by Chris Platt
fourteen
“Relax, Jordan,” Jacob said. “You’re surrounded by four fences. Even if something crazy happens—which it won’t—you can’t go very far. There are three of us in here to help you, okay? Dan will be driving Suzie beside you to keep your horse going in a straight line, and we’ll be right here to help. You’re going to do fine.”
Jordan glanced over at Dan. He gave her a shy but encouraging smile.
Jacob readjusted Jordan’s hand position on the reins. “This will actually be easier than your English riding lessons because you won’t have to worry about cueing the horse with your legs. The turns are exactly the same; you just add a voice command to each horse you’re driving. When you want to walk or trot, you call the horse by its name, ask them for the gait, and add a chirp to the cue.”
Mr. Miller interrupted him before he could finish. “Just remember not to act like they do in the old Western movies and start flapping those reins on the horse’s rump.”
Jordan frowned in confusion. That was exactly what she’d planned to do—shake the reins along with a cluck and the voice command to walk.
“You don’t want to get used to slapping them with the reins to make them go forward,” Mr. Miller said. “Sometimes you need to lower your reins so you can stop and rest. If a horse gets used to moving forward as soon as he feels the reins dropping on his back, you could be in a lot of trouble. When you want to just stop and stand for a while, he’ll think you’re asking him to go fast.”
Jordan understood. She certainly didn’t want a runaway. Even at a slow pace, these big horses were intimidating enough.
“So when you want to turn right, say the horse’s name, then ‘come around, gee,’” Jacob instructed. “If it’s left, then call out, ‘Candy, come around, haw.’”
Jordan completed the list. “And for stopping I’ll say, ‘Candy, whoa,’ with little tugs on the bit. Right?”
“Looks like you’re ready to go,” Daniel said. “You’ve got your turns and your brakes figured out. Let’s get started.”
Jordan’s hands were shaking and it was hard to keep a tight grasp on the reins. Candy started to fuss, pulling at the bit to ease the pressure. Jordan took a steadying breath and tried to calm down. She had to do this correctly.
“Think about what you want to do,” Jacob instructed. “Visualize what you want and make it happen.”
Jordan closed her eyes for a second, then said, “Candy, walk up,” following the command with a loud clucking of her tongue.
The mare stepped forward at a brisk walk. And even though Jordan had given the command, she still wasn’t prepared for the tug on the reins as it pulled her along in the horse’s wake, her arms outstretched as she tried to regain her balance and footing.
“Take bigger steps,” Jacob said as he walked behind her, trying to keep her safe and correct her cues.
Jordan did as he asked but it took another thirty feet of traveling before she was able to match her walking speed to Candy’s and get the proper amount of contact with the horse’s bit. She had a hard time keeping the extra length of rein balanced on her shoulder and it ended up unraveling and trailing behind her. But the hardest adjustment was not being able to see what was directly in front of the horse. Jordan could see things on each side of Candy, but walking behind the tall, wide mare blocked her view of what lay ahead.
They came to the fence line and Jordan had to decide if they were going right or left. Since Daniel drove his horse to the left of them, Jordan decided to turn right. Her brain went into a spin as she tried to remember the voice command for a right turn.
“Candy, gee!” she said at the last moment, and the big mare turned to the right. Jordan grinned broadly. She’d done it! She was in command and working as one with the big Belgian mare—for the moment.
They worked for another thirty minutes, practicing turns and backing up until the cues were firmly planted in her mind. Finally, Mr. Miller called it a day. He held the gate open while they drove the horses through and back to the harnessing area. Jordan found it much easier to take the harness off the horse than it had been to put it on. Still, she was relieved when Mr. Miller brought her a wheelbarrow to take the harness back to the tack room.
“You did really well today, Jordan,” Mr. Miller said. “One more session like this and I think we can get you started in the cart.”
“That would be great!” Jordan said. “Thank you!”
She couldn’t wait to tell her mom and Nicole about her lesson. She’d had so much fun driving Candy she couldn’t even imagine how awesome it would be to drive Star Gazer. Tomorrow, the vet would be out to take X-rays. Then they’d know exactly what they were dealing with. Jordan wondered if she’d ever be able to hook Star to a cart—or maybe someday, to a set of big logs in a pulling contest.
