The Saltadora Ch. 09

After tightening a strap behind her head to ensure the bit could not be removed, he then fitted her with a harness which was identical to the ones they had worn the previous day, apart from being unused. Without attempting to resist, she allowed her wrists to be secured into place behind her back, leaving her bound and gagged with only the ability to walk remaining.

Finally, he stepped forward and clamped a tassel onto each nipple. It took a moment for the pain to be realised. Once it did, Madison's eyes got big, and she instinctively tried to step backwards, being unable to do little else to evade the torment being applied to her sensitive buds. The reaction caused a smile to appear on Jacko's face.

"Woah there, filly, it don't hurt for long," he assured her. "Give it a minute and the pain goes away."

On that note, he was correct. However, eventually they would have to come off again, and the girls knew that would not be a moment to relish since the blood would quickly return to the tortured organs and excruciating pain would result. That, indeed, proved to be correct, and they began to dread removing them more than they did attaching them each day.

He then proceeded to apply the same bridles and harnesses to the others. Emily went along with everything until it came time for the tassels to be clamped into place. Jacko appeared to have been eagerly anticipating the moment. A grin formed as he gleefully took each erect nipple and attached a tassel to it, watching her body jolt and alarm wash over her face as she felt it. A worse aspect was the effect it had on her once the initial shock wore off. The pain seemed to transfer from her nipples down to her pelvic area, causing a strong sense of arousal within her. Jacko seemed to sense it.

"You like that, Cummer, huh? You sure are a horny little critter," he sneered knowingly before giving her a slap on the rump and directing her to stand beside Madison.

Casey stood defiantly through the whole ordeal, not giving him the satisfaction of reacting even to the nipple clamps. She had engaged in nipple-play voluntarily in the past, so the sensation wasn't new to her. Experiencing it involuntarily while not aroused was new though, but she remained silent and without response just the same.

Everyone then held their breath as Cassandra was secured into the demeaning and restrictive outfit, but thankfully she played along. Even when the nipple clamps were applied, she reacted with only the slightest of snarls. Obviously, she was saving her anger for her eventual moment of vengeance.

"Now youse look like proper fillies," Jacko condescendingly remarked as he stood back to admire his new acquisitions. "We'll give you a test run in a minute, but first youse know the rules?"

The girls all shifted uncomfortably on their feet, not really knowing how to respond. It seemed obvious that they were slaves, so normal slave rules would apply: Do what you're told when you're told, nothing less, nothing more. It was also obvious that silence was demanded, but other than that they could only go by what they had observed from the other women.

"Firstly, no gabbin' when there's a master around," he began. "Any vocalisin' where we can hear you earns you the prod or the whip. Got it?"

The girls all nodded.

"Next, youse give it your best. You get told to run, you run your hardest. Got it?"

Nodding again.

"Now, when I click like this," Jacko clicked his tongue once to show what he meant. "That means you start walkin' at a normal pace. It you're in a team, you keep pace with the filly beside you."

Nodding

"Now form two rows."

The girls obediently formed into pairs, Casey and Emily at the front with Madison and Cassandra behind. Once in position, Jacko clicked his tongue and they proceeded to walk towards the entrance to the barn. Once there, Jacko called "Woah! That means stop." The girls came to a halt.

"Fighter, you're gettin' a bit ahead of the others. You gotta work on that. Cummer, you're shufflin' a bit. Keep them hooves a bit higher. Okay, let's go back the other way. When I calls 'Left!' it means veer left. What I calls 'Right!', it means other way. 'Left- left!' means hard left. Same for 'Right-right!' Got it? Youse know your left from right?"

The girls all nodded before Jacko clicked his tongue again to proceed, instructing 'Left-left' twice until the girls all faced back into the barn. After several turns, he then called 'Woah!' again.

"Now, when I calls 'Prance!' you goes about the same pace but you lift your knees up high as they go. This time, youse gotta keep in step with each other as well. Reason bein', it upsets the cart if you don't. Plus it looks like shit. Got it?"

Nodding.

"Righto, 'prance', fillies!"

