“Okay, Mister. Enough adventure for you. Now it’s my turn.”
As I reentered the barn, Morgan stood next to Knight in the main hall. He tossed his head upward, and refused to take the bit while she put on the bridle. Her leathers hung by her side and her other hand held onto his halter. Morgan grumbled and stomped her foot.
No way I’ll offer help. She was going to have to ask. I only had so much time at the barn. I couldn’t bring Chancy out of her stall while Knight stood in the middle of the barn. I deposited Colt in his playroom, prepped Chancy in her stall, and waltzed past Morgan to the tack room for my saddle. Morgan continued to struggle with Knight. I’d give her a few more minutes before I’d ask her to put Knight back in his stall.
Knight snorted and pawed the floor. I wanted to do the same thing. I chickened-out about confronting Morgan and led Chancy toward her back door.
Morgan cleared her throat. “Umm…”
I stopped.
In an agitated voice, Morgan stood in Chancy’s doorway. “So where’s Mrs. Brown?”
“She doesn’t usually come this early if I’m here.”
Morgan looked at the floor, and tossed a small clump of straw with the toe of her boot. “Umm. I need help. You’re here, so I’m asking.”
That had to be painful to say. I waited to respond, just like she did with me. The silence grew louder. After another minute, I gave in. “What do you need?”
She lifted Knight’s leathers. “He won’t let me put on his bridle.”
I backed Chancy into her stall and closed the door. Then I pulled the reins over her head and tucked them under the stirrup irons. I followed Morgan to Knight. My eyes went to the bridle, and then to her. “Have you put the bridle on him before?”
She shifted her face from place to place, refusing to make eye contact. “Mrs. Brown’s been showing me, but Knight doesn’t like me trying.”
As I approached, Knight bowed his head and blinked his melting chocolate eyes. He neighed and rubbed his nose on my shoulder.
Morgan gasped and scowled at Knight.
I slid my hand across his shiny back, inspecting him. “I’ll need the step stool. He’s a big horse.” Without looking at her, I said “Morgan, please go to the tack room and get the box of dog biscuits on the shelf and break them into small pieces. Then you can give him one piece at a time and talk to him in a soothing voice. You need him to relax.”
She stared, narrowing her eyes before she stomped away.
I held Knight’s halter while speaking to him with a happy jabber and stroking his soft nose. His gentle eyes flickered at me and his head relaxed in a down position.
Morgan returned. Knight’s head flew up with wide eyes. Morgan held her hand flat with a piece of biscuit up to Knight’s nose. He sniffed it sideways, but didn’t attempt taking it.
I hiked my shoulders. “All right. The first thing that needs to happen is to get the two of you communicating. You’ve got to earn his trust.”
Morgan glared. “Trina. I’m not asking for a psychology lesson. I just want to put on the stupid bridle.”
“You’re not going to get him to do anything, if you’re not friends. You must have been kind to your first horse. What kind of horse did you have?”
“Look, Trina.” Morgan straightened, poked out her chin, and then spoke without any emotion. “I only have a couple hours today. I don’t want to waste the time talking about my first horse or to Knight. My brother is picking me up at 11:30. I have my first show this weekend and I’m running out of time to practice.”
“I’ll help you, but only if you can get him to relax. He’ll never let you put on the bridle, and I’m not doing it for you.” I headed for the tack room. “I’m getting the stool, and then we’ll start.”
Taking my time, I listened. In a grouchy tone, Morgan told Knight how she needed him to help her. I crept closer, not wanting her to know I was on my way. She held her hand up to Knight’s lips. After a few seconds, he lifted his top lip and let the biscuit slip into his mouth, carefully, never taking his eyes from her. While he crunched it, Morgan watched him chew. His eyes flitted back and forth, and she repeated feeding the biscuits a couple more times. When she took one finger and trailed it down his nose, Knight actually made eye contact. Morgan spoke directly to him in a gentle voice. “Good boy!”
