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Katy whirled around, ready to scream. Instead of
the hulking giant she had for some reason expected to see, she saw a medium sized man standing there
looking at her. He had black hair trimmed in a crew cut and a large nose that looked as if it had
been broken and healed crookedly. He had large, weathered hands that proved a lot of hard work.
She relaxed somewhat, then, every wary, asked, 'Who are you?'
'I think that's what I should be asking you, young
lady,' the man replied. 'But to oblige you, I'm Mike Trent. Now may I ask who you are and what you
are doing around my horses?'
Katy grinned, letting her guard down. 'I'm Katy Evans.
And as to what I was doing, I was walking around and saw your horse trailer, so I just had to see
the horses. I love horses, and I ride them as much as I can. I was training a bay Arabian mare back
in New York, which is where I just left. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to ride for about a
week. You see, I'm moving to Idaho, and we had a lot to do, so I didn't have time to go to the barn.'
Katy became acutely aware that she was babbling, but the man in front of her didn't seem to mind.
In fact, he almost seemed to be interested, much to Katy's surprise.
Mike Trent raised his eyebrows. 'Idaho, is it? That's
exactly where I'm taking these horses. I've got a deadline to meet in a couple of days. Where are
you moving?'
Without waiting for an answer, he continued. 'I'm
taking a couple of these five horses to Spruce Ridge, another one to Boise, and the last one to
Sun Valley.'
Katy's eyes lit up. 'Hey, neat. We're going to Spruce
Ridge. Maybe someday I'll see one of your horses there.' She paused, kicking at the uneven pavement
like a little child and clasping her hands behind her back as she stared at her feet. 'Um, will
you, I mean, would you please take your horses out so I can see them?' Katy was afraid he would
refuse but knew that it couldn't hurt to ask. Besides, she really wanted to see them. She was having
a horse deprivation problem and figured the sight and touch of the animals would revive her.
Mike pondered this, then agreed and let down the
door of the trailer. 'I was planning to take them out to walk and let them get a little fresh air
and grass, anyway,' was his excuse.
First he led out a light bay mare with a stripe running
down her face. The horse carried her tail proudly; she was obviously a Thoroughbred, defined by
her high withers and strong shoulders. 'This lady is Jehosephat,' he introduced. 'She's from off
the racetrack. She made a bad showing and made herself lame. It took quite a while to heal, and
the veterinarian says that she can't be raced anymore, because it would put too much strain on her
leg. She can do a good bit of mild jumping, though, and her leg evidently hasn't hurt her from it.'
Katy let out the breath that she hadn't realized
she had been holding and reached forward to pat the mare. 'She's pretty.' Cocking her head sideways
at an intriguing thought, Katy inquired, 'How come you know all this when all you're doing is trailering
these horses?'''
'Well, I'm a very sociable person, and I like to
know a bit about the horses I'm shipping. That's how I know. I've heard some pretty interesting
cases, too.'
Katy nodded and peered into the depths of the trailer,
anticipating the arrival of the next occupant. Mike noticed her eagerness and obliged her by heading
into the trailer for the next horse.
Next Mike led out a mare called Jewel. She was a
skewbald pinto with a mark on her side that looked somewhat like the state of Texas. 'Why is she
called Jewel if she has a mark like Texas?' Katy asked.
'Look on her other side,' Mike replied casually.
'And by the way, her full name is Texas Jewel. Fits her like a glove, huh?'
Katy walked around to the other side of Jewel and
was astonished to see a perfect replica of a jewel, just like a cut diamond viewed from the side.
'What's her story?' she asked, sure that the eye-catching mare had an interesting life.
'Her mother died at birth, so she was raised on a
bottle. She's a little spoiled. She's about ten right now, and the owner is sending her to her sister,
who lives in Oregon. She's being trained to be a western pleasure horse, but she shows more interest
in jumping everything in sight. I hope her next owner has fences about ten feet tall, because just
about anything lower won't hold her!'