The girls once again proceeded down the length of the barn, raising their knees high with each step, and doing their best to keep in time with each other. The tassels flapped as their breasts bounced with each step. While they did their utmost not to let on, all were feeling extremely ridiculous and outraged. Cassandra in particular was on the border of losing her temper again but settled somewhat with a reassuring shoulder rub from Madison. Finally, after four laps of the barn, Jacko again bid them to stop.

"Not bad, but youse need a bit of practice," he commented. "Now, when I click twice, that means walk fast. If I shouts 'Yah!' that means run for all you're worth. That ain't as easy as it sounds when you're in a team. You still gotta keep pace with the other fillies. But when youse are racin' the sulkies, you'll be paired with a filly that goes the same speed, so you should be able to bust it out without worryin' too much. We'll figure that out later, as well as tryin' out makin' youse go faster. Ain't enough room for that in the barn here, so let's take youse out to the track."

He then clicked his tongue, and they led him out to the dirt track in the centre of the buildings. Looking around, they could see several women running around the track, including Blaze. In full flight, they were an unusual sight, naked apart from the bridles, harnesses, boots, and tassels, running around the track with their arms pinned behind them. Their gait looked unnatural and awkward. Nevertheless, they ran at a surprising speed. Casey wondered what would happen in the event of a trip. Without arms to brace your fall, a face plant seemed inevitable. Not to mention falling onto your naked breasts and stomach. The trick would be to twist and let your shoulder take the fall, just as in martial arts. She made a mental note to instruct Emily and Madison on falling techniques later.

In the centre of the field, several more fillies were dragging laden sleds across the grass. These were obviously extremely heavy, judging by the straining and grunts that could be heard.

At least a hundred chickens could be seen clucking and scratching outside one of the distant barns, the front of their pen ominously occupied by an axe in a chopping block. Three of the draft mares could be seen with baskets of eggs while another scattered feed.

Fields of crops stretched into the distance behind the buildings with many mares with carts seen amongst the rows. Another bare field was in the process of being ploughed, with several mares seen pulling the ploughs through the dirt. In the distance, cows could be seen grazing lazily near a windmill. The whole farm was obviously self-sufficient to feed the occupants, as well as keeping them employed, while providing enough excess to take to market for profit. This farm's real profits came not from farming, though. It came from its success on the racetrack.

"Righto, form a row," Jacko instructed, waving his hand across the racetrack. "When I says 'Go!', youse run your hardest right around 'til youse get back to here. Last one back is a rotten egg. Got it?"

The girls nodded in agreement.

"Right, YAH!"

They all set off at a slow trot, feeling rather peculiar trying to run with their arms pinned behind them. Casey then began to feel her stride and increased her pace. Seeing her break away from the group, Emily also sped up to close the gap. Meanwhile, Madison, being unaccustomed to anything athletic, and being somewhat encumbered by having larger breasts than the others, made no effort to run any faster. It was going to take everything she had just to make it around the whole track. Cassandra, likewise, had little interest in doing anything more than the bare minimum. While skinnier than Madison, she also had no interest in athleticism, but also felt she had nothing to prove in these circumstances. Unlike Emily and Casey who had begun to battle it out. Whether it was a spirit of competitiveness or just a way to vent their anger and frustration was difficult to say, but both had begun to run their very hardest.

As they rounded the final bend, they noticed Muzza had joined Jacko at the finish line. Breathless, and with no way to wipe their brows, they could only walk in circles trying to recover as they waited on Madison and Cassandra to reach the finish.

"Pair these two on a sulky," Muzza commented while pointing to Emily and Casey. "They show a lot of promise. A few months of some solid training and we might have a winning team here. The other two may be only good for bein' draft mares."

"I don't reckon, Muzza," Jacko disagreed. "The slow ones just ain't motivated, and they're out of shape. Give 'em time and a taste of the whip and I reckon we'll be surprised. Look at them hindquarters on Cinnamon, just gotta get rid of that puppy fat. The other one is built like a racer, just a bit skinny and needs more muscle. She got spirit too. Skinny as she is, she still dropped me like it was nuthin' yesterday. Given some hard work and proper feedin', and I reckon they'll give these other two a run for their money."