I moved forward. “Progress! He looks better already. That’s great. Now here we go.” I placed the stool next to Knight. “I’m going to show you what to do, and then you’re going to do it.”
Morgan exhaled a blast of air. “Mrs. B has done the same thing. I understand what to do, but Knight refuses to let me put in the bit.”
“Oh.” I moved the stool. “That’s why I’m having you give him treats. He’ll start thinking you have something yummy for him.”
“That’s bribing.” Morgan huffed. “He’s supposed to do what I ask him to do.”
“Well, I don’t think he knows what you expect, yet. Just like you don’t know what to expect from him. It takes time to know each other. Are you ready?”
She stared at the floor and grumbled. “I guess.” She hesitated, and then shoved her shoulders upward and let them fall with a forceful huff. “If I want to have any time to ride, we need to hurry this up.”
“Okay. I’m going to talk you through each step. Right now, give him another biscuit and talk to him in a soft, calm voice. And then start telling Knight what you’re going to do. You’re going to give him a treat each time he listens to you.”
Nodding her head, and out of the side of her mouth came, “And how am I supposed to know he’s listening to me?”
“He’ll look at you. His ears will move, or you’ll see his muscles relax. Just like when you’re riding. Now tell him what you’re getting ready to do and give him a biscuit.”
“This is ridiculous.”
I didn’t say another word and waited for her cooperation.
The seconds ticked by, and then she held her hand under his mouth. He nibbled the treat and made eye contact. Morgan caught his look and whispered, “Good Boy.” She even patted his neck. She placed the bridle against his head. “Okay, Knight. I’m going to slide the reins over your head.”
His eyes went to her face and he moved his lips. Morgan gave him a cookie. “Okay. Now I’m moving the nose band so you won’t bite the leather straps.” She waited for him to respond and gave him another pat and a treat. “Okay. Knight, here comes the hard part.” She glanced at me and shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
I smiled. “You can’t believe you’re getting the bridle on, or you can’t believe you’re talking to your horse?”
“Both.”
“Okay. Morgan. Now lay the reins over his neck and put the bit in your left hand. Look in Knight’s eyes and tell him how good he’s behaving and slide your thumb into the corner of his mouth until he opens. The magic trick is to push his lip in under your thumb. He can’t bite you because his lip will be in the way.”
Her hands shook slightly as she followed my directions.
“That’s it! Good job, Morgan. Tell him how happy you are with a pat.”
Morgan glanced sideways at me blinking, bulging eyes.
She stroked Knight and proceeded to tell him about putting each ear in its loop. As she pushed his forelocks away, she looked in his eyes, “Well, aren’t you smart. We did it!” And she let him nibble two more treats.
“That was great, Morgan.”
She smiled at Knight, untied him from the clips, and began walking him out of the barn to the stadium.
My shoulders slumped, and I bit my lip to stop them from quivering.
Never once did she make eye contact with me.
I watched her leave and mumbled under my breath. “You’re welcome.” My body tensed and I clamped my mouth. But I couldn’t stop myself from twitching and mouth
ing angry words. “You ungrateful, rude brat.”
She hadn’t changed.
But at the last minute before she left the barn, Morgan turned her body halfway around and in a muted voice called, “Thanks, Trina.”
I straightened and my heart quickened as I called after her. “You’re welcome.”
Minutes later Chancy and I walked to the stadium. Jumps were set up in the middle, but the horses needed to warm up. Morgan had already changed to a trot, while we walked along the fence line. The flow went well until she decided to canter on the diagonals and almost ran us over. “Morgan, unless we divide the stadium, you’re going to have to call your moves or take turns.”
She tugged her reins with such force, she made Knight halt smack in front of me. “Why don’t you come back and ride later. You live here and can ride whenever you want.”
“Wrong, Morgan. I have a puppy to train and other chores to do.”
“I really need to practice some jumps. If I don’t do well this weekend, my mother gets…Well, she gets upset.”
