Chapter Fourteen

Kate had barely slept for the past two nights, and she’d dragged all through the morning classes at school, worried that Tori would stick to her decision to quit working at the barn. If that happened, she supposed she could team up with Colt, but she wanted Tori to continue. It wouldn’t be the same without her new best friend. Most girls her age cared more about boys or makeup or new clothes than horses, but Kate had never wanted anything as much as she wanted these riding lessons. Tori had swung from quitting to working to quitting again but had promised she’d give Kate a final answer at lunch break today.

Kate waited in the lunchroom and peered toward the entrance, not wanting to miss Tori. Her stomach was tied in knots, and if she tried to eat right now, she’d hurl. A group of girls, whispering and giggling, entered the room, but no sign of Tori.

Someone tugged on her hair, and Kate whirled. “Tori! How’d you get in here without me seeing you?”

Tori smirked. “Guess you must have missed me among all the dark-haired girls wandering around.” She sobered and tugged at Kate’s arm. “Come on, I’m starving.”

Kate shook her head. “No way. I can’t eat until you give me your answer.”

Tori’s arm fell to her side. “Yeah. Sorry. Guess I should have done that first.”

Kate’s heart sank at her friend’s serious tone. “I think I can guess.”

“Think so, huh?” Tori flashed a smile. “Gotcha! I’m sticking it out, Kate. I’m not going to be a quitter. Besides, I don’t want my mom to say, ‘I told you so.’”

Kate would have hugged Tori if there weren’t so many people around. “You totally had me scared. Let’s grab some food before we both starve. I can’t wait for school to be over so we can head to the barn.”

 

Thursday’s time spent at the barn hadn’t brought any more problems, and Saturday had dawned bright and clear. Kate could hardly wait for their two hours of work to be finished so she and Tori could take their first lesson. She hadn’t thought to ask Colt if he was taking lessons, but since he had his own horse, it didn’t seem likely. It had been nice working with Tori and getting to know Colt while cleaning stalls. He seemed like a good guy.

Tori lightly punched her arm. “Earth to Kate. Wake up. We’re not finished cleaning this stall yet. What are you thinking about, anyway? You have a silly smile on your face.”

Kate hated to admit she’d been thinking it was nice to have another friend besides Tori, even if he was a boy. Not that boys weren’t okay, but she’d never been interested in having a boyfriend. Not yet. Colt was someone fun to hang around with at work because he had a good sense of humor and teased her, kind of like her dad. The last thing she wanted Tori to think was that she was interested in Colt as more than a friend. “I’m glad we get to take our first lesson today. I can’t wait.”

Colt pushed his full wheelbarrow to the opening of their stall and set it down. “I’m taking lessons too. I wonder if we’ll all be doing it at the same time.”

Tori shook her head. “Kate and I are both riding Lulu, so unless Mrs. Wilder has us riding double, I doubt it.”

Colt motioned down the aisle. “The POA down at the end?”

Kate nodded. “Yeah. How about you?”

“I’m not sure, but since I’m taller than either of you, I’m guessing my feet would be close to dragging the ground if I rode her.”

Kate tossed the final shovelful of manure into the wheelbarrow, thankful this was their last stall. “What kind of horse do you own?”

“A Quarter horse gelding named Romeo.” He scowled. “And no, I didn’t name him. I wanted to change it, but the person who owned him went on and on about how he knows his name and would be confused, so I kept it. He is pretty smart, and he acts like he knows it, so I guess it was the right decision. But it’s still pretty weird.”

Kate and Tori looked at each other and then broke out in a laugh. Kate covered her mouth with her hand. “Sorry. I’m not making fun. It’s just …” She snorted another laugh through her fingers.

“I know, I know.” He jerked his chin toward the big outside door. “Come on. Let’s go dump this stuff and get the shavings.”

Tori grabbed the handles of the wheelbarrow. “Right.”

They got done in record time, then headed toward Lulu’s stall. They’d cleaned it first thing this morning, but Mrs. Wilder had told them to come back when they finished to groom the mare and clean her feet. She’d already checked Colt out on handling Lulu and had instructed him to show the girls what to do.

Kate slipped the halter over the pony’s head and buckled it, then led her into the alleyway.

Colt grabbed a cross tie from a post next to the arena and motioned Tori toward the outer stall wall. “Clip that cross tie on the side ring of her halter, and I’ll do the same on this side. That way she can’t move forward or backward more than a step.”

