Reining For My Horse's Life

Chapter 7

The weekend came, my dad said I could have a sleepover with Michaela, Paige, Ally, Birttany, and Claudia. Michaela was the first to come since she lived nearest, then Claudia, Paige, Ally, and Brittany. 

"Hi guys, my dad said we can sleep in the barn, and ride!" I exclaimed. 

"Sleeping in the barn is awesome! I used to do that when foals were born at Silver Barrel. Only the english riders call it Silver Hurdle." Claudia said. 

"Yeah totally agree." Ally replied. 

"I second that!" Paige exclaimed. 

"I third that." Michaela said. 

"I fourth that... or me too?" I replied quesioning if it made sense what I just said. "So lets go out to the barn and ride, wanna sleep in the attic, theres alot of stuff there, like hay, old stuff, and privacy." I then continued. I also tarted grabbing stuff from the fridge for a picnic. I had sandwhiches, water bottles, soda, apples, carrots, and chips.

"Yeah lets ride!" Everyone yelled. We left the kitchen, and ran out back, passing the empty pastures since it was lunch time. Cinderpelt meowed at us when we reached the barn, she wanted to go inside. 

"Okay calm down, I'll let you in. Every remember I told you bring a bathing suit, grab it and put it in your backpacks I told you to bring, actually put them on under your clothes, do that in the tack room in the other barn, theres no windows, also you need the canteen" I told everyone, as she circled us meowing. I unlocked the door and she sprang into a pile of hay. "Michaela you should've brought your dog, he woulda' loved chasin' her around." I told Michaela, who nodded her head and chuckled. All of us climbed the ladder to the attic. 

"Wow, its like eerie up here, wow thats one old looking.." Claudia said picking up a green dressage saddle and dropping it after she saw the green. I kicked it to the floor below so my dad would do something with it. "Ew! Wheres the sink, don't want to get moldy saddle fungus." She exclaimed. 

"Umm.. down the ladder to the right of the tack room." I told her leaning over the fence like thing stopping hay form falling and pointing it out. Claudia nodded and hurried to the sink. After she came back, we set up our sleeping bags, then got everyone ready to ride. Everyone got their favortie horses from Silver Hurdle, and I got Amberello. 

Amberello gave a nicker as I led him from his stall, he nudged me for a carrot. I got some sweet feed in one hand after hooking him to the cross ties, and got some from the wheelbarrel. and gave him some. He squealed happily since he loved sweet feed. I quickly groomed him, picked his hooves, and put his bridle and green plush bareback pad on. I led him over to water, which was a large trough by the barn door, it was this big black bucket trough type thing. Amberello drank with loud slurps. Then after a few seconds,he started pooling the water onto his tongue, and flicking it into his mouth like a dog in slow motion. Then we walked outside to the forest by my house.  I ground mounted him and everyone cantered over. Claudia was bareback, only a rope as a bridle which she tied like a hackamore, Paige had no tack at all, Michaela and Ally went tacked, and Brittany went tacked too. We all galloped off into the woods. 

"Hey, who thinks I can jump this log bareback?" Claudia asked, as we got closer to a log, everyone said sure, she cleared it perfectly. Everyone went around it. 

"I guess you done some english?" I asked trotting next to her. 

"Yep, Poco wasn't up to it though." She said, patting his neck and rubbing it. 

"Amberello... say hi to Poco." I said. He itched his leg with his face as a reply for a minute.

"Poco say hi." Claudia said. Poco sat there.. and looked at a tree. "I guess he's a shy boy." Caudia told me. I nodded, then galloped off in a race to find my secret hot spring. 

"Hey were ya goin' now Armstrong!" Yelled Michaela, who knew where I was going. 

"You know where!" I screamed. Amberello all of a sudden did a slide stop, luckily I got in the posistion you should be in when you do a slide stop. 

"Woah girlie!" Yelled Brittany. 

"Ha, I bet on those barrels you couldn't do that!" I joked. She was far behind, I galloped into a wide field with long grass. Around me were mountains, I did another slidestop. Everyone slowed as the got near me. 

"It's a beautiful view." Ally muttered. 

"Woah....." Everyone was speechless. 

"Yep, only a few more minutes until we reach my hot spring." I told them, I started to lope off as Paige did a fast trot, that Amanda called a racing trot, which harness horses did. I totally knew nothing of gaits, other then walk, jog, trot, lope, canter, and gallop. Western called trotting a jog, and cantering lope or loping. No not canter lope, its named after something, since it's more relaxed. Michaela did a canter, Brittany did a medium trot, as Amanda would say, and Ally and Claudia trotted as I would. We all went into a rocky, lush, green, forest.

After a few minutes, we reached the hot spring, it was steaming, and surrounded by beautiful rocks and colors. Everyone was speechless. I took off my jacket and jeans, underneath was my black, pink polka-dotted tankini, Ally had a purple one-piece, Michaela a blue and purple stripped tankin, Brittany a green bikini, Paige a black t-shirt over a bikini top, and black board shorts, and Claudia a pink bikini. We tied the horses with some rope from our backpack to a broken log. We all got into the hot spring which was about as big a small round pool. 

"Its like a small pool!" Claudia exclaimed. 

"I know right! Its like a hot tube pool, but naturlly warm." Paige remarked. 

We all sat around and talked until it became about 4 in the after noon, where we dried off and ate lunch. I had a Italian hoagie with a Dr.Pepper, Paige ate plain chips, a turkey sandwhich and a water, then fed some carrots to the horses, Michaela had a chicken wrap with lettuce, mayo, and tomatoe on it and a Coke, Ally had a ham and cheese with Sprite, Claudia had barbeque chips a PB&J with a water, Brittany had turkey on rye with a Coke.

"Okay, wanna head back, and Amberello!" I shouted when I saw Amberello drinking from the hotspring with Poco. 

"Yo Poco! Knock it off! That water ain't for drinkin' it's for... what ever!" Claudia scolded him. Poco and Amberello backed off. They some how got untied from the log. I looked to see rope reins on the ground, they were wet from horse salvia.

"I think they bit through them." I said, pointing out the rope on the ground. 

"Great, now I have to use my legs to turn, and I'm not the best at that since I usually ride bareback with reins." Claudia sighed. 

After we all got packed up, we galloped full speed home, for me and Claudia it was hard. Tonight I had something planned, but I wouldn't ever do it again, it takes some real courage to do this. 

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Cliffhanger! Tell me what you think!