Straight from the horse's mouth. [OOC]

tayah12 · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **tayah12** on Sun Jun 12, 2011 9:42 am

From the horse's mouth

My mother had always told me we had no choice about which man would eventually handle us. It was all down to something called luck; something that I didn't get to see a lot throughout my life. My mother told me that a lot of good horses had been ruined by the cruelty of man and that she hoped that I would not be one of those once good horses joining the slaughterhouse line.

From the horse's mouth is a roleplay about the struggles of horses in the Victorian era. Inspired by stories like Black Beauty and my initial love for history and horses.

The roleplay will take place from various points of view, or even their masters who may treat them cruelly or kindly. You may not even have anything to do with the horses - you may be a rich stately home owner who demands only the best horses to pull your carriage, oblivious to the real struggles of the horse pulling along.

It is set in Victorian London (or the English countryside) in the year 1845. Please be realistic about the setting, this seems pretty needless to say but just in case :)

You can play an endless list of roles here are some for horses and humans:

Horses

-Cab horse
- Trap pony
- Pit pony
- Plough horse
- Carriage horses
- Hunt horses (fox hunting)
- Canal Horses
- Horsecar
- Brewery horse
- Pony express
- Fire service
- Ambulance service
- Mounted police horse
- Funeral horse
- Wedding horse
- You may even pull a carriage for the King and Queen...

There are many more roles that you can do as well :)

Humans

- Estate owner
- Cab driver
- Blacksmith
- Horse breeder
- Horse dealer
- Farmer
- Carriage driver
- Mail man
- Canal leader
- Miner
- Hunter

To keep it realistic, if you join as a woman, expect to play out how women were treated back in this period of time. If you are a woman, you'd probably be riding side saddle or you would probably not be driving carriages etc. I'm sorry but this is how it is.

Your characters
Your characters should be realistic:

If you join as a horse - research breeds that were used for your job role. If you choose to join as a Plough horse, you'd play as a draft horse etc.

Form:

Name:
Nickname (If any):
Age:
Appearance:
Personality:
History:
Class ranking (humans):
Occupation:
Picture (optional and Non-anime)

You can also play as many characters as you want.
That is just a rough outline of what I would like to see in the character description, feel free to add as much as you want, you can never have too much detail in character descriptions!

I don't have many rules - follow the general rules of roleplay gateway! Post regularly, and be realistic! No one lined posts, make sure to check grammar and spelling (this is all obvious stuff but I will say it just in case)

There can be side stories also away from the horses - maybe your a cab driver who has to sell his horse to move away with his family? There is also an option where you are able to play as another person's horse and be (semi) controlled by the other person. Such as if they decide to sell you to someone else, they can to make things more involuntary for the hoses. (However this is the only powerplaying allowed)

Feel free to join :) Sorry about so much to read!

Update:

http://www.roleplaygateway.com/straight-from-the-horse-mouth-t59158.html is the IC thread.

tayah12 · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **tayah12** on Sun Jun 12, 2011 10:43 am

Name William
Nickname: His current owner calls him Tin Tin.
Age: 8
Appearance: William has a somewhat striking appearance about him and he knows it. On his his legs, each one has a sock that extends just above his fetlocks. He also has a large star on his forehead. His coat is jet black, which his owner tries to keep as clean as possible but the dust and grime from the city manages to dull it's shine. He stands at just 15.1 Hands high, and has the typical build of a Hackney horse with an elegant mist about him. When he trots, his high stepping action catches attention from people watching as Hackney horses are known for their unusual gut graceful trot. He is lightweight on his feet but he is not the fastest of all horses and has a fair amount of strength in his lightweight slender frame.
Personality: At first, William had a boisterous and spirited nature which made him pretty difficult to handle as a colt. Although as he grew older and matured a lot he quietened down into an honest worker who seems un-bothered by the roaring of the city around him. Due to his handling, he has some how become unfriendly to other horses and would prefer his own company than to the company of another horse or human. Some people say that he may have been bullied by other horses in a paddock leading to his unfriendly nature towards horses but it is merely the way that William is.

