Adam tried to lead Haki forwards. Haki showed the whites of his eyes and dug his hooves into the soft ground.
“Come on, Haki!” Adam said persuasively but Haki was having none of it. He shook his head obstinately. He found he could not get rid of the rein. Adam gave a little tug. Haki refused to budge. Adam knew it was no use tugging away at the rein. The pony would only become more obstinate. He slackened the rein and waited.
Haki could not understand why Adam was just standing there: why nothing happened. Curiosity got the better of him. He took a few paces forward towards Adam. At once Adam tightened his hold on the rein and walked ahead. Haki followed. Till he was half-way round the field all went happily. Adam began to think he was going to have an easy victory. Then Haki felt the slight pull on the rein. He sensed he was losing his freedom and he became annoyed. It was as though he said to himself, “I’ll show Adam!” He bucked, lifting all four feet off the ground. Then he set off galloping round the field as hard as he could go. He was trying to shake Adam off. Adam held on to the rein like grim death. Haki tugged him here and there but still Adam held on, acting like a brake on Haki’s mad movements. Adam was out of breath but he jerked out, “It’s no use, Haki! I’ll never let go!”
Haki made one more frantic effort. Then Adam stumbled! As he fell, he still clutched the rein. Haki continued his mad career. This time, however, the pull on the rein was tighter. He looked back. There was Adam on the ground being hauled over the tussocky grass but still holding on to that rein. Haki faltered in his stride. There was something wrong with Adam. Adam should be standing on his feet and not lying on the ground. He stopped abruptly. Adam, the breath beaten out of him, still lay on his side. Haki turned and came back. He bent over Adam and licked his face. Adam came to his senses with Haki nuzzling him. He was still clutching the rein. Slowly he rose to his feet. Haki stood still, watching Adam as he gathered the rein into a bunch in his hand.
“Now, Haki, come along!” Adam said firmly, giving a shake to the rein. Obediently Haki trotted after him!
They went round and round the field. With each circuit Adam felt more triumphant. Haki was quite docile. There had not been much difficulty in the breaking-in after all. As Haki trotted along he became more and more bored. All at once he decided that he had had quite enough of it. He stopped in his tracks. The rope between him and Adam tightened with a jerk. Haki slid along the ground, sat down, then rolled over. Adam came rushing back to look at him. Haki lifted his head, turned it to one side and looked at Adam. Adam could have sworn there was a kind of smirk on Haki’s face. It was as though he said, “Well, what are you going to do about that now?”
“Get up, Haki!” Adam said, giving a jerk to the rein.
Haki remained on the ground. Adam tried again but still the pony refused to rise. It was to be another clash of wills.
“Right!” Adam said. “If you want it that way, Haki, we’ll play it that way.”
Adam deliberately sat down on the grass a short distance away. Haki raised his head to look at him. The rein lay slack between them but the other end of it was still in Adam’s hand. Both of them stayed on the ground, each waiting for the other to move.
It was Haki who first found the situation boring. After a few minutes he lifted his head and whinnied softly in a coaxing way. Adam did not reply but he smiled to himself. Haki tried again, this time louder. Still no move from Adam! Then the colt rolled over on to his legs and stood up. Adam gave no sign that he had noticed. Haki approached across the field at a walking pace. As he came nearer he pretended to crop the grass. Adam watched him out of the corner of his eye. The only move he made was to haul in the slack of the rein but not so much that the pony could feel the pull on it. Haki came nearer and nearer. Adam sat up but still he did not rise to his feet. At last Haki reached him, put a head on his shoulder and made a snuffling sound.
“Want to be friends now, do you?” Adam asked, rubbing the colt between his ears. In a couple of minutes he rose to his feet.
“Right! We’ll try again,” he said.
It seemed as if Haki understood. He walked obediently behind Adam. Now and again Adam quickened his pace and Haki stirred his stumps too. He preferred it when Adam moved fast. Adam broke into a run and the colt trotted just after him. Adam shortened the rein a little so that Haki could feel more strain on it. After a while Adam settled down into a slow walking pace again. This did not suit Haki at all. He whinnied in protest but Adam paid no heed. Haki decided it was time to lie down on the job again! Down he went on to his knees, tucked in his back legs and rolled over!
