Joey

by Jennifer Bleakley

  More time passed without a solution. Disheartened but willing to try one more mare, Kim and her team decided to bring in Abby, a beautiful Percheron.

  The huge black draft horse had performed in dressage, the state fair, and the Special Olympics. But when the family who owned her were moving and could not take their beloved horse with them, Abby found a home at Hope Reins.

  Kim considered the two-thousand-pound beauty a great asset, as sweet as she was big. Nothing seemed to rattle Abby, although her sheer size prevented her from moving as fast as the other horses.

  Abby had eagerly followed Sarah from the large pasture to paddock two. She looked at Joey with curiosity. Joey seemed uninterested, and confirmed it by turning away from Abby and Sarah.

  But then Abby let out an eager, excited nicker. Her large hoof, the size of a dinner plate, stomped. Joey made an about-face and pranced over to Abby. In fact, his knees were raised so high that he appeared to be strutting. Joey stopped to sniff the air. The mare was standing ten feet in front of him.

  Sarah relaxed her hold on Abby’s line, praying the huge horse wouldn’t hurt Joey. She did have almost a thousand pounds on him. If Abby turned on Joey, it could get ugly. Joey took several more steps forward. Closer . . . closer. His nose bumped Abby’s side. The black mare was momentarily startled but settled down quickly. She breathed in Joey’s scent, sniffing his nose and his neck. Joey lifted his tail higher. He nickered and bowed his head toward her, bumping her chin with his. No biting, no rearing.

  Sarah unfastened Abby’s halter. Time for the real test to begin. Please be good to him, Abby, she silently pleaded.

  The first day passed without incident. On the second day Joey’s affection increased. He began nuzzling Abby, following her, and even nibbling along her back. Miraculously, Abby tolerated it all, including Joey’s lack of respect for personal boundaries.

  By day four, Kim, Sarah, and the whole Hope Reins team were feeling relieved. Abby seemed like a good match. Joey’s attempts to show off for Abby with his exaggerated prancing and elevated tail were actually comical and endearing to everyone. Abby, while not overly impressed, was at least accommodating to her lovesick pasture-mate.

  However, by the seventh day Joey’s affections had turned into an obsession. He started becoming aggressive toward anyone who entered the paddock, afraid that they were there to take Abby away. He would still welcome visits from Lauren, but he would position himself between her and Abby. Joey would charge other volunteers entering the gate, stomping and crying his displeasure. By day ten, he had become so unpredictable and dependent on Abby that Kim decided the two horses had to be separated. Sarah escorted Abby out while four other volunteers tried to control a whinnying, rearing, angry Joey.

  In the midst of the move, Sarah’s phone buzzed with a reminder that sessions were starting in ten minutes. She hurried Abby, as much as Abby could be hurried, back to her field.

  “He fell hard for you, didn’t he? But look at you! You’re gorgeous.”

  Abby’s long black mane hung over her eyes, giving her a wild look.

  “Joey will be okay,” she assured Abby, as well as herself.

  Once Abby was reunited with her pasture-mates, Sarah joined the other session leaders for a time of prayer before the families arrived. What had started as an obligatory going-through-the-motions routine before sessions had turned into a comforting occurrence for Sarah. Every day she found it a little easier to talk to God, whom she had ignored for so long. She still didn’t understand why he had allowed her to suffer such betrayal in her life, but she was starting to believe that he hadn’t completely forgotten about her.

  Sarah had not planned on being at the sessions today until Barb mentioned that Aly was coming.

  The girl had been back to Hope Reins a few more times since her first visit, but not since Speckles had died. Each time, she had worked with Joey—cleaning his paddock, leading him to the hitching post to be groomed, sitting in the saddle while Sarah led him around the arena. But she still had never uttered a word. As discouraging as it was, Sarah knew the time and effort were worth it, just for the way Aly looked at Joey with absolute love and trust.

  Sarah’s mind temporarily wandered as Kim prayed. I need to tell Aly that she won’t be able to work with Joey today. He was too volatile right now—especially after losing Abby mere moments before. She could hear him crying and knew he was frantically pacing. Oh, Joey.

