by Wendy Nickel
“I’d love to get a closer look at his hooves and legs, Ms Reid.”
“Call me Pammy. Yes, good. Let’s walk him over to the grooming pad. The light is better there and he could use some movement, I think.” She took the rope hanging just under Enzo’s halter and coaxed him to the stall door with a “Walk on, Enzo. walk on.”
Enzo’s ears were up at the sound of his name, and he took a few stiff, uneven steps toward the barn aisle. Cam slowly walked behind them as they made progress down to the groomer’s pad.
The poor kid’s hooves, all overgrown, were all different lengths as well. It made for some awkward steps and it looked painful for him to walk. Glancing ahead at the flooring on the pad, it was cement instead of a stall mat.
He looked around and asked about an extra stall mat since Enzo would need to stand for a bit.
Pammy threw her head toward the tack room next to the lounge. “There’s a small mat in there. Just grab it off the floor.”
“Did the former owner mention anything about the last time his feet had been looked at, Pammy?”
“Oh geez, this person had so much stuff, and so many minis crammed into her barn. It was a hoarding situation… I know Knox mentioned this property before and how he’d approached her once, a few months back, I guess? He went on to see if she needed any help there. She threw him off her land before he could really finish his offer.”
“That’s unfortunate. Yeah, Enzo looks like he’s in some pain. His gait is off,” noted Cam, processing how he might begin to work with his newest client. “I know he’s an older guy, 26? 27? So, I’m going to approach him as though he’s never had his feet looked at. Clearly, he has at some point in his life, but I want to gentle him in to having his legs and hooves touched and assessed.”
Pammy nodded as she clipped a rope to the side of Enzo’s halter and held the halter rope. Cam came to Enzo’s head, and Pammy stepped aside a bit to let him close, watching him like a hawk.
Cam squatted down so the horse could see Cam’s face. Cam touched Enzo’s chest, just above his front legs and said, ”Enzo, hi, I’m Cam. I’m going to be looking at and touching your legs and feet for a few minutes. I want to see if I can help you so it’s not painful to walk.”
Pammy’s jaw dropped open. And Josie, who’d been walking by, stopped and stared. No other vet or farrier had ever made such a formal introduction to a horse before getting down to work. Enzo gave a little nod, his mane gave a little flop as his head bobbed up and down.
Both women looked between Cam and Enzo, speechless.
Cam stood up and said out loud, “Okay, we’re all good to go here. I have one thing to get from my truck.”
He was out and back in a flash, tying on his leather farrier apron at the waist. He squatted back down along side of Enzo’s front leg. Gently, Cam encircled the top of Enzo’s leg, closed his eyes, and slowly felt his way down to the top of the hoof.
Enzo was entranced, almost hypnotized. He was visibly relaxed, with his eyelids half closed and his ears and mouth also relaxed. In that one smooth motion, he had Enzo’s hoof up and cradled in his hands.
“Let’s see what we’ve got in here, Enzo,” murmured Cam, his voice slow, low, and lulling. He reached for a hoof pick and began to gently scrape out the dirt, old muck and debris from inside of Enzo’s overgrown hoof.
“These are pretty long hooves you’ve got here, mister. Today I’m gonna focus on getting these cleaned out. We’ll give you a little bit of a trim, but not so much that you’ll be sore. Sound good?”
When all four legs and associated hooves had been seen to, picked, and trimmed, Pammy called Josie to walk Enzo around near the closest paddock so she and Cam could see how he was walking.
They studied the little horse as Josie walked him back and forth from barn to paddock. Two other mares from the paddock came down to the fence to watch, too.
“He’s got a pretty bad split in his back hoof, there, Pammy. And I didn’t trim much today at all. He’s already stiff and sore and I don’t want his feet to be sore from too much trimming all at once. I want to come back and take a little more every other day for a few weeks. He’s also been standing in a lot of wet muck, so there’s some bacteria growing that we’re going to need to take care of too. This all seem reasonable?”
