May 2009 Story Contest

Pony Arrival! by Sham_Slam
 
            “Catch me if you can!” Rayna shrieked over her shoulder to her two sisters. Maya, the youngest, urged little bay Rain into a canter. Madison got into a half seat on her paint pony, Faith, while Rayna galloped ahead on her white pony, Anna. Madison reached out to tag Rayna gently on the shoulder as she and Faith galloped past.

           “Gotcha,” she said playfully.

           “And I…got…you!” Maya said, reaching out as far as she could to tap Madison’s boot with her crop. The three sisters pulled their ponies to a walk.

           “Hey, do you want to go check out the new family in Downtown Wiggins? They’re supposed to be moving in today,” Madison suggested.

           “Yeah! Maybe they have horses!” Rayna agreed.

           “Maybe there’s a girl my age…” Maya said dreamily. As the youngest, there were things that Maya couldn’t do that the big girls could. Maya would love to have a playmate.

           After the girls entered the town, it wasn’t long before they saw a big moving truck, a trailer, and a pickup truck.

           Suddenly, a girl a little younger than Rayna came bounding around the trailer. She wore shorts, a tank top, sneakers, and bright red pigtails.

           “Hi! My name’s Emily! Do you live in Wiggins? My dad sells tack, and he got offered a job here, so here we are! I have a pony about the size of yours, too! Her name’s Peanut, and guess what? She’s going to have a baby in about a month! Isn’t that great? We didn’t know if she could make the trip, but the vet said if we drove slow and stopped frequently we’d be fine! I was just about to get her out. Want to see?” Emily finally stopped to take a breath. The sisters were stunned. Could this girl talk any faster? Seeing their stunned expressions, Emily laughed, and the sisters laughed with her.

           Rayna smiled. “Can we see your pony?”

           Emily grinned. “Sure! Here, I’ll get her.” As her dad lowered the ramp, Emily bounded around the trailer. However, as soon as she opened the jockey door to get her pony, she was completely calm. “Easy, girl,” Emily soothed as she backed the appaloosa down the ramp. As they reached the ground, Peanut pranced and pulled on the lead as Emily’s mom undid her travel wraps. Whenever a horse is traveling, it is important to wrap their legs to prevent injury.

           There could be no doubt that Peanut was pregnant- her barrel, or middle section, bulged in an oval. “Here, you can tie your horses up to the side of the trailer,” Emily offered as she struggled to contain Peanut.

           As the girls walked around the house, a small barn with four stalls came into view. Each stall had a large outdoor run attached, so that the horses could choose to go in or out as they wished and had some room to run. At the end of the barn was the tack room that had a ladder up to the loft, which would serve as a feed room.

           “Nice,” Madison commented as Emily let Peanut go in the first stall.

           “Yeah,” Emily said. “Let’s go get some shavings and hay for her! Race you!” As Emily neared the truck, she took a huge, bounding leap and shimmied up the side of the vehicle. She pulled off the tarp that covered it, revealing a huge mound of tack. Carefully, Emily lowered a wheelbarrow and handed Madison and Rayna bags of shavings to put in, and gave Maya a hay bag. Emily grabbed a couple buckets and led the way back to the barn.

           When they got there, Emily helped Maya hang the hay bag and fill Peanut’s water bucket, while Madison and Rayna spread shavings over the four stalls. When all that was done, the foursome went racing back to the truck to get another load.

            An hour and a half later, the girls were still unloading. “Don’t worry, this is the last load,” Emily said cheerfully as she handed down the last of the supplies. “I know it’s a lot. I guess this is what happens when your dad owns a tack line. But guess what! My friends and I always get a lot of free accessories, and after what you’ve helped me unload today, you guys definitely qualify as friends.”

           “Awesome,” Madison said, wondering how Emily could still have energy after hauling this much tack.

           “Hey, your ponies are welcome to stay in the remaining stalls- they can’t be enjoying standing at the trailer,” Emily offered.
 

          “OK,” Rayna agreed.

           When the girls got to the tack room, Emily started gasping for breath. “Almost…there….finally!” Emily said dramatically before collapsing on the tack room floor. The girls laughed, and then left to get their ponies.

            After the horses were happily munching apples in the stalls, the girls went to lunch.
In the kitchen, Emily began pulling crackers, peanut butter, granola bars, and apples out of a grocery bag.

            “Sorry that this is all we have,” Emily apologized. “We tried to just bring snacks on the road. But dig in anyway!” Emily invited cheerfully, and all girls did.
 
            When their lunch was finished, it was time for the sisters to head back to the barn. Emily came with them to help tack up. The process started with grooming.

             Grooming is a crucial part of the everyday care of a horse. Not only does it clean the horse and make it shiny, but it stimulates blood circulation. Maya started grooming Rain with the curry comb- a round, rubber tool with small, blunt spikes to loosen hair and dirt. She curried all over except for Rain’s head. Maya began at the top of her pony’s neck and worked her way down over Rain’s body.
After thoroughly massaging both sides with the curry, Maya moved on the hard brush- a brush with a wood base and stiff bristles. She whisked away the dirt and hair that was stimulated by the currying by making short, swift movements.

             Next came the soft brush, a wood brush that has soft bristles. Using long strokes, Maya created a shine in Rain’s coat. This was the only brush she used on her pony’s face.

             To keep Rain from becoming lame, Maya carefully picked out Rain’s hooves with a hoof pick. She loosened the rocks, dirt, and shavings that had implanted in her shoes. Maya had to be careful about the Rain’s frog- the V-shaped part of the hoof that is very sensitive to touch.

             The final step of grooming was to carefully comb out Rain’s thick mane and tail. Using a comb, she started from the bottom and slowly worked her way up. Brushing a horse’s mane and tail is serious business- once hair is pulled out, it takes a long time to grow back.

             Meanwhile, Rayna was saddling Anna. First, she smoothed the saddle pad carefully over Anna’s back, making sure there were no wrinkles that could pain Anna on the ride. Then she heaved the saddle up onto Anna’s back. Once she had made sure that had no wrinkles, Rayna carefully tucked the billets- the buckles that hold the girth- into the saddle pad’s straps to keep the pad straight. The next step was to thread the girth up through the pad’s other strap, and buckle the girth loosely around Anna’s barrel.

             The final step was to bridle the pony. Rayna started by putting the reins over Anna’s head. Holding the top of the bridle in her right hand, Rayna positioned her left under the snaffle bit. Gently, she rose the bridle until she had her left hand between Anna’s ears and her right hand directly under her mouth. Carefully, Rayna slid the bit in and placed the crownpiece over her ears. After pulling Anna’s forelock over the headpiece, she buckled the throatlatch loose enough so that she could fit a fist between the leather and Anna’s head. The nose band was the last part; she buckled it so that she could fit two fingers between Anna’s chin and the band.
Pulling Anna’s reins over her head, Rayna pulled on her helmet and gloves and led the pony outside. After tightening her girth, she mounted and joined her sisters over by the trail.

             “Bye, Emily,” Maya said, waving.

            “We get together again sometime,” Madison suggested.

          “Definitely,” Emily said energetically. “See you later!”

            As the sisters turned down the trail, Rayna spoke. “I really like Emily,” she said.

            “Me too,” Madison agreed.

            “I can’t wait until Peanut has her baby,” Maya said.

            Madison grinned. “Oh, I have a feeling we’ll be there.”