  Sarah intercepted Aly and Cindy in the parking lot.

  “Aly is looking forward to seeing Joey again,” Cindy said, running her fingers through her daughter’s thick curls. “She’s been anxious to see him ever since you called us about Speckles.”

  Sarah remembered how difficult those phone calls had been. Kim had insisted that each session leader notify their Hope Reins families about Speckles’ passing. When Sarah got in touch with Cindy and explained the situation, Sarah heard her repeat it back to Aly. A few moments later Cindy had said that Aly wanted to know if Joey was okay. Sarah had been blown away at the girl’s insight and concern.

  Now she knelt down to Aly’s eye level.

  “Oh, Aly, I am so sorry, but I don’t think we will be able to work with Joey today. He’s really sad and mad that his friend Abby had to leave his field. He’s been kind of lonely without Speckles, and we tried to find him a new friend. But Abby isn’t the right buddy for him, and Joey’s pretty upset.”

  Sarah stood up to explain the situation to Cindy in more detail. The mother looked sympathetically at the pacing horse. Aly stood on her tiptoes and waved her mother toward her. Cindy tucked her hair behind her ear and listened to Aly’s whispered message, then smiled.

  “Aly would like to know if she could just sit outside Joey’s fence.”

  Sarah looked at Aly. What a sweet little girl.

  “That is a great idea, Aly! I think Joey would really like that. He needs a trusted friend right now.”

  While Sarah led Aly over to paddock two, Jo Anne invited Cindy to sit and talk.

  “Kiddo, we will need to stay back a little farther than usual today,” Sarah said, wanting to be very cautious with the distraught horse. “Joey is really upset about Abby getting taken out, and I don’t want him to accidentally do anything to hurt us.”

  Aly nodded, a look of understanding far beyond her years briefly crossing her face.

  “Hi, Joey,” Sarah called out. “I brought Aly over to see you. You want to say hi?”

  The horse kept pacing, and his cries got louder. Aly put her hands over her ears. Okay, maybe this was not such a great idea, Sarah chastised herself.

  And then Aly sat down several feet in front of Joey’s fence, hands still covering her ears, eyes glued on Joey. Sarah sat down beside her.

  The two sat in silence and watched the far-from-silent horse. Sarah clucked her tongue. No response. Joey continued expressing his displeasure.

  Sarah looked at Aly out of the corner of her eye and saw her sitting stoically. She no longer had her hands over her ears; now she was twisting a blade of grass with her fingers. At least five minutes passed before Joey calmed down a little. He stood close to the gate, releasing long, exaggerated sighs.

  Sarah motioned to Aly to stay where she was, while she approached Joey.

  “Buddy, are you settling down?” Sarah asked, tentatively reaching out her hand.

  Joey stomped the ground three times before sniffing her hand. Then he sniffed the air, clearly trying to detect where Abby was. With no results, he turned his head away from Sarah, yet made no effort to leave. Aly looked at Sarah, eyebrows raised in an unspoken question. Sarah nodded, inviting the little girl over.

  As Aly came closer, Sarah whispered to Joey, “You be good to her. We need gentle Joey right now.”

  Aly looked so small standing near Joey, her head barely reaching his lowered chin. Sarah held her arm out, keeping the little girl at a safe distance. When Sarah clucked her tongue and reached her hand out again, Joey accepted a stroke on his muzzle.

/>   “Aly, I’m going to get a treat for Joey. I want you to sit down right here and wait for me,” Sarah instructed, pointing to a spot ten feet away from the fence.

  The little girl followed Sarah’s instructions. As Sarah was leaving, she passed a staff intern who had been hired right after the successful fund-raiser.

  “Hilary, will you hang out with Aly for a few minutes? I’ll be right back.”

  Sarah jogged to the feed shed and grabbed two alfalfa-and-apple horse cookies. But what she saw on her way back to the paddock slowed her down.