Katy laughed. She stroked the mare on the neck. Since
she had been around horses for so long, she automatically reached into her pocket for carrots. No
carrots were there, but there was a handful of sugar cubes. Katy pulled them out and held
them under the mare's nose. Jewel lipped it up and began licking her hand for the last traces of
the sweet crystals.
Mike used a quick-release knot to tie Texas Jewel
to the tie rings on the side of the trailer. Then he untied a short blue lead line from a knot of
ropes and headed back into the trailer for another horse.
Ruling Dancer, the Arabian mare he unloaded next,
was black as midnight with a star in the middle of her forehead. 'Wow, she's pretty!' exclaimed
Katy. 'What's her past all about?'
'She was abused as a yearling and is now seven. She's
still trying to work out her quirks. Only advanced riders can handle her; that's how bad she is.
She jumps at the slightest noise and lays her ears back at everything that moves. She's quite a
horse, though. Such a beautiful mover.'
Mike led Ruling Dancer slowly over to Katy. The mare,
true to his words, laid her ears back and snaked her head out, teeth bared. Then she perked up her
ears and snuffled Katy's pockets when she saw that Katy wasn't fazed. When Katy had nothing to give
her she started rubbing her head up and down Katy's side, scratching her ears. Katy gently but firmly
pushed the mare's head away and told the horse, 'Quit.' Katy knew that a horse could associate 'no'
with 'whoa', and she didn't want to take any chances.
Mike secured Ruling Dancer on the other side of the
trailer, away from the other horses. Then he picked up another lead rope and disappeared into the
depths of the trailer again. Katy could hear a brief scrabbling of hooves as the horse strained
for the exit. The next to last horse to be unloaded was an albino gelding named Phantom.
'No offense, but he's kind of ugly,' Katy remarked
upon seeing the horse's conformation and color.
'Oh, none taken. I agree completely. Interestingly,
however, his owner said that he has done some killer dressage tests in the past. Evidently he was
so blazing that the judges didn't look twice at his first appearance. Also, he's a very affectionate
horse. He loves people, but pretty much hates other horses. He's been stomping the floor of the
trailer almost the whole way so far.' Mike laughed. 'I'm sure you could hear and see his eager exit.'
Katy nodded. 'I sure did. I can tell he wanted to
get out of there. Where did you pick the horses up?'
'I picked up Jehosephat in Delaware, Jewel in Maine,
Ruling Dancer in Massachusetts, Phantom in Rhode Island, and this last horse in North Carolina.
They're all going to Idaho, somewhere,' explained Mike.
'Wow! That's going almost all the way across the
country!' exclaimed Katy. 'You must like traveling!'
'Yes, this way I get paid to basically vacation and
see a lot of the country, and I get to be around my favorite animal while I'm at it. It's really
fascinating. I've been in every state more times than you can count, although I don't think I've
been in the same town more than twice.'
'Wow.'
Katy patted all the horses while Mike headed up the
ramp to unload the last horse. She caught her breath as the horse seemingly danced off the ramp.
The horse was a medium-colored dappled gray, with
no variation in the dapples on her body until halfway down her legs, where black legs faded into
pure white marks. She had a huge star on her face and four tall stockings accentuated her slender
legs, which were finished off with polished black hooves. The mare's mane was thick, perfect for
braiding, and just the right length for shows. Both her mane and her tail were dark gray. Her head
was held high and her nostrils flared, taking in the scents around her. Ears forward, she glanced
around in interest, tail raised and legs braced for action. It was in incredible sight.
'Oh,'
Katy breathed in ecstasy. 'What kind of horse is she? She's got to be a Warmblood.'
'You're right. She's a pure Trakehner,' Mike told
Katy. 'She's four right now, but she'll be five in September. She still needs a lot of training,
but otherwise she's perfect. You know what I mean. Conformation, attitude, personality - the list
just goes on and on.'
'I'll say.' Katy put out her hand for the beautiful
mare to sniff. 'What's her name?'
'She doesn't have one yet. Strangely enough, she
isn't even registered. She does have papers, though.'
