Horseflies (8 page)

The two girls frowned at each other. “Our class doesn’t start for half an hour,” said Lisa. “Did we have a Saddle Club meeting that we forgot about?”

“No,” Stevie replied impatiently. “I didn’t have a chance to call you last night, and I just wanted to find out what happened to Jamie after you got him home from the fair!”

“Oh, that,” said Carole. “Well, the famous Dr. Atwood here made the correct diagnosis in the backseat of the car.”

“Really?” Stevie looked at Lisa. “And?”

“And Jamie has chicken pox,” Lisa reported glumly. “And now the famous Dr. Atwood is out of a baby-sitting job.”

“Oh no,” groaned Stevie. “That was your riding lesson money, too. What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.” Lisa hung her change purse up in her cubby. “I called all my old clients last night, and everybody’s either out of town, or at camp, or too old now to be baby-sat. I’m going to have to start from square one.”

“Well, I’m not surprised,” said Stevie.

“Thanks a lot,” Lisa said.

“No, I mean about Jamie’s chicken pox. It’s going around all over town. Michael’s friend Shawn has seventy-five pox on his face alone.”

“Yuck.” Carole grimaced. “That’s gross.”

“Yes, and don’t forget about poor little Maxi. She’s been itching for over a week. We should have thought of chicken pox the moment Jamie threw up.”

Carole frowned. “I don’t know, Stevie. There was no reason for us to think Jamie had it. After all, we’d fed him everything we could think of and taken him on every ride they had. That might have made anybody sick.” She pulled her shoulder-length black hair back in a ponytail. “Gosh, we’re not doctors or nurses or anything. We aren’t even mothers.”

“I’m not sure we deserve to be mothers after the fair disaster,” Lisa said.

“What do you mean?” asked Stevie.

Lisa shook her head. “Stevie, all we did yesterday was bribe Jamie. Once he started acting so bratty about the
merry-go-round, we just caved in and bribed him to be happy with junk food and carnival rides. That’s no way to treat a cranky child. Even I know that.”

“I don’t think that’s so bad,” Stevie protested. “I mean, even if we didn’t know Jamie was sick and even if bribery isn’t on the top-ten list of things parents ought to do, it’s pretty neat when you’re the one being bribed.” Stevie gave them an impish grin. “If Jamie hadn’t been sick, he’d have been having the time of his life!”

Carole and Lisa looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Only Stevie could come up with logic like that!

The girls continued getting ready for their riding lesson. Carole changed into her boots and put her mythology book in the top of her cubby.

“Are you still reading that?” Stevie asked in amazement.

“Oh, yes,” Carole answered. “It’s gotten even better. Now Pegasus and Bellerophon are starting to fight the Amazons for King Iobates, but he’s getting suspicious that—”

Suddenly Max walked past the locker room. “Hi, girls,” he called as he adjusted the bit of a new bridle. “How’s it going?”

“Hi, Max,” they all said together.

“How’s Maxi doing?” asked Carole. “Is she feeling any better?”

“She’s just beginning to,” Max replied, leaning against the door as he rebuckled the bridle’s cavesson. “Last night Deborah and I actually got four uninterrupted hours of sleep.
Maxi’s a lot less fussy, but she looks a lot worse—like someone painted red dots on every inch of her.” He picked up a bubble gum wrapper from the floor, then scratched his head. “It seems like with chicken pox, the worse you look, the closer you are to getting better.”

“That’s the way I feel every time I get a cold,” Stevie said. “I have to feel like I’m about to croak before anyone even notices I’m sick. By the time anybody has any sympathy for me, I’m almost well.” She paused and loosened the collar of her shirt. “In fact, I’m feeling kind of hot in here right now. I sure would be grateful if either of my dear friends was to say how sorry they were I was feeling bad.”

“Oh, poor sick Stevie,” Carole wailed dramatically. She picked up a saddle pad and began to fan Stevie’s face. “Does this help cool you off a little? Shall I peel you a grape for some extra vitamin C?”

“I bet I know something that will make her feel better,” Lisa said, laughing. “We can take her back to the fair and buy her a funnel cake and an extra-long ride on the merry-go-round! They might even let her ride without a safety strap.”

