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Authors: Bonnie Bryant
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and spreading it out in the stall. And then the minute Red brought Nickel into the stall, he produced a fresh load of manure. I know horses do that all the time and it doesn’t mean anything at all, but at the time, it seemed like a perfect comment on the worth of all my work.
I was about to throw down the pitchfork when Max arrived.
“Red,” he said. “I need you to ride out to the woods. Some riders reported that there was a coyote by the quarry. Can you head out there to see if there are any signs of it?”
“But Max, I’m about to demonstrate grooming techniques for this group.”
“Stevie can do that just as well as you can,” Max said, “and she can’t ride out to the quarry. Right, Stevie?”
“Right, Max,” I said. I was only too happy to put down the pitchfork (instead of throwing it down) and I was flattered that Max recognized my skills as a groom. Actually,they are legendary. I’m known throughout Pine Hollow as the best hoof picker in the place!
Red tacked up Diablo and headed for the woods. I cross-tied Penny in the stable aisle and pulled the hoof pick out of my pocket.
“The first thing you do when you begin grooming is to pick dirt and stones out of the horse’s hooves.” I held up the hoof pick. “I begin with the front feet, like this—” I showed them how you pat the horse above the leg and then you run your hand down his leg so he isn’t surprised by the touch of your hand.
“It reassures them,” I said.
“That’s not the way Red did it when Reuben’s horse was having a problem in class,” said Natalie.
“Yeah, wasn’t he funny?” Mark commented.
Leslie actually giggled, thinking back on whatever it was that Red had done.
“I wasn’t there,” I said. “I don’t know why he did it differently, but this is the way
I
do it.”
That doesn’t sound very nice, I know, but I was annoyed. I followed my routine and picked the pony’s hooves. Then I started the grooming.
There’s a lot you can talk about while you’re grooming a horse or a pony. You can talk about why it’s good for the horse. You can talk about why they like it. You can talk about why you do all the things in a certain order, or you can talk about how often you do it or why you start at the horse’s head and work backward or why sometimes thehorses need reassurance and why sometimes they just stand still and love every second of it. There’s plenty to say and I didn’t say any of it. I just talked about Merlin.
“Every horse needs to be groomed. Every horse, that is, except Merlin.”
“Who’s Merlin?” Leslie asked. That was all the cue I needed.
“
What’s
Merlin is a better question. Nobody’s really sure whether he exists or not.”
“Isn’t Merlin King Arthur’s magician?” asked Natalie.
“Maybe,” I said. “Maybe he’s something more, too. I mean I don’t really know. Red told me not to say anything about Merlin to you. He didn’t think you’d be interested. He’s probably right.” I know that wasn’t fair to Red, but he’d been stealing my thunder and I just couldn’t resist.
Before I said that, Reuben and Mark had been talking about how Penny swished her tail to get rid of flies. They stopped talking about Penny when I started talking about Merlin. Jessica had been gazing over to the refrigerator where her bag lunch was. She stopped gazing at that and started gazing at me. I just had to go on. Besides, not only am I the best hoof-picker at Pine Hollow, I’m hands down the best tall tale teller. I was just getting warmed up.
“Tell us more!” Leslie said. If I’d needed any more prodding, that was it. I told them more.
“If Merlin exists—and like I said, nobody’s really sure about that—he lives in the forest.”
“
This
forest?” Leslie asked, pointing out the window to the woods beyond the fields of Pine Hollow.
“Maybe,” I said. “
If
he exists. Anyway, according to legend …”
Legend
is a word you should always use when you’re
I was about to throw down the pitchfork when Max arrived.
“Red,” he said. “I need you to ride out to the woods. Some riders reported that there was a coyote by the quarry. Can you head out there to see if there are any signs of it?”
“But Max, I’m about to demonstrate grooming techniques for this group.”
“Stevie can do that just as well as you can,” Max said, “and she can’t ride out to the quarry. Right, Stevie?”
“Right, Max,” I said. I was only too happy to put down the pitchfork (instead of throwing it down) and I was flattered that Max recognized my skills as a groom. Actually,they are legendary. I’m known throughout Pine Hollow as the best hoof picker in the place!
Red tacked up Diablo and headed for the woods. I cross-tied Penny in the stable aisle and pulled the hoof pick out of my pocket.
“The first thing you do when you begin grooming is to pick dirt and stones out of the horse’s hooves.” I held up the hoof pick. “I begin with the front feet, like this—” I showed them how you pat the horse above the leg and then you run your hand down his leg so he isn’t surprised by the touch of your hand.
“It reassures them,” I said.
“That’s not the way Red did it when Reuben’s horse was having a problem in class,” said Natalie.
“Yeah, wasn’t he funny?” Mark commented.
Leslie actually giggled, thinking back on whatever it was that Red had done.
“I wasn’t there,” I said. “I don’t know why he did it differently, but this is the way
I
do it.”
That doesn’t sound very nice, I know, but I was annoyed. I followed my routine and picked the pony’s hooves. Then I started the grooming.
There’s a lot you can talk about while you’re grooming a horse or a pony. You can talk about why it’s good for the horse. You can talk about why they like it. You can talk about why you do all the things in a certain order, or you can talk about how often you do it or why you start at the horse’s head and work backward or why sometimes thehorses need reassurance and why sometimes they just stand still and love every second of it. There’s plenty to say and I didn’t say any of it. I just talked about Merlin.
“Every horse needs to be groomed. Every horse, that is, except Merlin.”
“Who’s Merlin?” Leslie asked. That was all the cue I needed.
“
What’s
Merlin is a better question. Nobody’s really sure whether he exists or not.”
“Isn’t Merlin King Arthur’s magician?” asked Natalie.
“Maybe,” I said. “Maybe he’s something more, too. I mean I don’t really know. Red told me not to say anything about Merlin to you. He didn’t think you’d be interested. He’s probably right.” I know that wasn’t fair to Red, but he’d been stealing my thunder and I just couldn’t resist.
Before I said that, Reuben and Mark had been talking about how Penny swished her tail to get rid of flies. They stopped talking about Penny when I started talking about Merlin. Jessica had been gazing over to the refrigerator where her bag lunch was. She stopped gazing at that and started gazing at me. I just had to go on. Besides, not only am I the best hoof-picker at Pine Hollow, I’m hands down the best tall tale teller. I was just getting warmed up.
“Tell us more!” Leslie said. If I’d needed any more prodding, that was it. I told them more.
“If Merlin exists—and like I said, nobody’s really sure about that—he lives in the forest.”
“
This
forest?” Leslie asked, pointing out the window to the woods beyond the fields of Pine Hollow.
“Maybe,” I said. “
If
he exists. Anyway, according to legend …”
Legend
is a word you should always use when you’re
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