Read Online Friendly Foal by Dandi Daley Mackall - Free Book Online

winter. The vet says they’re fine. But whenever the cats go outside, they come back in and groan with stomachaches an hour later. Then they’re fine again. I keep my walks shoveled and salted just so the cats won’t have to walk in the cold snow. Any ideas for me?
    â€”Old-Timer
    Dear Old-Timer,
    Might be the salt on your walks, man! That stuff gets soaked in through cats’ paws. Plus cats lick it off their little doggies (paws). Lose the salt. Sounds like you four cats are a groovy foursome!
    â€”The Catman
    When it was my turn, I scrolled through e-mails and pulled out the easy ones. Seven of the questions had to do with problem horses who had been cooped up in stalls all winter. They cribbed or chewed on their stalls. They pawed and spooked at everything.
    The horses needed to get outside more. Anybody would go crazy from boredom just standing in a box stall night and day. I told them to turn out their horses as often as they could. And I suggested ways they could make the stall more fun with hay nets and toys.
    It was the first time I’d ever cut and pasted answers on the help line, copying the same answer for all seven e-mails. I felt bad and promised myself I’d never do it again. But I only had an hour, so I had to.
    I worked my way through the rest of the e-mails. One horse resented the new horse in the barn. One owner needed advice on cleaning out the frog, the V-shaped underneath part of the hoof. One girl needed me to tell her that her horse’s natural winter coat would have been a better protector than the stall blanket she’d left on all winter.
    The longest answer went to Confused in Colorado:
    Dear Winnie the Horse Gentler,
    Molly is the best Morgan in the whole world. Every day for the four months I’ve owned her, I brushed her from head to hoof. I thought she loved it. But a week ago she started acting weird. Whenever I’d get to her hindquarters, she’d lift her back leg, like she was going to kick me! It’s SO not like her! But now she does it every time I get near her rump or try to walk around her. Help!
    â€”Confused in Colorado
    Dear Confused,
    You’re smart to pay attention to your horse when she lifts her hind leg like that. With lots of horses, it’s their way of warning you they’ll kick. But I don’t think that’s what Molly’s saying to you. You said she loves the brushing, right? Well, I think she’s saying, “All right! Here she comes. She’s going to scratch and massage my leg again. I can hardly wait!”
    The hindquarters are hard for a horse to reach, especially in a stall. She’s ready for you to help her out. Good broodmares lift that hind leg when their foals get near. They’re ready to nurse their babies.
    Be careful until you’re sure this is what Molly’s saying to you. It’s possible she has a sore area or is ticklish. But I’ll bet if you go ahead and brush her (staying to her side, just in case), she’ll sigh a big thank you.
    â€”Winnie the Horse Gentler
    Pat ambled over just as I finished the last e-mail. All of my answers had been shorter than I would have liked. But I’d finished in time to get back to the barn and groom Amigo before Sal got there.
    â€œEverything hunky-dory?” Pat asked.
    â€œAll done,” I answered. “Except there are two bird questions I couldn’t answer. Want me to leave them until Hawk gets back?”
    â€œHot dog! No offense.” She waved at the collie pup in the nearest cage. “Hawk! Why didn’t I think of her before? That girl knows a lot about fish! She might be able to help me with the twit.”
    Hawk knows everything about birds, but Pat was right. Hawk knows her fish too.
    â€œDo you know how to reach her? Florida, right?” Pat queried.
    â€œI’ve got her number at home. I guess I could—”
    â€œTerrific! Call home. Then we’ll give that little