“Well, you’d better nurse your partner in crime back to health soon,” Max said as he began to stride down the hall. “Your riding class starts in fifteen minutes.”

“Yikes!” Stevie leaped to her feet. “We’d better tack up fast!”

Carole chuckled. “That’s the wonder drug for Stevie Lake. Just say the words
riding class
and she’s cured immediately!”

The girls tacked up their horses quickly and met with the
rest of their class in the outdoor ring. Everyone made a big circle around Max, who stood in the center.

“Okay, everybody,” he said, shading his eyes from the glare of the sun. “Before we mount up I want one of our riders to share with us some of the things she learned when she spent the day with our equine vet, Judy Barker. Carole, would you ask Stevie to hold your horse while you talk to the class?”

Carole handed Starlight’s reins to Stevie and walked over to Max. She hadn’t known he was going to call on her like this! Butterflies began to flit in her stomach, but she stood in the center of the ring and tried to remember all she had learned with Judy.

She cleared her throat and spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear. “Tuesday, Judy and I visited a stable that was run by people who have recently moved here from California. They’re nice people who don’t want their horses to get sick, but they didn’t realize that they weren’t keeping their stable clean enough.” Carole remembered how Lady Jane and Joker and Spirit had been suffering at the Albergini farm.

“Their manure wasn’t far enough away from the barn, so flies hatched in it and then bit the horses. They didn’t know to fill all the low places where water could stand, so the barn was swarming with mosquitoes. They hadn’t sprayed their barn or stalls with any kind of insecticide, so one of their horses was infested with lice. All these insects can cause serious diseases in horses.”

A wave of “ugh” and “gross” went up from the whole class. Carole shifted on her feet and continued.

“The good news, though, is that Judy was able to show them how to clean up their place, and all the horses are going to be fine.”

She smiled over at Max. “Even better news is that we don’t have any of those problems at Pine Hollow. There is no standing water; Red trucks the manure a safe distance away; and we’ve all seen the insecticide truck come here every month.” Carole couldn’t think of anything else to say, so she began to return to Starlight. Suddenly she remembered one last thing. She trotted back to the center of the ring and added, “And we have several terrific new bug zappers that can kill anything within a hundred feet.”

With that, Carole hurried back to her horse. The other riders laughed and applauded as Max returned to the center of the ring.

“Thanks, Carole,” he said. “But I think you’ve given Pine Hollow too much credit. We do take pest control very seriously, but we’ve also been very lucky. Even the cleanest, most careful stables can get invaded by pests. It’s our job as riders to give flies and worms as little chance as possible to survive in a stable, and if they do get in, to get rid of them immediately.”

Max eyed each rider. “Remember, there’s no such thing as a pest-free barn, just as there’s no guarantee that the child of the most loving parents in the world won’t get sick.”

After Max finished his lecture, the class mounted up.

“Okay,” he called. “We’re going to do a little dressage work today and practice the counter-canter, but first we need to warm up. Carole, since you gave us such a good report on horseflies, would you and Starlight lead the class in a posting trot?”

Carole nodded, proud that Max had chosen her. She pulled Starlight out of line and turned him to the right, urging him into a trot. For about three strides, he obeyed; then he broke into a canter. When Carole tried to pull him back to a trot, he stopped altogether. Two girls on the other side of the ring laughed.

“Starlight!” Carole whispered. “Come on! Don’t act like such a nut!” She collected herself and tried again. Starlight did the same thing as before: trot, canter, then a dead stop. Carole felt her face grow hot with embarrassment as the other riders stared at her. She turned into the circle and trotted over to Max.

“Max, I think he needs to run a little bit before we do any work. He’s got a bad case of spring fever this year.”

“That’s okay, Carole. It’s good that you know your mount so well. Take him over to the paddock for a good run and come back when he’s ready.”

“Thanks.” Carole smiled gratefully.

She rode Starlight out of the ring as Stevie and Belle began leading the exercise. “Come on, Starlight,” Carole said as they entered the big paddock. “Let’s get all the kinks out so we can get back to class.”

