by Connie Foss
“I’ll tell you what. John knows how to run the loader, and so do I. I know how to drive Bubba, but I could teach both of you. John can probably teach you how to run the loader, Josh, and we all know how to run a scoop shovel. So let me teach you both how to drive Bubba, and John, you teach Josh how to run the loader.When we’re all squared away, we’ll take turns.”
This is the most fun morning I’ve had in a long time…since before I broke my leg.When Jimmy comes after school today, he is going to be surprised.
The day passes quickly and the peace of the evening comes softly. Soon the whole barn is settling in for the night. Mr. O dips his wings, as
a minute. The only thing he can think about tonight, apparently, is that his little kittens are eating every scrap of rat he can drag home.“If they don’t start huntin’ for themselves soon, I’ll be so stove up from all the gosh darn work, I’ll just give up the ghost.”
“Tom, do you know who you’re sounding like, with all that complaining? Percy.” I get a rise out of my neighbor with that. I don’t think he’ll forgive me until at least tomorrow morning.
Oh, the best is yet to come, for Meg has just unlatched the stable door and come in. She’s looking much better these days, as though she is settling in to her new schedule, and I’m glad.
“Are you in the mood for a little ride tonight, Bubba? The moon is going to rise soon and it will be a full one. I can’t think of anything I’d rather do than ride you out along the drive and maybe even through the pastures.Are you game for that?”
It’s a beautiful night, and Meg is just as relaxed in the saddle as ever. My, how I’ve missed our rides! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if suddenly we take off and do the jumps? But I know we won’t. It’s okay, though. Life is still good.As long as I can be useful by being a therapy horse and making
“ What in the world! Do you see something over there underneath that gate, Bubba? I can’t tell what it is, can you? Let’s head over there. Oh, my goodness. It’s Stella!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE:
A Coyote
“Stella! Where are you? Stella!” It’s Jack.
“She’s over here, Jack, under the pasture gate. She seems to be stuck,” yells Meg, as she jumps down.
“Stella, are you okay? Say something,” Meg says as she kneels next to Stella.
Jack runs up, and seeing Stella’s predicament says,“You fat thing you, maybe this will teach you not to make a pig of yourself.” With Jack
“Here, Jack, let’s see if the two of us can lift the gate enough that Stella can crawl out.” They do, and out from under crawls one fat, complaining pig, telling the whole world how awful it was to be caught under a gate.
“Well, young lady, no one made you go under that gate. It was your own fault.” As Jack starts to stand up, she says,“Oh, Meg, look at Stella’s hind leg. It’s torn and bloody! How could she have done that?”
Meg looks carefully, and with a shake of her head, says, “Jack, I think maybe she was trying to run away from a coyote, and when the coyote heard us coming, he left her under the gate.Thank goodness, but we’d better take her in the stable and doctor that leg. I hope it’s not bad enough that she can’t walk.”
“Me, too, as portly as she is.”
Meg and I go on ahead and turn on the stable lights. Meg hops down when we get to the tack room where the medicines are, drops my reins, and begins to rummage around for what she needs. By the time she’s ready, Jack and a hobbling, sad-eyed Stella are coming slowly into the stable.
As Meg doctors Stella’s leg, she says, “Jack, that coyote tasted
so we’d all better be extra careful with our pets. Even Boo, big as he is, could be a target.The foals aren’t safe either.”
“Aren’t coyotes night scavengers, Meg? I don’t have to worry about Stella during the day, do I?” Jack’s voice is full of concern, and I’m wondering about that coyote, too, for I’ve seen coyotes around the pastures during daylight hours.
“I’m afraid we can’t be sure. Usually, they are out and about during the night, but if they’re hungry, dark isn’t necessary. Maybe we need to get that coyote before he gets one of our animals,” Meg says thoughtfully. “I would hate to have to kill a coyote, but I would do it in
“Can’t we trap him instead of killing him? There has to be a way, for coyotes are part of the balance of nature. This farm is in the city limits, isn’t it?” asks Jack. “I can call the city and see what agency might be able to capture him and take him out to some rural part of the county.What do you think, Meg? Should I do that?”
