Back in the Saddle (9 page)

[NINA]
Hi, all! Sorry I didn't check in yesterday, we ended up going out to eat. But my lesson after school was great. Did I already tell u guys my friend Avery switched to my lesson day? She's been riding w/Jordan and me for a few wks now. Fun! We got to do some jumping today, and next time we're going to ride out thru the park maybe. What have u all been doing w/yr ponies? Brooke, is Foxy still shedding like a fiend, ha ha? And, Haley, how's Wings doing? Did the dentist come to check his teeth like u said?

Haley scanned both of her friends' chatty messages, but she barely took in most of what they'd said, even though she normally would have teased Maddie about her barn owner's California blanketing habits. She was still too focused on Wings to think about anything else. She opened a new text box and typed quickly.

[HALEY]
Hi, guys! Ya, Nina, the eq dentist just left. He said W's teeth were fine???? I don't get it. If it wasn't that, what could it have been?????????

[NINA]
Haley! Hi, I'm still here!

Haley was surprised when Nina's new comment popped up beneath hers. She hadn't even noticed that her friend's last message had posted just a few minutes earlier.

[HALEY]
Hi! So what do u think? I don't know what to do next to fix W's problems!

[NINA]
Hmm. Are u sure he has probs?

[HALEY]
What do u mean? There has to be some reason we messed up so much at the event. B/c we were soooo ready!! Esp. since we only did BN level. I mean, we should be able to rock that stuff in our sleep! Esp. on XC!!!!

[NINA]
Yeah. But maybe it was just the spirit of April Fools' Day messing w/u! Ha ha ha ha!

[HALEY]
Very funny. I guess it could've been that penning after all. I should have known better than to work him so hard only a wk before the big event, ugh! He was prob a little sore from all the sliding stops and quick turns and stuff. I won't make that mistake again.

[NINA]
OK. But don't be too hard on yrself or Wingsie. Stuff happens, right?

Haley grimaced. She admired Nina's easygoing approach to life most of the time, but this was different. If Haley couldn't figure out why they'd done so poorly at that event, it might happen again. She already knew why their dressage score had been so low, and all she had to do to fix that was make sure she knew her test inside out and didn't get distracted. But the jumping stuff was another matter. . . .

[HALEY]
I guess. But I think I'll have the farrier out early to check him. Come to think of it, that would make more sense, right? If his feet weren't quite right, it might make him stumble. . . . Grr, too bad I didn't think of that sooner—I have a lesson on Sunday.

[NINA]
A lesson? Cool! Are you going to yr trainer's farm?

[HALEY]
Yep. It's a group lesson to work on show jumping. That's good, since W and I didn't even get to do that part at the event, grrr!

[NINA]
Sounds good. Oops, my dad just got home—gtg. Let us know how the lesson goes!

[HALEY]
U know I will. Bye!

She logged off and stared at the blank screen of her laptop. Normally she loved it when she ended up chatting
live with one or more of the other Pony Posters. With their busy lives in three different time zones, that didn't happen very often.

But today she almost wished Nina hadn't been online. Because her comments hadn't been very helpful. In fact, Nina hadn't seemed to take Haley's problem very seriously at all!

Then Haley shrugged and pushed herself to her feet. She could try to explain it to her Pony Post friends better later. Right now she wanted to go call the farrier before she got caught up in her homework and forgot.

“Hold still, you wiggle monster,” Haley chided with a laugh. Even though his head was mostly immobilized by the crossties in the barn aisle, Wings had managed to swing his body away from her as she'd tried to sling his bright purple cooler over his back. “You need to wear this until you're dry.”

It was Saturday afternoon, and she and Wings had just finished a dressage schooling session. Afterward the pony had been pretty sweaty under his winter coat, so
Haley had sponged him off and then scraped and rubbed him as dry as she could. But he was still damp, and there was a chilly wind that day, so she'd fetched the cooler to help him dry the rest of the way before she turned him out.

Finally the pony held still long enough for her to get the cooler on and buckled. Then she unclipped him from the ties and led him to his stall, where she'd already dumped an armful of sweet-smelling hay.

“Go on, have a snack while you dry,” she told him with a smile.

The pony didn't have to be told twice, diving into the hay pile with gusto. Noticing a pile of manure in the back corner of the stall, Haley hurried to fetch a fork.

When she dumped the manure into the wheelbarrow parked in the alcove, she saw that it was almost full. With a groan she decided she might as well go dump it now while she was waiting for Wings to finish drying. Otherwise she'd just have to do it later.

Bandit frisked after her as she pushed the wheelbarrow out of the barn and across the yard to the gate.
“Stay back,” Haley told the dog as she reached for the latch. “I'm serious, Bandit. Is your memory that short?”

She grimaced, trying not to flash back to the day last fall when Bandit had darted out through the gate and into the country highway beyond, where he'd been hit by a car. Haley still blamed herself for the accident—she hadn't been paying attention and had left the gate ajar.

But seriously, you'd think he wouldn't be so excited to get out here anymore after what happened,
she thought as she shoved the dog back with her foot.

“Sit. Stay,” she told him sternly.

Bandit stared at her. His lean hindquarters sank halfway to the ground, but as soon as Haley reached for the latch again, he leaped to his feet, trying to push past her to the gate.