“Yep,” said Pammy, nodding. “Yep, I agree. And he’s walking a little easier now too. Josie? Will you take him back and feed him a little bit of hay again, please? He’s due. Let’s talk about one or two others I need you to look at today, Cam. Then I’ll need care instructions in writing so Josie and I can both follow them.”
Josie walked by them on her way into the barn, Cam was gratified to see a seemingly shy smile creep to her face as she passed, and then rays of morning light shone between her and Enzo until they were both inside the cool darkness of the barn.
He nodded, and he and Pammy walked up the hill to where the other minis were out and grazing for the day.
6
Josie
When Cam first put his broad hands on Enzo’s front leg and felt his way down, Josie felt her whole body go hot. Her knees turned to marshmallows, almost swaying, unsteady.
She knew she was flushed from the neck up; she pulled at her collared polo shirt to try to cover as much now-blotchy red skin as possible.
Seriously, body? That’s pretty much a betrayal here, she accused. And then, without quite realizing it, went on with her dream.
His hands…one on each side of her face, her ears between his fingers, her jaw cupped in his hands. The clean scent of shavings, soap, and maybe a little whiff of alfalfa and the faintest hint of perspiration from his hard effort helping horses.
If she wasn’t so... warm, she’d swear she felt a bit faint at the thought of both hands feeling their way down to her shoulders and ghost-tracing her clavicle. She reached up unconsciously to touch the imagined backs of strong, seeking hands...
Sure, she had paused as she’d passed him, but she hadn’t meant to come full stop. But when she saw him squat down and have a look-him-in-the-eye… conversation? Was that what that was? A conversation with Enzo?
She couldn’t believe her eyes. Absolutely no other farrier that she knew of or had heard of ever, EVER did anything like that with any of the animals. And Josie had seen her fair share of videos about basic and intermediate hoof care in her short time there at the barn.
And the leg and hoof assessment? Goodness. That wasn’t distracting at all. She gulped hard and remembered she had some work to do. Horses first. Horses first. A mantra to remind her to keep her head on task at the barn and to try to hit the snooze button on her heart… at least while she was at work.
“Josie?” called Pammy from the groomer’s pad, a few hours later.
It was late morning by then, and Josie had been shushing and putting off the growls and flops coming from her midsection. Hungry. They started as intermittent mews and were growing stronger as the time was passing. They were up to angry-growl…and not far off from a roar.
“I need you in this meeting with Cam,” the tone in Pammy’s voice told her now, even if the exact word didn’t make it out of her mouth.
“Coming,” Josie called back, her hands already smoothing her hair, then pulling at her collar, before grabbing a pen off her desk and pulling her notebook from her back pocket.
She stepped out of the stall she was using as her office and pulled the steel door shut, securing the latch since the pig had figured out how to nose her way in, often leaving paperwork in chaos as she rooted for anything resembling a snack.
Josie hustled up to the pad where Cam had been trimming and rasping all morning. All of the horses were put back out in their paddocks. Pammy had been with Cam for the whole first session, sharing each horse’s story and just being there as the “momma,” offering safety for each one of her babies with the new guy being on the property and handling them. The pad looked funny, though.
Something was missing. Really missing. What was it?
> She squinted at it, trying to conjure just what it was that was absent, while she flipped the notebook cover open and got to the next free page. She stole a glance at Cam, saw him looking at her and her mouth pulled up a smile before she was really sure she wanted to give one.
She quickly turned her head to face Pammy, whose eyes were soft and her mouth relaxed. Josie had learned to read Pammy’s face and voice the same as every other creature in the barn. Pammy had come to a measure of trust with Cam already.
“Okay, what’ve we got?” Josie began, her pen at the ready.
Between Pammy and Cam, they relayed Enzo’s care plan, including new medications, doses, and frequencies. Plus, a new soaking regimen for Ahra and Easter.
“And I’ll be back the day after tomorrow to give another trim to Enzo,” offered Cam, looking directly at Pammy. “I went pretty light on him today, but I’d like to know if he seems sore later today or tomorrow.”
