Horse Care

by Bonnie Bryant

  Max waited to give her a chance to think of the answer. But after ten seconds had passed, he finally shook his head. “Sorry, Carole.”

  She took a step back, looking embarrassed. She didn’t miss another question after that, but neither did Tate. A few minutes later, he stepped across the finish line—first.

  Max smiled at the new boy. “Congratulations, Tate. It looks like you’re our new champion.”

  “TATE IS AMAZING, isn’t he?” Stevie commented.

  The meeting had ended, and the three girls were sitting on their favorite hillside overlooking one of the paddocks. They were eating the sandwiches they had brought for lunch and watching Calypso, who was grazing in the paddock below.

  Carole took a sip of soda and nodded. “He really knows a lot,” she said. “I can’t wait to see him ride.”

  “Well, that’s true. But it’s not exactly what I meant,” Stevie said. “Or at least, not entirely.”

  Lisa had been lying back on her elbows, enjoying the feeling of the warm breeze blowing through her hair. It was early spring, and the weather had been very unpredictable lately, swinging from cold and rainy one day to warm and sunny the next. “What are you plotting now, Stevie?” she asked, detecting a familiar tone in her friend’s voice.

  Stevie shrugged and did her best to look innocent. “Me? Plot?” she said. “Never. I was just thinking about what Carole and I were discussing earlier today.”

  “What?” Carole asked. “You mean about Calypso?”

  Stevie snorted. “You know, it’s a good thing I’m here, Carole,” she said. “Otherwise you really wouldn’t think about anything except horses. No, I’m talking about you needing a boyfriend.”

  “Wait a minute,” Carole protested. “I never said I needed a boyfriend. You did. And I thought you were joking.”

  “I was … then,” Stevie said. “But that was before Tate showed up.” She grinned. “Don’t you get it?” She turned to Lisa and shrugged, as if what she was saying were so obvious that it hardly needed to be put into words. “Carole needs a boyfriend who’s as horse-crazy as she is. And we just witnessed how horse-crazy Tate is. He’s the one. I’m sure of it.”

  Before Carole or Lisa could respond, all three girls heard a loud voice.

  “Right this way, Tate,” Veronica called, hurrying into sight through the back door of the stable. “I’ll show you the paddocks where we turn out some of the horses.”

  “ ‘We’?” Carole repeated in amazement. “Since when has Veronica ever turned out Danny herself? Usually she commands Red to take him out to the paddock for her.”

  “I’m surprised she even knows we have paddocks,” Stevie said.

  Veronica was too far away to hear them. But she had spotted them, and she didn’t look happy about it.

  “Oh,” she said. “Never mind, Tate. It’s kind of crowded out here. Maybe we should go look at the tack room instead.”

  “Don’t be silly, Veronica,” Stevie sang out. She dropped her sandwich and jumped to her feet, hurrying down the hill toward the newcomers. “There’s plenty of room out here for all of us. And it’s such a beautiful day. Who wants to be stuck in the tack room?”

  Tate grinned at her. “My sentiments exactly,” he said, allowing Stevie to drag him toward the others.

  But Veronica wasn’t giving up that easily. “No, really, Tate,” she whined. She hurried after him. “Um, I need to go to the tack room for a few minutes. You see, I promised Max I’d—um—clean some bridles before our jump lesson this afternoon. And I’d hate to disappoint him.”

  Stevie started to laugh, but she managed to turn it into a cough. As far as she knew, the only time Veronica had been near the tack room all month was when Stevie had squirted her brand-new designer hunt vest with disappearing ink. That had sent Veronica running for the tack room sink. Stevie was pretty sure that Veronica hadn’t stopped to clean any bridles while she was there.

  “In that case, Veronica,” Stevie said, trying to sound earnest, “we don’t want to keep you. Why don’t you go ahead and clean those bridles right now? We’ll keep Tate company for you.”

  “What?” Veronica glared at Stevie. “Uh, I mean, that’s okay. I’m sure the bridles can wait.”

  Carole smiled. “I don’t know about that, Veronica,” she said warningly. “You know how Max can be about stable chores. You don’t want to make him mad, do you?”

