Pony Pals, Book 1 - I WANT A PONY

Chapter 4 A Dangerous Trap

Lulu tossed her backpack into the paddock, crawled under the fence and ran up to the pony. As she got closer she saw that the pony's white coat covered with red cuts. Then she noticed a large bloody wound on the pony's front leg. Lulu saw that a strand of rusty barbed wire was wrapped around the leg. One end of the wire was still attached to the post. The pony was trapped. Lulu could see that the pony had gotten jabbed by the bards. But even worse, each

time the pony pulled to free herself, the wire around her leg would tighten and cut deeper into the flesh. I don't care if I get cut, too, Lulu thought. I'm going to free this pony. But what could she do? One end of the barbed wire was stapled securely to the fence post. The rest was embedded in the pony's flesh. She knew the shouldn't try to untangle the pony. Not without help. Lulu figured out that she needed a pair of wire clippers. And the pony needed a veterinarian. The pony started to struggle again. Lulu said, "Easy, pony. Easy. That's a good pony." With Lulu's encouragement, the pony calmed down and stopped trying to get up. Lulu realized that if she went for help, the pony would start moving again. Then that piece of rusty wire would cut deeper into the wounded leg. She decided to stay with the pony and wait for help to come to them.

She rubbed the pony's neck. Yesterday the pony's brown eyes had glowed with merriment. Today they were wide with pain and fear. They seemed to be saying, "I'm in pain and I'm afraid. Please help me." To keep the pony calm Lulu sang the way she had the day before. When she saw how much the pony was sweating she fed it half of her water. Though Lulu was thirsty, too, she took only the tiniest sip to keep her voice going. She saved the rest for the pony. Flies were buzzing around the wounds and landing on the pony. "Shoo, flies," Lulu said. She took out her map and used it to fan them away. The sun moved across the sky. Clip-clop. Clip-clop. Lulu heard the sound of horses' hooves on the dirt road. In the distance, she saw two people on horses. She pulled off her sweatshirt. As she waved it over her head she saw that the riders were Anna and Pam. And the two horses

were their ponies - Acorn and Lightning. Lulu continued to wave her sweatshirt flag. She thought, I don't care if they think I was weird to follow Anna and Acorn yesterday. I have to help this pony. Pam yelled to Anna, "Hey, someone's signaling for help. Look." "It's that girl from yesterday," Anna shouted. Startled by the voices, the wounded pony began to struggle again. "Oh, pony, please don't move," Lulu said. "Everything going to be all alright." Hearing Lulu's voice again, the pony calmed down. With one had Lulu rubbed the pony's neck to keep her from moving. With the other had she signaled the approaching riders to be quite. The girls must have noticed Lulu's shush signal because they stopped shouting. While Anna stayed with their ponies, Pam crawled through the fence and walked silently across the field toward Lulu and the white pony.

Lulu continued talking to the pony in a calm voice. "Pony, someone's coming to help you. If Pam can hear what I'm saying she shouldn't get any closer." Pam stopped where she was. Lulu continued, "Pam sees that you are caught in a piece of nasty barbed wire. We don't want to startle you because when you move the wire hurts you more. I hope she can find some wire clippers so we can cut the barbed wire. Also, she should get a vet to come as quickly as possible. I'll stay here with you, pony, until helps comes." Pam nodded solemnly at Lulu to let her know that she understood. Without a word she turned a d walked out of the field. Lulu could see her talking quietly with Anna. Then the girls mounted their ponies and rode off. Since help was on the way, Lulu decided to give the pony the rest of the water. As the pony lapped the water from her hands "Everything's going to be all right," Lulu said.

It wasn't long before Lulu saw a truck with a horse trailer bumping along the road. Pam, Anna, and a man got out of the car. Lulu was glad to see that the man was carrying a medical bag. The girls stayed at the fence while the man crawled under the fence and walked across the paddock. Lulu was glad that Anna and Pam understood that the pony might be more frightened be having a lot of people standing around. When the man reached Lulu her whispered, "I'm Dr. Crandal, Pam's father." Lulu said, "I'm Lulu Sanders." Then Dr. Crandal spoke to the pony as calmly and kindly as Lulu had. "Well, pony," he said, "whatkind of trouble have you gotten yourself into?" "It's not the pony's fault," Lulu said. "The barbed-wire fence was broken." "So I see," Dr. Crandal said. "This pony is badly hurt." While he cut the end of the wire that was still attached to the fence, the doctor asked Lulu, "Is this your pony?" "No," Lulu said, "I was just visiting her."