If I’m going to try to be a friend, I’ll back down. This time. “All right. I’ll give you time to ride. At least let me trot and canter, and then I’ll leave.”
Morgan rode Knight to the far corner, and sat straight in her saddle, observing. I practiced putting Chancy into a trot, slowing down, and halting.
Morgan surprised me by her attention. “Check your body position and your hands.”
Smiling inside, I straightened in the saddle, and squared my hands. After twenty minutes of riding, I headed Chancy toward the barn. Over my shoulder, I hollered, “Thanks for the tips. Morgan. The ring’s all yours.”
Standing in the shower rack, I hosed and scraped off the excess water from my frisky horse. She bumped me with her nose to knock me off balance and swished her tail in my face as I walked around her.
I played along, fussing at her and tickling around her ears. Once back in her stall, she munched on hay and stared out her window. Before I finished cleaning my tack and checking on the other horses, Morgan walked Knight into the shower area to hose him down and actually spoke kindly.
I walked over. “So, where’s your show this weekend?”
She lifted her head but didn’t say anything.
I didn’t move.
From behind Knight she stood taller than Knights body and briefly made eye contact. “In Aiken, about two hours away.”
I waited as long as she had done to respond. “I bet that’s a lot of fun.”
This time Morgan answered as if we were having a real conversation. “Well, this’ll be my first show with Knight. I don’t think we’re ready, but of course, it’s a must-do for my parents. They’ll drop us off at the barn, unhook the truck, and go to a hotel to work.”
Morgan moved to my side of Knight, but kept her back to me. She murmured, “Sometimes they show up for my events and other times, not.” Louder she grumbled. “Tomorrow, I hope it’s a NOT.” She moved around to the other side of Knight again.
I forced my face to show no emotion. I blinked. “Where do you stay?”
Morgan stayed hidden while drying Knight’s legs. “I camp out in the trailer. It’s usually close to my stall. I’ll visit with Knight. Actually, this may help us get more acquainted. I’ll take some treats and try talking a little more with him. He does seem to relax with the attention.”
I stared at Knight’s face. “Aren’t you scared being by yourself?”
She walked around Knight, patting his side with her back to me again. “No, I’m used to it. My show coach stays in her trailer close to mine and checks on me before I fall asleep and again in the morning.” Morgan lifted her head over her shoulder, watching me. “My mother says she’s trying to make me independent.”
I added a strained smile. “Well. You’re certainly braver than I’d ever be.” I turned, swallowed my shock and waved. “See ya later. I’m off to train Mr. Colton.”
Chapter 16
My summer days melted away under the heat and humidity. Throughout the week, the barn was almost mine. Morgan and I must have been on different schedules, which created a happy, hassle-free zone.
After Heather and I finished doing morning chores on Sunday, she rode the other schooling horse, Rapp. I studied the two of them together in the ring. Jealousy spiked its ugly head. Heather, who was two years younger and had been riding for only one year, performed the same level of skills I had practiced for three.
Being in a hurry, I only had time to exercise Chancy on a long lunge line in the arena. She followed my commands doing trots, canters, walks, and stops in a circle. Then I had her go the other direction. Lunging helped her skills but didn’t help mine.
After working Chancy, I stroked her neck, enjoying the roughness as my hand went up and the smoothness as my hand glided down. “I’ll see you later. Colton’s trainer is coming early tomorrow, and I have lots to do before the weather gets too hot.”
Heather rushed over. Her long pony tail swayed like Rapp’s tail. “Do you want me to ride her today? I have time to ride both horses.”
I started to say, “No, she’ll be fine.” But Chancy gave me a sideways look and made me feel guilty. The words leaked out. “I guess.”
Heather stood to Chancy’s left side and stroked her soft cheek. “I had fun riding her while you were at the beach. She’s a great horse.”
Glancing at each face, a lump of concern grew in my stomach. “Thanks, Heather. That’ll be a big help. She’s not getting enough riding time with me.”
The week after the horse show, Mrs. B marveled at Morgan’s change of attitude. “Trina what did you do?”