  Stevie almost laughed again. In one way, what Carole had said was perfectly true. Max did expect all his riders to pitch in. It was the only way he could keep expenses down, and besides that, he believed that riders should learn about all aspects of horse care—even the ones that weren’t much fun. Veronica couldn’t care less about any of that, or even about making Max mad. But she obviously did care about impressing Tate.

  “Oh,” Veronica said helplessly. She shot Stevie one last dirty look, then turned to Tate with a flirtatious smile. “Well, maybe I should go take care of that,” she said. “I want to do my part, after all. How about coming along and keeping me company, Tate?”

  Tate had taken a seat on the sun-warmed grass beside Carole. He looked very comfortable. “Actually, Veronica,” he said, squinting up at her, “if you don’t mind, maybe I’ll hang out here for a few minutes. It’s such a nice day and everything.”

  Veronica scowled. “Fine,” she snapped. “But if you ask me, it looks like it’s going to rain any minute.” She whirled and stomped away toward the stable building.

  I’ll eat my hard hat if she goes anywhere near the tack room, Stevie thought with satisfaction. She plopped down on the grass again and picked up her sandwich. A couple of ants had already climbed onto it, but she didn’t care. She flicked them off and took a bite. She couldn’t wait to start figuring out the best way to turn Carole and Tate into a couple.

  She didn’t need to bother. Tate and Carole were already smiling at each other. Lisa had returned to her previous activity—leaning back and gazing into the bright blue sky.

  “You did really well in the game back there,” Carole told the new boy admiringly.

  “Thanks,” Tate said, smiling wider and revealing a perfect set of teeth. Carole couldn’t help noticing that he was even better-looking up close than he had been from a distance. “You did great, too, Carole. That question about the farrier’s tools was pretty tough.”

  Carole nodded ruefully. “Not that tough, though,” she said. “I remembered the word I was trying to think of as soon as the meeting was over. Pritchel.”

  “I hate when that happens,” Tate said cheerfully. “When I can’t think of a word, I usually try to think of something else. The word I’m trying to think of comes to me eventually. For instance, instead of trying to come up with pritchel, you could have named some other farrier’s tools, like pincers or hoof nippers or nail pullers.”

  Carole just nodded. She didn’t want to admit it, but she wasn’t sure she ever would have remembered all those tools, although she did now that Tate had listed them. She knew what they all were. She knew what they were used for. But she didn’t have all the correct names on the tip of her tongue the way Tate obviously did. Was there no end to this boy’s knowledge about horses?

  She decided to find out. “So, Tate,” she said, trying to sound casual, “before you got here, we were talking about Calypso.” She gestured to the mare down in the paddock.

  Lisa sat up and shot her a curious look. They hadn’t been talking about Calypso before Tate arrived. They had been talking about Tate. She gave Stevie an amused glance.

  Carole didn’t notice. She was trying to remember some of what Judy had told them that day during Horse Wise. Since Tate hadn’t arrived until after Judy had left, he wouldn’t have heard any of it.

  Carole decided to start with something fairly easy. “Um, we’re helping Max take care of Calypso while she’s pregnant,” she went on.

  Tate nodded, looking interested. “Really?” he said. “It’s nice of you to do all that extra work.”

  “Oh, we
don’t mind,” Carole assured him. “It’s just that we were talking a minute ago, and we couldn’t remember what Calypso should be eating at this stage of her pregnancy. Do you know if broodmares need a special diet?”

  Stevie snorted. She knew that Carole didn’t need any help with that question. For one thing, Judy had just gone over it in Horse Wise. But even if she hadn’t, Carole had probably known all about the proper diet for broodmares before she was out of diapers herself.

  Tate didn’t seem to think the question was strange at all. He glanced down at Calypso. “Well, let’s see,” he said. “How far along is she?” When Carole told him, he nodded thoughtfully. “I see,” he said. “So she’s well past the first eight months. During that time, pregnant mares can get the same food as all the other horses. But now that she’s into her last three months, she should be eating an increasing ration of grain. Also, you could give her a vitamin-mineral supplement.”

  Carole nodded. “That sounds good.” She opened her mouth to ask a slightly more difficult question about show tack.