Adam was annoyed and gave a sharp jerk to the rein but Haki would not rise. Down went Adam on to the grass too and once more they played the waiting game.
This time Adam was sitting beside the fence where he had left his bagpipes. He had a sudden inspiration. He looped the rein round his upper arm, stretched out his hands and picked up the bagpipes. When Haki heard the drones throbbing in the bag and opening skirl of the pipes he pricked up his ears. He knew what was coming. Adam rose to his feet. The first chords of ‘Scotland the Brave’ resounded over the meadow. By the time Adam had played the first bars, “Hark! Hark! The pipes are calling!”, Haki was on his feet too. The pipes were indeed calling him!
Adam started out on the slow strutting march, keeping the rein looped round his upper arm. It stretched taut. Haki did not resist. He fell into step behind Adam with a curious rolling stamping movement of his legs. Solemnly they marched up and down the field.
Whenever Haki developed his lying-down tactics during the next hour, Adam sat down too and gave him five minutes’ breathing space. Then once more the bagpipes struck up their tune. It acted like magic on Haki. He never failed to rise to his feet and move round the field at Adam’s bidding.
Up at the croft Magnus Cromarty heard the sound of the pipes frequently starting up and stopping.
“Whatever’s the lad at?” he said to his wife. “He’s supposed to be breaking in that colt. I’ll away down to the field and take a wee look what’s happening.”
He arrived in time to see Adam and Haki both rise from the ground to the strains of ‘Scotland the Brave’ and commence their solemn march round the field.
Adam looked up to see his father leaning on the fence and laughing. He broke off the pipe music and stood still. So did Haki, obedient and composed.
“I’ve got the measure of him, father!” Adam cried. “Haki’s broken now to the halter and the rein.”
“Aye, I can see that. Well, it’s the first time a colt has ever been broken to the music o’ the pipes,” he chuckled. “It’s an unusual way of going about it but I must grant it seems to work.”
The next step in Haki’s training was putting a saddle on him. Adam began by laying a folded horse-blanket across his back and hanging two kishies over it. Perhaps Haki had a memory of seeing these on Hecla for he did not object. Adam began by carrying light weights in them at first, a few turnips from the store; some hay from the stack. Haki obeyed orders; stood still when he was told; moved on when Adam gave the word. Then Adam exchanged the horse-cloth and kishies for a saddle. When Adam strapped on the saddle Haki merely turned his head sideways and watched curiously. He gave a snort or two which may have expressed disdain. Adam let him wear the saddle for several days, taking it off at night and putting it on in the morning till Haki got quite used to the whole business. It was a different matter, though, when Adam tried to sit astride the saddle!
Shetland ponies are so small that a grown man can mount one and have a foot touching the ground on each side. Adam was a well-grown lad and he threw a leg over Haki’s back. Haki’s shock of astonishment made Adam laugh out loud. The pony turned his head and gave him an indignant look. Adam had the reins in his hand. He gave them a shake and said, “Come up, Haki!”
This was too much for Haki! He flung up his hind legs and bucked. Adam had been prepared for this. He held on to the reins grimly and gripped Haki’s sides with his knees. Though he slipped forward he held on
to Haki’s neck. Haki shook himself vigorously as though he could get rid of Adam that way. It had no effect. Adam was still on his back. Then Haki lifted up his front hooves and pawed the air. That took Adam by surprise and he almost slipped off Haki’s rump. He managed to grip his mane just in time. For a moment Haki stood still, as though thinking up the next move.
“Come up, Haki!” Adam ordered again.
From the force of habit Haki obeyed and walked half-way round the field. Adam began to think he was going to have an easy victory. He had counted without Haki’s powers of invention. Haki had tried several ways of getting Adam off his back and none of them had worked. He must try something different. He went another round of the field, then, all of a sudden he went down on his knees, lowered his head and flung Adam over it!