“Bandit, no!” she exclaimed in frustration. “Stay! Sit! Aargh!”

She abandoned the wheelbarrow and hurried back into the barn, where she grabbed a handful of kibble out of the can in the feed room. Bandit shadowed her the whole time, drooling slightly when he spotted the kibble. One of
the other dogs, a chubby beagle mix, spied the treats too and got up from his nap on a pile of saddle blankets. He yawned and waddled after Haley as she hurried back out of the barn.

“Okay,” Haley said when they were in the barnyard again. “Bandit, it's time to do some serious training. For real this time.”

After the accident, Haley had spent some time working on the dog's training, figuring that if he had a better grasp of basic commands, it would be easier to keep him safe. But his cast had gotten in the way at first, and later it had been too snowy and cold to spend any more time outside than necessary, and then she'd just plain forgotten about it.

But now it was time to get back to that training. Past time, really. Especially since Bandit still seemed ready to race out into the road any chance he got. Haley wasn't going to let that happen again on her watch. No way.

“Let's start with an easy one.” Haley held up a piece of kibble. “Bandit, sit!”

Bandit barked excitedly, leaping up and trying to grab
the kibble out of Haley's hand. Meanwhile the beagle mix circled her, almost tripping Haley when she stepped back to avoid Bandit's lunge.

“No, no!” Haley cried. “Bandit, quit it! And, you—out of the way.”

She pocketed the kibble, grabbed Bandit by the collar, and nudged the other dog away with her foot. Bandit wagged his tail and let his tongue loll out happily.

“Sit, boy.” Keeping hold of his collar with one hand, Haley used the other to press down on the dog's bony rump. “Sit!”

Bandit blinked at her, then finally sat. Haley smiled.

“Good boy!” she exclaimed, pulling out a piece of kibble and tossing it to him.

The beagle mix whined, looking pathetic, so Haley tossed him a piece too. Then she returned her attention to Bandit.

“Okay, now stay.” She held up her hand, palm out toward the dog. That was the way her uncle trained all the dogs on the farm when he had time, and Haley knew
that Bandit had learned the basics when he'd first arrived. “Stay, Bandit!”

At his name, Bandit leaped to his feet and barked. Then he trotted over and sat down on Haley's foot.

Apparently sensing that he might be missing more treats, the beagle mix raced over to Bandit. Bandit jumped to his feet again, bowed to the other dog, and then raced around in circles.

“Bandit, no!” Haley cried, pounding her fist on her thigh in frustration. “Get back here, you idiot!”

“Having problems, Haley?”

Spinning around, Haley saw her cousin Danny standing by the backyard gate and grinning at her. Right behind him was Owen Lemke.

Haley's face went hot. What was Owen doing here? And why did he have to appear just when she was yelling at her dog and sounding like a crazy person?

“How's it going, Haley?” Owen stepped into the barnyard and stuck his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “What're you doing?”

“Nothing,” Haley blurted out. “I mean, I was just—What are you doing here?” She glared at him.

“Wow, testy much?” Danny said with a snort. “He's here because we're going for a ride.”

“What?” Haley shifted her glare to her cousin.

“Turkey season starts soon, remember?” Danny shrugged. “We're going to ride out and scope out the best spots to put our blinds.”

Haley blinked, belatedly recalling that Owen had gone hunting with Danny on their property a few times the previous year. The two boys were only a year apart in school and hung out sometimes, especially when they wanted to go fishing or hunting. “Oh,” she said. “Uh, okay.”

“Glad we have your permission.” Owen grinned. “By the way, how was that sissy English show thingy of yours? You and the runt win a fancy blue ribbon, or what?”

“No,” Haley said bluntly. “Speaking of horses, where's Chance? I thought you said you're going riding.”

“Pop said he could ride Chico,” Danny replied, waving a hand toward the pasture where the family's three quarter horses were grazing.

“Good, he's about Owen's speed,” Haley snapped. “Nice and slow and boring.”

“Ooookay.” Owen traded a look with Danny. “Whatever, Haley. See you later.”

Bandit dashed after the boys as they headed into the barn. Haley took advantage of his departure to shove the wheelbarrow out through the gate, and dumped it with a little more force than absolutely necessary.

Stupid boys,
she thought.
Why can't they ever take anything seriously?

By the time she returned, the boys had gone off to the pasture to fetch their horses. Haley hurried to Wings's stall, and was relieved to find that he was finally dry beneath his cooler. She yanked it off and hung it on the stall door, then went to turn him out.

On her way to the pasture, the boys passed her, leading Chico and Jet, but they just nodded and continued their conversation. Haley and Wings continued to the pasture, where Rusty was standing forlornly at the gate calling for his herd mates. He stretched his head over the fence when Wings approached, seeming relieved.

“Okay, go on in, boy.” Haley patted the pony on the rump as he stepped through the gate. “And rest up—we have that lesson tomorrow, remember?”

That made her feel a little more cheerful. Jan was great at helping her students pinpoint problems and then solve them. She'd be able to help Haley and Wings regain their mojo, if anyone could. Jan would help make sure that next time Haley and Wings really would come home with that fancy blue ribbon.

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