  But Tate wasn’t finished. “There’s one very important thing to keep in mind, though.” He held up one finger like a schoolteacher. “You shouldn’t allow her to eat too much and get overweight. That can cause complications. And broodmares should be properly vaccinated to protect them and their foals—you know, equine influenza, strangles, tetanus, viral rhinopneumonitis. In this part of the country you’d probably need to vaccinate for Potomac horse fever as well, preferably about a month or so before you think she’s most likely to foal, and …”

  He went on, but Carole wasn’t listening anymore. Neither were her friends. They were exchanging amazed glances. It sounded as if Tate were just warming up, as if he could go on about this topic for hours—maybe days. Just like Carole herself!

  After he finally wound down, Carole asked Tate a few more questions. But she hardly needed to listen to his lengthy, precise, and enthusiastic replies. She already had the only answer she really wanted: This boy knew his stuff.

  Finally, after discoursing for about ten minutes on the benefits of the straight bit versus the eggbutt snaffle in training young horses, Tate glanced at his watch. Then he stood up and brushed a few blades of new spring grass off his pants. “Well, I guess I’d better get going,” he said. “It was really nice to meet you all. I’m sure I’ll see you around real soon.”

  “Aren’t you staying for the jump class?” Stevie asked.

  Tate shook his head. “I wasn’t sure I’d make it to the stable at all today,” he said. “I should be at home helping my parents unpack right now. But Max is going to give me a few private lessons this week after school. I’m sure I’ll be ready to join your riding class in no time at all.”

  Carole was sure of that, too. “That’s great,” she told Tate. “It’s always fun to get a new student in class.”

  “Cool,” Tate said. He gave The Saddle Club a wave and headed down the hill.

  “See you soon,” Stevie called after him cheerfully. “Real soon, we hope!” Then she turned and gave Carole a broad wink. “Definite boyfriend material,” she said under her breath.

  Carole ignored her, hoping that her words hadn’t been loud enough for Tate to hear. Whether he had heard or not, she could still feel herself blushing. All this talk about boyfriends was ridiculous. Her friends knew how she felt about that topic. She wasn’t ready to start seriously dating yet, let alone getting involved in a real one-on-one relationship.

  Still, she couldn’t help watching Tate as he strolled down the hill toward the stable. Maybe, just maybe, this was the boy who could change her mind about all that.

  CAROLE BIT HER LIP and squinted as Stevie rode Belle in front of her. It was the following Wednesday afternoon. It had rained hard for most of the day while the girls had been in school, but now the sun had come out and was shining brightly over Pine Hollow’s outdoor ring. Stevie and Carole were putting in some extra dressage practice with their horses. They wanted to be prepared for Saturday’s Horse Wise meeting.

  Carole gathered her reins and moved Starlight a step forward as Stevie brought Belle to a halt.

  “Wait,” she called to Stevie. “Try that half-pass again.”

  Stevie shrugged and started Belle trotting again. As Carole watched carefully, Stevie gave the signal for the half-pass, a common dressage move in which the horse moved diagonally forward and sideways.

  “Well?” Stevie said after a moment. “How was that?”

  “It was better that time,” Carole said, trotting forward to join her friend.

  Stevie frowned a little. “Better?” she said. “What do you mean? Did Belle mess up the first time? I didn’t catch it.”

  Carole shook her head and smiled. “Belle didn’t mess up,” she said. “You did. You were leaning to the side.”

  “Really?” Stevie looked annoyed. But Carole could tell that Stevie’s annoyance was with herself rather than with Carole. “That’s funny. I haven’t done that for ages. It’s a beginner’s mistake.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Carole grinned. “Or as Max would say, don’t worry about it, just fix it.”

  Stevie chuckled. “You’re right. He would say that.” She leaned forward to give Belle a pat on the withers. “He’d also say that it takes two to do dressage right—a well-trained horse and a well-trained rider. We’re a team, right, girl? I shouldn’t just let you do all the work to make us both look good.”

  “Speaking of teamwork, maybe we should take a break now and take care of our Saddle Club project,” Carole suggested. She and Stevie had been working hard for almost an hour, and the horses were getting tired.

