“No, Mrs. Albergini, not at all,” Judy reassured her quickly. “Most of your horses are in good shape. Your barn just has some basic sanitation problems that need to be taken care of.”
“Really?” Mrs. Albergini calmed down as she handed her husband the tray and gave Judy and Carole their lemonades. “So it’s something we can fix?”
“Oh, yes,” replied Judy. “But I recommend that you hire a professional trainer for a while, at least until you learn more about basic horse care.”
“Why, what a good idea!” Mrs. Albergini beamed as she passed around the plate of cookies.
Carole took the glass and cookies Mrs. Albergini offered. The cold lemonade tasted good after working in the hot, fly-infested barn, and the chocolate chip cookie was still warm and gooey from the oven.
“Okay, Mr. and Mrs. Albergini,” Judy said as she handed them several sheets of notepaper. “Here are my written instructions. Carole and I will take our blood samples back to the lab and get you the results of our tests in about a week. Beyond that, I have just one other request.”
“What’s that?” Mr. Albergini’s eyebrows raised in alarm.
Judy grinned. “Would you enclose your chocolate chip cookie recipe when you pay my bill? These are the best cookies I’ve ever tasted!”
THE ALBERGINIS WAVED as Judy and Carole pulled away from Shady Lane Farm. Carole waved back, then turned around in her seat and faced Judy. “They were nice, weren’t they?”
Judy smiled. “Yes, very nice. They just need to work on their barnkeeping a little better.”
“Do you think they’ll do all the things you recommended?” Carole was worried that the Alberginis might get confused by everything Judy had told them.
“I’m going to keep an eye on them. I gave them the names of two good trainers and a barn helper. After a month or so with them, they should be on the right track.” Judy grinned at Carole as the truck bounced along the bumpy driveway. “So, how did you like your first morning as a vet’s assistant this summer?”
Carole thought of the sweet mare Lady Jane and cute little Joker and pretty Spirit. “It was terrific,” she replied softly. Though her head spun from all the procedures they had done during the day, she felt wonderful when she realized that, in a small way, she had helped some sick horses feel better.
“I haven’t worn you to a frazzle, have I?” Judy asked.
“Oh, no,” Carole assured her. This is going to be a great summer, she thought as she watched another white cloud that looked like Pegasus. I’m learning all about horseflies and all about flying horses—and what could possibly be better than that?
“BYE!” CAROLE CALLED as Judy pulled away from Pine Hollow. “See you next Tuesday!”
Judy waved back, and Carole turned and walked toward the stable. How wonderful, she thought as the afternoon sun beamed down on her shoulders. The whole day spent learning about horses!
She looked at Pine Hollow nestled among the trees. How different it was from the Alberginis’ stable. Max took such good care of everything. He filled the ditches and low places around the stable with gravel so that rainwater wouldn’t collect in them. Red O’Malley trucked the manure to a field far away from the horses. Then, after it had baked in the sun for a whole year, he bagged it and gave it to the neighboring gardeners for compost. Inside the building itself, brand-new electric bug zappers killed any flies and mosquitoes that survived the monthly insecticide spraying program. Carol smiled to herself as she walked into the cool dimness of the stable. You probably couldn’t find a single fly within five miles of Pine Hollow!
“Well, hi, Carole.” Mrs. Reg looked up from her desk as Carole passed by. “I didn’t expect to see you here this early. I thought you were out on rounds with Judy.”
“I was,” replied Carole. “We did one whole barn full of horses, and then Judy had to take the blood samples back to the lab.”
Mrs. Reg smiled. “Did you learn a lot?”
“Tons,” said Carole. “Now I’ve got to go give Starlight a good workout. I promised him I’d ride him every day and help him get rid of his winter kinks.”
Mrs. Reg looked at her quizzically. “Winter kinks? This time of the year?”
“Oh, yes,” Carole assured her. “Starlight’s got spring fever. He hasn’t been ridden nearly enough.”
“Well, you sound as if you know what’s best.” Mrs. Reg returned her attention to the paperwork on her desk.
