“Well, if you say so.” But Kate looked doubtful.
“So can you lend me a tenner?” Alex started.
“Ten pounds? What for?” Kate looked really exasperated now.
“For the box ride back,” Alex said.
“You mean you’ve just gone and spent £500 on a pony and you can’t even afford to pay her transport?”
Alex shrugged noncommittally. “I’ve got a fiver, but it’s £15 to Sandy Lane.”
“All right, all right,” Kate sighed, turning out her pockets. “I’ve got about £10 in change – it’s the money from that sponsored ride I did last week for the Rook Hospital for injured horses. You can borrow it, but I’ll need it back tomorrow.”
“Of course. That’s great,” Alex said.
“I don’t know how you dare sound so confident,” Kate said crossly. “You go and sort out a box driver to take her and I’ll try and get the worst of this dirt off her coat.” And with that, Kate took a body brush to the little pony’s back.
It didn’t take Alex long to find a box driver going in the direction of Sandy Lane and soon they were on their way. It wasn’t a long drive, but Alex was pretty quiet. He was pretty sure that Kate was worrying unnecessarily.
As the box drew to a halt in the yard, Alex looked out of the side window. The yard was pretty busy with riders, madly grooming and tacking up for the afternoon’s rides. Calmly, Alex got out of the cab, looking around him as Kate slid out the other side. There was Nick now – coming out of the tack room with his wife, Sarah, at his side, carrying their baby, Zoe.
“Hello Alex. What’s with the horsebox?” Nick called across.
In no time at all, the rest of the Sandy Lane riders had gathered around, asking questions.
“Oh hi, Nick. You’ll see in a moment,” Alex answered.
As the box driver slid down the ramp, the faces of six horses and ponies peered out.
“There, there,” Alex mumbled as he stepped up into the box and led the little chestnut pony down the ramp.
“I’m off then,” the box driver said.
“OK,” Alex said. “And thanks again.”
The box driver drove out of the yard, leaving Alex standing there, holding onto the lead rope of the forlorn pony.
“Who does this pony belong to?” Nick looked bemused.
“Well...um, I guess you could say she’s mine.” Alex tried to look calm – as though turning up at Sandy Lane with a pony in tow was an everyday event. “Actually, I...er...bought her for you.”
“For us?” Nick looked shocked. “What do you mean?”
“Well, you know the other night when I was here?” Alex patted the pony’s neck.
“Yes,” Nick wrinkled up his brow.
“Well, you were saying you needed more mounts for Sandy Lane,” Alex looked from Nick to Sarah. “So I thought I’d get you one to use for the summer.”
“You thought you’d get us a pony and you didn’t even ask us if we wanted one?”
“Um, well, there wasn’t really time.” Alex looked a little embarrassed as he twisted the end of the pony’s rope in his hands.
Nick raised his eyebrows. “Kate...” he turned to Alex’s sister. “Did you have a hand in this?”
“No, I mean, well...” Kate blustered. “I knew Alex was going to do it.” She looked embarrassed. “But I thought he’d talk to you first.”
“Have you taken a proper look at this pony?” Nick said, looking her up and down. “She’s in a terrible state.”
Alex intervened. “Well, I know she’s a bit grubby and she’s a little on the thin side...”
“A little on the thin side?” Nick exploded. “I’d say that was a bit of an understatement. Where did you get her from?”
“The Ash Hill Sale,” Alex admitted. “I thought I’d get something a bit better-looking for my money but...”
“This isn’t a toy we’re talking about, Alex,” Nick interrupted. “What on earth did you think you were doing? What’s this all about?”
“Well, I guess it’s an investment,” Alex said. “I thought I’d let you use her, then sell her on at the end of the summer – maybe make a bit of a profit.”
Nick rolled his eyes in disbelief. “I might have known it. Well, we don’t need any more ponies – especially one that clearly isn’t well. Our friend, Dick Bryant, has agreed to lend us more mounts. We’ve got three arriving on Monday so you’ll have to find somewhere else for her. I’m not being mean but we simply haven’t got the room for another pony. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve got a lesson to take.”