The following morning, Jordan let out the lead rope and Star Gazer lowered her head to crop the grass in front of the barn. The mare moved much better today; she still stepped tenderly, but she was putting more weight on her feet than normal. It appeared the stinky poultice was working.
The veterinarian would be there soon to take the X-rays. Jordan needed to get the clay washed out of Star Gazer’s hooves so the vet could get a clean picture.
She bent to remove the boots, loving the steady chomp-chomp as Star cropped grass and the clucking of the speckled hens in the background. She smiled. These sounds were certainly a lot more comforting than the blare of car horns or jets flying overhead! She didn’t miss that one bit.
Jordan took off the left boot and picked most of the clay out with a hoof pick. She rinsed the rest of the clay off with the hose and did the other side.
Just as she finished, Jordan heard the muffled sound of hoof beats and the noise of chattering voices. She looked up to see Nicole and a couple of girls on horses coming down the hill.
Star lifted her head and whinnied a greeting, then started walking toward their visitors.
“Whoa!” Jordan said, but it was several steps before the mare stopped. Like being pulled along like a toy on the end of a string, Jordan thought. She really was at the mercy of this horse that outweighed her by a ton. She needed to be firm like Jacob had showed her. If Star decided she was going to take off and go, there’d be no stopping her.
Jordan waved as everyone pulled their mounts to a stop. She admired the two fine-boned horses the other girls rode.
“Hi, Jordan,” Nicole said. “I brought some of my friends over to meet you and Star.”
“Hey, Jordan,” the girl with the dark hair said, side-passing her tall bay gelding to a spot of shade. “I’m Kathy and this is Mary.” She pointed to the blonde girl beside her. “Nicole’s been telling us about you and your new horse. I thought we should come by and greet the new kid in town. We’re on our way to the lake if you want to come with us.”
Jordan held firm on the lead rope, trying to prevent Star from walking forward to touch noses with the other horses. “Thanks. That sounds like a lot of fun, but we’re waiting for the vet to come x-ray Star’s feet.”
“What’s wrong?” Mary asked.
“We aren’t sure,” Jordan answered. “Some people say it could be a broken bone in the foot or really bad stone bruising. That’s the one I’m hoping for.”
Kathy moved her horse a little closer. “Wow, Star is huge!” she said. “My horse is almost seventeen hands, and I thought he was big.” She wrinkled her nose. “What are you going to do with her? She’s too big and clunky to show.”
Jordan cringed inside, but she tried not to show her irritation. “Oh, they show draft horses all the time,” she said. “Star Gazer won several pulling contests around here when she was younger. And it’s a lot of fun to ride a draft horse.” She wasn’t exaggerating. King had been way more fun to ride than the horses she’d worked with in L.A. “I’ll be riding Star Gazer as soon as we figure out what’s wrong with her feet and get her fixed up.”
“Wait a minute…you knew she was lame when you bought her?”
Kathy asked, her eyebrows rising in disbelief.
Jordan didn’t feel like explaining. “Yes, and I’m glad I have her.”
Nicole broke in before Kathy could say anything else. “Hopefully, everything will be fine, and maybe in a couple weeks, you can go on rides with us.”
Jordan had waited a long time to have her own horse. If she started riding with these girls and got to know some other kids, it might make things easier at school in the fall. “That would be great!” she said.
Kathy scrutinized Star Gazer. “I still don’t get it. Why buy a draft horse?” she asked.
“I like draft horses,” Jordan said, wondering why she had to explain her decision to this girl. Maybe getting into a riding group wouldn’t be as much fun as it sounded. Her “big clunky” horse obviously wouldn’t fit into Kathy’s perfect horse club.
Kathy seemed not to hear Jordan’s answer. “Nicole said this is your first horse,” she babbled on. “If you’d bought a Quarter horse or a Thoroughbred, you could have entered the shows with us. There’s no way a huge, clumsy horse like that could compete with a horse like mine. He’s a Dutch Warmblood, you know.”
