Month 4: Dragon Ages 7-8 months
Your Dragon
The young dragons, having reached close to half their adult size, are mostly large enough now to support a human rider. This also means the dragons will be able to socialize more with other dragons, though you should plan on keeping tabs on such interactions so you can intervene should your young lifemate be exposed to anything which might cause undue anxiety or stress. As the dragons really begin to put on muscle during this time, they continue to eat twice daily.
Physical activity intensifies. By now, weyrlings need no longer take meals together, as the tight scheduling of dragon feeding, lessons and exercises has loosened up enough to allow for some personal adjustment; however, suggested mealtimes are still posted, and any weyrling skipping more than two meals consecutively can figure on being sent to the infirmary on the assumption that something's wrong.
If they have not done so already, weyrling dragons are normally encouraged to take the air by the end of their seventh month. However, as High Reaches' fighting forces have been somewhat reduced by Threadfall, some pressure is on to get you all ready to fly resupply instead as fast as possible - so by the end of the seventh month there's some real push to have all of the young dragons set free to the skies. Weyrlings are strictly forbidden from riding in flight at this point. Only by the end of the eighth month will the largest dragons - bronzes and browns - be carrying their riders on the wing. Even the smallest green will get a chance to carry her rider on foot, however - you'll now be practicing formations on the ground in mounted pairs.
This isn't the only case in which the color of your dragon's hide is starting to affect what kind of lessons you get. At this point the riders of bronze dragons and a select few of the brown ones begin to be pulled out for once-weekly sessions with D’ven or other 'big knots' and high-ranking staff around the Weyr. While the sessions are short, their purpose on the surface is to provide basic instruction in leadership to those weyrlings who will eventually be part of the pool from which wingleaders and other ranking positions are picked. There is a somewhat deeper purpose, however, evident to anyone capable of a little analysis - the Weyr's ranking riders are scoping the new prospects for lines of loyalty and leadership potential as much as offering training. Other riders of browns, greens and blues in the barracks simply get a little extra free time for straps, oiling, etc. The world is unjust. ;)
Restrictions
The supervision of older dragons is no longer needed for experienced hunters, though you must still take care to prevent them from eating themselves sick. Although the dragons are now generally considered old enough that most of them will tolerate sexual activity on behalf of their human counterpart, there has been no official release of that restriction from D’ven. It will soon become fairly well known, though, that if you avoid the barracks and don’t advertise the fact, you can get away with it.
Sample Schedule
6:00 AM - Morning run
7:30 AM - Clean up barracks; dragons have hunting time
8:30 AM - Breakfast
9:00 AM - Classroom lessons
11:00 AM - Strength/agility training
12:30 PM - Lunch; dragons have hunting time
1:30 PM - General lessons
3:30 PM - Group exercises
6:00 PM - Dinner; hunting time for dragons who need it
8:00 PM - Breakout classes/training; time to work on straps
10:00 PM - Lights-out
Chores
Daily flight exercises for dragons who've mastered takeoff and landing
Stamina training in flight
Encouraging dragons to bathe after hunting
Mounted formations on the ground
Cleaning the barracks
Classroom lessons focusing on politics and beholden areas
Breakout sessions for bronze and some brown riders
Finish straps in time for manned flight at the end of the eighth month, for bronze and brownriders