All the time the doctor treated the pony, Lulu continued stroking her neck and humming softly to keep the wounded pony still. "Well," Dr. Crandal said, "this animal certainly trusts you. Why don't you keep doing what you're doing while I administer first aid. Just move over so you can jump out of the way if she kicks." Dr. Crandal gave to pony two shots. "One's a painkiller," he explained to Lulu. "The other is to anesthetize the area of the wound." When he was sure the pony wouldn't feel a y pain, the doctor used a pair of medical pliers to unwrap the barbed wire encircling the leg. Then he poured antiseptic on the wound and wrapped the leg below the knee with a thick gauze bandage. Last, he put antiseptic on the smaller cuts. "Most of these cuts need stitches," he said. "But I'm more concerned about this leg." He looked toward the small stable that

stood in the corner of the field closest to the yellow house. "Let's get Pam and Anna over here," he said, "and see if we can get our patient on her feet and into her stable." After Lulu introduced herself to Anna and Pam, she explained that she was living with her grandmother. Then she said "Pam, thank you for getting the doctor. I mean your father. I mean your father the doctor." Pam smiled at Lulu. "I'm glad Anna and I came this way today," she said. Dr. Crandal pulled a halter and a lead rope from his medical bag. "Put this halter on the pony, Lulu," he said. "Let's see if she can stand up." As Lulu gently placed the halter over the pony's pink nose, she tried not to think of what would happen if the pony couldn't stand. She knew that horses with broken legs were shot. "Okay, Lulu, ask her to get up," Dr. Crandal said. Lulu stood in front of the pony, saying,

"Come on pony. Stand up. You can do it." The pony tried. And tried. On the third try, teetering and trotting, she struggled awkwardly to her feet. Anna, Pam, and Lulu exchanged happy smiles. But Dr. Crandal remained serious. "Let's see if she'll walk," he said. "Come on, pony," Lulu said. She looked back over her shoulder. The pony moved in a slow unsteady gait, putting almost no weight on the wounded leg. Pam and Anna ran ahead to check out the stable. Lulu and the doctor moved across the field at the pony's slow, crippled pace. When they finally got the pony to the stable, Pam and Anna met them at the door. "We changed the straw. What a mess," Pam said. "The water bucket was filthy," Anna said. "We had to wash it out be we put in the fresh water." Pam told her father, " I think this pony's

been neglected. You should say something to her owner." "I've got more important things to talk to the owner about," Dr. Crandal said. He explained that the pony needed more than the emergency care he'd given her. "But I can't do X Ray's and treat her," he said, "before I talk to the owner." "You keep saying, 'the owner,' Dad," Pam said. "Don't you know who it is?" "I've never treated this pony," he said. "Some new folks moved into this place a while back. I've been trying to remember their names." "It says 'Baxter' on the mailbox," Pam said. "Good for you, honey," Dr. Crandal said. "That's it. I've noticed this pony when I've driven by. I figured I'd hear from the Baxtrrs sooner or later." He gave the pony a kindly pat. "Poor animal, I didn't expect to meet you this way." The three girls remained silent as Dr.

Crandal thought about what to do. "I remember hearing that the Baxters are in real estate. They brought Ritter Real Estate. You girls stay with the pony while I take a run over there." Lulu followed Dr. Crandal out of the stable. "Dr. Crandal," she asked, "if the Baxters don't want to spend the money to have their pony treated, could they just, you know . . ." She couldn't finish the question. Dr. Crandal finished it for her. "Have it put to sleep?" She nodded. "I know that sounds terrible to you, Lulu, but the pony belongs to its owners. It's their property. So it's their decision weather the pony receives treatment." Lulu nodded again. She felt Dr. Crandal's hand on her shoulder. He shook his head and said, "But to be honest with you, at this point I don't even know if the pony can be saved."