Starlight pranced and fidgeted at first, but he settled down when Carole allowed him to canter. They did one circuit of the paddock, and then Carole let him gallop. His long legs stretched out and the fence posts flew by, just as fast as they had before. Again Starlight seemed happiest when he was racing at full speed, and again Carole found herself dreaming about what it must be like to ride a horse that had wings as well as four strong legs.

When Starlight’s breathing became heavy, Carole slowed him to a trot. “There,” she said, giving him a pat. Those kinks must be worked out by now.” They did one cool-down lap of the paddock, then reentered the ring. Max was just explaining the counter-canter exercise.

“I want all of you to canter your horses through the serpentine without changing leads: That means they’ll be cantering with the right lead half the time and the wrong lead the other half of the time. It’ll feel weird to you at first, but it’s an excellent way to keep both you and your mount supple and in tune with each other. Understand?” All the riders nodded.

“Okay. Lisa, would you lead off, please? Just ride through this zigzag course and keep giving the signals for a left lead.”

Carole guided Starlight to a place at the end of the line and watched as Lisa and Prancer led off the exercise. Moving at an easy canter, Lisa worked her way down the ring, Prancer always leading with her left foreleg.

“Good!” Max called when they finished. “Okay, next rider, follow her!”

The next rider was Stevie on Belle; then the third rider joined in. By the time Starlight and Carole joined the line, most of the other riders had finished and were waiting to see what she and Starlight were going to do.

“Okay, boy, here we go,” Carole said softly.

At first Starlight lurched forward in a bounding canter. Carole reined him in, and he continued in a more collected gait. His canter was smooth, and though he wanted to change his lead, he obeyed her signals to maintain it. Carole felt a warm glow of pride as they zigzagged perfectly down the length of the ring. She had been right about what was wrong with Starlight all along, and she had also been right about what to do about it. It was just the way Max said: A good horse owner knew what was best for her horse.

Max finished the lesson by having them ride in large circles to practice a turn called the volt. Then he had them cool their horses down. Carole guided Starlight over beside Lisa and Stevie.

“Hey, you looked great out there,” Carole said to Lisa.

“Thanks,” Lisa said. “I was kind of nervous. I kept hoping I would remember how to ask for a left lead.” She laughed and gave Prancer a pat on the neck. “I guess Prancer knew what I was asking for.”

“Phew!” Stevie exclaimed. “Don’t you guys think it’s hot today?” She pulled her shirttail out and fanned cool air on her stomach.

“Not really,” said Carole. “But mostly I’ve been flying around the paddock on Starlight.”

Stevie wiped the sweat from her forehead. “I’ve got a good idea. Why don’t we untack everybody fast and call an emergency Saddle Club meeting at TD’s? Wouldn’t a lime sherbet freeze with coconut and chocolate taste good right now?”

“Well, I could maybe go for a plain old hot fudge sundae,” said Lisa. “But what’s our emergency?”

“Uh, we can dream up alternative air-conditioning plans,” Stevie suggested with a grin.

“Huh?” said Carole.

“You know. Ways The Saddle Club can stay cool this summer. Lots of swimming, wading in the creek …”

“Trips to TD’s?” Carole laughed.

“Right,” said Stevie.

“Sounds good to me!”

“Great!” Stevie turned Belle toward the stable. “Last one ready to go to TD’s is a rotten egg!”

Though of course the girls dismounted and walked their horses back into the stable, they moved as quickly as they could. Carole could hear Stevie whistling as she untacked Belle.

“I promise I’ll give you a bath and the grooming to end all groomings tomorrow, Starlight,” Carole vowed as she pulled the saddle off her sweaty horse. She put up his tack and quickly curried him, running a brush over him just enough to get the sweat off his skin. She filled his water bucket with fresh water and gave him two armloads of hay. He nickered with contentment as he settled down to munch his snack.

“It won’t always be like this, Starlight,” she said. “Just as
soon as everything settles down and I finish with my Pegasus project, I promise you’ll be the only horse I think about for the rest of the summer!”

“I’m almost ready,” Stevie taunted from Belle’s stall.

“Bye, Starlight.” Carole rubbed him gently behind the ears before she hurried out of the stall. “I’ll see you tomorrow!”