Hoof Beat

Horse Crazy

Horse Shy

Horse Sense

Horse Power

Trail Mates

Dude Ranch

Horse Play

Horse Show

Hoof Beat

Riding Camp

Horse Wise

Rodeo Rider

“E
ASY, BOY
,” C
AROLE
Hanson said, patting the black foal’s neck gently. Samson eyed Carole warily, then glanced at his mother, Delilah, who stood nearby.

Carole held a halter in her hand. She showed it to the foal. He looked at it curiously, but there was no fear in his eyes. This was the third day in a row that Carole had brought the halter to the fence by his paddock. She thought he was ready to try it on.

Although Carole was only twelve, she was an experienced rider. With Samson, she hoped to become an experienced trainer as well. Samson had been born at Pine Hollow Stables, just a few months before. Carole and her best friends, Stevie Lake and Lisa Atwood, had been present at the birth. It had been one of the most exciting experiences they’d ever had. It was hard to believe, even now, that the fine strong foal who
stood next to Carole had once been the scrawny newborn, struggling to stand up and take his first sip of milk. He’d grown tremendously in the first months and could now run around the paddock he shared with his mother for long periods of time. Still, he was just a baby, Carole thought with a smile. Every time she stepped into the paddock, the little foal ran to hide behind his mother’s tail.

Stevie and Lisa stood by the fence outside the paddock. Lisa held Delilah on a lead rope. The girls knew that if the mother stood still, the foal was more likely to stand still as well. Stevie and Lisa held their breaths while Carole put her arm over Samson’s neck to place the halter on his head.

The three girls were accustomed to working together. They’d become best friends at Pine Hollow and had formed The Saddle Club. The club had only two rules. The first was that members had to be horse crazy. That was easy for them. The second rule was that they had to be willing to help one another. Since there was always plenty going on, they’d worked together a lot.

Carole was the most experienced rider. She’d been brought up on Marine Corps bases where, as a colonel’s daughter, she had taken riding lessons all her life. She was determined to spend the rest of her life with horses, as well.

Stevie, the only girl in a family of four children, had started riding so she would have something to do that
was different from anything her brothers did. She worked hard at her riding and she was very good—as long as she wasn’t in trouble with Max, the owner of the stable. Stevie had a knack for practical jokes and getting into hot water and frequently seemed to lead her friends right into it with her!

Although Lisa, at thirteen, was the oldest of the trio, she was the newest to horseback riding. She had started only a few months before and had begun riding because her mother thought it was something every proper young lady should know
something
about. Mrs. Atwood hadn’t been prepared for the fact that, after her first lessons, Lisa had wanted to learn
everything
about it. When Lisa discovered how much fun riding was, and when the three girls had formed The Saddle Club, Lisa had somehow found the courage to tell her mother she wanted to give up some of the other “proper young lady” activities her mother had insisted upon, like painting, ballet, violin, and needlework. Mrs. Atwood hoped this was a temporary situation, but Lisa knew better. Her mother was no more enthusiastic about Lisa’s horseback riding than she was about her daughter’s straight-A report cards. Mrs. Atwood didn’t think proper young ladies
needed
straight A’s.

“Okay, boy,” Carole spoke softly, “here we go.” She stood by the foal. Although she knew the foal could not understand her words, she wanted to keep him calm with her tone of voice. Samson stood still. She laid the nose strap of the halter across his muzzle.
He pulled back quickly. Carole stood her ground. She touched his muzzle with the leather once again. This time, Samson didn’t pull back. She removed it. He stood still. She looked over toward the fence, wanting reassurance from her friends.

“You’re doing fine,” Lisa said. “He’s ready. I can see it in his eyes.”

Carole patted the foal once again. Then, while talking to him softly and confidently, she slipped the halter around his muzzle and drew the crown strap up behind his ears. She had it buckled before Samson knew what was happening.

The foal shook his head, trying to rid himself of the halter. It didn’t budge. That made him shake all the more. He looked to his mother for help. She only glanced at him, then turned her attention to the sugar lump Lisa held for her.

“Good boy,” Carole said. “That’s it. That’s all there is to it. Good boy,” she repeated. She tried patting him, but he was shaking his head too vigorously to notice.

Carole thought that was enough for the first day. As quickly as she’d put it on, she removed the halter. Samson shook his head a final time, then discovering the odd feeling had gone, he turned his attention to his mother’s udder. He was ready for some lunch.

Lisa released Delilah’s lead rope. Carole climbed the fence quickly and the three of them watched the horses together.

“That was really neat,” Lisa said. “Everybody should be able to see that kind of thing happen.”

“If everybody came here to see it happen, it wouldn’t be so special for us,” Stevie said. “We wouldn’t be able to get our front-row seats, would we?”

“No, I don’t want everybody here,” Lisa said thoughtfully, rolling up the lead rope as she spoke. “I just wish everybody could understand the experience—share in it, you know? Like, I think it would be great to be able to write about that kind of thing and let people know how it feels to be with horses.”

“Well, maybe,” Carole said dubiously. “Except that I’d never be able to describe it.”

“Some people can,” Lisa argued, following Carole into the stable. “There are a lot of great writers who would know just exactly what to say.”

“But they weren’t here,” Stevie reminded her. “So, now, it’s just us who know what it was like to watch Samson have a halter on for the first time.”

Lisa slung the looped rope over her shoulder and led the way back to the locker area where they would change their clothes. She thought she could still feel her heart beating with the excitement of the scene—the first training of a foal. It
had
been exciting. Why
couldn’t
that experience be shared?

“Ooh, pee-yew,” Stevie groaned, entering the locker area. “I just hate the smell of paint, don’t you?”

Carole wrinkled her nose. “Sure,” she agreed, “but it’s got to be done.” Carole could be very matter-of-fact sometimes.

Stevie peered into the tack room where the paint smell originated. “What a disaster area!” The floor was scattered with saddles, bridles, halters, and spare parts. The walls were freshly white.

“Maybe we should offer to help put the stuff back,” Carole suggested.

“You don’t have time,” Stevie reminded her. “You promised to sell tickets at the shopping center for the library raffle today and tomorrow, remember?”

Carole’s jaw dropped. “Oh, no!” she said. “I’d forgotten all about it.”

Stevie smiled at her friend. “You always forget everything, unless it has to do with horses, don’t you? That’s one of the reasons you keep me around—to remind you, right?” she kidded Carole.

Carole sat down on the bench and removed her boots. “I can’t believe I forgot about that! The problem is—” She paused and crinkled her nose in concentration.

“I bet we can help,” Lisa said brightly. “Whatever it is.”

“Maybe you can,” Carole conceded. “The problem is that I’m supposed to be there all day tomorrow so I won’t be able to work with Samson. Today’s lesson should be reinforced right away.”

“That’s no problem at all,” Stevie said quickly. “Lisa and I can do that. All we need to do is to get the halter on for a few seconds, right?” Carole nodded.

Lisa slipped out of her riding clothes and into her
street clothes. Stevie and Carole chatted about the library raffle. The first prize was two weeks at Moose Hill, a sleepaway riding camp. All three of them had daydreamed about going, but it seemed unlikely that their parents would go for it. They’d already been on two trips this summer—to a dude ranch and to New York City! Stevie said she wanted to buy all the raffle tickets, then realized that she didn’t have any money.

Normally, Lisa would have joined in the conversation, but just then, Lisa’s mind was on something else. She couldn’t stop thinking about Samson’s first training lesson and how much she thought other people would enjoy learning about it. She smiled, remembering.