“Josie, you’re in early. Will you walk him up to the paddocks and back in the morning?” Pammy assigned, her voice confident and calm. It seemed she was in complete agreement with everything Cam had shared and suggested for care for all three horses on his first visit. “Go ahead and text both of us with an Enzo status later today and tomorrow morning?”
“Will do,” Josie acknowledged, the merest clip in her voice. Suddenly slightly annoyed, she closed the notebook with the hair tie, giving the final wrap an elastic snap before tucking it into her back pocket. “Sounds like a plan.”
What was going on? Where was her agitation coming from?
The other two didn’t seem to notice her, they were finishing up details, questions, and confirming that Pammy had Cam’s number in her phone.
Did she feel jealous? Of Pammy? No. This was Pammy’s place, and it was normal and in her nature to want to be around for a new farrier’s first visit. This didn’t feel like jealousy, exactly.
Was she put on the spot? No. It wasn’t that either.
What the heck was it then?
Left out?
No... well, maybe. Yep. That was it. They had pretty much spent the morning working together while Josie did boring paperwork, scheduling and calling in orders. That empty, left-out feeling was also paired with a growing growl in her belly and a bit of self-consciousness about flushing over thoughts of his hands on her earlier.
Did he or Pammy see any of that? A wash of shame came up. Ugh, so unprofessional. Seriously, not cool, J. You need to get it together and focus now.
She put a smile on and tried to make it more genuine than big. He was helping their horses. He was a good farrier. He was... unconventional, yes. And sensitive… and gentle, from what she’d seen so far.
And the groomer’s stall had been cleaned. Swept and completely cleaned. Usually a volunteer needed to give the groomer’s area a sweep when Knox was here. But it looked better now than it had yesterday. That’s it. That’s what had been missing. A mess.
He did that too?
With drowning molten eyes. Could the cosmos really be that golden, caramel and chocolate color?
Oh boy. A very full case of the feels.
It wasn’t even noon.
She had a standing late afternoon meeting with Pammy whenever new rescues were on the property. Before Josie made her way up the hill to Pammy’s house, she set up the used baby monitor and made sure the main module was on and working.
“You don’t have to do that,” assured Carrie, one of the regular volunteers. “I’ve got him.”
“I know, Carrie, but if you need anything, you’ll just be able to ask for it and I’ll bring it down,” explained Josie. “The reception out here isn’t completely awesome, as you know. It’ll just make me feel better to have it on. That’s all. I know you’re a champ… I wouldn’t leave him with anyone else.”
“I’m the only one here right now, Jo,” poked Carrie.
“You know what I’m sayin’... and you know you’re my favorite. Just don’t tell anyone else that,” she quipped back, throwing an arm around Carrie’s neck and dropping a loud, squishy peck on her cheek.
Carrie had trained Josie in just about every aspect of the barn since Josie got there as a volunteer and had been a strong voice in favor of Josie landing the barn manager gig.
“Won’t be long, Carrie,” she said as she pocketed the baby monitor speaker and gathered a clipboard with this and next week’s schedule on it.
“Not a problem. We’re gonna get to know each other a little bit, aren’t we, Enzo?” Carrie murmured as she adjusted his blanket and began to hum while reaching to stroke his neck.
“What do you think of Cam?” Pammy and Josie were up in the big house, sipping strong Assam tea with milk at the kitchen table and nibbling toasted English muffins with cheese broiled on top, the usual snack for their standing meeting.
Josie was about to take a biggish bite of her muffin, but put it back on her plate in order to give Pammy an answer. Truth was, at the mention of his name, Josie’s belly turned over like a ready-to-run engine.
She needed to focus her energy on maintaining the sparks and heat in her core and not letting the sudden flush climb up her neck again.
Her appetite had also made a break for it and was nowhere to be found, despite having had only a handful of seeds and coffee earlier.
