A Star Discovered (4 page)

5

Trouble in the Field

THE NEXT MORNING dawned bright and sunny, and Mary and Jody, by pre-arrangement, met earlier than usual at Lucky Foot Stable.
The instant their bikes were parked on the gravel lane, they were off to the grassy field behind Mr. McMurray’s tractor shed
to check on Star.

“I wonder if he drank all his water,” Mary said as the girls skipped across the lane toward the shed. “We’ll have to get the
bucket and fill it up again.”

“I think we should bring him in right away and try loading him again, like Willie said,” Jody suggested. “He left the truck
parked on the barn hill for us.”

The first thing the girls noticed when they rounded the corner of the shed was that the water bucket had been knocked over.
The second thing they noticed was that Star was lying down.

“Star!” Mary called across the field. “Get up, you lazybones!”

“That’s funny, Mare . . . he usually doesn’t lie down like . . .” Jody stopped in mid-sentence. Something about the way Star
was lying there didn’t look right, and both girls knew it at the same instant. Without another word, they took off at a dead
run across the field.

The reason for Star’s unnatural position was horribly revealed as the girls approached. The long rope they had used to tie
him to the springtooth harrow was now wrapped over and around and through the teeth of the machine until it had gotten so
short that Star was thrown to the ground and trapped, not able to stand or move. Under his feet, the grass had been reduced
to bare dirt where he had fought to get up. His cheek was resting on the flat side of one of the teeth, and he was groaning
low in his throat.

“Star!” Mary and Jody screamed, dropping to their knees.

“Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no,” Jody wailed, tugging in vain on the slipknot, which had tightened beyond her strength during
the struggle. “Mary, go get Willie!”

Mary was gone in a flash. Jody gave up on the slipknot and tried to unhook the snap from Star’s halter, but it was twisted
and unyielding. As she worked, Star looked up at her desperately and tried again to get his legs under him.

“Shhh, boy, don’t move, don’t move,” Jody sobbed, stroking the side of his head. “Willie will be here soon.”

No sooner had the words passed Jody’s lips than the rope binding Star to the harrow was cut just below his halter ring with
one swift motion. Willie jammed the blade of his pocketknife into the ground and gently lifted Star’s head so that his cheek
was away from the harrow tooth. Mary and Jody gripped each other’s hands, watching Willie with tears streaming down their
cheeks as he cradled the colt’s head in his arms and stroked his neck.

“Come on, buddy, you’ll be alright,” Willie murmured, running his hand down Star’s front legs, feeling along the cannon bone
and pasterns. Star rested his head on Willie’s leg and moaned once more, exhausted from his nightlong struggle with the harrow.

No sooner had the words passed Jody’s lips than
the rope binding Star to the harrow was cut.

“You girls, go get a smaller bucket from the milk stable,” Willie instructed, “and put a little water in it. He needs a drink.
Then we’ll try to get him up.”

The girls were back with the water in an instant. Willie supported Star’s head while Jody held the bucket to his lips and
Mary looked on, saying a silent prayer. Star raised his head a little higher, sniffing listlessly at the water.

“C’mon, boy, just take a little sip,” Mary whispered. “You’ve got to.”

Star lipped at the water once more, then he lowered his muzzle and took a real drink.

“Good boy, good boy,” Jody murmured through her tears. Willie rubbed Star’s neck and shoulder vigorously in an effort to get
the circulation going and encourage him to stand.

“That’s enough water, Jody,” he said gruffly. “That should perk him up. Now stand back so he has room to get his legs under
him.”

Jody obeyed Willie’s order just in time to avoid being hit by Star’s front hooves.

He suddenly sat up on his haunches and stretched them in front of him, searching for the strength to push himself up from
the slippery grass. He groaned once more from the effort, his muzzle lowered almost to the ground.

“Here, Jody, you stand at his head and hold onto his halter,” Willie instructed. “I’m gonna give him a little help from behind.
Just watch out for his front feet when he goes to stand up.”

Willie crouched behind Star, and while Jody tugged gently on his halter, Willie lifted the struggling colt’s haunches with
all his strength. Star rocked to and fro once more, and then with a grunt from deep in his chest, he hoisted himself to his
feet.