And with that, Nick walked off in the direction of the tack room.
“But...but...” Alex was flabbergasted. He stood, holding the pony, and turned to Sarah. “What am I going to do with her, Sarah? I mean, I haven’t got anywhere else to keep her.”
“You heard what Nick said.” Sarah looked embarrassed. “I mean, what did your parents say about it?”
“My parents? Well, I haven’t told them yet,” Alex said quickly.
“You haven’t told them?” Sarah exclaimed.
“But you said...” Kate began.
“Well, I didn’t get round to it,” Alex said.
“So where did you get the money?” Sarah asked.
“From a premium bond I won. It was mine, don’t worry.”
“Even so, I think you should have told them,” Sarah said. “What are you going to do now? I mean, where are you going to keep this poor pony?”
“I don’t know.” Alex’s voice was a low grunt.
“Oh good grief,” Sarah sighed. “Look, I’ll have a word with Nick and see if I can sort something out, just for the time being.” And with that, Sarah made her way into the tack room.
As Sarah disappeared, Alex turned to his sister. “What am I going to do if I can’t keep her here?”
“I’m afraid that’s your problem, Alex,” Kate fumed. “Thanks to you it looks like I’ve had a hand in all this. What on earth is Nick going to think of me? And just after he’s given up his time to give me extra training with Feather too.”
“Oh shut up, Kate,” Alex snapped. “I’ve got enough on my plate without having to worry about what Nick thinks of you.”
It was only a few minutes later that Nick and Sarah emerged from the tack room. Alex had taken the pony over to a patch of grass and she stood, quietly grazing, as Nick approached.
“I guess we’d better try and talk this through, Alex,” Nick started slowly. “Sarah’s explained that you haven’t got anywhere to keep this pony, but the fact remains that we don’t really need her either – especially as we clearly can’t use her in lessons.”
“I just didn’t think this all through,” Alex admitted.
“Too right you didn’t,” Nick said, looking critically at the pony.
Alex waited for Nick to go on.
“As far as I can see, you’ve got two options,” Nick hesitated. “You can either give this pony to a horse sanctuary or...” At this point Nick took a deep breath. “I’ll let you keep her here for the summer if – and only if – you take full responsibility for her. She’s not well enough to go outside in the fields, so she’ll have to use Whispering Silver’s box. Whisp will be all right outside for a few weeks. This pony’s going to need extra care, so you’ll have to be here every morning to muck her out and groom her, prepare all her foods...really look after her like she’s your own pony. I mean she is your own pony.”
“Every day?” Alex gulped.
“That’s what I said.” Nick was serious. “Who else do you think is going to do it? It’ll be up to you to get her well. She isn’t anyone else’s responsibility.”
“But I won’t be able to be here every day,” Alex said. “You see, I’ve got cricket practices three mornings a week and–”
“That’s my offer.” Nick cut him off short. “Take it or leave it.”
Alex was silent. He couldn’t think what to say.
“I’m not saying you can’t go to your cricket
practices,” Nick said quickly. “Only that you’ll have to fit them around looking after this pony if you want her to stay here. If you get your jobs done in good time, what you do afterwards is your own business.”
Alex looked from Nick to the pony. It was the best offer he was going to get. There wasn’t a lot else he could do. As much as Alex hated the thought of spending his time looking after a pony, the thought of losing all of his savings was even worse.
“Yes, well OK, I’ll do it. I’ll take care of her,” Alex answered resentfully.
“Good. I expect you to stand by your decision,” Nick said firmly. “And I don’t want you going to Kate for help. She’s going to have her work cut out this summer training Feather for the shows.”
“Yes, I know,” Alex said.
“And one more thing – you must tell your parents what you’ve done.”
“OK,” Alex said slowly.