History: William grew up on a small Horse breeder's farm in Maidstone, Kent. Where he spent the first year of his life in and out of living in the green paddocks or stable blocks at the stable yard. His mother was a black Hackney mare; she always told him that he got his high spirits and playful nature from his father who was one of a team of four horses who pulled a carriage for a rich man a few miles down the road.

When William turned three, he was lent to a horse trainer at a nearby farm where he was broken in to saddle and ridden for a few months until he was further trained to pull a cab. Up until then, William had experienced kind treatment from humans, and his trust in human kind was something that may have led him to calm down and form into an honest hardworking animal.

He was sold at the age of four to a man who rented out horses to people who wanted to travel places for the day. That was then William learnt the hardships of humans, the range of people he was rented by taught him that humans weren't all as kind and caring as his previous masters, and he developed a somewhat bitter nature towards other horses and humans. He would sometimes spend fourteen hour days being ridden through the countryside on long treks or pulling small carriages through the country lanes. On one incident late at night, blinkers had obstructed his view and him and his carriage went straight into a ditch. The men and him emerged unscathed but William still remains wary of his travels and footing.

After working there for two years, at aged six he left to pull a cab for a hard handed man who only cared for the money he would make. Working fourteen hour days with rare breaks, William became a broken down horse and lost a lot of weight from his poor feeding. During his 6th year, he was sold numerous times to different owners, both using him for a range of roles but mainly around the cab and carriage industry. Finally once he turned seven, his current owner John saw the skinny and dog-eared horse standing with his head sunken to the ground and eyes half open at an auction in the east end of London. That is where John then bought him, and nurtured him back to health.

John owns a small house on a grubby street with an alley way backing onto it, his stable concludes of sharing with another pony officially called 'Half pint' but is referred to as 'Shorty'. Their home isn't technically a stable, but more a wooden built room that has a small wooden partition only two feet high splitting the two up. When the door is shut up, inside the 'stable' there is complete darkness except from the glow of street lamps from the front of the street.

John has a family of one daughter, two boys and a wife. The young girl's name is Mary, the two boys are named Jack and Joseph and his wife is named Victoria. Jack is the eldest, at 16, followed by Joseph at 13 and Mary at 10.

Occupation: Cab horse.

Horseygirl · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Horseygirl** on Sun Jun 12, 2011 1:28 pm

Name: Eclipse

Nickname (If any): Luna

Age: 7

Appearance: Eclipse has a flawless white coat that is constantly being cleaned. She has one dark mahogany brown eye, and one striking blue one that holds such wisdom and energy, it's hard not to stare. Her face is slightly dished from her Arabian/Saddlebred blood, and her saddlebred mother taught her to high step while she picked up a proud stance from her father. When pulling her owner's carriage, she seems to take the job very seriously, holding her head high, her silky white mane/tail blowing every which way in even the slightest of breezes. She has a very lean, delicate build that makes it almost seem like she couldn't pull a carriage with a draft horse's help. This makes her seem even more royal and elegant, much to the delight of her owner.

Personality: Eclipse is gentle enough that a three-year-old could ride her, and knows when to rein in her massive amounts of energy. Her personality changes depending on her surroundings. If she is with a young child, then she is very quiet and gentle. If she is let out into the pasture, she is wild and energetic. If she is with her owner, she is more like a dog then a horse. Luna follows her around, kicks up her hind legs, neighs, and jumps around. It's quiet hilarious. She is very friendly around other horses, but she knows her limits. Just by glancing at the other horse, she can tell if she needs to back off. When she gets close to other horses, even if she is younger then them, she is very affectionate and sweet. She acts almost like a mother. When listening to people speak, she has an adorable habbit of tilting her head to one side and seeming very attentive.

