A Star Discovered

by JoAnn S. Dawson

  “Well, I couldn’t do anything right away because I had just put Heath down for a nap. I made sure he was asleep, and then I went outside.”

  “Then what?” Jody asked after a maddening pause.

  “Oh, well, then I saw Star in my back yard eating grass, so I got a carrot.”

  If Annie stopped talking one more time, Mary was sure she would burst. “Can you tell us the rest of the story, Annie? Did he run away from you?”

  Calmly walking away from the girls and up the lane toward Lucky Foot Stable was Annie Mooney.

  “Run away from me? Of course not,” Annie snorted. “He came right up and took the carrot and ate it, and then he followed me over to the door of the trailer. I reached inside and got my old dog Buster’s dog leash. Buster died a couple years ago, but I kept his leash to remember him by. Sometimes I have to put it on Heath, so he doesn’t run away when I take him for walks.”

  Jody could see from Mary’s expression that she really was about to burst, so she took over the questioning.

  “So then what happened, Annie? Did Star give you any trouble?”

  “Trouble? Of course not,” Annie repeated. “He was good as gold.”

  Mary and Jody could tell that they weren’t going to get any more information out of Annie, so they walked in silence the rest of the way back to Lucky Foot Stable. When they reached the open back door, Annie handed the end of the leash to Jody.

  “Here you go,” she said.

  Jody took the leash and turned to walk Star to his stall.

  “Thanks a lot, Annie,” Mary said generously.

  “I need Buster’s leash back,” Annie replied.

  “Oh sure. I’ll get it,” Mary said, following Jody into the stable. She retrieved the leash and handed it to Annie.

  “Well, I guess I’ll see you later,” Annie said. She turned and walked back to the house trailer.

  Jody joined Mary at the door, and they watched together as Annie opened the squeaky screen door of the trailer and went in.

  “I can’t figure her out,” Jody said.

  “I can’t figure out how Star got behind the trailer without us seeing him,” Jody replied.

  “He must have been in Mr. McMurray’s front yard when we were in the back, and then when we ran around to the front, he must’ve gone around the other side of the house and run down to the trailer,” Mary surmised.

  “I think he ran away in the first place because he’s dying for some grass,” Jody decided. “I feel bad that Lady and Gypsy get to go out in the pasture with the cows, and Star has to stay in the old dirt paddock and eat hay.”

  “I know, Jode. But you know Mr. McMurray won’t let him out there. He’s already mad about Lady and Gypsy ‘eating up his prrrofits,’” Mary said, imitating Mr. McMurray’s Irish brogue.

  “Well, Mr. McMurray lets us walk him around the farm and graze him. He doesn’t mind when he eats grass outside of the pasture. Maybe we should tie him out somewhere where he can graze.”

  Mary nodded, thinking over the possibility. “There’s a lot of grass behind the tractor shed,” she said. “Let’s go back there and see if there’s anything to tie him to.”

  The grass behind the shed grew thick and lush, because it was not fenced in and never used to graze livestock. This is where Mr. McMurray kept all of the farm equipment that wouldn’t fit under the roof of the tractor shed. Mary and Jody walked around the open field, eyeing the beautiful grass and looking for a place to tie Star.

  “There’s really not much open space,” Jody observed. “The equipment is too close together.”

  “I know, but . . . hey, how about over there?” Mary pointed to a spot at the right corner of the field. There was only one piece of machinery there, and it was surrounded by open spaces of bright green grass.

  “That’s good, but what can we tie him to?” Jody wondered. “I was hoping there would be a tree or something.”

  “Well, we can tie him to that thing, whatever it is,” Mary replied.

  “I think that’s what Willie uses to work up the fields,” Jody said. “I helped him hook it to the tractor one day. But it’s not a plow, it’s a . . . a . . . I think he called it a springtooth harrow or something like that.”

  The machinery in question was low to the ground and possessed a series of curved teeth in rows, the blunt points of which rested on the grass.

  “See, when Willie gets out to the field he lowers the teeth and they dig up the ground,” Jody explained.