  “You mean Calypso?” Stevie said. “Good idea. I looked in on her when I got here and she seemed fine. But maybe we should take her out for a walk.”

  “That’s exactly what I was thinking.” Carole slid off Starlight’s back and headed toward the gate. “Judy says it’s good for pregnant mares to get regular exercise, even if it’s just walking.”

  “In that case, maybe Lisa should have taken her to the mall,” Stevie joked as she dismounted and followed Carole through the gate. “She’s probably doing plenty of walking there. You know—from the clothing store to the shoe store, from the shoe store to the jewelry store, from the jewelry store to the department store, then back to the shoe store again—”

  “Okay, okay,” Carole interrupted. “I get the point.” She giggled. “But somehow I don’t think Calypso would fit in with Lisa and her mother. Mrs. Atwood would probably want her to get a makeover or something.” Lisa’s mother had dragged Lisa to the mall that afternoon to shop for new outfits to wear on Saturday. Once again, Lisa had tried to protest—she had been planning to practice dressage with her friends—but Mrs. Atwood wouldn’t take no for an answer.

  Stevie gave a mock shudder. “That would be horrible,” she declared. “Can you just see poor Calypso with blue eye shadow and a curly perm?”

  FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER, after putting their horses away and giving their tack a quick cleaning—what Carole’s father would have called a lick and a promise—Stevie and Carole met up again in front of Calypso’s stall. Max hadn’t wanted to move her, so she was still in the corner stall. But he had promised that if The Saddle Club saw any signs of stress, he would consider moving the mare someplace quieter.

  The girls found someone else already at the stall. “Hello, Stephanie. Greetings, Carole,” Simon said. He was leaning on the half door of Calypso’s stall, watching the mare as she munched on a mouthful of hay. “Coming to observe the condition of the mommy-to-be?”

  “Indubitably,” Stevie confirmed. She wasn’t sure what that meant, but somehow it seemed like the right response for Simon. Simon didn’t talk like anybody else their own age. He was also one of the few people who called Stevie by her whole name. “What are you doing here?”

  “The same thing you are,” Simon said enthusiastically. He ran one hand through his wavy blond hair. “I can’t wait until she has her foal.
I’ve never seen a new-born horse before!” He lowered his voice and glanced around as if he wanted to be sure nobody could overhear. “And just between you and me, some of that stuff Judy was talking about the other day made me a bit nervous. I thought it might help if I kept an eye on Calypso until her baby’s born.”

  Stevie bit the inside of her mouth to keep from laughing. Nobody in the state of Virginia knew less about horses than Simon, despite his earnest efforts to learn. He was hopeless. Still, Stevie reminded herself, his heart was in the right place. That was what counted. Besides, if things didn’t work out with Tate, maybe Stevie could still convince Carole to go out with Simon. With Carole as a girlfriend, maybe Simon would actually turn into a decent rider. Anything was possible!

  “We’re keeping an eye on her, too,” Stevie said, being careful not to catch Carole’s eye. “You can help us if you want.”

  “Thanks, Stephanie,” Simon said. “Gosh, that would be great. With all of us watching her, Calypso is certain to—”

  “Hey there!” a cheerful voice interrupted. Tate had just rounded the corner. He was carrying an armful of riding clothes, topped off with the boots he’d been wearing the other day. Stevie noticed that he looked more handsome than ever in a pair of khaki pants and a rugby shirt.

  “Hi, Tate,” Stevie greeted him enthusiastically. She turned to give Carole a meaningful look. The girls had seen a lot of Tate since Saturday, but not enough for Stevie’s taste. She had been disappointed when she discovered that Tate was in Lisa’s class at school rather than Carole’s. And she was even more disappointed when Tate hadn’t shown up for the girls’ riding lesson the day before. In fact, even though Tate had come to Pine Hollow almost every day, the girls still hadn’t seen him ride. That part didn’t really bother Stevie, though. Actually, she thought it was a good sign. It proved that Tate wasn’t like Veronica—interested in riding but not in all the other things that went into horse care. He liked to be around the stable whether he was riding or not.

  “Hi, Stevie,” Tate said. “Hi, Carole. How’s Calypso?”