To his surprise Adam found himself sprawling on the grass. It was a good thing the ground was soft. He was still holding on to the reins, however. Haki rose to his feet but he could not get away. Adam also rose ruefully. The two stood staring at each other face to face. Haki lowered his head and looked so ashamed that Adam had to laugh.
“You got the better of me that time, Haki,” he said, “but don’t think you’ve won, my lad!”
He stepped alongside Haki and, before Haki realized what Adam was doing, he had thrown his leg over the saddle again. This time he gripped hard with his knees and shortened the rein. He was ready for all Haki’s tricks now.
Haki went through his whole programme; bucking; trying to slide Adam sideways and backwards; shaking hard and then the final item of trying to throw Adam over his head. Adam had been waiting for this trick. As soon as he saw the pony’s head going down and felt his hind legs coming up, he pulled sharply on the shortened reins. Haki’s head was jerked back. His hooves came down on the ground again. He tried the trick a second time but Adam was ready for him. Again he failed. Adam clung to him like a burr. Once more they resumed a gentle walk round the field. Several times Haki tried to dislodge Adam. Adam slid about on his back but he always managed to hold on. At last Haki gave a final shake, then turned his head to look at Adam. It was as though he said, “What? Still there?”
Adam laughed out aloud. “Aye, I’m still on your back, Haki, and here I mean to stay.”
Perhaps it was Adam’s laugh; perhaps it was his confident voice, but all at once Haki realized that Adam was master. He gave in and attempted no more cavorting. Adam rode him round and round the field till the colt was quite docile and obeyed every command, turning right or left as Adam ordered. He had had his lesson but Adam wanted to make sure of it. He paused by the gate leading from the field to the moorland. There he dismounted, opened the gate and Haki walked through.
“Stand still, Haki!” Adam commanded in a very strong voice.
Haki obediently stood still.
Adam shut the gate behind him, approached Haki and mounted again. Beyond the merest shake Haki submitted.
“Now we will ride along the hillside,” Adam told him. “Come up, Haki!”
Haki breasted the hill carrying Adam. When they reached a level stretch of short turf Adam gave Haki his head. He slapped him gently on the flank. Haki began to move more quickly. Soon he was trotting, then cantering. As he picked up his hooves neatly he felt the firm grip of Adam’s knees in his sides. All at once Haki knew he liked it; that it was good to have Adam on his back, that he belonged to Adam. For Adam, too, the winning of the colt was a joy as well as a triumph. He knew now that the pony loved and trusted him. He knew too that he could never bear to be parted from Haki.
The summer term at school was drawing to a close. This would be the last term for Adam, for on his birthday in July he would be fifteen years old. It was the last term for his friend Ian too.
“Have you got fixed up with a job yet, Adam?” Ian asked.
Adam shook his head. “No. What about you?”
“Oh, I’ll be going fishing in The Dawn Wind with Ronald. That’s been settled for a long time. My father left me a share in the boat, you know.”
Ian’s father had died five years earlier and Ian lived with his elder brother Ronald and his wife.
“Will you be working with your father on the croft?” he asked Adam.
Adam shook his head. “The croft isn’t enough to support us all. My father says I’ve to look for a job in Lerwick.”
“What at?”
“Oh, an office or shop, maybe. There’s nothing here for me in Scalloway.”
“I’ve heard tell there are not many jobs for young folk in Lerwick either,” Ian said with a shake of his head.
“Then I’ll have to take The Earl of Zetland to Aberdeen and look for a job there or in Glasgow,” Adam told him. The steamship Earl of Zetland plied between Lerwick and Aberdeen. Adam sounded rather unhappy and Ian guessed why. The chances of a Shetland boy getting a job in the islands were not great. Most of the islanders had to go south to Scotland or even to England to get jobs.
“What will you do with Haki if you have to go away?” Ian asked.
“My father says he’ll have to be sold,” Adam said gloomily. “I wish I could find a job where I could still be with Haki. I tell you, Ian, I will not be parted from him if I can help it.”
Ian nodded sympathetically. “Aye, Adam, he’s a grand pony.”
“He’s broken in to bridle and saddle now. You’d be surprised at the things he can do,” Adam said with pride. “Come up the hillside with me and see him.”