  Aly’s head was bobbing slightly, and her hands were moving. As Sarah caught a glimpse of Aly’s profile, she noticed the little girl’s mouth was moving! Was she talking to Joey? Sarah watched in wonder as Joey’s head worked its way below the bottom fence rail and he began sniffing the ground in front of Aly. She was talking to Joey, and he seemed to be listening! Oh, Joey, if you only knew the gift you’ve just been given! What is she saying to you? Aly turned around. Sarah pretended to just notice her. She smiled and held out a horse cookie.

  “I think Joey needs a special treat,” she said. “What do you think?”

  Aly nodded decisively.

  Sarah walked up to Joey and clucked her tongue. He raised his head, honing in on the smell of his favorite cookie, and greedily took it from Sarah’s hand. Sarah motioned Aly over and showed her how to hold the second treat. Aly bravely reached her hand through the middle slats. Joey lowered his large head and gingerly took the offered cookie. A radiant smile lit up Aly’s face.

  Sarah would have given anything to know what the little girl said to the horse. But honestly, what she said didn’t matter nearly as much as the fact that she had said something. And, of course, it had been to Joey!

  “We have to get a companion for Joey,” Kim said several days later. “Which is why I’ve agreed to take Justin from the equine rescue league.”

  Not much was known about the reddish-brown quarter horse. He had shown up in the front yard of a woman’s farm in Johnston County, south of Raleigh. After contacting the authorities, who tried to find the horse’s owner without success, the rescue league began reaching out to local ranches. The volunteers there had named him Justin and described him as having a sweet, easygoing nature. He seemed a good fit for Hope Reins.

  “With our current session schedule so full and the large group session with the Ronald McDonald House families coming up, I don’t have time to make site visits,” Kim explained to her team. “So we’ve decided to take Justin on a trial basis. If he works out, great. If not, he will be returned to the rescue league. Who knows? Maybe Justin’s the one for Joey.”

  From the moment the medium-size gelding arrived, he and Joey got along. Justin accepted Joey, played with Joey, even attempted to guide Joey with gentle nips on the rear and head nudges. It seemed to be an instant connection—finally!

  Four days later, Kim watched the two horses grazing together. After sending up a silent thank-you to God for providing such a great match for Joey, Kim started to head back to her office. That’s when she saw Justin collapse—onto Joey! He just fell over, bumping into a very startled Joey before hitting the ground with a thud. Kim cried out for help as she went running into the pasture. But as she neared the fallen horse, his head jerked up, his legs straightened, and he stood up and began grazing, acting as though nothing unusual had happened.

  “What in the world!” Kim exclaimed. Justin seemed absolutely fine, and Joey, who stood unmoving and alert, didn’t seem to be hurt.

  Several volunteers had come running, all of them looking puzzled. Was it a stress reaction from the move? The team gave the horses some room and tried to proceed as normal. But two days later, it happened again.

  Kim called the rescue league, who sent a vet over to examine Justin. After running some tests and observing a third collapse, the vet gave Kim the news: Justin suffered from narcolepsy.

  “Narcolepsy!” Kim repeated, unable to keep from laughing.

  Although it was rare, the vet explained, horses could suffer from a sleep disorder that caused such extreme drowsiness that the animal fell asleep instantaneously. Keeping a horse that could fall down without warning and possibly injure a child didn’t seem the wisest idea. With his sleep attacks, Justin needed specialized care, more than Hope Reins could provide.

  “Leave it to us to find a narcoleptic horse to guide our blind horse,” Kim told her small staff and team of volunteers after the equine rescue league loaded Justin back onto their trailer. Justin had seemed like the perfect companion for Joey. Now that he was gone, they had to start the search all over.

  Kim and her team sat at the round table in the Hope Reins office, facing a large whiteboard listing the names and temperaments of their four remaining horses. Pros and cons to each pairing were written down. They knew better than to put a strong-willed alpha male in with Joey, so that eliminated three of the larger geldings. And they had already tried all the mares.

  They were down to one more option: Spirit. If the buckskin gelding didn’t work out . . . well, Kim just couldn’t even go there. Joey needed a pasture-mate; he was starting to show signs of withdrawing again. Lauren was working wonders with Joey, but he needed a horse companion.