  “Well, whatever,” Mary said impatiently. “I think we could tie Star to this, and he’ll have plenty of room to walk all around it and graze to his heart’s content. Maybe that’s why he’s so ornery; he needs some grass to fill up his belly and calm him down.”

  “It sounds like a good idea, but maybe we should ask Willie first,” Jody suggested.

  “We can’t ask him. He said he was going to town after milking. And besides, he wouldn’t mind. Willie always says grass is the best thing for a horse.”

  So the girls ran back to Lucky Foot Stable and led Star from his stall. They were halfway to the open field when Jody stopped. “Um, Mare, we have everything but the rope! I think we’re going to need a rope to tie him out with,” she said facetiously.

  “Oh yeah,” Mary giggled. “Hmmm, let’s think.”

  “I know!” Jody remembered. “There’s a long brown rope all curled up and hanging near the hayloft in the barn. I remember seeing it when we were building our hay fort. And it even has a clip on the end!”

  “I’ll get it!” Mary yelled. Before Jody had even reached the grassy field with Star, Mary was back with the length of rope. The girls led Star through the field of equipment until they came to the place where the harrow sat.

  “I know how to tie a slip knot!” Jody bragged. “My dad taught me. Here, Mare, you hold Star and I’ll get the rope ready.”

  Mary allowed Star to drop his head and begin grazing while Jody threaded one end of the rope around a harrow tooth and expertly tied a knot that could easily be untied by pulling on that end, but not the other end, no matter how strongly Star might pull back. Jody clipped the rope to Star’s halter, but he was so busy grazing that he didn’t even notice the transfer from his lead rope to the long rope.

  “See, he was starving for grass,” Mary said. “He’s going to love this!”

  Mary and Jody sat down a short distance away and watched Star wander in a circle, sniffing the grass as if looking for the most succulent blades. Suddenly he turned and blinked at the girls once, raised his head, and looked around. Seeing no fence, and sure that he was free of restraints, he threw up his head and trotted away.

  “Uh-oh!” the girls said in unison, jumping up from their seat on the grass. But before they could reach Star, he came to the end of his rope. His head jerked around and he was thrown off balance, but he stayed on his feet. He snorted and shook his head, and the surprised look on his face made the girls laugh in spite of their worry about him breaking his neck.

  “Oh, Star, are you OK?” Jody said sympathetically, patting him on the shoulder.

  “Good thing he didn’t get up much speed,” Mary observed. “I think he knows now that he’s tied. But we’d better watch him for a while to be sure.”

  So the girls sat down once again and watched Star go back to grazing. He didn’t try another trot, but occasionally he would come to the end of the rope at a walk. When he realized he could go no further, he would turn quietly and go another route.

  “He’s getting the hang of it now,” Jody said proudly. “He is so smart!”

  “I think we could leave him out overnight, don’t you?” Mary suggested. “I’ve got to get home soon, and so do you. It would be a shame to take him in so soon, when he’s enjoying himself so much. And he understands the rope now, I think.”

  “Hmmm, I don’t know, Mare. Do you think he’ll be OK?” Jody worried.

  “Sure he will. We’ll be back first thing in the morning. He can eat all this grass down tonight,
and tomorrow we’ll tie him someplace else. I really think the grass will help him calm down, and then he’ll be good for the show next week!”

  “Well, OK,” Jody agreed, “but we’ve got to get him a bucket of water. Help me carry it over from the stable.”

  So the girls carried the water, one on each side of the bucket, to Star’s grazing spot. They watched him a little longer to make sure he was concentrating on grazing and not escaping, and then rode home on their bikes in the summer twilight.

  5

  Trouble in the Field

  THE NEXT MORNING dawned bright and sunny, and Mary and Jody, by pre-arrangement, met earlier than usual at Lucky Foot Stable. The instant their bikes were parked on the gravel lane, they were off to the grassy field behind Mr. McMurray’s tractor shed to check on Star.

  “I wonder if he drank all his water,” Mary said as the girls skipped across the lane toward the shed. “We’ll have to get the bucket and fill it up again.”