Carole thought about Starlight as she walked toward his stall. It did seem odd that he was still acting as if he had spring fever, particularly since she’d ridden him a lot during the school year. Even so, she hadn’t ridden him every day, and Starlight was an athletic, energetic horse. He just needs a lot more exercise, she told herself, and this is his way of telling me.
“Hey, boy,” she called softly when she reached his stall.
Starlight stood with his rear end to the door. He turned and flicked one ear at Carole when she greeted him, but he did not answer her with his usual friendly nicker.
“What’s the matter, Starlight?” Carole asked. “You look like you’re mad at me.”
Starlight blinked once, then turned to face Carole. He allowed her to rub his nose, but he did not seem particularly glad to see her.
“Are you jealous because I spent my morning with other horses?” Carole asked, brushing Starlight’s bangs away from his eyes.
The big gelding snorted. Carole rubbed his nose some more, then clipped a lead line to his halter and led him out of his stall. “I’ll groom you fast,” she said as she snapped him to some cross-ties. “Then we can get out of the stable fast and have a nice ride.”
In a few minutes she had Starlight tacked up and ready to go. He followed her willingly out of the stable, but then, as she was about to lead him into the outdoor ring, he stopped and balked, just as he had before the previous day’s trail ride.
“Starlight!” Carole cried in surprise. “Not this again. What is the matter with you?”
Starlight stood with his ears back, staring at the cavalletti exercise Max had set up. Cavalletti were long, skinny poles that were put across a horse’s path to help even out their strides. The goal was to ride through the cavalletti without the horse’s hooves touching any of them along the way.
“Those are just cavalletti in the ring. You’ve trotted over them a million times before!” Carole gave Starlight a pat on the neck. He shook his head but allowed her to lead him into the ring.
Carole closed the gate behind them. An intermediate riding class had just ended, so she and Starlight had the ring to themselves. “Maybe some cavalletti work would be a good idea,” she said, leading Starlight over to one side of the ring. “It might help you get more into the swing of things.”
She pulled down the stirrup irons, gathered the reins, and climbed into the saddle. When she put her weight fully on his back, Starlight gave a little jump and tried to move sideways.
“Whoa, boy,” she said quietly, turning him in a wide circle and letting him get used to her being on his back. He snorted again and jerked his head up and down.
Carole urged him into a walk, ignoring the cavalletti for the moment. Starlight fidgeted with his bit, then finally settled down. “Good boy,” Carole praised him as they rounded a turn. “That’s the Starlight I know and love.”
They did two circles of the ring at a walk, then a trot.
“Let’s try walking the cavalletti now,” Carole said, reining Starlight over to where the course began. Starlight looked at the half dozen poles stretched out on the ground before him and came to a dead stop.
“Come on, Starlight,” Carole insisted, pressing with her legs and sitting forward in the saddle. Again Starlight chewed his bit, but he began to move forward over the cavalletti.
Thunk! Starlight’s far rear hoof hit one cavalletti, then one of his front hooves hit another. Carole almost dropped her reins in shock. Starlight had done this exercise perfectly for years, and now he was acting like a green colt!<
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She rode to the top of the course again and urged Starlight into a trot. This time he didn’t chomp his bit, but he swished his tail as if he were mad. He began a stiff, up-and-down trot and thunked three out of the six cavalletti.
“Whoa.” Carole reined him up in the center of the ring. She unbuckled her helmet and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She frowned, wondering why Starlight was having so much difficulty with such an easy exercise. Then she remembered how much better he had behaved the day before after his run in the meadow.
“I know what we’ll do,” she said, dismounting and leading him toward the gate. “We’ll go for a good canter in the back paddock and see if that doesn’t work off some of your excess energy.” Starlight nickered, seeming to agree.
Carole walked him to the back paddock and remounted. Starlight seemed more like his old cooperative self this time. He moved easily from a walk to a trot when Carole asked him; then, when she nudged him behind his girth for a canter, he took off like a rocket.