“I’ll grab the tack box.” Kate headed to the tack room next to Lulu’s stall, remembering what Mrs. Wilder had said about the security cameras. It felt strange knowing someone might be watching her every move to see if she touched something she shouldn’t. She walked straight to the row of shelves against the back wall and lifted the open carry case full of grooming tools, then hurried back to Tori and Colt. “I think this has all the brushes and hoof picks we need.” She set the case on the floor off to the side of Lulu’s front feet. “I groomed a horse a few times in Spokane, but I’m not sure which brushes to use.”

Colt picked up a flat, black rubber thing shaped like an oval with short teeth on one side. “This is a currycomb. If the horse has dried mud or sweat, you’d want to use this, or if it’s shedding and you’re trying to loosen the dead hair.” He placed the curry on Lulu’s neck and started stroking, using light pressure. “When you get to her body, you can go in circles and push a little harder. Don’t ever use this on her face or her legs. You only want to use soft brushes there.” They watched as he finished running the curry all over Lulu. “See? She isn’t shedding much yet. Kate, get a stiff brush from the box, and Tori, would you get a soft one?”

They both did as asked and waited. Colt stepped to the side and nodded at Kate. “Take the stiff brush and run it down her neck, then over her withers and back, and under her belly and over her hip. Then Tori will do the same thing with the soft brush to finish her off.”

Tori wrinkled her nose. “I have no idea where her withers are, and I don’t see why she needs so much brushing. I don’t even brush my hair this much!”

“Brushing not only gets rid of loose hair; it brings the oil in their skin to the surface, which keeps their coat in good condition. Mrs. Wilder said they turn the horses out in the fields and paddocks when the weather is dry. I guess they rotate them between the daytime and night, so all the horses have a chance to get outside. So if she comes in muddy or sweaty, you’d use the curry first.”

“That makes sense. But I still don’t know what her withers are,” Tori said.

Kate ran the brush over the bump at the base of Lulu’s neck. “Right here. It’s this bone that’s higher than her back or neck, see?”

Colt nodded. “That’s where you measure her to see how tall she is. You go from the ground to the top of the withers and divide by four inches. Every four inches is one hand.”

“Mrs. Wilder said Lulu is thirteen hands, so that means she’d be”—Kate calculated in her head—“fifty-two inches tall. But she’s a lot taller than that if you count her head.”

Colt laughed and motioned to Tori to start with her soft brush. “Yeah, but that’s not how you measure a horse. She looks pretty good. As soon as Tori finishes, we’ll check her feet.”

Tori swiped the last stroke down Lulu’s hip. “Check them for what?”

“Mud or manure packed into their hooves.” He plucked a curved tool with a point from the tack box. “This is a hoof pick.” He stood next to Lulu’s shoulder facing her rump and ran his hand down her front leg. As soon as he reached the joint above her hoof, she picked up her foot.

Tori laughed. “Wow! It looked like she picked it up by herself.”

Colt grinned. “She did. All I did was squeeze. She’s done it so often, she understands what I’m asking. If she didn’t give easily, I’d put pressure on her shoulder, and that would make her do the same thing, because it shifts her weight off of that leg.” He balanced her hoof on the palm of his hand and dug the pick into the packed material in the sole of her hoof. “See? Easy. One of you want to try?”

Tori held up her hands, palms out. “Not me. You go first, Kate, and I’ll watch.”

“Okay, but Mrs. Wilder said we both need to learn.” Kate stepped alongside Lulu and imitated Colt’s actions. “Hey, look! She picked her foot up!” Kate was so excited, she let go of the mare’s leg, and her hoof thumped to the ground, barely missing Kate’s toe. “Ugh. She almost stepped on me.”

Colt nodded. “You’ve got to hold on to her leg. She won’t hold it up by herself. And keep your toes back. You don’t need to stand that close.”

Kate tried again. “Cool! I’ve got it this time.” She clutched the mare’s leg and slid her hand under the hoof like Colt had shown her. “Give me the hoof pick.” She took it from his outstretched hand. “There’s nothing in there to get out. You already cleaned it.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t matter. Just get the feel of it.”

She did as he said and then gently let the mare’s foot down until it rested on the floor. “That wasn’t so hard. Your turn, Tori.”

Tori shook her head. “I want to watch this time. I’m learning a lot, but I’m not ready to try it yet. I’ll do it next time we come, okay?”

Colt shrugged. “I guess so. Here comes Mrs. Wilder, and she has someone with her.”