The mare snuffled Katy's hand, and the girl was sorry
that she had given away all her sugar. She ran her hand over the well-toned muscles and the fine,
firm ridge of the horse's spine. She took in the way the horse stood perfectly square even at rest,
and admired the sparkling clean coat. Katy was examining the gorgeous mare when Mike called her
over to him, where he was checking Jewel's legs for travel sores. She obliged. 'Yes?'
Mike straightened and rubbed his back, eyeing her.
'You know, these horses really need some exercise. They've been traveling nigh on six hours by now.
Don't you think they'd like a chance to stretch their legs a bit? How would you like to walk them
around with me? It'd go a lot faster that way'' his voice carefully lowering as he watched Katy
for a reaction.
'Oh, yes, yes, yes!' Katy squealed, barely restraining
herself from jumping up and down. She couldn't remember being this excited about anything in a long
time.
Katy took Jehosephat's lead rope from where it was
tied to the trailer and waited while Mike took Ruling Dancer. The two led the horses to the grassy
area under the trees behind the restaurant. The horses put their heads down to nibble on the lush
carpet of emerald green grass. When they had grazed for a number of minutes, Katy and Mike coaxed
their heads up and walked them around the Taco Garden several times. Then they took two other horses.
'Um, do you mind'' Katy's voice trailed off as Mike
handed her Phantom's lead rope. 'I mean, would you - may I please lead the gray?' she burst it out,
expecting a negative response.
Mike turned from Jewel and looked at Katy, unable
to figure out why the girl was reluctant in her question. 'Go ahead, Katy,' he said, puzzled. 'I'll
take Jewel and Phantom in the same turn. I suppose I can get Phantom to act right.'
Katy cheered inside. She took the gray mare's lead
from the side of the trailer and started walking the horse. Even just walking her, Katy could see
how free flowing and graceful the horse's strides were. 'If you were my horse,' Katy whispered to
the mare, 'You would be the most pampered horse in the world. You are the epitome of elegance. I
wish I could ride you. Now I'll never see you again, and I bet I'll never find a horse more perfect
than you.' After five or ten more minutes, Katy reluctantly turned the mare back over to Mike.
After assisting with the loading, Katy thanked Mike
countless times. He bid her a friendly farewell, and with a final wave, the truck and trailer disappeared
down the highway. Sighing, Katy lowered her waving hand and turned back to the restaurant. In her
mind's eye she could see the mare floating across the field with Katy on her back. They flew on
and on, the mare's stride never faltering'
'Katy! Where are you?' her grandfather's gruff voice
jerked her mercilessly back to reality, and she waved to them. She met her grandparents coming out
of the restaurant and together they walked out to the truck.
Once they were on the road again, Katy filled her
grandparents in on what had happened while they were eating. Both adults said they were happy for
her, but it was doubtful that she would ever discover the gray mare's destination. In fact, there
was almost no chance at all that she would ever even see the horse again. Crestfallen at their cynical
attitude, Katy was silent until the next rest stop.
♣♣
'So how come we never went house hunting, Grampa?'
Katy inquired, wondering why they had bought the house sight unseen. 'We normally drive out there
before deciding on a house to buy. In fact, that's the only fun part of moving.'
'It was highly recommended by a friend of one of
my friends, and we were sent a videotape of it. We didn't show it to you because we wanted it to
be a surprise.' Grampa maneuvered the truck around another curve. Katy, who had woken just barely
long enough to hear her grandparents discussing the new house and ask her question, fell back against
her pillow and tried to sleep again. The constant rumbling of the truck created a cadence that served
as a lullaby. Katy was soon fast asleep again, dreaming about horses, one gray mare in particular.
The moving van was slowly making its was through
a winding path of houses that ended in a dead end road with only one other house in sight, a smaller
white one fairly close on the other side of the road. The truck pulled into the long driveway of
a big white house. The lawn was very green, making the house look even whiter. With about two acres
of land, it had a large swimming pool, a sun house, a spreading porch that hugged the Victorian-style
house, a shed that looked just like a little barn, and a large flower garden with fruit trees surrounding
it. The field behind the house had horses scattered all over the land.