Right now, if you and Stella don’t need me, Bubba and I have a date that
I’m so glad to feel Meg back up in the saddle. I was afraid Stella had blown our night out.
“Bubba, I’ve missed you a lot. Some days, when I’m having trouble
jumping days, and I feel better. Do you ever do that? Those were such good days, but I hear you are doing a great job with John. Did I tell you…no, I’m sure I didn’t, Milt is coming to ride you. Remember Milt, Annie’s owner? Well, he called the other day and said that he had had a stroke and needed some help getting his balance back.That’s right down your alley. It’ll be great to have him here. I’m sure Annie will be happy to see him, too.”
As Meg gives me a good rubdown after our ride and says goodnight, I have a lot to think about. Milt coming to ride me? He’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, and though I’m sorry he has a problem, I will be tickled to help.Wait until I tell Annie! at a show, where Milt saved Annie and me.That was such a scary time, and fear still pops up every time I smell smoke. But there are so many other memories that are good, that my night becomes a happy time, especially because I’ll get to spend the afternoon next to Annie in the therapy barn.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX:
Milt
Paula and her daughter,Whysper, come soon after John latches my stall door in the therapy barn. But I say to Annie,“You’ll never guess who’s coming one day soon. Come on, guess. Give it your best.”
“Well, let me see. You’re always talking about Dulcie, but she’s
teacher? No, she pops in every once in a while, so that’s no big deal. I don’t know, Bubba, I give up.”
“Milt!”
“Really? My Milt? Coming here? Is he going to take me back home? Oh, Bubba.Tell me I don’t have to leave. I loved living with Milt, but I love it more here.” Annie looks so forlorn. Maybe I should have told her in a different way.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Annie, it’s not like that at all. You see Milt has some sort of a balancing problem, and the doctor suggested that horse therapy would help him. So he’s coming to ride me. I’ll bet he’ll spend a lot of time with you, his favorite.”
Hmm.Annie doesn’t seem as excited as I thought she would be. In fact, she has turned her back on me, obviously not wanting to talk to me any more.What did I say wrong?
I’ll have to give this more thought. Now, though, it’s time to watch Whysper and Clarence. I haven’t had the chance to get acquainted with Clarence, but he looks like such a calm, sensible guy. He’s not all that big,
a tough time with life, being on oxygen and fed with a feeding tube. In spite of all that, she still wants to ride Clarence.
Georgia and Ruth are on duty, with their hands on Whysper’s little legs as Jack leads Clarence around the ring at a walk. Jack says,“Say ‘Whoa.’”
I hear a sound coming from Whysper but can’t tell if it’s a word. Clarence understands and stops.
“Say ‘Walk,’” and again I hear a sound, and Clarence starts his comfortable walk. Clarence is so relaxed that his body just seems to
Bill has come in to watch the lesson, and then he goes over to talk to Paula, as she sits on a bench watching.
“Paula, good to see you. How’s Whysper getting along? It looks good to me.”
“I imagine it’s too soon to expect a lot of improvement, but I’m already seeing enough to tickle me to death. Yesterday, Whysper put a stuffed toy ho
rse in her baby walker and said, “Clarence ride.” You might not have understood what she said, but I did. You knew, didn’t you, Bill, that before we came to see you folks,Whysper wasn’t talking? Now she is…in her own way. The doctor said apparently she was a selective mute. She could talk but chose not to. For some reason or other, Clarence is bringing her out of her self-imposed isolation. Can you imagine how that must feel?”
Annie, too, has been watching the lesson and says,“Bubba, I would hate it, if we couldn’t talk.When you told me that Milt would be riding you, my feelings were hurt.Why isn’t Milt going to ride me, I wondered. I was jealous and thought I would never speak to you again. But hearing what Paula said and thinking how it would be to never talk again made me realize that I still want to talk to you. Maybe you can answer the question why Milt wants to ride you instead of me. Maybe there’s a good reason. Maybe it’s not that he likes you better than me.”
