Before They Rode Horses Read Free

easy. No galloping, no jumping, no steeple-chasing.”
    “You never did that stuff
before
you were pregnant!” Lisa said.
    “That was his point,” Deborah said, grinning. “He told me that I could and, actually,
should
keep on doing everything I’d been doing before I became pregnant, and I guess that includes being a beginning rider. Do you really want to go on a trail ride with someone who can’t go faster than a walk?”
    “Yes!” said Lisa.
    “I guarantee it’ll help you think better,” said Stevie.
    “I’ll tack up Delilah,” Carole offered.
    “I’ll change my clothes and meet you at the good-luck horseshoe,” said Deborah.
    Fifteen minutes later, the four of them were readyto ride. Before they left, they each touched the stable’s good-luck horseshoe. According to tradition, no rider at Pine Hollow who touched the horseshoe had ever been seriously hurt in a riding accident. Some of the younger riders thought that meant the horseshoe had magic powers. The older riders suspected that touching the shoe was a way to remind riders that they needed to be careful. Whatever the cause, the effect was a good one. Safety was the first rule of riding at Pine Hollow, and the girls were determined to make this a safe ride for Deborah.
    They rode four abreast across the fields as they headed for the woods.
    “I’ve been thinking about a horse,” Carole said.
    “You’re always thinking about horses,” said Lisa.
    They all laughed because they knew that was true.
    “Well, more specifically, I’ve been thinking about Patch,” she said. “I wish I could figure out what’s wrong with him.”
    “He’s got a sore foot. That’s what Max said,” Deborah told them.
    “Ah, yes, but there are so many things that could cause it,” said Stevie. “I mean, lameness can be caused by laminitis, a bruise, a sprain, a strain, aproblem with the shoe, a feed problem, bog spavin, bone spavin, thoroughpin, or splints.”
    “It could be from an injury, disease, or parasite,” said Lisa.
    “It could be minor, major, or even permanent,” Carole added.
    “Oh my,” said Deborah. “Every time I think I’ve learned something about horses, I find that there are a million more things to learn.”
    “A zillion,” Lisa corrected her. “Million just covers what there is to learn about the art and science of riding. Zillion is how many things there are to learn about equine health and care.”
    “And if you add stable management, you’re definitely up around a jillion,” Stevie said.
    “How did you girls manage to learn all these things?” Deborah asked.
    “Max, Pine Hollow, Horse Wise,” said Lisa.
    “Just wanting to know because we love horses,” Stevie explained.
    “And you, Carole,” Deborah asked, “were you born knowing these things?”
    “Oh, no,” Carole said. “I learned them. I followed the stable boys around at every stable where I rode. Every time they said or did anything, Iwatched and listened. Sometimes they got a little tired of me, but my father was an officer so they couldn’t ignore me—at least, not at the Marine Corps base stables! But any kid who loves horses will find a way to learn these things.”
    “But don’t worry about your baby learning them. As soon as he can crawl, we’ll take charge of teaching him everything there is to know about horses,” Stevie said.
    A worried look crossed Deborah’s face. “You mean you think my baby will be as horse-crazy as you girls are?”
    “Of course he will be!” said Carole.
    Stevie nodded in agreement. “That little one is going to be next in a long line of horse lovers. It’s inevitable,” she promised Deborah. “I mean, Max did tell you about his father, didn’t he?”
    “And his grandfather?” Lisa added.
    Deborah nodded. “Sure,” she said. “I know that the man I married is Maximilian Regnery the Third and that his grandfather founded Pine Hollow and passed it on to his son, who passed it on to my Max. I know that horses