The Lonely Pony

by Sarah Hawkins

  “Hold on, I’ll find you something,” Mia said, racing back over to the stables. She went into the feed room where the sacks of chaff, coarse mix, nuts and hay were kept, and found a couple of carrots. Sticking one in her pocket, she carefully broke the other one in half and put it in a bucket, before going back over to the greedy pony.

  “Now, don’t eat this all at once,” she said, holding out the bucket. She giggled as the pony rushed to put her head inside and munched it eagerly.

  “Good girl,” Mia said, stroking Honey’s cheek while she chewed happily, then planting a kiss on her velvety-soft nose.

  At that moment, Dapple cantered over to see what Honey was getting. Mia giggled and held out the bucket to give her a piece of carrot, too. Dapple was a beautiful grey pony, twelve hands high, with dark grey speckles all over her back. She had been at the centre for eight months. When she’d arrived she was so wild that she’d bite and kick at anyone that went near her, but now she was a happy and friendly horse. Her previous owner had ridden her in badly fitting tack that had left sores on her back and made her scared of saddles, so Mum had been determined to find her a home where she wouldn’t have to be ridden.

  “Mum told me about your new home, Dapple,” she said, stroking the grey pony. She would be so sad when Dapple left the centre, but she was pleased that they’d found the perfect place for her. Last night Mum had told her that Dapple was going to a loving home to be a companion pony to a retired racehorse. Mia knew that horses hated being on their own, so it would be great for the racehorse to have a friend, and it was a big family, so there were lots of children to give Dapple plenty of attention. And best of all, nobody would ride her – Dapple was going to love it.

  Giving Dapple and Honey one more pat, Mia went to find Mum and Polly. Since Polly was a new arrival, she’d have to stay up in the isolation stables for a while to make sure that she didn’t have any germs that she could give the other horses. There were six isolation stalls in total, each with their own small turn-out paddock, so the horses could still go outside even when they weren’t allowed to be with the others.

  Mia’s wellie boots crunched on the gravel as she raced over to the isolation stalls at the very edge of the centre. “Mum? Polly?” Mia called gently as she went towards the stall right at the end of the row. But there was no reply.

  At first Mia thought the stables were empty. Usually when she went to see the horses, they put their heads over the stable doors curiously to see who was coming. I’m sure Mum said she was in the last stall, Mia thought to herself.

  Mia almost walked right up to the stable door before she spotted her. There, cowering in the back corner, was Polly. Her ears were so far back on her head that they were almost invisible and her tail swished from side to side anxiously. She had a brown head with a white snip on her nose. Her mane was light blonde and her eyes were a gorgeous deep chocolatey brown, but they were huge and she was breathing quickly with her nostrils flared. Mia didn’t need to know anything about horses to see that Polly was a scared, lonely pony.

  “Hi Polly,” Mia whispered. “It’s OK, you’re safe now,” she promised.

  But Polly just cowered in the corner, looking like the saddest pony in the world.

  Mia couldn’t take her eyes off Polly as Mum slowly appeared with a wheelbarrow. It was filled with hay and a feed bowl with some pony nuts.

  Mum came and put her arm around Mia as she stared in at Polly. “She’ll be OK,” Mum whispered. “We’re going to give her lots of love.”

  Mia nodded. “Why are you whispering?” she whispered back.

  “We need to be very slow and quiet so we don’t scare her.” Mum explained. “To begin with, I’m just going to sit with her for a while. You stay here and be as still as possible.”

  Mia nodded again, hardly wanting to make a sound.

  “Good girl, Polly,” Mum soothed as she went inside the stable and perched on an upturned bucket. Polly shifted back uncomfortably, trying to get further into the corner. As she moved, Mia could see the brown and white patches on her body, the white stockings on all four of her legs and a white stripe down her nose. She was so thin that Mia could see her ribs through her coat. She seemed half the size of Dapple, even though they were the same age. Mia leaned quietly on the stable door, but as she looked at Polly, she felt like crying. How could anyone be so mean to such a beautiful animal?

  Mum sat quietly on her bucket, looking at the floor.

  “What are you doing?” Mia whispered.

  “This will get her used to people being around,” Mum said calmly. “It’s one of the first things we work on when we’re trying to teach a horse to trust people again. Do you want to hang up a hay net for her?”