Muzza scratched under the brim of his hat for some moments, clearly sceptical of Jacko's assessment. Finally, he nodded in agreement. "I guess they don't owe us anything, so we may as well see if we can train them up into something. They sure got the look of bein' fancies. May as well see if we can get them performin' like fancies too. If nothing else, they might fetch a better price at market if we get 'em in shape."

Jacko needed no further invitation. "Right, you lot. Let's get you draggin' the sleds for a while," he instructed the four women while pointing at the centre of the field. "Hit the grass."

Once there, he hooked short yokes across their lower backs under the crooks of their arms, and then harnessed them to heavy iron sleds.

"Righto, drag these down to the far end and back again." He pointed to the end of the field as he spoke. "Yah!"

Emily knew right away that she would probably have far less difficulty with this task than the others, and was torn with how to handle it. She neither wanted to impress her new masters for fear of what that might spell for her fate, nor did she particularly want to reveal her strength to her friends. However, revealing her superior strength to the other girls was secondary in the current state of affairs. More importantly, it was possible that it would assist them in their eventual escape, and an element of surprise at that point would almost certainly be beneficial, so it was best to keep it hidden on that basis for now. She decided to just match Casey's pace, keeping an eye on her in her peripheral vision.

Madison, meanwhile, proved to excel at this particular task, showing what she lacked in stamina, she more than made up for in strength. She soon led the group, with Cassandra lagging in last place, mostly due to complete disinterest in proving herself in any way to these men. That soon changed when a whip cracked close to her right ear.

"You wanna feel the whip on that lazy derriere of yours, you just keep up with the attitude," Jacko warned. "Be a shame to mark that lily-white hide of yours, but some fillies gotta learn the hard way."

The threat did nothing to motivate Cassandra, but the anger in being spoken to like that caused her to growl and bring every muscle in her body to strain against the heavy sled. She lurched forward with surprising speed, overtaking everyone else, only to almost collapse in exhaustion when she reached the far side of the racetrack.

"See, I knew you had it in you," Jacko praised. "It ain't over yet, though. Back the other way."

An hour later, the girls were completely exhausted as Jacko loosened their bits and removed the yokes to allow them to drink some water.

"Take a minute, then we'll hitch you to some sulkies and start teaching you to keep in step," Jacko announced.

Drinking wasn't easy without hands to hold the bowl of water on offer. Watching other fillies earlier, they knew the technique was to place their faces into the bowl and suck it up like animals. The difficulty was compounded by being completely out of breath, particularly for Madison and Cassandra. Emily wasn't at all fatigued, but she pretended that she was so that she didn't stand out.

Finally, as the colour in their faces and their breathing returned to normal, Jacko began by pairing Casey and Emily together and inserting longer yokes through their arms. Once joined two abreast, he wheeled a small sulky behind them and attached it to the yoke in between them.

The sulky was a small, two-wheeled carriage designed to be lightweight and fast. The construction was primarily painted wood, including the spoked wheels, with hammered steel lugs and other components to add strength where necessary. On top was a single padded seat with a small footrest for the jockey. Two shafts protruded forwards from the main chassis, curving together into a single shaft which attached to the yoke in between the two girls.

"Okay, let's get youse up to a canter, but we'll start slow," Jacko began as he mounted the sulky behind Casey and Emily. "You other two, take a longer breather but watch what's going on here. You're next."

He then clicked his tongue twice, instructing the girls to commence at a quick walk.

"You need to keep step with each other. Left, right, left, right," he instructed. "Stretch out into longer steps. That's it. Now, go a bit faster."

The girls then achieved a canter, keeping their steps in time with each other and gradually increasing pace as Jacko yelled "Yah!". Small dust clouds and pockets of dirt erupted from the wheels and their feet as Jacko bounced in time behind to the girls' steps. Most of the other fillies stopped their training to watch open-mouthed as Casey and Emily showed a surprising turn of speed. Something magical was happening. These new girls seemed to be naturals in their ability, and truly athletic. The weight of the sulky and jockey meant nothing to them. The sound of their boots hitting the track in time and the hisses of breath through bits was all that could be heard as most of the ranch fell silent in awe.

Finally, after a second lap, Jacko yelled "Woah!" and brought them to a halt.