Katy yawned and sat up. When she saw the house and
yard, her eyes widened. 'Is this really ours?' she asked incredulously, alert at once.
Her grandparents laughed at the surprised expression
on her face. 'Of course it is. Now hop out so you can help me unload this stuff,' her grandfather
said.
Katy opened the door and raced around the house to
explore the premises first hand. The backyard was graced by a fishpond with several surrounding
weeping willows. In the distance, Katy could see that the spreading horse facility sported several
riding arenas and lots of paddocks. She reached the front of the house again in time to see her
grandmother opening the front door. The older woman disappeared inside, and a moment later one of
the double garage doors opened with barely a sound.
Suddenly Katy remembered Precious, who was locked
in her carrier in the truck that they were towing. She pulled the puppy out and hooked a green leash
onto the dog''s white collar. Then she led the puppy into the house. She took note of everything
as she explored the first level of the beautiful house, still half-afraid that she was dreaming.
The kitchen was spacious with lots of white cabinets
and green marble counter, and it even had a built in kitchen table for two. One end had a sliding
door that led onto a screened-in patio with a wrought iron patio set and flowers everywhere. Everything
was sparkling clean. It had a large window on one side of the kitchen, and there was an island in
the middle. The real estate agent had thoughtfully placed a bowl of fruit in the middle of it. Katy
snagged a Granny Smith apple from the bowl and headed into the dining room.
The room had a light hardwood floor and a set of
shelves made of wood that matched the floor on one wall. There was a large living room and a TV
room with more bookshelves. The main bathroom, located next to the dining room, was decorated entirely
in blue, from the shower to the walls, tiles, toilet, and sink.
The house, though made with Victorian styles in mind,
was very modern and no more than five years old. Everything was exquisite, and Katy counted three
floors and thirteen rooms. There was a kitchen, TV room, living room, dining room, and bathroom
on the bottom floor; there were three bedrooms and two bathrooms on the second floor of the house,
and storage space and two bedrooms were on the upper part of the mansion.
Finished with exploring the downstairs division of
the house, Katy let Precious lead the way up the first flight of stairs to a room at the very end
of the hall. Katy slowly opened the door and gasped at what she beheld.
The room was spectacular. The walls were a bright
white, and there was dark green trim around the bottom of the room and around the door, closet,
and windowsill. On the border around the top of the room ran a long line of chestnut, gray, bay,
and black horses, dancing and leaping. There were images painted right onto the walls, from rearing
Arabians and jumping warm bloods to Thoroughbreds in full gallop. Katy loved the whole theme of
it and was delighted with the match it would make with her furniture.
The carpet was a dark hunter green, as were the closet
doors and the trim around it. There was a window with a window seat that looked out over the yard
and field. The seat had four green cushions on it that matched the carpet and trim. Around it were
bright curtains with horses prancing on them. The white ceiling fan spun quietly when Katy flipped
the switch. It was then that the girl noticed the bathroom. Without even searching out the rest
of the room, she headed straight across the floor to it and stopped in the doorway. It was a full
bathroom with all the embellishments and even a narrow window. Katy was delighted to see that the
wallpaper was covered with all different colors and breeds of foals, dancing, playing, sleeping,
and standing. The shower curtain had a huge horse jumping over a log in the middle of a field on
it! The counter was made of green and white marble. The floor had linoleum with carrots and apples
on it, and the lining in the drawers had horses printed on it. Katy walked out of the bathroom,
still mesmerized by all the characteristics of her dream room.
She hadn't noticed it for her rush to the bathroom,
but surprisingly enough, the entire wall next to the door was covered with a horse painting! Someone
had painted a scene of a herd of wild ponies grazing and playing with a background of mountains
and hills onto the wall. It was beautiful and realistic.
Katy loved the room. She knew that another girl just
like her had moved out. The person was obviously horse crazy, or at least had been. Katy though
about how awful it would have been to have to leave this beautiful room. She even found a little
plastic horse in the corner of the huge walk-in closet. The closet had lots of shelves and hangers
on poles, but Katy knew, remembering her collection of boxes, that the space wouldn't last very
long once her things were in it.