History: Eclipse was born to a very gorgeous, well-known Arabian horse. Arabian horses were quiet rare, he attracted much attention. Almost as much as his daughter. Her mother was a very passive wedding carriage horse, with the same silky white coat as Eclipse. Both of her parents were stunning, able-bodied horses. Their owners were both kind of just winging it when they bred the two, but the result was amazing. From the start Eclipse with a rather friendly, odd horse. She 'showed signs of greatness' her father's owner would say proudly, but her mother's owner wanted in on the action. Sadly, her father died in an accident before he could be bred again. Eclipse was his only heir, which made her even more valuable. She belonged to her father's owner, who raised her very well. He was a wonderful owner, being so gentle and mellow.

When she was still pretty young, she was broken in. Her owner said she was just about the most tolerant horse he had ever owned, and he loved to brag about her. Catching wind of this amazing horse, the royal family decided to see her. Even they were struck by her sweet, gentle nature and her stunning pedigree. It was actually the Queens daughter who bought her, refusing to let her just be another one of her parents' carriage horses. The young girl actually snuck her into the house a few times, Eclipse being versatile and mellow enough to not freak out. Luna, as the girl called her, grew close to her owner, and became more of a loyal dog then a horse. She was still aloud to be kept in the stables and used as a carriage horse on occasions, but her owner makes sure that it's known that Eclipse is more then just some carriage horse.

Occupation: She is the Queen's daughter's horse, and is often used as a carriage horse.

Robinwing · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Robinwing** on Sun Jun 12, 2011 4:37 pm

Well. I'm in.

I'll put up my character (might end up plural) some time tomorrow.

tayah12 · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **tayah12** on Sun Jun 12, 2011 4:42 pm

Aha thats fine :) I know I might be posting another character soon to flesh the roleplay out a little more, so feel free to make more than one :)

Robinwing · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Robinwing** on Mon Jun 13, 2011 11:39 am

Name: Claudia

Nickname (If any): Dia

Age: 9

Appearance: Dia is a rather pale grey Percheron, the closest living breed to the mighty warhorses which carried knights in armour. She is fairly heavyset; if she were human she’d look like a stereotypical female cook. She stands at around 16.3 hands.

Personality: Dia is a kind, protective, matron-like force. She is motherly, but in a more stern way then many horses with claim to that description. She is very docile for her sternness, a characteristic of her breed. She is highly intelligent, which was how her owner managed to get her taught to come at a whistle, and other such tricks that he thought a knight’s steed might know. She is quite stubborn, once she’s set, a mountain moving will not sway her. She can be surprisingly gentle, and enjoys cuddles with her “charges”. Her “charges” are really just her owner and his very young sister, Eliza, who likes to pat Dia. She is fairly hardworking, but does enjoy a day off every now and then. Dia is extremely loyal, and that loyalty often leads this horse to courage in the face of danger.

History: Dia was bred on a rather regular stud, a pureblood Percheron by coincidence. She was trained in ploughing and pulling, as well as saddle, as most other horses on the farm were. She was expected nothing higher than ploughing, but fate saw fit to bring Henry Christopher, a boy from a “new money” family, to the farm that was selling her. In his search for a warhorse. No you did not misread that. Henry enjoyed the mental image of knights in armour, with their loyal, clever steeds and their glittering swords. He had decided that when he got a horse, he wanted a horse like those steeds of old, strong and reliable. He had been looking for a while before he stumbled across Dia, then unnamed and 4 years old. He asked the questions his father had drilled into him to make sure that he was getting a quality horse, and was pleased with the answers he received. He named the mare Claudia, just because it sounded “warhorse-like”. He managed to find a man who had trained horses for the circus, and had Dia, as she was starting to be known as, taught a few tricks, such as sitting and coming at a whistle, among some other select tricks.

Occupation: Changeable. Henry’s family are quite rich, but they overall prefer to have one horse per person (Eliza will get one when she’s older) and focus their money on other things. Therefore, Dia tends to get used for a variety of things, from hunting to pulling a small carriage.

Picture:

tayah12 · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **tayah12** on Mon Jun 13, 2011 1:09 pm

Okay, I'm making my second character, It should be my last one, but I go a bit mad for characters :P

Name Half Pint
Nickname: Shorty (most commonly referred to as this)
Age: 16
Appearance: Shorty has an attractive strawberry roan colour with a grey speckled back and flanks. He has three stockings on his legs and a long bushy mane and tail. Shorty's breed is unknown but he stands at 12.2 hands high and John believes that he is a Welsh pony. Over the years, Shorty has picked up a number of scars on his hindquarters and flanks from the lashing of whips.

