Fire Drill

Back Row: (left to right)
PF FS Cuauhtemoc IX, 7yo Spanish Mustang stallion
PF Turn the Page, 3yo Spanish Sport Horse colt
Front Row: (left to right)
PF Ice Cream Man, 3yo American Saddlebred colt
PF FS Sun Dog, 11yo Spanish Mustang stallion
PF Florentine, 10yo Spanish Sport Horse stallion
Tail, left corner:
PF Zaph's Starrider, 8yo Spanish Sport Horse stallion
Tail, right corner:
PF Black Whole Son, 14yo PRE Andalusian stallion

AC: Holy shiznat, guys. I got this idea at work and itched to get back home to doodle it before I lost it. And I must say, I am supercalafragilisticly happy with the results. This is the most horses I've done in one picture (7, if you count the two tails) with references. It is so beautiful... :sob:

The weather was getting warmer, even though local farmers were expecting a few morning frosts before spring settled in to stay. The horses were slowly losing their winter coats, their bright summer hides peeking through the drab winter fluff. With the warm weather came the perfect opportunity to practice one of the most important safety measures of the farm.

Fire was a danger on any farm. But when most of the farm's equity stood on four legs in three barns, fire meant the difference between prosperity and total financial ruin. Pembrooke had systems in place for such occasions, and the first warm day in April had the staff preparing for a fire drill. In the event of a fire, all of the stall doors in each barn were programed to open automatically. The main doors of each barn opened as well, allowing all of the horses to escape.

This part was by far the most exciting. From foals, all Pembrooke horses were trained to canter out of the barn and gather at a safe distance. Never was the training program so obviously in tune than at that moment - when thirty stallions and stud colts poured out of their stalls and into the sun, only to gather calmly in several small groups of bachelor bands near the edge of their main pasture a football field away. What could have been mass chaos at best and a bloodbath at worst was calm and orderly, the older studs guiding the younger generations into line.

In case of problems a small army of German Shepherds and Dobermans were on hand to bring the horses under control, but the farm dogs were rarely, if ever, needed at fire drills. They watched the action from the back lawn of the great house, tongues lolling out of their mouths, either sitting or sprawled out on the new spring grass.

Getting the horses back into their stalls could be difficult, except that Charles was smart enough to have drills right before evening feeding, so the boys willingly filed back inside for their oats. At other times, the staff would open the gates to the stallion pasture and let the horses roam, since it was the policy of Pembrooke Fields to allow horses as much natural grazing and pasture time as possible.

All in all, it was a well-oiled machine. The process required a great deal of work: training foals and new purchases to the system and checking the alarm system itself, but the results were safe and seamless. And once again, the farm was prepared in case of fire.

And now you know everything you never wanted to know about fire drills at Pembrooke.

artwork and characters (c) ~Niur-Tarow
Temoc referenced from this [link] by ~venomxbaby
Pager referenced from this [link] by ~venomxbaby
Chip referenced from this [link] by ~Kelzyra-HorseStock
Sun Dog referenced from this [link] by ~venomxbaby
Tin-Tin referenced from this [link] by ~Aestivall-Stock