Not even waiting to explore the rest of the house,
Katy raced Precious down the stairs and out the door, where her grandfather was working on unloading
the truck. 'Gran! Grampa! I found the perfect room! Can I have it? Please! It's got horses and paintings
and a window seat and a bathroom and all kinds of horse stuff everywhere!' she shouted as she ran
up to her grandparents, who each had a box of Katy's things.
Her grandfather chuckled. 'There's no way you could
be talking about the room at the top. Um, we were planning to use that room as a storage room. We
thought you might like the room at the other end, the one with the purple and yellow striped walls.
You can have either that or the one upstairs. We'll have an exterminator get the bugs out in a couple
of days.'
Katy stood there with her mouth open, her attention
so focused on the facts at hand that she didn't catch her grandmother's hidden smile. 'A-a storage
room? Purple-yellow walls? Bugs?'
Her grandfather laughed at the look of utter horror
on his granddaughter's face. 'Oh, Katy, I was just
teasing you. Of course you may have it. That's one of the reasons we got this house, because we
knew you'd love it. Now help us bring in your things so you can start unpacking.'
Brightening significantly, Katy grabbed one end of
her desk while her grandfather managed the other. Katy assisted in moving her wooden bunk bed, tall
bookshelf, dresser, and desk into the room. Upon Gran's insistence, Katy piled her boxes in a corner
and started organizing. She would have helped out with the rest of the unloading, but her grandparents
knew how hard the moving always was on her and insisted on doing it themselves. They wanted her
to get settled as soon as possible and start making friends and getting involved with different
activities.
Katy pushed the bunk bed into a corner so that the
end faced the picture on the wall. She put her dresser at the end of it and then placed her little
desk under the picture. It all fit perfectly, as if it was made for Katy's furniture. The bookshelf
went in between the closet and bathroom door on the opposite side of the room.
When the furniture pieces were in their desired places,
Katy set to work unpacking. The clothes were neatly put into her dresser or hung in the closet.
Out came the books to be stacked on the bookshelf along with her models, and the wall above her
bunk bed quickly filled with posters of many different breeds of horses. There were so many that
Katy had to put some on the wall opposite her bed.
She was hard pressed to find room for all her horse
show ribbons, but finally settled on hanging them along the wall above the horse painting just below
the border at the top. She put the horse show trophies that she had won on the top shelf of her
bookshelf. They were all lined up like gleaming soldiers standing at attention.
Katy made everything look very neat and orderly,
unlike her room in New York. She put her games and other large things into the closet. As she was
reaching up as far as she could to shove an old game that never got used onto the top shelf, the
box hit something solid and would not go any further. Perturbed at the intrusion, she went to the
kitchen and grabbed a stool. This way she was able to reach up and pull the object down.
The rude little object turned out to be a small brown
leather diary. Katy looked at it for a minute, wondering how it had come to be there. It had a lock
on it, and there was a small note on the front reading, 'To whom it may concern. Please read this
with blessings from our Lord God and Saviour.' She decided to look for the key later, peaked as
her interest was. She had to finish setting up her room so she could look for a stable.
She unpacked several boxes of desk items such as
her schoolbooks, her papers, notebooks, pencils, pens, and more. She hung up her calendar and a
huge poster of a collage of horses that she had colored when she was younger. Then she set to work
on the light colored oak nightstand. Onto it went her horse touch lamp and her small white clock
radio. She stacked books on the shelves, then set her other lamp, one with a western styled shade
and a figure of a horse for the base and stem, on the corner of her desk.
♣♣
Finally Katy spread her horse bedcovers over both
levels of the polished oak bunk bed and set up the ornamental horse pillows and stuffed animals
around neatly. She stood back and looked around with satisfaction. Then she gathered up the boxes
and packing paper and piled them outside where the rest were. It was several days later, and everything
was finally in its permanent place. Katy desperately hoped this would be their last move. She hated
going through all the hustle and bustle of moving and unpacking and everything.