“Right, well if that’s all decided, we’d better get her stabled.” Quickly Nick ran a hand down the pony’s legs. “She’s sound, which is the main thing, and she’s got nice lines even if she is very thin. The dirt’s pretty thick on that shaggy winter coat, but you’ll get it off with cleaning. Take her over to the end box and make her a bran mash. There are worming sachets in the medicine cabinet in the tack room. What’s she called by the way?”
In all the excitement of the goings-on in the afternoon, no one had even thought to ask about a name – not even Kate. Alex racked his brains.
“Puzzle.” The word came out automatically.
“What?” Nick looked astounded.
“Puzzle – that’s what it said in the catalogue,” Alex muttered under his breath.
“Well, Puzzle it is then,” Nick said. “Unless you want to change it?”
“No, Puzzle’s fine,” Alex said firmly, leading the pony across the yard. As he pulled back the bolt of Whispering Silver’s empty stable, he took a deep breath and led Puzzle inside. Tying her to a ring in the wall, he hurried off to the feed room. Kate was already there ahead of him, mixing up the bran mash.
“Don’t think I’ll do this every time.” She raised her eyebrows. “But Mum and Dad’ll be expecting us home soon – and you’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”
“I know, but listen Kate, I’m not going to tell them just yet,” Alex said, taking over the stirring. “Maybe in a day or two, but not right now. So don’t go saying anything, will you? I want to give her a chance to get on the road to recovery before they know.”
“But...but,” Kate started, stopping when Alex turned to glare at her. “Well, if you think that’s for the best,” she finished.
“I do,” Alex said, turning his back on Kate. The last thing he wanted at this stage was his parents getting involved. He knew they’d be furious. Right now he needed to put all his energy into getting this wretched pony better – or he’d never see his money again.
5
ONE VERY SICK PONY
Alex joined Kate in the kitchen early the next morning. His mother looked surprised to see him in jodhpurs and riding boots on a Sunday.
“Haven’t you got a cricket match today?” she said.
“Yes, yes of course I have, but later,” he said, quickly turning away.
Alex grabbed his riding hat and joined Kate at the door. His cricket wasn’t until 12 o’clock so if he hurried through his jobs at the yard, he should still be able to make it in time. He was silent as Kate called goodbye for the two of them and they walked out of the house.
“All right, grumpy?” Kate called as Alex unchained his bike.
“Not really,” he grunted as they swung their bikes out of the drive and set off down the road. “I can’t believe I’ve got to go to the stables on a Sunday morning!”
“Well, you’re the one who bought the pony,” Kate said in an exasperated voice. “No one forced you. I don’t know – you haven’t even started looking after Puzzle yet and already you’re grumbling.”
“Nobody said I had to smile while I was doing it, did they?” Alex said furiously. “This whole thing’s a nightmare. I mean – if I don’t get Puzzle well I won’t have any money at all, and that will be the end of the cricket tour for sure.”
“Yup,” Kate answered him.
Alex said nothing as they cycled along. He pedalled hard, silently fuming and trying to resign himself to the morning ahead. In no time at all they reached the bottom of the drive that led to the stables. They turned off the road and headed up past the outdoor school. A muddy Land Rover passed them on the way.
“Isn’t that the vet’s Land Rover?” Kate looked surprised.
“Looks like it,” Alex said. “I guess he’s come to look at the lame ponies.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. I hope they haven’t made their injuries worse,” Kate said, wobbling about as she steered through the potholes and drew to a halt in the yard.
The stables was already busy that morning. Nick and Sarah were over by the corner stable and there were three or four people crowded around them. But what struck Alex most was the noise. Horses and ponies were whinnying loudly, and the sound of crashing hooves on timber echoed around the yard. Before Alex and Kate even had a chance to go over, Tom had walked across the yard towards them.
“I wouldn’t like to be in your shoes right now, Alex,” he said.
“What’s going on?” Kate asked in a frightened voice.
“It’s that pony you brought here,” Tom answered. “She’s been trying to kick the box down for hours. Nick’s been up since six trying to calm her.”
“What!” Alex looked shocked. “But she was as quiet as a mouse yesterday.”