  “I think we should bring him in right away and try loading him again, like Willie said,” Jody suggested. “He left the truck parked on the barn hill for us.”

  The first thing the girls noticed when they rounded the corner of the shed was that the water bucket had been knocked over. The second thing they noticed was that Star was lying down.

  “Star!” Mary called across the field. “Get up, you lazybones!”

  “That’s funny, Mare . . . he usually doesn’t lie down like . . .” Jody stopped in mid-sentence. Something about the way Star was lying there didn’t look right, and both girls knew it at the same instant. Without another word, they took off at a dead run across the field.

  The reason for Star’s unnatural position was horribly revealed as the girls approached. The long rope they had used to tie him to the springtooth harrow was now wrapped over and around and through the teeth of the machine until it had gotten so short that Star was thrown to the ground and trapped, not able to stand or move. Under his feet, the grass had been reduced to bare dirt where he had fought to get up. His cheek was resting on the flat side of one of the teeth, and he was groaning low in his throat.

  “Star!” Mary and Jody screamed, dropping to their knees.

  “Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no,” Jody wailed, tugging in vain on the slipknot, which had tightened beyond her strength during the struggle. “Mary, go get Willie!”

  Mary was gone in a flash. Jody gave up on the slipknot and tried to unhook the snap from Star’s halter, but it was twisted and unyielding. As she worked, Star looked up at her desperately and tried again to get his legs under him.

  “Shhh, boy, don’t move, don’t move,” Jody sobbed, stroking the side of his head. “Willie will be here soon.”

  No sooner had the words passed Jody’s lips than the rope binding Star to the harrow was cut just below his halter ring with one swift motion. Willie jammed the blade of his pocketknife into the ground and gently lifted Star’s head so that his cheek was away from the harrow tooth. Mary and Jody gripped each other’s hands, watching Willie with tears streaming down their cheeks as he cradled the colt’s head in his arms and stroked his neck.

  “Come on, buddy, you’ll be alright,” Willie murmured, running his hand down Star’s front legs, feeling along the cannon bone and pasterns. Star rested his head on Willie’s leg and moaned once more, exhausted from his nightlong struggle with the harrow.

  No sooner had the words passed Jody’s lips than the rope binding Star to the harrow was cut.

  “You girls, go get a smaller bucket from the milk stable,” Willie instructed, “and put a little water in it. He needs a drink. Then we’ll try to get him up.”

  The girls were back with the water in an instant. Willie supported Star’s head while Jody held the bucket to his lips and Mary looked on, saying a silent prayer. Star raised his head a little higher, sniffing listlessly at the water.

  “C’mon, boy, just take a little sip,” Mary whispered. “You’ve got to.”

  Star lipped at the water once more, then he lowered his muzzle and took a real drink.

  “Good boy, good boy,” Jody murmured through her tears. Willie rubbed Star’s neck and shoulder vigorously in an effort to get the circulation going and encourage him to stand.

  “That’s enough water, Jody,” he said gruffly. “That should perk him up. Now stand back so he has room to get his legs under him.”

  Jody obeyed Willie’s order just in time to avoid being hit by Star’s front hooves.

  He suddenly sat up on his haunches and stretched them in front of him, searching for the strength to push himself up from the slippery grass. He groaned once more from the effort, his muzzle lowered almost to the ground.

  “Here, Jody, you stand at his head and hold onto his halter,” Willie instructed. “I’m gonna give him a little help from behind. Just watch out for his front feet when he goes to stand up.”

  Willie crouched behind Star, and while Jody tugged gently on his halter, Willie lifted the struggling colt’s haunches with all his strength. Star rocked to and fro once more, and then with a grunt from deep in his chest, he hoisted himself to his feet.

  Mary and Jody refrained themselves from throwing their arms around his neck, afraid their weight would knock him over in his weakened state. He stood with his head down, snorting low through his nostrils while they stroked him softly on the shoulder. Willie was busy going from one leg to the next, running his fingers along the fine bones and searching for injuries.

  “Oh, Star, I’m so sorry,” Jody whispered. “I didn’t know you would get all tangled up like that!”