"Promisin', fillies. Very promisin'," he praised, before unhitching them and then hitching Cassandra and Madison in their place.

After a few starts and stops where he needed to give them further instruction to keep their steps in time with each other, he soon had them achieving a reasonable pace. After several laps, he realised they were nearing exhaustion, and it was time to stop.

"Woah, fillies, a good day's work," he nodded with some satisfaction. "I was afraid I was gonna need to use the whip to get youse in shape, but youse are coming along nicely. A few weeks of this and I reckon you can give your mates here a run for their money. What Fighter lacks in strength she makes up in speed. Vice versa for Cinnamon. An unusual pairing for a sulky, but it seems to work. Anyway, go dress down and give yourselves a hosing. Rest those legs for now. Tomorrow is another day."

The Crescent girls needed no further prompting. Their legs felt like jelly, and shoulders ached from having their arms pinned back for so long. The bits in their mouths were no longer comfortable in the slightest. After getting some assistance from one of the older women nearby, they were soon undressed and making their way to the hosing area. This time, the cold water was a welcome relief.

Other women started coming in and removing harnesses and bridles before heading to the washing area. Emily, Madison, Cassandra, and Casey watched from their bunks with interest, learning the routines that the women followed. Two of the older women carried in armfuls of chopped firewood before focusing on the large combustion stove. The smell of burning wood filled the stable as several women set to chopping vegetables while others carried in freshly slaughtered chickens. They were about to ask if they could pitch in, when Muzza appeared at the entrance with Blaze at his side. Spotting his target, he approached with deliberate strides.

"So, youse are plannin' to escape?" he began, his face a picture of anger and disgust. Blaze smirked knowingly behind him, making it clear that their conversation the previous night hadn't been as private as they thought, and she had reported it to him. "And it's got somethin' to do with these things. What'd you say they called it, Blaze? A high-pone?" He produced one of the hypons from his pocket, turning to Blaze for confirmation.

The girls looked at each other fearfully, not knowing how to respond, or even if they were expected to answer.

"Well, we'll see about that," Muzza continued before striding momentarily to an axe resting against the wall at the entrance and returning with it. He then placed the hypon on the ground in front of them.

"No, wait!" Emily cried. "We won't try to escape! We'll do whatever you want! Those are sensitive pieces of equipment. Please don't destroy them!"

But it was too late. After threatening Emily with the back of his hand for talking, Muzza raised the axe and began chopping the hypon with repeated blows until it was several pieces of tattered metal and broken circuit boards. Its orange light glowed briefly for a few seconds before fading to nothing. The girls could only stare in stunned silence.

"Now, there's still three more," Muzza added as he stood back with some satisfaction. "You wanna keep those in one piece, you'll behave yourselves. In the meantime, I'm gonna keep 'em safe and sound where youse can't get at 'em. Youse are also gonna be chained up when youse aren't training."

He then instructed Blaze to fetch the chains while he stayed behind glaring angrily at the four captive women, waving the cattle prod menacingly in his hand, almost daring one of the girls to challenge him. There was little else to do but allow the chains to be locked onto their left ankles, the other end secured to rings outside their stall which were attached to thick iron stakes embedded deep into the ground. The chains were an unusually long length, the reason why soon became apparent.

"Now, youse have got enough length to reach the tucker table," Muzza explained, before turning to Blaze. "Fetch them a piss bucket."

Cassandra wanted to scream. Well, they all did, but Cassandra the most. Madison sensed it and placed a reassuring hand on her arm before shaking her head once she had her attention. Now was not the time to make a scene since doing so would only make the situation worse.

"I'll be around to unlock you in the morning so youse can wash and dress," Muzza continued. "From now on, youse are gonna be supervised every minute youse are off the chain. You want some freedom back one day, you gotta earn it. Got it?"

The girls nodded in silent defeat.

Later after they had eaten and made use of the 'piss bucket' which Blaze had placed in their stall with the warning that it was their responsibility to "empty it in the shithole and wash it each day, so it didn't stink up the place", they lay in their bunks and glumly considered their fate. Emily tried her strength on the chain but to no avail. It was too thick and strong. She began to cry again in helpless fury.