“So, what’s going to happen to Alexander?” Jasmine repeated her question. “Are you going to adopt him?”
“Not me,” Corey said. “I’ve thought really hard. Alexander needs someone who can be with him all the time, someone who can be his best friend, who will keep him company and look after him if he decides to run away again.”
“So you have to give him up?” May asked.
“Not exactly,” said Corey. “Mom and I think the perfect home for Alexander is our stable.”
“I thought you weren’t going to adopt him,” said May. She was confused.
“Not me,” said Corey. “Sam. Sam is a perfect best friend for Alexander. And Alexander seems to have helped him calm down, too.”
“Great!” said May.
“Whnnnhhhhh!” said Sam.
“Bleeeaaaaa!” Alexander bleated softly. By now he was half-asleep.
“The only problem is that the two of them chatter back and forth all the time,” Corey went on. “I’ll never be able to hear myself think in here!”
May and Jasmine laughed.
“I wonder what they talk about,” Jasmine said.
Corey shrugged. “Whatever best friends usually talk about.”
For a few minutes, an uncomfortable silence fell between the girls. They were each thinking about how the three of them hadn’t been talking much at all.
Then May spoke up. “Well, my plan worked,” she said.
“Stop bragging.” Jasmine grinned.
“What are you talking about?” Corey asked. “What plan?”
“My plan to get you back in the saddle,” May answered proudly.
“May said if we tried to push you into riding, it wouldn’t work. We had to wait until you were ready,” Jasmine explained. “I wasn’t sure, but as usual I went along with her. Boy, was it hard not to talk about ponies with you!”
Corey stared at her friends, amazed. “Do you know what I thought?” she said. “I thought you didn’t want to talk about ponies because I’m a terrible rider. I thought you guys agreed I shouldn’t ride anymore.”
Jasmine laughed. “Corey! How could you think a thing like that?”
“Easy,” Corey answered. “Sam and I were terrible at the drill demonstration.”
“At Pony Club I was telling Lisa Atwood about you and Sam,” Jasmine began. “She told me that she had a friend named Kate who stopped riding for a while, too.”
Corey remembered how Lisa had tried to give her some advice on the day of the drill. The older rider had seemed to know exactly how Corey felt. “Did Kate ever get back in the saddle?” asked Corey.
Jasmine nodded. “Eventually she decided she loved to ride, but she didn’t like to compete. It’s too much pressure.”
“I know that feeling,” Corey said. “I was so nervous that day. I have to learn how to handle shows better.”
“That’s true,” agreed May. “But Max says that horses and riders just have bad days sometimes. Maybe that’s what happened to you and Sam.”
Corey nodded. “I’ve done some dumb things this week. But I’ve learned a lot, too.”
“Oh really, Ms. Takamura,” May said. Jasmine and Corey laughed as she imitated her teacher’s high-pitched voice. “And would you like to tell the class what you’ve learned?”
“Yes, teacher,” Corey answered. “One thing is to be more patient with my pony. I also have to be more patient with his rider.”
“Very good,” May said. “Go on, please.”
“Another thing”—Corey smiled at her friends—“is that I love being part of the Pony Tails.”
“And we love having you,” Jasmine said quickly.
“And last, but not least, my mom reminded me to put animals first,” Corey said.
“Does that mean it was wrong to kidnap the kid?” Jasmine’s eyes were twinkling.
“Exactly,” Corey said, and at that the three of them burst out laughing.
As the merry sound filled the stable, Alexander woke up and opened his eyes.
“Bleeeaaa,” said the kid.
“Whnnnhhh,” Sam added from his stall.
Corey smiled happily. The two best friends were sharing secrets again—and so were the Pony Tails!
COREY’S TIPS FOR A HEALTHY PONY
Everybody knows that my mother is a vet. In her practice, she takes care of small animals, but she always says that anybody who owns an animal has to be part vet. That means that the owner is the most important person when it comes to the pet’s health.
