Lucky Horse Read Free Page B

“School isn’t that bad, and you can’t do anything about it anyway.”
    “I suppose,” replied Stevie, plopping down beside the creek and removing her boots.
    The girls wiggled their toes in the water until the sun grew hot in the sky. Carole and Lisa wondered what their new classes would be like, and finally even Stevie admitted that she was a little curious about who her math teacher was going to be. Too soon it was time to go, so they put their boots back on and pulled their horses away from their happy munching.
    They knew better than to race back to the barn, so they took the rest of the trail at an easy trot and the last quarter mile at a walk. When the Pine Hollowpaddocks came into view, Carole stood up in her saddle.
    “Look,” she called. “Danny’s in practically the same spot we left him in. Isn’t Red supposed to be longeing him?”
    Lisa nodded. “He is, but maybe he got busy with a class or a delivery of hay.”
    Carole frowned as they rode closer to the paddock. As much as she disliked Veronica, she liked Danny a lot, and the idea of a talented, intelligent animal being ignored made her uncomfortable. She wondered if Stevie and Lisa wouldn’t start on their promise to her just a little early.
    “Hey, you guys,” she said, pulling Starlight to a halt right beside Danny’s paddock. “Since the longe line’s right here and Red seems to be busy, if you two will take care of Starlight now, I’ll go ahead and longe Danny. He didn’t do anything to deserve this.”
    “Go ahead.” Lisa took Starlight’s reins. “We’ll look after Starlight for you.”
    “Thanks.” Carole smiled as she grabbed the longe line and crawled through the fence.
    The big gray nickered, then trotted up to Carole. She noticed he favored his right leg just a little bit.
    “Hey, boy,” she said softly as she clipped the line on his halter. “Looks like you’re doing okay. We’re going to do a little work now—just what the doctor ordered.”
    She led Danny to the center of the ring and walked him in a circle, letting the longe out slowly. As the circle grew larger, Danny’s pace grew faster. Carole knew from her work with the vet, Judy Barker, that it was important to keep a horse moving while he was on the mend or his muscle tone would suffer. She worked Danny for fifteen minutes clockwise, then another fifteen minutes counterclockwise. At the end of the half hour, he was warm but not sweaty, and he looked pleased when they stopped, as if he knew he’d done something that would help him heal.
    “Good boy,” she said, rubbing him between his eyes. She unsnapped the longe line and dug in her pocket for one of the carrots her father had forgotten to eat the night before. She’d planned on giving them to Starlight, but Danny had worked so hard, he deserved at least one. “Stevie and Lisa will take good care of you this weekend,” she promised him as she coiled up the longe line and walked to the stable.
    By the time she got to Starlight’s stall, Lisa and Stevie were just finishing up.
    “Starlight’s all tucked away,” Stevie reported. “He’s got fresh water and hay, and Lisa gave him a nice brushing.”
    “Thanks, you guys,” Carole said as she gave Starlight a farewell scratch behind his ears. “You be a good boy, Starlight. Mind Stevie and Lisa—do exactly as they say. I’ll see you Monday.”
    Starlight twitched his nose at Carole for a moment, then turned his attention to his new hay.
    “That must be horse for
okay
,” Lisa said with a laugh.
    “I guess that’s it for me,” Carole said. The girls began walking toward the stable entrance. “I’ve got to go home and do a few chores before we leave tomorrow. How about you guys?”
    “We need to figure out what we’re going to bring tomorrow night,” said Stevie. “I’ve never camped for a whole weekend with twenty-five horses before.”
    They walked to the end of Pine Hollow’s long drive, then joined in a three-way hug.
    “I hope