Stable Hearts by Bonnie Bryant Read Free Book Online

on.
    “We’ll go get the wheelbarrows and find out which stalls to clean,” Carole said. She grabbed Stevie and Lisa by the elbows and propelled them out of the office.
    “I can’t believe you said we weren’t riding,”Lisa grumbled. “Clean stalls! As if we haven’t cleaned enough all week! And our horses don’t need the day off! If anything, Prancer could use the exercise!”
    “It worked, didn’t it?” Carole answered. “Mr. Stowe is staying with us. Poor Mrs. Reg is being totally annoyed by him, and she shouldn’t have to go out on a trail ride with him. Did you see how she was dressed? In that nice blouse and her good riding jacket? If she went out in the woods, she’d get all messed up!”
    “Maybe she wanted to ride,” Stevie said. “I know I did.”
    Lisa sighed. “No, Carole’s probably right. I mean, I’m sure Mrs. Reg would have enjoyed a trail ride, but not with Mr. Stowe.”
    “Yeah,” Stevie agreed. “He’d probably tell her lightbulb jokes the whole time. She’d be miserable.”
    “Still, I can’t believe you said we weren’t riding,” Lisa said. “You could at least have said that we were riding after we cleaned stalls. Something.”
    “I can’t believe Mrs. Reg didn’t like my ideas for the dance,” Stevie said. “A laser light show would have been really cool.”
    Carole laughed. “I can’t believe that after spending yesterday showing Mr. Stowe how to clean tack, we’re going to have to show him how to clean stalls, too.”
    I T TURNED OUT Mr. Stowe did know one end of a pitchfork from the other. “My uncle might not have cleaned his saddles too often, but he kept his horses’ stalls in shape,” he said cheerfully. “I was shoveling manure thirty-five years before any of you were born. Point me to the right stalls, ladies, and I’ll show you and Elizabeth a thing or two about work.”
    Lisa had to admire his attitude. She wasn’t feeling nearly so perky. She gave Prancer an apologetic pat before moving her to the cross-ties.
    Red had assigned them all stalls in the front portion of the stable. Mr. Stowe did Calypso’s stall in record time, and Carole, checking it, couldn’t help admiring the neat, fluffy mound of fresh bedding. He had done a thorough job, fast.
    “Hey!” Mr. Stowe shouted. The girls came running. He was standing in Dime’s stall, holding the pony by his halter. “Durn pony tried to kick me,” he said. “Nearly succeeded, too.”
    “Dime!” Lisa scolded. “What’s gotten into you?”
    “I’ve got him now,” Mr. Stowe said. “It’s okay.” He put Dime on the cross-ties in the aisle and started on his stall, and the girls went back to work.
    A few minutes later Mr. Stowe came to the door of Starlight’s stall, where Carole was just finishing up. “I want to show you something,” he said. Carole followed him back to Dime’s stall, and Mr. Stowe pointed to the pony’s feed tub. “He didn’t finish his grain,” he said. “Do you suppose something’s wrong? I never knew a horse not to finish his grain.”
    “Certainly not Dime,” Carole agreed. She went back to the office and told Mrs. Reg. Since horses can’t talk, they can never tell anyone when they’re sick. Carole knew to always watch for clues about their health. A sudden lack of appetite could be a sign of illness, particularly a digestive illness like colic; and colic could be very serious.
    Maybe that’s why Dime’s been so horrid lately
, Carole thought.
He isn’t feeling well
. She felt a sudden rush of sympathy for the pony.
    Mrs. Reg shook her head with concern when she heard the news. “I’ll take his temperature and check his gut sounds,” she said to Carole. “But Red told me he didn’t eat all his food yesterday, either, and we couldn’t find any other symptoms of illness.”
    “But he’s been so strange lately,” Carole said. “Maybe—”
    “We’ll keep a close eye on him,” Mrs. Reg said. “Probably he just hasn’t gotten enough