  Mia nodded, grateful for something to do to help. She crept over to the wheelbarrow and started stuffing the sweet-smelling hay into an empty net.

  “Where shall I put it?” Mia asked, pulling the strings of the net shut.

  “You can pass it over,” Mum told her. “Just move slowly so you don’t scare her.”

  Her heart beating fast, Mia slowly passed the net into the stable. Polly shied back again, her ears twitching anxiously.

  “It’s OK, Polly,” Mum murmured as she hung the hay net on a nail in the stable, making sure it was the same level as Polly’s chest so she could get to it easily.

  “I’m giving her hay rather than chaff,” Mum said. “It’s really important that we give her as many nutrients as possible to get her weight back to normal.”

  “She hasn’t got many pony nuts though?” Mia said curiously, looking at the little pellets in the bucket.

  Mum nodded. “She can have as much hay as she wants, but she’ll have four small meals a day. Horses can’t actually be sick, so we have to make sure that they don’t eat too much, or they’ll get stomach problems. If she eats little and often we’ll soon get her back to a more normal weight.”

  Mia looked into Polly’s beautiful brown eyes. “You’re safe now, Polly,” she said gently, “and you’re going to have all the food you need.”

  She couldn’t stop staring at the beautiful pony. She just wanted to stroke her and make her feel better, but she knew if she got close she’d scare Polly even more. She smiled at her gently, trying to tell her that everything was OK. Polly peered at her from under her blonde mane.

  “I think she’s too nervous to eat while we’re here,” Mum said. Slowly and carefully, she stood up. Polly backed away nervously as Mum started to move.

  “OK, Polly, it’s OK,” Mum soothed as she came out of the stable. “That’s enough stable manners for now,” Mum said to Mia. “I just want to make sure she eats.”

  They both leaned over the door and watched. As soon as Mum left the stable, Polly warily went over to the net and started eating the hay hungrily.

  “Good girl!” Mia praised her, feeling relieved.

  “Well done, Polly,” Mum grinned. “Come on, sweetie,” she said, putting an arm around Mia. “We’d better go and get our dinner, too. Sandra and Neil have invited us to their house tonight – would you like that?”

  “Oh, yes please,” Mia said, cheering up a bit. Sandra and Neil were her godparents, and they’d known her since she was born. Sandra and Mum had met at pony camp when they were the same age as Mia and Jasmine, and they’d been best friends ever since. Best of all, Sandra and Neil had two horses, Midnight and Gypsy, as well as a black Labrador called Shadow.

  Mia couldn’t stop thinking about Polly as they finished their last few jobs at the centre. Before they left, she ran back over to Polly’s stall, being careful not to go so close that she scared her. “Goodnight, Polly,” she called softly. “See you in the morning.”

  As Mia left, she looked over her shoulder. Polly had her head over her stable door, watching her sadly.

  Sandra and Neil’s house was just a short drive away, down some winding country lanes. Maybe one day we can ride Polly along here, Mia thought.

  Sandra waved to them from the stables as th
e car pulled in through the gate. She led Gypsy out into the courtyard and tied her lead rope to a loop of baling twine on a post in the middle of the yard. Then she came over to give Mum a hug.

  “Hi Rachael, hi Mia.” She hugged Mia next and a bit of straw from her shoulder tickled Mia’s nose. “Gypsy found a nice big mud patch to roll in today, so I’m just going to groom her before dinner,” Sandra explained.

  “We’ll help!” Mia offered. “Hi, Gypsy!” She went up to the big palomino and stroked her nose. Gypsy whickered happily. Her eyes were bright, her white-blonde tail was high and her glossy golden coat was covered with patches of dry mud. “You look like you’ve had a fun day!” Mia grinned, stroking Gypsy’s elvety muzzle. Gypsy gave a gentle whinny, almost as if she was agreeing with Mia!

  Sandra came over with the grooming kit, and they all got to work, standing on the same side of Gypsy so that she didn’t get worried. Sandra started by picking her hooves out, then she began brushing her coat with a rubber curry comb, a round plastic brush with circles of plastic bristles on it. It didn’t look much like Mia’s hairbrush, but it was perfect for horses. Mia followed behind with a dandy brush, flicking all the dirt and mud out of Gypsy’s coat. Lastly came Mum, using a soft body brush to smooth Gypsy’s coat and make her nice and shiny.