Tom shrugged his shoulders. “Seems she was probably on tranquillisers at the sale.”
Alex swallowed hard. That would be all he needed. Grimly, he mustered up the courage to cross the yard. Nick was already ushering the other people away as Alex reached him.
“What’s wrong with her?” Alex asked straight out.
“I don’t really know. The vet’s with her now,” Nick muttered grimly, walking into the box. “He’s trying to calm her down.”
Alex looked into the box, not daring to say a word. Puzzle stood inside, the whites of her eyes flashing angrily. There was no way he was going in with her.
“So where did you say you got this pony from?” the vet called over his shoulder.
“Alex bought her at the Ash Hill Sale,” Nick nodded in Alex’s direction.
“Ah,” the vet answered. “Well, I’ve given her a shot to keep her quiet.”
“What are the chances of keeping her calm when that wears off?” Nick asked.
“Hard to tell.” The vet shrugged. “She’s pretty scared, but that’s understandable – new home and all that. Whoever her previous owners were, they haven’t been treating her very well, have they? She’s so thin, and they must have been riding her in pretty uncomfortable tack to make those saddle sores. It’s no wonder she flinches when anyone goes near her. Even if you manage to keep her calm, she needs a lot of feeding up. It doesn’t even look as though she’s touched that haynet either.”
“No, she hasn’t,” Nick admitted. “And she didn’t want any of the bran mash we made for her yesterday either.”
“It really depends on how well she responds as to whether you’ll be able to pull her through. I know you managed it with Storm Cloud, but this pony’s in a much worse state.”
“But with proper care and attention it should be possible, shouldn’t it?” Nick looked concerned.
The vet shrugged. “Only time will tell. I’ll leave you with enough tranquilliser to get her through the worst. If she doesn’t settle in the next day or so, call me back. If she doesn’t improve, you should think about putting her down.”
Nick looked thoughtful. “Have you got all of that Alex?”
“I think so,” Alex answered. He was shell-shocked. He hadn’t imagined for one moment that the pony was so bad that she might have to be put down.
“It doe
sn’t look good,” Nick started. “Let’s just hope she settles. We can’t keep her doped up all summer, and it wouldn’t be fair to try and sell her on, or even give her away for that matter. She could cause someone to have a serious accident.”
Alex didn’t know what to say.
“OK,” the vet finished. “I’ve got to get to Grange Farm now – some problem with their bullocks. Someone needs to stay with her this afternoon – just in case she freaks out again, and I’ll leave you with an ointment for those sores.”
“Thanks for coming over so promptly,” Nick said, following the vet out of the stable.
As they walked over to the Land Rover, Alex turned to Kate, looking embarrassed.
“Did you hear all that?” Alex took a deep breath. “As if things aren’t bad enough already. Not only is the pony sick, she’s crazy as well!”
Alex was relieved that nobody asked him what his parents had said about the pony. With everything that had happened that morning, it must have slipped their minds. Alex kept well out of sight and set about looking after Puzzle. As he pulled back the bolt to her stable, he actually felt pretty nervous, having seen what she was capable of. What if she had another freak-out? Tentatively, Alex approached the pony, but she didn’t even move. It looked as if she was still calm from the effects of the tranquilliser, which put Alex’s mind at rest. As he groomed her and picked out her hooves, he didn’t have too much of a problem. She didn’t even bat an eyelid as he bathed her sores and put the ointment on them.
Now, as Alex headed off across the yard to prepare her a bran mash, his heart sank. As he stirred the mixture in the feed room, he thought about the afternoon ahead of him. The vet had said someone needed to stay with Puzzle, and he knew that someone would have to be him. He wouldn’t be able to go to cricket as he’d planned. Alex rolled his eyes. Suddenly he was aware of a voice calling into the feed room.
“Hi there.”
Alex turned round and looked over the door. There was Izzy standing in front of him.
“Izzy!” He forced a smile to his face. “How are you doing?”
The Perfect Pony Page 3