  “Willie, is he alright?” Mary asked fearfully. “Did he break anything?”

  “Don’t look like it, but it’s a wonder,” Willie said. “Lucky he didn’t get himself thrown down on top of the thing. Then you woulda had a mess. Now would one of you mind tellin’ me what the idea was of tyin’ him out here all night long with nobody watchin’ him?”

  Mary and Jody looked at their feet. Before they could answer, Willie continued, “First, you never tie any horse, a young’un especially, to a piece of machinery. In fact, you never tie them out to anything unless you’re there to watch them. Second, you never put a horse out on grass for that much time unless you get his stomach used to it first. You’re lucky he didn’t founder. Must’ve got tangled up early in the night, ‘cause if he had grazed all night long, you’d have a ruined colt right now.”

  No reply from Mary or Jody.

  “Now it looks like he’s gonna be alright—no broken bones or even any cuts or bruises. He’s just worn out from tryin’ to get himself on his feet all night. See if he’ll walk with you, Jody, and we’ll get him back to the stable.”

  Jody took a step and tugged gently on the lead rope. At first, Star simply stretched out his muzzle and sniffed her, unwilling to move.

  “Don’t stand so close, and give him a little more rope. Let him want to follow you, rather than pullin’ on him,” Willie suggested.

  Jody walked forward until she was holding the very end of the lead rope and stood patiently, waiting until Star felt ready to walk with her. He lowered his head and sniffed the ground.

  “Come on, boy,” Jody encouraged quietly, giving the gentlest of tugs on the rope. Star shook his head and finally took a tentative step forward, then another, until he was walking stiffly and laboriously behind Jody. Mary and Willie walked along beside them until the four of them reached Lucky Foot Stable and Star was safely inside his stall.

  “Now we’ve got to keep an eye on him all day and look for any swellin’ in his legs,” Willie said, watching as Star drank a little more water from his bucket. “In fact it might be a good idea to hose his legs down with some cold water to keep the swellin’ from startin’ to begin with. Mary, I want you to make up a hot bran mash, about half a scoop with a little molasses in it, and let him have that. And Jody, get a soft brush and brush him real gentle to see if you can find any sore spots, that way you can tell if there might be some bruises we can�
��t see. Then we can rub him with a little liniment to help his sore muscles.”

  Before Willie could finish his sentence, Mary was at the feed bin scooping up bran and Jody was selecting the softest brush she could find from her tack trunk. She went to Star and ran the brush tenderly over his whole body, mindful of any flinching he might do if she hit a sore spot. Miraculously, Star seemed fine except for a tender spot on the side of his head where it had rested on the harrow tooth and another on his shoulder where he must have rubbed it on the ground while struggling to stand. He even rubbed his head up and down, up and down on Jody’s arm just like he always did.

  “Oh, Star, don’t be nice to me. I don’t deserve it,” Jody cried, trying again to choke back her tears. “I promise I will never leave you alone again!”

  “You can leave him alone, just not tied out,” Willie said matter-of-factly. “Now there’s no use cryin’ over spilt milk. Lucky for everybody, he’s not really hurt. He’ll be feeling fine in a few days if you girls take good care of him.”

  “Willie!” Mary exclaimed suddenly. “What about the horse show? Can Star still go?”

  “We’ll just have to see how he feels. I don’t see why not, if he gets over his soreness by then. Maybe somethin’ good’ll come out of this, you never know.”

  “Something good?” Jody asked incredulously. “What do you mean, Willie? How could anything good come out of this?”

  “Well, I’ve seen it happen before, where somethin’ traumatic happens to a youngster, or even to an older horse, and it seems to calm them down,” Willie said, tugging on his ear lobe. “I don’t want to say his spirit is broken, but it might just be a little more relaxed. He might be ready to get over his ornery streak and get on about his business. We’ll just have to see.”

  Mary and Jody silently took in this bit of information and stood watching as Star sniffed at the hot bran mash, and then, discovering a nice lump of molasses, began to eat with almost as much enthusiasm as he ever did.