Chapter 14

The Horse-Breaker

AS THE WINTER PROGRESSED, the family began the task of preparing the wild ponies to be ridden. Vicki watched while her parents stood by Jude and Squizzy’s shoulders, patting them on both sides of their bodies. Once the horses were comfortable with this, her parents jumped up and down beside the ponies, then sprung up and lay over their backs. The first time, the ponies stumbled from the feel of the unfamiliar weight, but they soon stood solid as her mum sat upright on Jude, and Dad walked Squizzy bareback for the first time.

Dandy, too, was ready for more, but he still wasn’t very fond of having two people close to him, and he was too tall for Vicki to jump on by herself. A few times she’d tried to leap off a log or water trough onto his back, but each time Dandy leapt forward in fright and kicked out with a hind leg. Vicki was disheartened when her parents decided it wasn’t safe for her to continue.

After her parents tried to work with Dandy themselves with no luck, her dad sighed. “I think it’s best if we send him away to be trained by a professional.”

“But he trusts me!” Vicki cried. “I just need more time.”

“He’s too difficult for even Dad and me to attempt to ride,” her mum said. “If we don’t sort this out now, he’ll never be suitable for you. I saw an advertisement in the local saddlery for a guy who breaks in horses, and he’s not too expensive.”

“How will you afford it?” Vicki asked, secretly hoping they wouldn’t have the money.

“Jude’s foal is old enough to wean, so we thought we’d advertise her for sale.”

Vicki was distraught. So far she’d done everything with Dandy, and she hated the idea of someone else working with him. But nothing could change her parents’ minds. The following day they advertised Jude’s filly in the local paper for three hundred dollars, and organised for the horse-breaker to take Dandy.

The phone didn’t stop ringing, and the first person who came to view the filly fell in love with her and bought her. Amanda was very upset when the new owners came to take her away, but she tried to put on a brave face.

“I’ll miss my friend,” she said tearfully, as the new owners drove off.

“I know you will,” her dad said. “But this was always the plan. You have Charlie, Kelly has Twinkle, and by training and selling our two palominos we’re making it possible for Vicki and mum to have their own ponies too.”

“Will you miss Squizzy when he has to go?” Amanda asked, watching the trailer disappear from sight.

“Of course I will,” he said. “But it’s a little easier for me because he’s too small for me to ride long-term. Right from the beginning I’ve known he’d have to go to a child one day.”

A few days later it was Vicki’s birthday, and she woke up nervous and excited. Her parents had organised to visit the horse-breaker’s property so she could watch Dandy being worked. Dandy had only been gone for a few days but already she missed him terribly.

Quickly throwing on her clothes, she rushed into the kitchen for breakfast.

“Happy birthday!” Kelly and Amanda yelled as they jumped at her, demanding a hug. “Can she open her presents now?”

From behind their backs, her parents pulled out a number of presents wrapped in newspaper. Delighted, Vicki opened them one at a time, revealing a collection of second-hand horse books.

Vicki looked up at her parents, “I love them all, thanks so much! Once we get home from seeing Dandy I’ll spend the whole afternoon reading.”

Hopefully you haven’t read them before,” grinned Mum.

“They’re perfect — I’ll treasure every one,” said Vicki as she carefully set aside the books.

“There’s one more,” Dad said, as he passed her the last present. Unlike the others, it was wrapped in gift paper, not newspaper. Knowing it must be important, Vicki carefully unwrapped it, making sure she didn’t rip the paper so they could reuse it.

“Thank you, thank you!” Vicki gasped, her eyes wide as she held out a red-and-yellow rope halter and a long matching rope, with leather plaited at the end.

“The colour of fire, for your volcano pony,” her dad said, smiling. “I spent hours with an old horseman I met in town, learning how to tie special knots and splice ropes. It’s what you’re supposed to use to tame wild horses with, not the webbing halters we’ve been using.”

“You have no idea how much this means to me,” Vicki said, as she clutched it to her chest.

After lunch, they headed to the horse-breaker’s property to visit Dandy. Hoping to try her new rope halter on him, Vicki laid it carefully on her lap. She was excited to see if the colours suited Dandy.

When they arrived, Dandy was already caught and the man was working him in a yard. Vicki hurried over to the rail to watch. But anger quickly spread through her as she saw Dandy fighting the rope, the kindness gone from his eyes. Bringing a whip crashing down onto his rump, the man swore.

“He’s a wild one. You’ve got to break his spirit if you want any chance of riding him.”

“Dad, he’s hurting him!” Vicki yelled. Hurrying over, her father joined her at the fence, his face creasing into a frown.

“He’s mean-spirited,” the horse-breaker replied gruffly. “He’s done nothing but try to kick and bite me since he arrived.” With a jerk, the man spun Dandy around and used the whip to send him bolting in the other direction.

“Dad, you have to stop him!” Vicki cried.

Vicki’s dad called the horse-breaker over to the fence line. While they talked, Vicki rushed into the yard to console her distraught pony.

“Woah, boy,” she whispered as she patted his sweaty neck. “No one’s going to hurt you again.”

Vicki’s mum pulled the car keys from her pocket.

“I’ll head home and get the horse truck,” she said grimly as she watched the tears streaming down her daughter’s face. “He can’t stay here.”

Before long, Dandy was safely back in his paddock at home, although he was still highly stressed.

“Mum, no matter how long it takes, promise you’ll let me train him,” Vicki demanded. “We can’t let him go through that again.”

Her mum shook her head sadly. “You know I can’t do that. My number-one priority is to keep you safe, and if he’s too difficult I’m not going to let you be the first to ride him.”

“Then I’ll wait a year — or more. I’m willing to take as long as he needs.”

“We’ll see how it goes,” Mum replied. “He’ll need plenty of love from you over the next few weeks though, that’s for sure.” She looked Vicki in the eye. “You know we never intended for him to be trained that way, right?”

“I know that,” Vicki replied, dejected. Scuffing her boot in the dirt, she whispered, “I just feel so guilty. I taught Dandy to trust humans and now he’s been hurt because of it.”