  Granted, the wheat-colored horse with a midnight-black mane had a stubborn streak, but he also tended to let things just roll off his back. Spirit had been a rodeo performer, which had taken a significant toll on his knees. After sustaining injury after injury, he was retired and eventually found his way to Hope Reins. After an initial period of adjustment, Spirit had seemed to settle in well, although he still suffered from bad knee joints.

  He appeared eager to please and happy around people, but when a weather front would move in, or after a long training session—those times when he was in pain—he would let everyone know that he was not happy. On those days, he would become aggressive at feeding time, intolerant of anyone coming into his paddock. He was also prone to kick when in pain. Spirit’s limitations were similar to what Speckles had endured. Maybe that’s a good sign, Kim dared to hope. Spirit was currently in his own paddock, but Kim took the marker and wrote Spirit’s name next to Joey’s on the whiteboard.

  Kim arrived early at the ranch the next morning. She needed to spend a few quiet moments with Joey before Spirit was brought to the field. The impending introduction was weighing heavy on Kim. The what-ifs rapidly fired in her mind.

  What if this doesn’t work?

  What if we can’t find a pasture-mate for Joey?

  What if I’m not doing enough?

  She had more questions than answers because she couldn’t see how it was all going to play out.

  “Blind faith,” she whispered. The phrase had been running through her mind a lot these days.

  After greeting Joey with an apple and a rump scratch, she climbed into the hay box, just like she had done so many months ago.

  “Joey-bear, you’re going to meet a new horse today. His name is Spirit.” Kim wound a piece of hay around her finger. “He’s a lot like Speckles. At least I hope he will be, in all the ways that matter.”

  Joey had finished his apple treat and cocked his head at Kim as if to say, Oh, it’s you in my hay box again. “Oh, Joe,” Kim said, touching his nose, “I know it’s been hard without Speckles, and you have been through so much recently. But would you give Spirit a chance? We all need this to work out.”

  She handed Joey some hay. “We need you to come back to us. We miss you, Joey—sweet, goofy, gentle you. You think you can do that?”

  Joey nickered, making Kim laugh. “Good boy.”

  Now if only Spirit would be so agreeable.

  An hour later Spirit and Joey stood facing each other while Kim and a group of volunteers watched from outside the fence.

  Neither horse made a move for several tense moments. Then without warning, Spirit reared up and whinnied. Kim knew it was a show of dominance. Joey whinnied back and bobbed his head up and down. Spirit whinnied louder. Then silenc
e.

  Would Spirit bite? Kick? Charge? Instead, he simply walked several feet away and began to graze. Joey made no effort to follow him.

  “That’s it?” Kim whispered, more to herself than her helpers.

  The horses grazed for quite a while. Spirit made a few more dominance moves, but they were all for show—none were intended to hurt Joey.

  Feeling it was far too soon to assume the best, Kim continued to watch the two horses day after day. The days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months with no incidents. Joey had a new pasture-mate. They fell into an easy rhythm. It was not a bond like that he’d shared with Speckles, but it was a companionship that seemed to ease his loneliness and grief.

  Finally, Kim announced to her team at their weekly meeting that Spirit and Joey were official pasture-mates. “I’ll take the winner’s carrot to Spirit after the meeting,” Sarah chuckled.

  Everyone laughed, and the team released a collective sigh of relief.

  “Well, I guess it’s time to see if Joey’s ready to get back into sessions,” Kim said.

  The laughter faded. No one said a word for several seconds, each person looking to another for comment. Each afraid of the answer, the possibility that losing Speckles had left Joey permanently changed—that he wouldn’t be the same easygoing horse he had once been. Finally Lauren spoke up.

  “He’ll be ready.”

  CHAPTER 18

  “OW! GET OFF. JOEY, MOVE!” Lauren yelled from inside Joey’s paddock.

  It was the day after the staff meeting when she had confidently announced that Joey would soon be ready for sessions again. What was I thinking? At the moment, that question took a back seat to a far more pressing problem. En route to the open-air round pen for a training session, Lauren had almost made it to the gate when she had to sidestep a pile of manure. Joey, oblivious to the slight change in direction, kept walking, his hoof landing squarely on top of Lauren’s boot. Her yelp had brought the horse to a complete stop.