Personality: Shorty is a cheeky and mischievous type, in fact he is a typical pony. His years have given him plenty of education on humans and the mystery surrounding the kind but Shorty still ignores a lot of what he knows. He hasn't had the easiest life has Shorty, but he has tried to keep his faith in humans which is enhanced when he meets a kind one. He is a honest little hard worker, and despite the cruelest of handling he tries to please his master in the hope of him becoming nicer towards him if he works harder but sadly that never happens. Over the years, Shorty has longed to gallop around green fields just like the stories he has heard from others and despite this he appears happy on the inside but somehow wishes for a different life in the countryside.

History:

Shorty was born to a broken down mare in a run down stable yard somewhere in Shepherds bush. The dilapidated stable block was situated in the back yard of a rag and bone man's house where he was having trouble looking after the horses and the land on it. Shorty didn't have a very good start in his life...

He spent a lot of his time underweight and has never seen the green fields of the countryside. On meetings with other horses and ponies years later he would become incredibly jealous of their upbringings in bright green fields and the chance they had to breath in fresh air. Although at three years old he had met a retired pit pony who was waiting to be sent to the slaughter house and Shorty was suddenly grateful for the rather rough life he had led so far.

He was broken in relatively early and was sold on at the age of three years to a man who run a butchers, and he spent the first six months pulling a small trap around loaded with meat and pulled animals such as sheep and pigs from the slaughterhouse.

After six months he was then sold on to a young man and pulled an Ice cream float around in a nicer and cleaner part of London where Shorty was usually fed treats by the children when they came around the streets. Shorty enjoyed his job as an ice cream pony but was sold due to his owner having to move away after 3 years. He then moved to a much crueler man who used him as part of a team of four pulling grocery supplies to stores all over a ten mile radius. The hours were long and hard, especially the cold mornings and nights. The man was quite ignorant towards the care of horses and sometimes they went unfed and he used the whip freely on their hindquarters during work.

At six years of age, he was sold numerous of times to which he has lost count, to some good owners and some bad owners in which they used him for a variety of roles. He was once even gave pony rides to young children at fairs along side a donkey and a Shetland pony.

By the age of ten, Shorty was feeling the struggles of working life, and as he grew older he felt stiffer and less able to do his work which upset him a great deal. Finally, he was due to only have two more owners, first a hard man named Joseph and his much kinder current owner John.

Joseph used him to pull traps around carrying various things each day while the man scrambled to find work. He was harshly used, and treated more like an object than an animal. Walking along the road one day, John spotted the pony being dragged by Joseph and that is where he bought Shorty as a pony to help start his son out on a career in driving horses.

Shorty now does work regularly and is now back to his favourite job as pulling an ice cream float due to John's father renting him from John. He lives quite a happy life now with his companion William, who is not as friendly as Shorty would like, but he is good company.

Occupation: Ice Cream Pony

tayah12 · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **tayah12** on Tue Jun 14, 2011 1:21 pm

Okay guys, the IC thread is up properly now, so looking forward to some roleplaying :)

Pinkpony · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Pinkpony** on Wed Jun 15, 2011 12:59 am

Name:Malory
Nickname (If any):Mal
Age:13
Appearance:A enormously sized, or at least was, the gelding walks up to you. His body is wounded and scared from the harsh crack of the whip. Blood still freshly oozes from some but do not let his hulking figure fool you the gelding seems malnourished, and is overly dirty you could barely tell he was blue roan , his hooves need trimmed badly too. His knees almost buckle over them other horses in his pasture seem fine you wonder what the owners problem is. A horse fly lands on his neck and he doesn't even try to swat it away as a fresh wound is torn in him. You look the horse over and see that he has strong well formed muscles and a kind face. Who could do such a thing to such a beautiful animal?