“You like that, huh?” Carole asked as Starlight made a flying lead change. For the first time that afternoon, she relaxed. She felt as if she had her old horse back. She sat a little more forward in the saddle and pressed Starlight into a gallop. Suddenly the fence posts began to fly by. Starlight’s hooves thundered on the ground just like the horses in Western movies. His mane tickled her nose as she crouched over his shoulders, and again she wondered what it must have been like when Pegasus flew. Did Bellerophon have to hang on tight? Or were Pegasus’ wings so strong and smooth that all Bellerophon had to do was relax and watch the earth passing far below him?
They were going so fast, Carole thought that if Starlight had magically sprouted wings like Pegasus, it would have taken one swooping stroke for them to be high in the air, soaring like hawks over Pine Hollow and the hills beyond.
They galloped around the huge paddock until Carole was out of breath and Starlight had white flecks of sweat on his withers. She slowed him to a canter, then to a relaxed trot.
“Did that feel good, boy?” Carole patted his damp neck. She knew she would have to ride him at a walk forever to cool him down, but it had been worth it. She had known all along that lots of galloping was the cure for what ailed Starlight. It worked every time.
When Starlight had finally cooled off, Carole led him out of the paddock and back to the riding ring. “Let’s try those cavalletti again, Starlight,” she said. “I know you can do better than the last time.”
Just as before, they circled the ring at a trot without going over the cavalletti; then Carole guided Starlight over the first pole. Again she heard the now familiar thunk of his rear hoof hitting the pole. Okay, she thought, maybe he’s just off stride a little. Then thunk, thunk, thunk. Starlight hit every cavalletti with his rear hoof. She reined him in again. “Oh, Starlight!” she cried. “You’re getting worse instead of better!”
Starlight chewed the bit and tossed his head. Then he began to dance in a little circle. Finally Carole gave up. She rode him to the gate and briskly dismounted. “Starlight, I don’t know what’s going on with you today, but I think we both need to take a time-out!” she said as she led the horse back toward the stable. Starlight snorted in return but followed Carole obediently.
“How did it go?” Mrs. Reg asked, looking up from her desk as Carole and Starlight clomped by.
“Oh, okay,” said Carole, not bothering to hide the frustration in her voice. “Getting Starlight to behave is just going to take more riding than I thought.”
“Well, you know your horse better than anyone,” Mrs. Reg said.
CAROLE BUCKLED STARLIGHT TO the cross-ties and removed his saddle and bridle. He fidgeted the whole time, shifting his weight from side to side.
“I hope you get over your spring fever before the Fourth of July, Starlight,” Carole said as she quickly brushed the dried sweat from his coat. “Otherwise we’ll have to invent a whole new name for whatever it is you’ve got!”
“LOOK! THERE’S CAROLE!” Jamie Bacon’s voice rang out from the backseat of Mrs. Atwood’s car. “But where’s Stevie? Isn’t she supposed to come with us?”
“Yes, Jamie, she is,” Lisa reassured the excited little boy as they pulled up to Pine Hollow. “She might be visiting her horse, or she might not be here yet.”
“Then can we go see Nickel?” Jamie unbuckled his seat belt and pressed himself against the front seat, where Lisa and her mother sat.
“Maybe.” Lisa rolled down her window and waved at Carol.
“Oh, please?” Jamie began to jump in the backseat. “Please?”
“Jamie, honey, calm down,” Mrs. Atwood said gently. “You don’t want to tire yourself out before you even get to the fair.” She parked the car and turned to Lisa. “I’ll wait here in the parking lot. Why don’t you take Jamie up to visit the pony for a minute? Maybe Carole knows where Stevie is.”
“Okay.” Lisa opened her door. “Come on, Jamie.”
Jamie bounded out of the car and ran toward the stable. “Hi, Carole!” he called. “We’re going to the fair! Will you ride the merry-go-round with me? Where’s Stevie? Can we go see Nickel?”
“Gosh, Jamie.” Carole laughed. “You sound a little excited. Yes, I’ll ride the merry-go-round with you.”
“Hi, Carole.” Lisa hurried up, already out of breath from chasing after Jamie. “Where’s Stevie?”
“She just called the stable and left Mrs. Reg an emergency message for us,” Carole reported. “She said not to leave without her, that Chad had put crunchy peanut butter in her best sneakers and she had to clean them out before she could come, but she would be here in ten minutes.”