  “We’ll soon have you looking good as new,” Mia grinned.

  “And then she’ll go and roll in the mud again tomorrow!” Sandra laughed. “Honestly, I think she just likes being pampered.” She patted Gypsy’s flank and the palomino flicked her tail happily. “Now Midnight’s getting a bit older he doesn’t want to play with her as much, so she’s finding new ways to amuse herself,” Sandra told them.

  Once they were finished, Mia helped Sandra lead Gypsy over to her stable. Midnight whinnied hello as they got close. “Hi Midnight,” Mia called as the elderly gelding poked his head over his stable door.

  “Right, we’d better go and get dinner sorted,” said Sandra, once Gypsy was safely in her stall and munching contentedly on a hay net.

  “Can I stay out here for a bit?” Mia asked.

  “Of course,” Sandra replied. “You know where the treats are!”

  As Sandra and Mum went inside, Mia made sure that Gypsy’s stable door was shut properly, then went to see Midnight. “Hello, boy,” she said, reaching up and stroking his nose. Midnight shook his mane happily as she tickled him behind his ears.

  “Now, what do we have here?” Mia said, stepping back. Pretending that she was a real RSPCA groom like Mum, she studied Midnight like she’d never seen him before. “A black gelding, sixteen hands high…”

  She looked at the grey hairs around his ears and his droopy bottom lip. Midnight was completely relaxed, watching Mia with his tail gently swishing and his ears flicking as he listened to her voice.

  “About twenty-five years old, but very healthy-looking.” Mia crouched down to look at his legs and giggled as Midnight nibbled at her hair.

  “I think there’s only one thing that this horse needs – a sugar lump!” she finished. Mia went over to where Sandra kept them and Midnight gave a happy whicker. At the sound, Gypsy poked her head over her stable door.

  “Oh you want a sugar lump, too, do you?” Mia laughed. She fetched two out of the pot and came over to give them out.

  Midnight dribbled on her hand as he eagerly gobbled down the sugar lump.

  “Yuck!” Mia laughed, wiping her hand on her jodhpurs. Then the big black horse leaned forward, nosing at her other hand.

  “No, naughty, this one’s for Gypsy,” Mia said, taking it over to where the golden palomino was patiently waiting.

  As Gypsy took the treat from Mia’s hand there was a shout from the house. “Mia! Dinner’s ready!” Neil called.

  “Coming!” Mia gave Gypsy one more pat then raced inside, her tummy rumbling.

  “Mmmm!” she exclaimed as she breathed in the delicious smell coming from the kitchen. Mum was already sitting at the table, which was full of food – a big salad and huge dishes full of spaghetti and Bolognese sauce. “That was quick!”

  “Chef Neil had already done it all,” Sandra grinned.

  “Shadow helped a bit,” Neil joked, nodding at the black Lab lolling in front of the Aga.

  “Hi Shadow.” Mia petted him and his tail started to wag, banging against the leg of the kitchen table like a drum.

  “Wash your hands,” Mum said as Mia pulled out a chair. “You don’t want bits of mud and horse hair in your dinner!”

  “Oops,” Mia said, going over to the kitchen sink. “Sorry, I was too excited. I was like Midnight with a sugar lump. It looks so yummy.”

  “Thank you,” Neil said, pouring a Ribena for Mia and red wine for the grown-ups. “So how’s my favourite goddaughter? Are you enjoying your summer holidays so far?”

  “Yes!” Mia said, sitting down and digging into her spaghetti. “I spent all day at the stables. Mum’s got an amazing new horse called Polly. She needs lots of help, but we’re going to make sure she’s OK, aren’t we, Mum?”

  Mum nodded.

  “Well, Gypsy and I were wondering if you’d like to do some riding practice with us over the holidays,” Sandra said. “If you’re not tired of horses by then!”

  Mia laughed. She could never be tired of horses. “Yes please!” Mia grinned as she slurped her spaghetti. This summer was going to be the best one ever!

  It was such a bright morning that Mia couldn’t help doing a little skip as she and Mum walked across the yard. She was wearing her jodhpurs, wellies and a vest top, and she could already feel the sunshine warming her shoulders. Best of all, she had the whole day to spend with Polly!

