Horse Care Read Free Page B

they could make Calypso a new Saddle Club project. They could spend time with the mare, soothing her and keeping her company. They could see that she got the proper amount of exercise—Carole knew that pregnant mares needed to stretch their legs regularly, just the same as other horses. Maybe she would even talk to Max about moving Calypso to a quieter stall. He had probably put her in the corner stall to make it easier to keep an eye on her. But if The Saddle Club promised to check on her frequently, he might agree to give her more privacy.
    Once she had decided on her course of action, Carole tuned back into Judy’s lecture. The vet was listing some of the ailments that could strike a pregnant mare, along with their symptoms. Carole already knew about most of the problems, but hearing them listed all together was a little disheartening. The list seemed to go on and on. Anatomical or genetic defects. Tumors. Infections.Breech births. There was so much that could go wrong! It was a wonder any foals were born at all.
    Finally, Judy gave Calypso one last pat and nodded to Red. “I think that’s enough for today,” she said. “I hope you’ve all learned something new. And I hope you’ll all be waiting as eagerly as I am for the arrival of Calypso’s foal.”
    Max stepped forward. “Thanks, Judy,” he said. “You’ve been very informative, as always.” He looked out at the students. “We’ve still got about thirty minutes left of this meeting. We’ll continue in just a moment. Keep it to a dull roar, okay?”
    He hurried over to help Red with Calypso. Stevie turned to her friends, looking somber. “Are you two thinking what I’m thinking?”
    “Only if you’re thinking we have a new Saddle Club project on our hands,” Lisa said. “We have to do everything we can to help Calypso through the rest of her pregnancy.”
    Stevie nodded eagerly. “I was thinking about what Judy said about stress,” she said. “I wonder if that corner stall is really the best place for Calypso. We should talk to Max about it.”
    Carole smiled at her friends. She should have known they would have the same ideas she had. “I was going to suggest the same thing,” she said. “Max might let us move her to someplace quieter if we promise to keep a close eye on her. I mean, we’ve helped take care of pregnantmares before, right? We can definitely help guide Calypso through this.”
    Stevie and Lisa nodded. “Definitely,” they said in one voice.
    “O KAY , C AROLE, IT ’ S your turn,” Max said a few minutes later. He glanced at his clipboard. “Here’s your question. Name at least five kinds of plants that are poisonous to horses if ingested.”
    Stevie crossed her fingers on her friend’s behalf. Carole was winning the new game Max had invented, but Stevie figured she could still use a little extra luck. As with all Max’s games, this one tested students’ knowledge of horse care. First he’d asked all the students to line up across the center of the ring. Then he’d started going down the line, asking each student a question from the list in his hand. A correct answer earned one step forward. An incorrect answer meant a step backward. If a student ended up more than three steps behind the starting line, he or she was disqualified.
    So far it had been a challenging and exciting game. Simon and a couple of the younger riders had been knocked out within the first few rounds. Many others had spent most of their time hovering around the starting line, taking as many steps backward as forward. Even Lisa, who normally did well at this sort of game, had been disqualified after a few minutes. Stevie was pretty sure it was because Lisa was still distracted by her conversationwith her mother. But she didn’t have much time to think about it, because Max kept her busy answering question after question.
    The questions grew harder as the game went on, and before long only half a dozen players were left. Carole was about halfway