Stable Manners by Bonnie Bryant Read Free Book Online

took only a few seconds to see what had happened. May had opened the door for light and the pony had found the call of the wild just too tempting. When May had undipped his lead rope, he’d taken off, leaving her alone and miserable.
    It wasn’t the first time a horse had gotten loose at Pine Hollow, nor would it be the last. The girls knew just what to do. Lisa told May to bring the lead rope and the four of them followed the pony out into the paddock. None of the paddocks that surrounded the stable at Pine Hollow was very large. They were intended for light exercise, not for living quarters. It wouldn’t be hard to corner the pony and clip the rope onto his halter as long as he was penned in the paddock.
    Unfortunately, he wasn’t penned in the paddock. Somebody had left a gate open and Nickel had gone right through it. As they watched, he frolicked in the very large field beyond the paddock. Capturing him had suddenly changed from a two-minute project to a big deal. The girls thought they knew who was responsiblefor the open gate. There was only one person at Pine Hollow who thought she was too good to close gates behind her and that was Veronica diAngelo.
    “I’ll go get Starlight,” Carole said. “And while I’m in there, I’m going to give Veronica a piece of my mind.”
    She stormed back into the stable. Starlight’s stall was near Garnet’s, which was near the empty stall they’d been sitting in. Carole found Garnet alone in her stall. She also found the door to the empty stall open. There was no sign of Veronica. Carole decided she didn’t have time to track Veronica down and give her a piece of her mind. It had never worked before. She doubted if it would do any good this time. Also, she just wanted to get Nickel back where he belonged and for that she’d need Starlight’s help. She slid the empty stall door closed again and then turned to fetch Starlight.
    Secretly Carole was a little happy at the opportunity that had arisen for her. Most of the time when she rode Starlight, it was in class or on a training course. This was the real thing—using a horse for work. And, since she was in such a hurry, she wasn’t going to use a saddle. She’d just hop on his bare back, no bridle, just his halter with a lead rope attached,and they’d ride the way she imagined people were intended to ride horses: horse and rider, nothing else.
    As quickly as she could, she led him back to the door from which Nickel had escaped. Then, once out of the stable, Carole hiked herself up onto his warm silken back, and taking the lead rope from May’s hands, she and Starlight rode off after the runaway pony.
    It took a while. Nickel seemed to like the idea of his freedom. He also sensed that the bareback rider carrying a lead rope didn’t like the idea of Nickel’s freedom. He took off.
    Carole watched Nickel dodge to her left. With her right leg, she moved Starlight over the same way. He responded instantly, as if he understood the task and it was a good thing he did, too, because Nickel was prepared to make this as difficult as possible. Every time Nickel moved to one side, Starlight followed, only to find that Nickel had already changed his mind—and his direction. He was a very clever pony. Carole was a clever girl, though, and Starlight was Nickel’s match.
    Carole and Starlight managed to herd Nickel toward a corner of the field. Stevie, Lisa, and May ran over to where they were. It took all four girls and one very clever horse to corner the pony. It also took almostan hour. Finally, and triumphantly, Carole clipped the lead rope onto the pony’s halter.
    She handed the end of the rope to Lisa. She wasn’t sure how resentful the pony might be and didn’t think it safe for May to hold him. However, the pony was well-trained and the minute Lisa tugged on the lead rope, Nickel behaved just the way he was supposed to. He was docile and obedient. Lisa gave the lead rope to May. The pony followed and didn’t give her