Personality:Kind , yet unable to trust, he feels guilty for everything that goes wrong and it all started when he was a newborn foal his mother was an old carriage horse one of the farmers best and she had died in birth. Other foals wouldn't play with him because he didn't know how to act so he was always lonely. He is very protective though whether he knows you or not he will not stand for injustice.

History:During a winter storm thirteen years ago a small shire colt was born in the middle of the pasture. The mare that was giving birth had died of either weakness blood loss or cold a few hours later an old farmer sat by her side and did everything he could to keep the mare alive but in the end it all failed. So he was left with a blue roan colt. He hated that colt. The colt was the reason he went under he could barely pay his taxes now because his best carriage horse was dead. Everyone always asked for the beautiful blood bay mare to pull their carriage. Now his competitors was catching up and we wasn't pulling enough in. Now he had this he could never even use this horse as a stud . But he could rent him out to farmers to plough and he could use the horse for carrying things.
As the foal grew older he became more and more unstable in his trust of things. First the farmer who had cared for him so tenderly as a colt he had stopped he was no longer kind. The other horses would fight with him because they saw him as a disgrace to the farm."As if no one had taught him how to act", they would say, it was true no one had he had no mother and the farmer genuinely didn't care what he did unless he harmed one of the other horses. After about five years of the constant harassment the gelding stopped caring altogether what anything thought of him he would defend others in their time of need no matter what, he would do what no one had done for him. No one ever helped the colt how never got enough to eat or who always had flesh wounds on him who would be openly abused no man or horse ever cared. As he grew older he began to learn the meaning of his name and the more he thought that it fitted him he was cursed the only time he had luck was when he was about to be beaten half to death. After all its just a flesh wound.

Occupation: plough horse (farm horse)

Robinwing · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Robinwing** on Fri Jun 17, 2011 1:18 am

Sorry about my wierd posting schedule. Teachers sprung some work I didn't know about right after I put up Claudia.

tayah12 · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **tayah12** on Fri Jun 17, 2011 5:12 am

That's cool, I understand :)

chloe · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **chloe** on Sun Jun 19, 2011 10:51 am

ok sorry to bother you but could I join and tayah12 did you used to roleplay on mydreamstable under the username tayah? I also have another question could a retired pit pony be sold?
Name: Pip
Age:11
Appearance: Pip is a small pony standing at just over 11hh, Pip has a short light bay coat he is a small but strong welsh pony gelding.
Personality: Pip has a very strong character and is very hard working despite his age Pip still try's his best not to disappoint his worker ,Tom. Pip always seem's to be happy no matter what is thrown at him and has developed a strong bond with Tom. It can take pip a while to get used to new people and horses but once he get's to know someone he will be there friend for life.
History: Pip was born on a small farm just out of town and was taken to the mine as a foal, at first Pip was skittish and hard to handle but as he grew older he learned to trust the people who worked there and got used to the dark conditions in the mine. Pip wasn't introduced to a harness until he was around 3 and his first time wearing one didn't go well it took a long time to get Pip to work and was only settled into a proper routine at the age of 4.
Pip has only ever seen daylight a handful of times and is now used to the dark conditions of the mine. after a lot of years working in the mine Pip has now become one of the hardest working and most experienced ponies down there but he is now finding that his joints are stiff and he is nearing his retirement.
Occupation: pit pony

tayah12 · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **tayah12** on Sun Jun 19, 2011 10:59 am

Well you're in luck, I certainly did. And your welcome to join :)

chloe · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **chloe** on Wed Jun 22, 2011 12:17 pm

could we start ?

tayah12 · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **tayah12** on Wed Jun 22, 2011 12:25 pm

Yup, we already have started, straight-from-the-horse-mouth-t59158.html heres the link to the IC thread. Just have a quick read through the posts to see whats happened already and then just post :)

chloe · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **chloe** on Fri Jun 24, 2011 9:50 am

oh i see i get confused sometimes and sorry that i am not replying to your mail its because I dont know how to

Straight from the horse's mouth. [OOC]

a topic in Out of Character, a part of the RPG forum.

Straight from the horse's mouth. [OOC]

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