“Oh,Annie! I am so sorry.You see, because of a stroke that Milt had, he hasn’t been getting out and working like he used to.You know what happens if you eat and don’t exercise. It happened to Milt. He got fat. Because he is so heavy now, he’s afraid he would hurt you, if he rode you. His thought is that if he can get his balance back, he will be able to do things again and lose that weight.Then he can ride you.After all, you are his favorite,Annie. Not me.”
“Oh, Bubba. You do understand. That makes me feel so much better.That was silly of me to have my feelings hurt so easily. I’m sorry, Bubba. It does make me realize, though, how good it is to be able to have people ride us so we can help them. In fact, when Mickey rides me and I see how much better he is, it gives me such a good feeling. Is that how it makes you feel, Bubba, when John rides…kind of a warm feeling in your tummy?”
“Yes, you’re right.We’re pretty lucky to get to help. I’ll feel extra lucky to have Milt ride, for I will be thinking of you while he’s riding and thanking him for bringing you into my life.” Annie’s eyes tell me that I’m forgiven.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Stella coming down the stairs from Jack’s apartment, waddling down the stairs is more accurate.That hind leg must still be bothering her, but when you’re fat you always walk funny. I haven’t seen the Animal Control people come to catch that coyote, so Stella had better be on the lookout. It makes me worry about the foals out in the pasture, but at least they have their moms to protect them. An angry mare is not someone a coyote would choose to be around.
Whysper is looking much more comfortable. She is able to sit straighter in the saddle. Paula is saying to Bill. “Autism is one of the reasons Whysper doesn’t focus. Jack told me that Clarence’s rhythmic motion will help Whysper focus. I can see it happening.When Jack tells Whysper to have Clarence walk,Whysper does it right away. My higher education was in Special Ed, so I know that something repeated over and over in a brain will become a habit. She will transfer this ability to focus to other things.The more we get into this horse therapy, the more excited I get about possibilities.”
“I’m learning right along with everyone else,” Bill admits.“When
autism might be reduced by riding, I was skeptical. Like you, though, the more I see how things are going, I feel lucky to be involved in something that is so good. Well, gotta get back to work. Nice visiting with you, Paula.”
Bill turns and as he heads for the door, he says,“Paula, have you noticed the progress on the outside trail? Won’t be long until Whysper will get to ride on it. See you.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN:
Ted
‘Hi, Bubba. How you doing, big guy?” It’s John coming to work. Since we’re still not sure the Strangles isn’t spreading, John will probably be working around here again today.
“Bubba, this is Ted, a friend of mine.”
With John is another tall man who is more slender than John.As he walks over to my stall, I notice that his walk seems uneven. I stick my nose through the bars, just in case he’s friendly.
“So you are Bubba,” and this guy called Ted comes right up and gives my nose a good rub. I like him already.
“You know, Bubba, I grew up on a cattle ranch and rode horses everyday. We even rode horses to school. It was a great life on that Wyoming ranch. Kind of different than here, but a horse is a horse no
I, of course, agree whole-heartedly and give him a soft nicker. Just then Bill comes and says, “John, how about getting after that trail again this morning? Bruce dropped off the stuff we need to make the water hazard, so grab a spade and start digging.You remember where the hazard is to be, right?”
camp buddy. I’ve been telling him about what goes on here, and he might be interested.Ted, this is Bill who owns The Chocolate Farm and Heartfelt Horses…well, he and his wife Meg are the owners. I’ll leave you two to talk. See you.”
“Do you have time to listen to a long story?” Ted asks. “All the time in the world. Let’s go sit on that bench over there and take the load off our feet.”
Oh, good.That means I’ll be able to hear the story, too. I’d like to know more about this guy Ted.
“Well, you see, though John and I were in boot camp together, we didn’t serve in the same theater of war, but we both came back injured. John’s injury is not as visible as mine, though I don’t think I would trade him. I lost my lower right leg, and here is where the story gets interesting.”