After marveling at the manicured yard for another
several minutes, Katy decided she wanted some exercise. She also wanted to see if there was a stable
around that was close enough to ride her bike to every day. She was tired of having to be dependent
upon her grandmother's schedule because she had to drive her to the stable, and besides, she wanted
a break.
She found her grandfather in the garage putting things
away. She glanced around at the unorganized mess and finally spotted her bicycle. 'Grampa, may I
please ride my bike around? I want to see how close the stable is.'
'Horses are never off your mind, are they? Go ahead.
Be back in at about three hours. If you find a place called Spruce Ridge Stables pretty close to
here, tell them that you are already signed up. You've got a horse leased to your name. It should
be pretty close to here.' Her grandfather shook his head and turned back to his work as if his news
was nothing important.
Katy stood there for a paralyzed moment, mouth open.
Then she flung her arms around him and cried, 'Oh Grampa, thank you! That is so great! How
can I ever thank you enough!'
She hopped on her bike and pedaled off after more
thanks. She noticed the beautiful scenery as she cruised through the quiet neighborhood and down
a side road that turned to dirt after about a quarter of a mile.
She turned a corner and gasped, braking. In front of her spread a large horse facility.
She checked out the sign and saw that it was indeed
Spruce Ridge. She rode slowly into the area, drinking in what she saw. There were five barns and
another large building, and horses and riders milled about everywhere. There was a lesson going
on in a large arena off to the left of the entrance.
She got off her bike and walked into the office.
A tall woman with dark brown hair looked up and smiled. 'Hello,' she greeted. 'My name is Karen
Nansen. What can I do for you?'
'Hi. My name is Katy Evans. My grandfather said he
leased a horse out to me, and that I could start riding any time I wanted.'
'Oh, yes, your grandfather called. Christopher Carter,
if I recall correctly.' Karen said, turning to the computer that sat on her desk and letting her
fingers fly over the keyboard. 'Here we go. You're signed up to Desert Vixen, a seven-year-old Thoroughbred
mare. She's in Barn 3, stall twelve. I've got a letter of recommendation from your previous stable
that your grandmother sent, so feel free to look around all you want. Would you like me to give
you a tour of the place?'
'Sure. That is, if you've got time.'
Karen smiled and stood up. 'No problem at all, Katy.
Glad to do it.'
The two walked out into the bright sunlight.
They walked along a wide dirt path and Karen pointed
out the parking lot and manure hold, then the rider's lounge and a set of trash cans. There was
a road leading from the parking lot to a large barn. 'That's the barn that houses the horses that
the intermediate riders use. Next to it is the pony barn. All the stalls in Barn One are filled.
The barns are numbered going to the right from the intermediate rider's barn. As you can see, the
pony barn looked huge. But it's not, really. It's exactly the size of Barn One.'
Katy looked puzzled. 'It looks about three times
as large. How can that be?'
'There's a hay barn in between the pony barn and
Barn 3, which is the barn for the advanced riders. That smaller building next to it is the grain
shed, and as you can see, next to it is that huge silo. The next barn is also full. It's the beginning
rider's barn. We have a number of older horses in there.'
The pair walked to the entrance of the beginner's
barn, Barn Four. It was bustling with activity. 'There sure are a lot of people here,' remarked
Katy.
'That's for sure,' replied Karen. 'We get new people every week. In fact, we're thinking of
expanding. At the moment we've only got one boarding barn, because we're not in the business for
boarding, but for training and lessons. This farm covers around five hundred acres that goes way
out into those woods.'
'Wow!' Katy was impressed. 'I think it's really neat
that you've got this barn area arranged in this semicircle. And two round pens and all those paddocks!
What do you have in the way of riding arenas and space to ride?'
'We've got a huge show jumping area, a large standard
riding arena, a dressage ring, and a cross-country course that covers about ten acres out in the
woods. There is a lake and a river in the woods and an abandoned ranch. There is certainly no lack
of places to ride, that's for sure.'
