nothing made Carole happier than sharing information about horses and riding.
“Well, she seems like she’s almost a different horse when she’s leading a group from when she’s in the middle or at the end of it. Why is that?”
“It’s true of a lot of horses,” Carole said. “And it’s one of the things that sometimes makes it hard to ride on trails with groups. A horse in the middle of a pack is going to be influenced by the horse right in front of it. That’s partly because it’s likely the horse feels somesort of competitive spirit with the horse in front. Part of it is that they take signals from the front, too, so if the horse in the lead begins the canter, the ones behind will follow, even before riders ask for it.”
“I’ve noticed,” Lisa said, “and I don’t like it. I like to be the one to tell my horse what to do.”
“Absolutely,” Kate agreed. “You have to be. Otherwise, the horse will just stop paying attention to you. There are a couple of tricks I learned that might help you with that. The best I found was to keep a fairly tight rein and to keep it moving—just a tiny bit. What I mean is that even when nothing else is going on, you wiggle the rein slightly. It’s like the start of a signal, but without a message. It doesn’t tell the horse anything; it just gets his attention.”
“That makes sense,” Lisa said. “I’ll try it.”
“It won’t stop Chocolate from
wanting
to play follow-the-leader with the other horse. It’ll just keep her from doing it,” Stevie added.
“You know what I’ve been wondering,” Christine asked, “is how I can get some cowboy boots to wear in the parade on Saturday. I’ve outgrown the ones I have.”
“We’ve got a whole lot of them at the ranch to lend to guests. You can take your pick,” Kate offered.
“That would be great. Thanks.” Christine smiled.
“So, now that we’ve taken care of Christine’s feet, what are we going to wear on the rest of our bodies?” Stevie asked.
“Hey, she’s right!” Lisa said. “A parade’s a parade!We can’t go just wearing jeans and plaid shirts, can we?”
“No, I think we also ought to wear socks, and hats—”
“Very funny, Stevie,” Lisa said.
The girls talked about that for a long time. The only conclusion they could come to was that they ought to wear something special for the parade.
“After all, we need to look like a
team
,” Lisa declared.
“A team of what, though—that’s the question,” Stevie remarked.
“A team of winners,” Carole said firmly, leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind about Carole’s determination. “We’ll practice; we’ll win. It’ll be good for the rodeo, good for us, and most of all, good for The Bar None.”
“What exactly is the prize?” Stevie asked.
“Five hundred dollars,” Christine said. “And the individual winner gets one hundred.”
“Wow! That’s six hundred dollars! We can have a blast with that! Let me see—” Stevie began calculating out loud. “That’s a hundred and twenty apiece or, really, one hundred each except for Kate, who would get two hundred—”
“Wait a minute,” Kate said. “There’s no guarantee I’d win the individual—”
“But you’re the most experienced rider among us,” Carole reasoned.
“That doesn’t make me a rodeo champ. But anyway,I’m in this for The Bar None, so if I win anything the money is going to the ranch.”
Lisa smiled. It was right. Just plain right. She looked at her friends to see what they thought. They all liked the idea.
“That would buy a lot of shingles and paint,” Kate said. “It would pay for the new toilet we need in Cabin Four. It might even buy some new tack for the horses, or a new tent for the round ups.”
“And a game of Pictionary?” Stevie added.
The girls laughed.
“Well, count me in on that,” Carole said, more seriously now. “Anything I win goes to the ranch, too.”
“Me, too,” Lisa said.
“Me, three,” Christine
“Well, she seems like she’s almost a different horse when she’s leading a group from when she’s in the middle or at the end of it. Why is that?”
“It’s true of a lot of horses,” Carole said. “And it’s one of the things that sometimes makes it hard to ride on trails with groups. A horse in the middle of a pack is going to be influenced by the horse right in front of it. That’s partly because it’s likely the horse feels somesort of competitive spirit with the horse in front. Part of it is that they take signals from the front, too, so if the horse in the lead begins the canter, the ones behind will follow, even before riders ask for it.”
“I’ve noticed,” Lisa said, “and I don’t like it. I like to be the one to tell my horse what to do.”
“Absolutely,” Kate agreed. “You have to be. Otherwise, the horse will just stop paying attention to you. There are a couple of tricks I learned that might help you with that. The best I found was to keep a fairly tight rein and to keep it moving—just a tiny bit. What I mean is that even when nothing else is going on, you wiggle the rein slightly. It’s like the start of a signal, but without a message. It doesn’t tell the horse anything; it just gets his attention.”
“That makes sense,” Lisa said. “I’ll try it.”
“It won’t stop Chocolate from
wanting
to play follow-the-leader with the other horse. It’ll just keep her from doing it,” Stevie added.
“You know what I’ve been wondering,” Christine asked, “is how I can get some cowboy boots to wear in the parade on Saturday. I’ve outgrown the ones I have.”
“We’ve got a whole lot of them at the ranch to lend to guests. You can take your pick,” Kate offered.
“That would be great. Thanks.” Christine smiled.
“So, now that we’ve taken care of Christine’s feet, what are we going to wear on the rest of our bodies?” Stevie asked.
“Hey, she’s right!” Lisa said. “A parade’s a parade!We can’t go just wearing jeans and plaid shirts, can we?”
“No, I think we also ought to wear socks, and hats—”
“Very funny, Stevie,” Lisa said.
The girls talked about that for a long time. The only conclusion they could come to was that they ought to wear something special for the parade.
“After all, we need to look like a
team
,” Lisa declared.
“A team of what, though—that’s the question,” Stevie remarked.
“A team of winners,” Carole said firmly, leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind about Carole’s determination. “We’ll practice; we’ll win. It’ll be good for the rodeo, good for us, and most of all, good for The Bar None.”
“What exactly is the prize?” Stevie asked.
“Five hundred dollars,” Christine said. “And the individual winner gets one hundred.”
“Wow! That’s six hundred dollars! We can have a blast with that! Let me see—” Stevie began calculating out loud. “That’s a hundred and twenty apiece or, really, one hundred each except for Kate, who would get two hundred—”
“Wait a minute,” Kate said. “There’s no guarantee I’d win the individual—”
“But you’re the most experienced rider among us,” Carole reasoned.
“That doesn’t make me a rodeo champ. But anyway,I’m in this for The Bar None, so if I win anything the money is going to the ranch.”
Lisa smiled. It was right. Just plain right. She looked at her friends to see what they thought. They all liked the idea.
“That would buy a lot of shingles and paint,” Kate said. “It would pay for the new toilet we need in Cabin Four. It might even buy some new tack for the horses, or a new tent for the round ups.”
“And a game of Pictionary?” Stevie added.
The girls laughed.
“Well, count me in on that,” Carole said, more seriously now. “Anything I win goes to the ranch, too.”
“Me, too,” Lisa said.
“Me, three,” Christine
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