Jordan wanted to tell Kathy that her expensive Warm-blood wouldn’t be here today if it hadn’t been for people crossing drafts with regular horses a long time ago. She looked over at Nicole, wondering what her friend thought of the situation.
Nicole frowned at Kathy. “I like Star, too. I think Jordan will do just fine with her.”
Kathy readjusted her feet in the stirrups. “Yeah, I suppose.” She turned her horse, preparing to leave, then looked back over her shoulder. “Was that you I saw out at the Miller place yesterday, driving horses with those Amish boys?”
“They’re Mennonites,” Jordan corrected her. “And yes, that was me. I had a great time there learning to drive draft horses.”
Kathy snickered. “Amish, Mennonite…what’s the difference? They all dress funny.”
Jordan opened her mouth to tell Kathy there was actually quite a bit of difference between the two, but she knew it would be a waste of time. “They’re very good horsemen and I learned a lot,” she said. “I’m going there again tomorrow.”
“Whatever,” Kathy said. “See you around.” She pointed her Warmblood up the hill and walked off.
Mary smiled at Jordan, then trotted after Kathy, motioning for Nicole to join them.
Jordan glanced at Nicole, feeling a little betrayed.
Nicole lifted Dakota’s head with the reins. “I’m sorry, Jordan. Kathy is usually a lot of fun to hang with, but sometimes she can be a big pain. Don’t worry about what she thinks. You don’t have to ride a horse that looks like hers.”
“No problem.” Jordan gave her a wave. “Have a good time at the lake and swim a few extra laps for me.”
“Yeah, right. Sometimes we don’t even get in the water,” Nicole said. “Kathy doesn’t like to get her hair wet. I’ll call you tonight to see what the vet has to say. I hope it’s good news.”
“Me too,” Jordan said. “Talk to you later.” She watched her friend ride off with the other girls, feeling a small spike of envy. Going to the lake would have been fun. Hopefully, someday soon, she’d be able to take Star on a ride with them.
She busied herself with brushing Star while the mare cropped the sweet grass. A few minutes later, the vet pulled into the driveway. Dr. Smith and his assistant stepped out of the truck and unloaded their equipment.
Jordan’s mom helped carry the items down to the barn and run the extension cords so they could power the portable X-ray machine.
“Well, let me have a look here,” Dr. Smith said as he picked up Star’s right front leg. He examined the hoof from several different angles and shook his head. “They certainly didn’t leave her much to walk on.” He set that hoof down and picked up the other one.
Finally, the vet straightened and wiped his hands on a towel he carried in his back pocket. “It looks like they pulled the shoes off when they weren’t using her and let her stand around, probably in a rocky area. Her hooves were brittle and they just chipped off until they were down to the white line. That would be like cutting your fingernails back to the quick, then asking you to put pressure on them.”
Jordan winced at the thought. No wonder poor Star limped when she took a step. “What can be done to fix her?”
“That’ll depend on what the X-rays show,” Dr. Smith said. “For now, keep that poultice and boots on her and continue feeding her those good supplements. If the X-rays are clean, it’ll just be a matter of waiting a couple of weeks until her hooves are long enough to be able to tack some shoes on her.”
Jordan ran her hand down Star’s long beautiful face. “And if the X-rays are bad?”
The vet gave her arm a comforting squeeze. “We’ll worry about that when we come to it, kiddo. Now, let’s get this done.” He motioned for his assistant to set up the machine.
“How long will it take to get the results back?” Jordan’s mom asked.
Dr. Smith handed the film trays to his assistant along with some lead-lined rubber gloves to limit her exposure to the X-rays. “I’ll drop the film at the lab to develop as soon as I leave here. We should know in a couple of hours.”
Jordan crossed her fingers. Very soon they would know Star Gazer’s fate. But at the moment, two hours seemed like an eternity.
fifteen
Jordan jumped when the phone rang. She’d been sitting on the couch for the last thirty minutes, waiting for the vet to call. She let it ring one more time, then picked up the receiver. “Hello?”
“Hi, Jordan, this is Dr. Smith. I have the results.”