“Really?” I wrinkled my nose. “At the beginning of the week, you weren’t here, and she needed help with her bridle. I suggested using treats and showed her how to get Knight to relax.”
“Well, hon, there’s definitely a change taking place. Even Knight seems quite happy.”
“Oh, that’s good to hear.” I grinned. “How did her show go?”
Mrs. B twisted her head. “She never said anything, but I saw a yellow ribbon on Knight’s inside ledge. Third place is wonderful for her first show with Knight, and I thought she was going to hang it, but it’s gone now.”
The following week, we had an unusual cloudy day with lower temperatures. Sarah, Colton, and I hiked in the open pasture, enjoying the cool the breeze.
Colton had learned the command Come on his six-foot leash in our backyard. The challenge today was to attach a twenty-foot extendable leash. As he perfected the command from farther away, I added another twenty feet of rope. This allowed him to run forty-six feet in front, enjoying his freedom before I called, “Colton, Come.”
He turned, jogged to me, and did a Front command. He sat, facing me, waiting for his treat. He gobbled teeny pieces of hot dogs, apples, or thin slices of string cheese. The harder the command, the more delicious the treats needed to be. After thirty minutes, Colt raced ahead, jerking me, and almost caught a cotton-tailed rabbit before it scurried down a hole at the edge of the woods. He poked his nose in, sniffed and dug.
“Nope. You can’t get the bunny!” Before going any further, I untied the extra rope length, undid the extendable leash, and kept him closer on his six-foot leash. I didn’t want him to wrap himself around a tree.
We made teams, Sarah and Colt and me and Colt. Sarah or I hid behind tree trunks, and let Colt use his sense of smell to search for the other. The search began after we counted to ten out loud. Colton sat motionless while he and his partner hid, except for his tail, swishing back and forth across the leaves. He learned the words Stay and Wait, and we worked on counting to ten. Then during his turn to search, he used his nose.
During my solo search for them, I let my ears lead me. Things in the woods rustled and snapped and I ran that direction. My heart raced as I stumbled. I caught myself on another tree and tur
ned. Morgan sat against the tree with her knees pulled to her chest. “Whoa!” My heart sputtered. “Morgan, you scared me. What are you doing out here?”
She whispered, “I-I needed to get away.” Morgan swallowed her sobs, bowed her head, and wiped her cheeks with both hands. She sniffed and lifted her tear stained face to me. “What are you two doing?”
Sarah came out of her hiding place. Our eyes questioned each other. When we looked back, Morgan was standing there, staring at us. She wiped her eyes with the back of each hand.
I shrugged. “Sarah and I are just running around in the woods.”
Morgan narrowed her eyes.
I licked my lips, pressed them together, and made my voice perky with a little giggle. “Actually, we’re being silly. Colton’s favorite game is to search for one of us. It teaches him to smell and listen, and it wears him out. And it’s cooler here. Why aren’t you riding?”
“I don’t feel like it right now.” She stared off through the trees.
I didn’t know what to say. “Do you want to join us?” I asked.
“I guess.” While never looking at us, she spoke in a soft monotone voice. “My parents will never know.”
What an eerie comment! All the fight had gone out of her. Something was terribly wrong. We stood silent, and slowly her eyes drifted to mine.
I broke the silence. “Okay. This is what we’ll do. Two girls hide, and then we’ll switch off with Colton.”
Focusing straight ahead, she wrinkled her forehead.
“Morgan, we’re pretending to be in the wilderness.”
She pulled out a tissue from the waistband of her riding pants and wiped her nose. “Well, this’ll be a first.”
Sarah flipped her head away from Morgan. Her eyes bulged, and showed more white than blue.
I ignored Sarah’s glare. “Okay. The more people, the better. That’ll tire Colt even faster.”
“I- I- I don’t want to get close to him.” Morgan looked down at Colton. “I’ll just watch.”
“You’re not afraid of Colt, are you?”
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