“Uh-oh,” Lisa said with a grin. “I know an older brother who’s gonna get revenged.”
Carole laughed. “This one should really be good. I already feel sorry for Chad.”
“So can we go see Nickel?” Jamie pulled Lisa by the arm.
“Well …,” Lisa began.
Suddenly there was a shrill whistle from the parking lot. “Hey, everybody!” a voice called. “Aren’t we going to the fair?”
They all turned. Stevie stood by the Atwoods’ car, waving. The Lakes’ station wagon was disappearing around the curve. Mrs. Lake must have taken mercy on Stevie and dropped her off.
“I guess you’ll have to visit Nickel some other time, Jamie,” Lisa said. “Stevie’s here and we need to go.”
“Aw.” Jamie stuck out his lower lip. “I want to see Nickel.”
“Well, how about if the first thing we ride at the fair is the merry-go-round?” suggested Lisa. “You’ve been talking about it all morning, so we’ll do that as soon as we get there.”
“Okay.” Jamie brightened and skipped back to the car.
Lisa looked at Carole proudly. “I think we created a brand-new horseman the other day.”
“I know.” Carole beamed. “Isn’t it terrific?”
They piled into Mrs. Atwood’s car, where, all the way to the fair, Stevie complained about her brother.
“I can’t believe Chad would do something that nasty,” Stevie fumed. “He knew this was important. He knew I was going to see Phil today.”
“I thought you two had declared a truce,” said Carole.
“I thought so, too. But Chad re-declared war when he stuffed all that goopy peanut butter in my shoes. It took me forever to get it out!” Stevie sat back and crossed her arms. “Just wait. I’ll think of a trick to play on him that will go down in the history books.”
“How much longer till we get to the fair?” Jamie asked Lisa. Though he had listened politely to Stevie’s ranting and raving, Lisa could tell that he could hardly wait to get to the fair.
“We’re almost there,” Mrs. Atwood called from the driver’s seat. She turned off the highway down a dusty, unpaved road. Just across a large field they could see a tall Ferris wheel, a ride that looked like a giant pirate ship, and a set of enormous swings.
Mrs. Atwood dropped them off at the gate, reminding the
m that she would pick them up at three. “Don’t ride anything that will make you queasy,” she called as they got out of the car. “Remember, Lisa, you’ve got a sensitive stomach!”
“Bye, Mom,” Lisa said wearily as her mother drove away.
“Come on!” Jamie grabbed her by the hand and pulled her toward the front gate. “Let’s go ride the merry-go-round!”
They had just paid their admission fee when they heard a familiar voice behind them. “Why, there’s The Saddle Club. Fancy meeting them here!”
The girls turned. Phil Marsten, Stevie’s boyfriend, stood there smiling. He wore jeans and a green polo shirt and a space helmet made out of bright pink foam. “Pretty cool hat, huh?” He laughed, nodding and making the two sparkly antennas wiggle. “I won it at the bottle toss.”
“Sorry we’re late, Phil,” Stevie called. “I had a rather sticky encounter with my brother.”
“No problem,” said Phil. “The fair will be here all day long.” He looked down at Jamie and gave him a warm smile. “Is this Jamie, the famous horseman?”
“Yes,” Lisa said. “And he really wants to ride the merry-go-round.”
“Well, let’s go.” Phil pointed past the fortune-telling booth. “I think I saw it right over there.”
Jamie pulled Carole and Lisa toward the merry-go-round. Stevie and Phil followed, laughing together. It was a beautiful day for a fair—bright and sunny, with the sound of music drifting on a gentle breeze. A gypsy with silver earrings called to them to have their fortunes told. A local high-school band was trying to sink its director in a dunking booth. The director made faces and called funny insults to his students while they tried to hit a target with a softball and plunge him into a tank of water. Everyone was laughing and enjoying the spectacle when suddenly Jamie stopped.
“Oh no!” he cried, tears edging his voice. “Look!”
Everyone looked where he pointed. The merry-go-round was still and dark. All the horses were frozen in place, and not one note of cheerful music filled the air. A yellow plastic band had been tied around the ride with OUT OF ORDER printed in thick black letters.
Horseflies Page 4