“He’s just grand!” Ian declared. “Will you be showing him at Lerwick, Adam?”
“At the Lerwick Show with the other Shetland ponies, you mean?”
“Yes, the show that’s held at the time of the pony sales. That’s the week after the school closes.”
At the words “pony sales” Adam’s face darkened.
“I’m sure Haki would take a prize,” Ian said hurriedly. “Then maybe your father would want to keep him.”
“Well, I might show him,” Adam said thoughtfully. “Will you go with me to the show, Ian?”
“Aye, I’ll do that,” Ian told him willingly. “You’ll need to groom him well and teach him to walk round a show ring.”
“He’ll soon learn that,” Adam said with confidence.
5. The Pony Show
Every day Adam spent some time getting Haki ready for the show. He brought Haki down to the stable.
“Have you any old raggy towels?” he asked his mother.
“What do you want them for, Adam?”
“I’m going to give Haki a bath.”
“Mercy me! What next?” Mrs Cromarty exclaimed.
“I want to get him absolutely clean before I start grooming him. I’m thinking I’ll maybe put him in for the Lerwick Show.”
“You’ll be asking for a bed for that beastie yet,” his mother laughed. All the same she found some old towels and a tattered bedcover she had been saving for dusters.
Adam got the zinc bath from the back-kitchen and heated water in the kettle, which he added to cold water to make the bath lukewarm.
“Can I have a handful of your washing flakes and that old scrubbing brush?” he begged.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t like some of those scented bath cubes from the chemist?” his mother teased him. “All right! I’ll put the bill for the washing flakes alongside the bill for all the sugar you take for that animal.”
Haki was even more surprised than Mrs Cromarty at his bath. He stood there looking miserable while Adam lathered him well, scrubbed him, then rinsed off the soap. The last operation made Haki jump and snort.
“Now to get you dry again!” Adam said.
Haki had his own ideas about getting dry. Just as Adam was taking the towel to him, he shook himself vigorously. Adam received an unexpected shower-bath.
“Stop it, Haki! Stand still!” he cried.
Magnus Cromarty was looking through the kitchen window. He almost doubled up with laughing. Adam looked as if he did not know whether to use the towels for Haki or himself! Magnus went
out to the yard as Adam began to towel Haki vigorously.
“Is Friday night to be bath night every week for the two of you?” he laughed. Then he became serious. “Your mother says you intend to show Haki at Lerwick. It’s all right to give him one bath or maybe two before you start grooming him, but don’t overdo it and don’t give him a bath just before the Show.”
“Why not?” Adam asked.
“Shetland ponies have a kind of oil in their coats which makes them look smooth and shiny. Wash it all out and they’ll look woolly like a sheep. You’d lose points on that at a show. Besides, too many baths might give him a chill.”
Adam listened to what his father had to say. He knew Magnus had shown ponies from time to time and taken prizes with them.
“I’ll only bath him this once,” he promised. “Now I’ve got his mane and tail clean I can easily keep him groomed.”
Magnus went up to the store room over the stable and returned with a stiff brush and a curry-comb. “Use these on him well every day, lad.”
Adam spent a lot of time each day grooming Haki’s coat and paying special attention to his mane and tail. The little animal looked sleek and shining. He liked the grooming too and came forward when he saw the brush in Adam’s hand.
Adam marked out a ring with stones in the pasture. Every day he took Haki by the bridle and walked him round the ring so that he got used to moving easily in a circle. He trained him to trot, too, with his head held straight. Perhaps the hardest thing of all was to train Haki to stand absolutely still, squarely on his four feet, and to allow someone else to approach and lift one of his feet. It was Magnus who suggested this part of the training.
“He must be taught not to back away when the judge comes to get a close look at him. Most likely the judge will want to lift a foot to look at it.”
In turn Magnus Cromarty and Ian Sinclair pretended to be judges and come to look closely at Haki. At first he was shy of them and tried to back away. A word from Adam stopped him. After a while he learned to stand still as a rock and let Magnus or Ian lift any foot and even look in his mouth.
Haki the Shetland Pony Page 4
