the upcoming battle between man and beast. If the stories were true, the others would do their best to overlook the captivity of their fellow herd member. Bardon sighed and turned his full concentration on the kindia at his side.
Still grasping the reins, he took hold of the saddle horn with his left hand. He moved back toward Mig’s head, stepped forward, and