The first thing a pony owner has to do is keep good records. At Horse Wise, our Pony Club, Max gives us forms for recording information. An owner can also keep a notebook for each horse or pony, or make up sheets for herself. The medical record should show when horses have problems and what treatment they get. They also need to show when the animal gets shots and gets wormed.
Also, every owner should keep records of a pony when he’s healthy. That way the vet will have something to compare it to when the pony gets sick.
For example, most ponies and horses have a normal temperature of about 100 degrees when they are healthy. If a pony’s temperature goes over 101 degrees, the owner should call the vet. Sam’s normal temperature is closer to 99.5 degrees, so when his goes over 100.5 degrees, I call the vet.
Two other things an owner has to watch are a pony’s pulse and respiration rate. That means how often his heart beats in a minute and how many times he takes a breath in a minute. You take a pony’s pulse by feeling under his chin by his jawbone. His pulse should be about forty-five beats a minute. If he’s just been exercising, it could be twice that and still be normal. But if he hasn’t been exercising and he’s got a fast pulse, it could mean he’s got a fever.
You can count the number of breaths a pony takes by watching his belly. A normal, relaxed pony breathes about twelve times a minute. If your pony is at rest and is panting, you’ll need to get some help.
Mom is a real stickler for getting pets immunized. She checks to make sure my records on shots are completely up to date. Horses can get a lot of diseases if they don’t get their shots on time. All horses and ponies have to be immunized against diseases like tetanus and distemper. You and your vet can talk about the schedule for these, as well as other vaccinations your pony needs.
I don’t like getting shots and neither does Sam! I always make sure to give him a lump of sugar, which cheers him up fast.
Another thing pony owners have to look out for is—Yuck!—parasites. Parasites such as worms live inside ponies, and others, such as fleas and ticks, live outside them on their coats. Ponies have to get preventive treatment for both kinds. Whenever the Pony Tails see ticks or fleas on our ponies, we get rid of them right away. They can make a pony very uncomfortable (as well as sick). An uncomfortable pony will find a way to make his rider uncomfortable, too!
The most important thing for an owner, Mom says, is to know what’s normal about the pony. If he’s usually well-behaved and then one day he’s fussy, it may be a sign that he’s coming down with something. Ponies, like people, have different moods (and boy, is that ever true of my pony!). When their moods are different from what their usual moods are, you’ll need to keep an eye on them.
Here are some danger signs to look for: swelling (anywhere on the pony), especially if the area is also warm; loss of appetite; bare spots on his coat; coughing; runny nose or eyes; general listlessness; and cuts or sores.
Now that I own a goat as well as a pony, I’m going to have to learn a whole new branch of veterinary medicine. First I’ll have to learn everything I can about what’s normal for Alexander. Then I’ll know if he gets sick.
A healthy pony is a happy pony, and a happy pony has a happy rider. So don’t forget my mother’s motto: When in doubt, call the vet!
Turn the page to continue reading from the Pony Tails series
1 The Horse Wise Meeting
“I wonder what today’s meeting is about,” Jasmine James said.
“I
don’t know,” said Corey Takamura. “Max didn’t tell us last week.”
It was Saturday morning. Jasmine, Corey, and their other best friend, May Grover, were waiting for their weekly Pony Club meeting to start. Their Pony Club was called Horse Wise. It met at Pine Hollow Stables, where the three girls also took riding lessons. Max Regnery was the owner of Pine Hollow and their riding teacher. He was the head of their Pony Club, too.
This week’s meeting was unmounted, which meant that Jasmine, May, and Corey had left their ponies at home. The three girls were neighbors, and they all kept their ponies in barns behind their houses. When the girls had mounted Horse Wise meetings, May’s father brought their ponies to Pine Hollow in his horse trailer.
“I hope this meeting isn’t something boring like rolling bandages,” May said.
Corey shrugged. “I don’t even mind doing that,” she said. “At least it still has something to do with ponies.”