Jordan’s heartbeat echoed in her ears, making it difficult to hear his voice. She held her breath.
“I have good news and bad,” the doctor said. “The good news is, I don’t see any chipped or broken bones, or any sign of deterioration in the hoof.”
Jordan’s breath came out in one big whoosh. She knew those were all problems that might have meant a death sentence for Star. She held the phone in the air for a second while she did her little happy dance, then remembered that there was also bad news. She immediately sobered and sat back down on the couch. “What’s the bad news, Dr. Smith?”
“Well, it’s not going to be clear sailing,” the veterinarian warned. “She’s got serious problems with her front feet. There’s some really deep bruising there, along with a thin sole. And it looks like Star has an abscess in her right front hoof. You need to keep those boots on so there’s no more erosion of that hoof wall. I’ll be out in a couple of hours to drain that abscess and show you how to take care of it.”
“Will she eventually be okay?” Jordan asked.
“It’s going to take a while to get those feet back in shape, but if we keep on top of things, there’s a good chance Star Gazer will go back to normal. But if she suffers any more trauma to those already damaged hooves, it could run the chance of ruining her for life.”
Jordan swallowed hard. She certainly didn’t want that. Even though this was the best possible outcome she could have hoped for under the circumstances, there was still a lot of work to be done, and no room for missteps. She could hear the vet shuffling through some papers. She shifted the phone to her other ear while she waited.
“I’m going to give you the number of a farrier who’ll come out and clean up the jagged edges on those hooves,” Dr. Smith said. “Then in a couple weeks, when her hooves are long enough, you’ll need to get some shoes tacked on those feet to keep them protected and encourage growth. If everything goes well, I’d say in four or five weeks she’ll be able to start back with light work.”
Jordan smiled. Four or five weeks wasn’t really that long to wait. It was nothing compared to what she could have been dealing with. She wrote down the phone number of the shoer. “Thanks a bunch, Dr. Smith. I’ll do my very best to take good care of Star.”
“You’re welcome, Jordan. I know you will. Call me anytime you have a question,” he said.
“Oh, and Jordan…my wife has several flower beds that need some serious weeding. If you take care of those and provide the lawn with a good mowing, we’ll call it even on the X-rays.”
“That would be great,” Jordan said. “As soon as I check with my mother, I’ll call Mrs. Smith and make the arrangements.” She hung up the phone and took a deep breath.
Her mom walked into the room. “Good news?”
“Yes,” Jordan said. “And a little bad news, too, but it’s nothing we can’t handle. Star has an abscess in one of her feet. Dr. Smith is coming over this afternoon to drain it.”
Jordan’s mom gave her a quick hug. “I’m so glad,” she said. “I was really hoping the news wouldn’t be too bad. Star is a sweet mare and deserves better. Hopefully, now that we know there’s a chance for recovery, we’ll be able to find her a nice family that will take good care of her.”
Jordan scrunched up her lips. “We’re a good family, Mom. Why can’t we take care of Star?”
Mrs. McKenzie gave an exasperated sigh. “We’ve been over this, Jordan. I told you the day you bought Star that we wouldn’t be able to keep her.” She opened the refrigerator and gathered items to make sandwiches. “My job doesn’t pay much, and you’ll be back in school soon.”
“But, Mom,” Jordan argued as she placed the plates and silverware on the kitchen table. “I’ve picked up a lot of good jobs, and I can buy hay with the money I earn. And we’ve got plenty of pasture. Once Star’s feet are better, we could turn her out and we wouldn’t need to buy any hay—except in the winter.”
Her mother put the mayo and mustard on the table and reached for the milk. “That’s part of the problem, Jordan,” she said. “We’re not in Los Angeles anymore. Michigan has a real winter. We’re going to have snow and ice. All of those weeding and lawn-mowing jobs won’t be here in the winter.”
“Oh, yeah.” Jordan’s face fell. “Maybe I could baby-sit?” she said hopefully.
Mrs. McKenzie placed the bread and sandwich meat on the table along with a plate of lettuce and sliced tomatoes and sat down. “Maybe in a couple of years when we get on our feet, honey.”