'Which of these barns is the horse I'm riding in?'
'Barn 3, the advanced rider's barn. She's in stall
twelve. If you go out that gate - ' she pointed. '- you'll find the riding arenas and you can follow
the path out to the woods. I don't mind if you ride by yourself, but don't do anything rash or any
jumping without a buddy along.'
'All right. Is it okay if I look around a bit before
I head out?' asked Katy.
'Of course! Feel free to look around as much as you
want to. You're now a member of Spruce Ridge Stables, so you have free roam of everything in sight.
And just for the record, not all of the horses are purebred by what's on their signs. A lot of them
are just marked according to the major part of their breeding.' Karen then held up a finger. 'Wait
here a second. I'll be right back.' With that she disappeared into her office, only to reappear
moments later with a handful of carrots. 'I thought you might be able to use these.'
Thanking Karen, Katy headed toward the other side
of the barn area. She walked into Barn 1, which was marked as the intermediate rider's barn, and
started looking at the horses.
'Harmony, 12 year old bay Thoroughbred mare.' Katy
reached in to pat the horse. Harmony nuzzled her, obviously asking for carrots. Katy laughed and
broke off a piece for the friendly mare. 'I wonder if I'll ever get to ride you,' she mused to the
horse. She gave the mare one last pat and moved on.
'Boise, 6 year old roan Quarter Horse mare.' Katy
got a good look at the mare. 'You don't look like a Quarter Horse. You look like more of a mutt.
I guess you're the first case of un-purebred horses.' The mare had a shaggy coat, and she had none
of the firm muscles or fine lines of a quality Quarter Horse. She looked like more of a dumpy mustang
than a Quarter Horse. Katy moved on, because the mare was inclined to stay at the back of her stall
and not meet her visitor.
'Simeon, 16-year-old palomino Haflinger gelding.'
Katy reached in to pat the gelding's head, but retreated quickly when his head came snaking toward
her, ears back and teeth bared. 'Wow. You sure are mean! I wonder where you got your bad attitude.'
She passed his stall in favor of the next horse.
'Cappuccino, 16 year old dun palomino gelding.' Katy
peered closely at the gelding, then looked back at Simeon. 'You two must be twins!' she exclaimed.
The two horses looked exactly alike. They both had two short front socks and a star, and they were
both stocky and had flowing flaxen manes and tails. Their stall plates, naming their sires and dams,
indicated that they were indeed twins. Cappuccino leaned against the stall door trying to get closer
to Katy to have his head scratched. 'The only thing different about you is your personalities,'
Katy laughed. 'And they couldn't be more diverse!' She gave the horse one more scratch and moved
on once more.
'Ecliptic, 9 year old skewbald American Paint Horse
gelding.' Katy patted the friendly horse and gave him a few chunks of carrot. The horse stuck his
head out as far as he could to get more pieces. When Katy refused to give it to him because she
wanted some for the other horses, he curled up his lip and snorted. Katy ignored his protests, gave
him one last pat, and moved on to the next stall, which housed a tall bay horse with a long mane
and tail.
'Terminator, 12 year old bay Andalusian gelding.'
Katy looked thoughtful. 'There sure are a lot of young horses in here for this being an intermediate
rider's barn. They must have some good intermediate riders here. I'd like to see some of these horses
in action.'
As if she could understand Katy's words, the mare
in the next stall gave a little squeal and a buck and began trotting around the stall at as fast
a pace as she could manage. Katy laughed and looked at the stall sign. 'Pocahontas, 15 year old
bright bay Oldenburg mare.' She patted the mare, who had stopped her pacing long enough to come
see who her visitor was.
'Jehosephat, 14 year old light bay Thoroughbred mare.'
Katy peered into the next stall and suddenly recognized the name. 'Hey! Look who's here! I remember
you from Taco Garden! No offense, but I do wish you were that gray mare.' Katy exclaimed, then reached
into the stall to pat the mare. Jehosephat seemed to remember her, because she nickered and rubbed
her head up and down the girl's arm. Katy massaged the horse's shapely head for a few minutes and
then reluctantly pulled her arm from the stall.