  As they walked up to the offices, Mia spotted Lindsay, one of the other grooms, standing with a wheelbarrow and some fresh straw.

  “Hi Lindsay!” Mum called.

  “Hi guys,” Lindsay said. “Mia, you’re just the girl I want to see. Do you want to give me a hand mucking out?”

  “Sure!” Mia grinned.

  “I wish you were as keen to tidy your bedroom as you were to clean the stables,” Mum laughed. Mia shrugged. Mucking out was hard work, and she knew some people wouldn’t like the idea of sweeping up the dirty straw, but she loved making a nice clean bed for the horses.

  “If you don’t mind, that would be great,” Lindsay replied. “We’re very lucky to have your help – there are lots of jobs to do.”

  “I’m going up to see Polly,” Mum called.

  Oh! I want to see Polly! Mia thought to herself. Her disappointment must have shown on her face, because Mum bent down and gave her a kiss on the top of her head.

  “There’s plenty of time,” Mum told her. “Polly’s doing fine, and you’ve got all summer long here, don’t forget – lots of time to spend getting to know her.”

  Mia nodded, then turned to help Lindsay. Soon she was happily forking clean, fresh straw into the stall. As she carefully spread it out, sunlight streamed through the stables and the dust from the straw shimmered in the air like golden fairy dust.

  I’ve got all summer long! Mia hugged the thought to herself as she finished spreading out the straw in Dapple’s stable, testing with the fork to make sure it was deep enough to make a nice comfy bed.

  As soon as she finished, there was the sound of a horse on the gravel, and Mia looked over to see Amanda leading Beans into the yard. “Neigh!” Mia joked, poking her head over Dapple’s stable door like one of the horses.

  “Hi, Beans,” she said cheerfully, going over to stroke the bay horse. Beans turned his head and huffed at her happily.

  “He did really well today!” Amanda said, patting the frisky horse on the neck. “We had a good ride, and did lots of pole practice. When he came in, he hated anything going near his feet. But now…”

  Leaving Mia holding Beans, she picked up a pole that was leaning nearby and put it down on the ground. Then she took the reins and clicked her tongue to call Beans forward. The horse stepped over it without even blinking.

&
nbsp; “Well done, Beans!” said Mia encouragingly.

  Just then someone started up an engine nearby and Beans whickered and started to toss his mane, kicking the pole.

  “Oh Beans!” Amanda sighed as the horse danced around. “He still hates loud noises though. Let’s get you rubbed down and into your stable, mister. Would you mind cleaning his tack for me, Mia?”

  Mia looked from Amanda to the path up to the isolation stalls. Normally she wouldn’t mind doing anything Amanda asked – the RSPCA groom was really kind and had taken her out riding lots of times – but she wanted to see Polly!

  She took a deep breath and smiled at Amanda. “Of course I’ll help!” After all, she thought, Mum’s right. I do have all summer with Polly.

  Mia soon got lost in the soothing rhythm of cleaning tack – cleaning the reins, saddle and bridle with saddle soap and rubbing them dry. Mum always gave her pocket money for helping out at the stables, but Mia liked doing the chores. Besides, she had to learn how to do it if she was going to have a horse of her own one day.

  When she’d finished she hung everything up on the right peg in the tack room and called out to Amanda, “I’m going to go and find Mum.”

  “OK!” Amanda called back. “Thanks for all your help!”

  Mia raced up to the isolation stables, but slowed down when she got there so that she could go quietly and carefully to Polly’s stable. Mum was nowhere in sight, and all the stables were empty. Mia turned to look in the isolation paddocks. Polly was down in her field, chomping on the grass. Mia slowly walked down towards the fence, trying not to make too much noise as her wellies crunched on the gravel.

  Polly looked up as she came closer, her ears twitching anxiously.

  “Hi, Polly,” Mia murmured. “I’ve been thinking about you so much.” Mia took a deep breath as she reached the fence, but Polly didn’t move.

  Mia stood there quietly, and Polly put her head back down to eat, her ears still pointed towards Mia nervously.

  Mia waited, hardly daring to breathe, as Polly started to munch the grass, her tail swishing softly. She got closer and closer to the fence, so close that Mia could hear her chomping and chewing, and could reach out a hand and touch her.