It’s obvious that Ted doesn’t like talking about all of this, for he’s squirming around a bit. He doggedly continues with his story.“I’ve been feeling sorry for myself and have been really depressed, not seeing any hope at all, just sitting around, moping. Every morning my wife scatters
out there and watch the quail. One morning I was sitting on the deck, thinking the usual defeatist thoughts, as I watched the quail, maybe about
happened.
“You know how quail scurry around with their little legs moving
like pistons? As I watched, my eye fell on a little female that wasn’t
moving like the others. She was hopping. It looked funny, so I went in
and got my binoculars. As I looked closely, I could see why she was
hopping: She only had one leg!
“Well, maybe you can imagine how that grabbed me. Here I was
just sitting around, feeling sorry for poor one-legged me, when a little
bitty quail with just one leg was out there working with the others to
feed herself.Talk about feeling small.
“Then I remembered John telling me about how Heartfelt Horses
was helping him. So here I am. I want to be like that little quail, doing
whatever I can to take care of myself and get out of this pool of misery. “So that’s it, Bill, end of story.What do you think? Is there hope?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT:
Where There’s a Horse There’s Hope
Just then, Jack drives up and gets out of her car. “Jack, come over here, would you, please?” Bill calls.“I want you to meet your next client.”
“Jack, this is Ted, a friend of John’s. He needs some of what Heartfelt Horses does.”
Hmm, that’s interesting, and I’ll bet I’ll get to be the one Ted rides. Life gets better everyday.
While they are all talking, Jack remembers about the coyote.“Bill, I’ve been meaning to tell you that we did what Meg suggested, called Animal Control about that coyote.They said they wouldn’t be able to help trap him, but once we get him trapped, they would come and relocate him.”
“And how do we trap him?” asked Bill.
“I know the answer to that,” Ted said. “On the ranch, we were always bothered by coyotes, even wolves up there in Wyoming. If you don’t want to kill the animal, then there’s a trap available that has a coil spring in it and six-inch rubber jaws. It’s fastened to a stake.You place
set the trap and cover it. Usually it’s a good idea to buy a spray can of bait at a hunting store and spray on it. They’ll catch the scent and dig down. Bingo, you’ve caught him by t
he front leg.”
“Where can you buy such a thing? It’s not something I know anything about,” says Bill.
“Well, in Wyoming the Conservation Department sold them at cost.Want me to look into it for you?” Ted offers.
“Would you? That would be great. Jack here has a pot-bellied pig,
blood, he’ll be back. I don’t want him getting one of our pets, let alone one of the foals.”
“Sure, I’ll do that today and get right back to you, and when can I come get started riding a horse?”
“If you have a minute now,Ted, come with me and we’ll look at
toward the therapy barn.
It’s not long before Lilly comes for our ride.This is something to look forward to, though it’s not as exciting as when we went jumping. Still, in those days I didn’t have anything else going for me. Now I have the breeding and the therapy. As I think about it, Lilly must be reading my mind for she says, “Bubba, I’ve been hearing good things about you in the therapy barn. Is it fun? It must make you feel really good to get to help people like John and little Brett. I hear Brett had a problem in town yesterday. Did you hear about that?”
No, I didn’t. I wonder what happened. I’d better check with Mr. O or Tom to see if they know. I don’t want anything to happen to Brett! Lilly is just putting me back in my stall, when there’s a lot of commotion in the exercise lot behind the stable. “Gotta go, Bubba,” and Lilly takes off on a run. There’s whinnying and running, and then shouting.What in the world is happening? I wish I could see! Now I’ll have to wait until Tom comes.
where have you been? I’ve been pacing up and down, not knowing what is going on anywhere. First tell me what happened in the exercise lot this morning. It sounded like someone was in trouble.
“Well, good evening to you, too, Bubba. I’m so happy you’re pleased to see me,” says Tom sarcastically out of the side of his mouth. Oops, I guess I got ahead of myself.“Sorry,Tom. I am glad to see you, but you have no idea how frustrating it is to be trapped in this stall and know things are happening somewhere else.”