“That reminds me,” Jasmine said, tucking a strand of her long blond hair back into its ponytail. “I meant to tell you guys about the model horse I saw when my mom and I were at the mall yesterday. Or rather, the model pony.” Jasmine loved model horses and had a big collection of them. May and Corey liked them, too, but they didn’t have very many. That didn’t matter, because Jasmine let them play with hers. It was part of being best friends. That was why the three girls called themselves the Pony Tails—they were best friends and they all loved ponies.
“A model pony?” Corey said. “What did it look like?”
“That’s the best part,” Jasmine said. “It looked just like Outlaw. It had the same kind of mask and everything.” Outlaw was Jasmine’s pony. He was dark brown except for a white mask on his face that made him look like an old-fashioned bank robber.
“It sounds perfect,” May said. “You have to get it!”
“I know,” Jasmine said. She sighed. “But it will take me forever to save up enough from my allowance. And Christmas is months and months away.”
Just then a girl their age named Erin Mosley leaned over to talk to them. Erin had been taking lessons at Pine Hollow for almost a year, but she had just joined Horse Wise. “Why doesn’t your mother just buy it for you?” Erin asked Jasmine. “My parents buy me anything I want. All I have to do is ask.”
“We weren’t talking to you, Erin,” May said, rolling her eyes. Erin was always bragging. Secretly, the Pony Tails thought Erin’s parents bought her things because Erin whined so much. That was one reason the Pony Tails didn’t like her. Another reason was that Erin was a goody-goody. She always tried to impress teachers and other adults, even if it meant being a tattletale.
Erin stuck her tongue out at May. “It’s a free country,” she said. “I can talk about anything I want.”
“Just ignore her,” Jasmine whispered to her friends. She didn’t like to make trouble.
“I heard that,” Erin said, glaring at Jasmine. “You think you’re so great. But you’re not. Your parents won’t even buy you a stupid toy horse.”
Jasmine’s face turned red, but she didn’t say anything.
May frowned at Erin. “You’d better shut up,” she warned.
“Don’t tell me what to do, May,” Erin said.
“Why shouldn’t she?” Corey said. “After all, it’s a free country.”
May and Corey laughed at the angry look on Erin’s face, but Jasmine didn’t join in. She hated fighting. She didn’t like Erin any more than her friends did, but she wished they could just be nice to each other.
Erin tossed her head, making her long blond hair bounce around her shoulders. “You guys had better watch out,” she said. “You always act like you’re better than everyone else. Just because you have your own ponies, that doesn’t make you anything special. You’d just better watch out.” Erin didn’t have her own pony the way Jasmine, May, and Corey did. She rode one of Pine Hollow’s schooling ponies, a peppy Appaloosa named Quarter.
“Don’t worry about her,” Corey whispered to Jasmine. “She’s all talk and no action. She wouldn’t dare do anything to us.”
Jasmine wasn’t so sure about that. She had seen the look on Erin’s face—and she was afraid that Erin wanted to make trouble for the Pony Tails.
2 Max’s Big Announcement
A few minutes later Max started the Pony Club meeting the way he always did—by saying, “Horse Wise, come to order!”
All the students stopped talking and turned to listen. Jasmine sat up straight as she waited to hear what Max would say.
“You’re probably wondering what we’ll be doing today,” Max said. “Well, I won’t keep you in suspense. We’re going to talk about equitation. Who knows what that means?”
Several students raised their hands. Max pointed to an older girl with light brown hair named Lisa Atwood. Lisa was a member of The Saddle Club. That was a group made up of three of the older riders in Horse Wise. Just like the Pony Tails, the members of The Saddle Club were best friends who loved riding.
“Equitation is another word for riding,” Lisa said. “In equitation classes at horse shows, the judges score a rider’s skills rather than those of her horse.”
