At Risk

Chapter 7

As I walked into the house, I made eye contact with my dad.  "What happened to Nick?  I heard him peel out about half an hour ago.  And why aren't you workin' on that horse?"

"Nick got mad and left because I won't show Missy and I'm not working with Cody because she cut her face and I had to come in and get her a frozen water bottle." When the summer months crept up on us, we would freeze Gatorade and Powerade bottles and give them to the horses to lick.

"How'd she do that?" He raised an eyebrow.

"She spooked at the saddle pad and her halter cut her face."

"What halter did you have on that horse and why did you have a halter on her at all?"

"The halter I trained Prince in and because I always put halters on the horses, dad."

"I'll give you a but of advice, you know she's halter broke, so drop the halter for awhile.  Work on trust, then work on tacking her up.  Get her ice and then go sit in her stall with her.  Try petting her and just let her get to know you." 

"Alright, dad.  I'll try it out." I tried to think of what I could do with her for 3 hours until lunch.  I decided I would bring in a soft brush and try to groom her a little and maybe get her used to a neck rope, which I knew Prince's still hung in the tack room, old and worn.  I grabbed my phone on the way out and once inside the barn, I hung up her ice and got on Instagram, going to an account where I bought Prince's neck rope.

Do you have any neck ropes in store? I asked.

She responded immediately. Sure do!  Green again for Prince?  He's had his for awhile now, I'm glad it held up this long!

No.  Prince passed away recently.  I need one for my new horse and want to give her a fresh start.

Oh no!  I'm so sorry!  He was such a good horse. :( Who is your new horse?

Have you read about Darling? It felt weird calling her that now.

Crazy horse?  You didn't!  Girl that horse will break you before you break it!

I know, I know.  Her name is Dakota and you'll see us at fair this year.  Do you have any red ropes in stock? I made the split second decision to show her in red because it was flashy and because I had never shown Prince in red.

Yep.  Can I bring it by personally?  I'd like to see her.

Course.  I still live in the same place. Barn's unlocked you know where to go. I finished typing and put my phone on the box outside Cody's stall, which I now realized my dad had cleaned and left blank.  There was a single piece of paper on top.  Paint is in the loft.  Decorate her box and don't think too hard.  I have all your ribbons and rosettes.  You know where everything else is.

I smiled at his thought, deciding to decorate the box later.  At my house, decorating a horse's box was very personal and heart-felt.  It took me a month or so to decorate Prince's.  That's also when I realized that Prince's name plate was also gone, replaced with one that read 'Dakota' in a semi-fancy script.

"Kendall!" I heard Maci call into the barn.

"Back here!" I tried not to be too loud because I already knew Cody was on edge from the halter incident.  She was trembling when I brought her into the stall and she still seemed shaky.  I slipped into her stall as Maci rounded the corner.

"Kendall!" she said in a hushed whisper. "Do you have a death wish?!  Get out of there before that horse kills you!"

"Maci calm down before you have a heart attack.  Cody is fine with me being in here, just keep your distance and you'll be fine." I ran my hand up Cody's neck in long slow strokes, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart.  I gently pulled her face down and whispered in her ear soothing things as Maci just stared at us.

"You have got to be kidding me, Kendall.  You are... you're just wow." she smiled at me happily. "Well, I've got your neck rope right here.  I would wish you luck, but I don't think you need it.  Nonetheless, I'll see you at fair in a couple months with Cherry.  Don't worry about the cost, it's on me.  Good luck babe." I gave her a hug and she left the barn.

"We got this babe.  We don't need Nick because we have dad and mom and Maci and each other.  We'll make it work, and then we'll go show at fair, and they'll all love you and it'll be perfect." I didn't notice the tears streaming down my face until Cody leaned over and rubbed her nose across my face.  I smiled, knowing then what to do with her box.  With a quick hug, I left, knowing then and there I had a mission.

"Time to make me a tack box."