'Aurora, 8 year old red roan Thoroughbred mare. You
must be a really easy ride if you're only eight and in the intermediate barn,' Katy told the mare.
The horse was just as friendly as the others. She begged for scratching and even began licking Katy's
hand. Katy pulled away and wiped her hand off on her shirt. 'Thanks, but I already took a bath this
morning,' she informed Aurora.
'Dominique, 11 year old bay Anglo-Arab mare.'
'Frost Cloud, 13 year old spotted Knabstruper gelding.
Well obviously he's spotted if he's a Knabstruper,' Katy scoffed.
'Supernova, 15 year old black Dutch Warmblood gelding.'
'Phantom, 12 year old albino Shagya Arab gelding.'
Katy blew by the next few horses fairly quickly with
only a brief glance and pat, knowing that if she wanted to ride she would have to hurry. However,
she recognized the last horse's name and stopped.
'Hey, Phantom! Another old friend!' Katy greeted
the gelding with a pat on the nose and a carrot. Then she moved on, spending a minute only a minute
or so with each horse in line.
'Mickey, 14 year old chestnut Welsh Cob gelding.'
'Scout, 19 year old light bay Trakehner gelding.'
'Ranger, 17 year old brown Selle Francais gelding.'
'Gold Nugget, 14 year old dun Quarter Horse mare.'
Katy looked closely at the mare. 'Now that's what a Quarter Horse is supposed to look like,' she
mused. This mare, unlike the one directly across the aisle, had well-toned muscles, a proud look,
and a stocky stature. Katy spent a few moments admiring the horse before going on.
'Uranus, 20 year old flea-bitten Anglo-Arab gelding.'
Katy peered in at the horse, wondering why he was in the barn at his old age. Upon seeing him, though,
she changed her mind. The horse was as fit as a three year old, and he had a spirit to match. He
threw up his head at her appearance and pretended to become agitated, prancing nervously around
the stall. Once he saw that she wasn't daunted, though, Uranus perked up his ears and settled down,
walking calmly over to her for introduction. Katy spent a few moments scratching his ears before
moving on to the next horse.
'Galaxy's Star, 7 year old black Trakehner mare.'
'You're really pretty, Galaxy. You're one of the
prettiest horses I know.' Katy murmured to the mare. She fed bits of carrot to the horse and moved
on to the last stall.
'Commando, 10 year old spotted Appaloosa gelding.'
Katy was getting sort of tired at looking at the horses, characteristic quite unusual for her. She
would rather be riding at the moment, though.
Katy looked at her watch when she was done reading
and describing each horse in Barn 1 to herself. She only had an hour and a half left after spending
so long getting to know the horses. She had patted and talked to each one for several minutes. None
of the people in the barn had paid her any heed save for a few muttered greetings.
Katy decided to go on a trail ride with her assigned
horse, so she headed for the advanced barn and searched for her new mount.
She found the bright bay mare in a stall at the end
of the barn. The horse had a stripe on her face and three stockings. Desert Vixen was friendly and
nuzzled her new rider, asking for treats. Katy obliged and moved to get the horse's halter. She
pulled the mare out and tacked her up with the assigned tack. Each horse had its own tack, and there
was a large tack room in each barn. Used to the cluttered disarray of the tack room that she had
vainly tried to keep clean and neat, Katy stood and gazed in amazement at the order of the new tack
room. Then she remembered that she was running out of time and headed out.
She led Desert Vixen outside to the mounting block
that stood in front of the barn and mounted. She warmed up in the warm up arena and got used to
the mare. Then she opened the gate from horseback and walked the mare out, being careful to shut
the gate behind her.
Katy nudged the mare, hoping the horse would respond
like Countess. She got almost the equivalent of what her previous charge's would have been-an unhesitant,
if not fast, change of pace. She and the mare trotted toward the woods. Cantering to get there faster,
she quickly reached the edge of the forest and disappeared inside.
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