“He seems really gentle,” she stated. It was totally the obvious thing to say, but nothing else came to her. She looked at Pammy. “What did you think of him?” Josie squirmed in her seat, but tried to keep it subtle. Her body was betraying her from the inside… she felt a rumbling thrum in her lower spine and hips.
It was a sudden vibration, not unpleasant, but definitely a “tell” for Josie. Her body heat scaled another few notches and she tried to focus on her muffin.
“He is gentle. All of the horses were really relaxed with him,” mused Pammy, taking another sip of her tea. “He talked with every single one of them, not just Enzo. I can’t decide if that was for my benefit or for the horse’s… or for both of us.”
“It was really… different.” Josie went ahead and took a bite, then covered her mouth to ask, “Did he talk about that with you at all? Explain it?”
“No. But he started each horse out with a little chat.” A thoughtful, almost wistful look passed over Pammy’s face, as though she was remembering something or was reminded of someone. “He looked each one in the eye, but not in a dominant way. That can be a tricky thing…especially with Ahra. But he managed it…she didn’t bite him.”
Josie’s eyebrows went up as she sipped her tea. Ahra, a young red rescue mare, was known for biting volunteers and veterinarians when they looked directly into her eyes.
“Hmm,” was all she could offer, given she was trying to strongarm her body into behaving and stick to the business at hand with Pammy.
“Hey, we also need to talk about the Christmas holiday in the next couple of days,” declared Pammy, going from thoughtful to all business in a heartbeat. “It’s almost Thanksgiving, and I feel like the details are just plain getting away from me right now. The weather, the holidays, all the bits that need to get squared away. And there’s definitely a cold snap coming. I can feel it. We need to make sure we have coats for everyone.”
Oh, thank goodness, Josie sighed on the inside and the rest of her nervous system calmed down in a flash. She nodded, turned a page in her notebook and looked up at Pammy expectantly for more details… she had all of the items Pammy mentioned already on her radar for the coming week.
“I also need to share a planner schedule I want to adopt for the barn.” Said Pammy matter-of-factly, looking directly into Josie’s face.
Josie’s expression changed by one degree toward concern and interest, while on the inside she felt attacked. Wait, wait…let her share some more…
Pammy continued to look pointedly at Josie. Awkward.
“Tell me more,” opened Josie, hoping like hell that those three words had not come out as a choke or a croak.
“We’re g
etting busier. Winter months are really unpredictable here. And all of the money that came in from the fundraiser really needs to be tracked and accounted for. That’s what I’ve been doing up at the house in my spare time,” she said this with a wink. “I want our systems to be on the ‘same page’. And I think I’ve found one that will work well for both of us.”
“I know you’ve got a lot going on in that little notebook, Jo,” she went on. “But I also need a set of systems I can refer to when you’re not here… or when you’re busy. It’s peace of mind more than anything. I’d have had it built already if I’d known we’d be needing one. You’re our first barn manager, after all.”
“Do you need anything online or digital in the systems stuff?” inquired Josie, half afraid to even ask, but still needing to.
“I can’t rely on it here. You know the connection is spotty at best for online,” replied Pammy; Josie nodded with relief. “We can’t be without an accurate plan to refer to and update if we get snowed in or if the electrical or cable wires break like they did five years ago…were you here when that happened?”
Josie shook her head and shuddered at the same time, “No. I missed that one.”
“Well, you can be grateful for that,” Pammy half smiled. “It was awful. And I’m not going through that again. Ever. So, I need you to be open to this new planner and scheduling thing with me. It’s new for both of us, but I think it’ll be helpful sooner rather than later.”
“All right. I’m in,” said Josie, only half-concerned that Pammy didn’t think she was doing a good job in terms of organizing and being prepared. “You want me to order it?”
“I’ve got one on it’s way for you. It’ll arrive here in a couple of days.” Now Pammy beamed a full smile. “I got you an orange one. Can’t change everything all at once now, can we?”
They each chuckled and moved on with their tea, muffins, and meeting, Josie’s appetite seemed to bubble back into existence with that little bit of laughter.