“That’s right,” Max said. “To be good at equitation, a rider has to be in full control of herself and the horse. I’m going to have you practice your equitation as a big sister—little sister project for this week. At next week’s meeting, we’ll have an informal competition, complete with ribbons, to see what we’ve learned.” He waited for the excited chatter to die down, then continued. “At the end of this meeting you’ll be assigned partners to work with on your equitation. You can hold your first practice session right away. You should concentrate on flat work, with a little bit of simple jumping if you have time.”
Jasmine, May, and Corey exchanged excited glances. They liked working with the older girls in Horse Wise, especially when they were paired with members of The Saddle Club. They were nice, and they knew a lot about riding.
“This project sounds like fun,” Corey whispered. “I’ve never been in a horse show before.” She hadn’t been riding at Pine Hollow as long as her friends. May and Jasmine had taken part in several competitions against other local Pony Clubs.
“I can’t wait,” May agreed, squirming happily. “I wonder who my partner will be?”
“I hope I get Carole,” Jasmine said, as softly as she could. She glanced at Max as she spoke. She knew he hated to catch his students whispering when he was talking. Still, when there was exciting news like this to talk about, it was hard to keep quiet.
“Me too!” May whispered back. Carole Hanson, another member of The Saddle Club, was the best rider in Horse Wise.
Erin heard them. “Don’t count on it,” she whispered. “Why should you three always hog the best big sisters? I want Carole to be my partner this time.”
“Poor Carole,” May said sarcastically. Unfortunately she forgot to whisper.
Max looked over at them and frowned. “Do you have a question, May?” he asked.
“No,” May said with a weak smile. “Sorry.”
As Max continued to talk about equitation, Jasmine snuck a glance at Carole Hanson. Carole was friendly and easy to talk to, and she knew a lot about horses. Jasmine was sure she could win a blue ribbon at the competition next week if she was Carole’s partner. She could already picture how nice the ribbon would look on the bulletin board above the desk in her room. That was where she always hung her A-plus papers and the special awards she won at school.
Suddenly Jasmine realized she hadn’t been paying attention to what Max was saying. Even if she got Carole as a partner, she wouldn’t win the competition if she didn’t know what she was supposed to be doing. She listened carefully as Max talked about aids—signals to tell a horse what to do. He also discussed posture, mounting and dismounting, and all the other things that would be judged in an equitation class at a horse show.
“But the key word for our own little show next week is teamwork,” Max said. “That
and plenty of practice will be the keys to a good performance.”
Jasmine, May, and Corey smiled at each other. They were good at teamwork. After all, that was what the Pony Tails were all about.
3 Picking Teams
Finally Max looked at his watch. “That’s it for today,” he said. “I’ll assign the teams. Then you can get together and start practicing.”
Before Max could go on, Erin raised her hand.
“Yes, Erin?” Max said.
“I’d like to be Carole Hanson’s partner,” Erin announced in the polite voice she always used when talking to adults. “Please? I just know she and I would work very well together.”
“Thanks for your enthusiasm, Erin,” Max said with a smile. “And I’m sure Carole is flattered. But I’ll be drawing the names out of a hat. That will make things fair for everyone.”
“Oh.” Erin lowered her hand and sat back, pouting just a little.
May couldn’t believe Erin’s nerve. How dare she just raise her hand and request to be paired with the best rider in the group!
“She sounded like she thought she was going to get exactly what she wanted, just because she asked,” Corey said quietly.
“I know,” May whispered. “She’s like that at school, too. The problem is, she usually gets away with it there.” The three friends were all in different third-grade classes at Willow Creek Elementary School. Erin was in May’s class. “The teachers all love her,” May added.
Corey glanced over at Max. “Shhh,” she said. “He’s getting ready to pick the names.” She crossed all the fingers on both her hands. “I hope I get someone good!”
Max was holding two hard hats, each filled with little slips of paper. He pulled a slip out of one of the hats and read it. “The first little sister is Corey Takamura,” he announced.
Corey let out a squeak of excitement and crossed her arms for an extra bit of luck. She held her breath and waited.
Pony Tails 06- Corey in the Saddle Page 5