Mary and Jody refrained themselves from throwing their arms around his neck, afraid their weight would knock him over in his
weakened state. He stood with his head down, snorting low through his nostrils while they stroked him softly on the shoulder.
Willie was busy going from one leg to the next, running his fingers along the fine bones and searching for injuries.

“Oh, Star, I’m so sorry,” Jody whispered. “I didn’t know you would get all tangled up like that!”

“Willie, is he alright?” Mary asked fearfully. “Did he break anything?”

“Don’t look like it, but it’s a wonder,” Willie said. “Lucky he didn’t get himself thrown down on top of the thing. Then you
woulda had a mess. Now would one of you mind tellin’ me what the idea was of tyin’ him out here all night long with nobody
watchin’ him?”

Mary and Jody looked at their feet. Before they could answer, Willie continued, “First, you never tie any horse, a young’un
especially, to a piece of machinery. In fact, you never tie them out to anything unless you’re there to watch them. Second,
you never put a horse out on grass for that much time unless you get his stomach used to it first. You’re lucky he didn’t
founder. Must’ve got tangled up early in the night, ‘cause if he had grazed all night long, you’d have a ruined colt right
now.”

No reply from Mary or Jody.

“Now it looks like he’s gonna be alright—no broken bones or even any cuts or bruises. He’s just worn out from tryin’ to get
himself on his feet all night. See if he’ll walk with you, Jody, and we’ll get him back to the stable.”

Jody took a step and tugged gently on the lead rope. At first, Star simply stretched out his muzzle and sniffed her, unwilling
to move.

“Don’t stand so close, and give him a little more rope. Let him want to follow you, rather than pullin’ on him,” Willie suggested.

Jody walked forward until she was holding the very end of the lead rope and stood patiently, waiting until Star felt ready
to walk with her. He lowered his head and sniffed the ground.

“Come on, boy,” Jody encouraged quietly, giving the gentlest of tugs on the rope. Star shook his head and finally took a tentative
step forward, then another, until he was walking stiffly and laboriously behind Jody. Mary and Willie walked along beside
them until the four of them reached Lucky Foot Stable and Star was safely inside his stall.

“Now we’ve got to keep an eye on him all day and look for any swellin’ in his legs,” Willie said, watching as Star drank a
little more water from his bucket. “In fact it might be a good idea to hose his legs down with some cold water to keep the
swellin’ from startin’ to begin with. Mary, I want you to make up a hot bran mash, about half a scoop with a little molasses
in it, and let him have that. And Jody, get a soft brush and brush him real gentle to see if you can find any sore spots,
that way you can tell if there might be some bruises we can’t see. Then we can rub him with a little liniment to help his
sore muscles.”

Before Willie could finish his sentence, Mary was at the feed bin scooping up bran and Jody was selecting the softest brush
she could find from her tack trunk. She went to Star and ran the brush tenderly over his whole body, mindful of any flinching
he might do if she hit a sore spot. Miraculously, Star seemed fine except for a tender spot on the side of his head where
it had rested on the harrow tooth and another on his shoulder where he must have rubbed it on the ground while struggling
to stand. He even rubbed his head up and down, up and down on Jody’s arm just like he always did.

“Oh, Star, don’t be nice to me. I don’t deserve it,” Jody cried, trying again to choke back her tears. “I promise I will never
leave you alone again!”

“You can leave him alone, just not tied out,” Willie said matter-of-factly. “Now there’s no use cryin’ over spilt milk. Lucky
for everybody, he’s not really hurt. He’ll be feeling fine in a few days if you girls take good care of him.”

“Willie!” Mary exclaimed suddenly. “What about the horse show? Can Star still go?”

“We’ll just have to see how he feels. I don’t see why not, if he gets over his soreness by then. Maybe somethin’ good’ll come
out of this, you never know.”

“Something good?” Jody asked incredulously. “What do you mean, Willie? How could anything good come out of this?”

“Well, I’ve seen it happen before, where somethin’ traumatic happens to a youngster, or even to an older horse, and it seems
to calm them down,” Willie said, tugging on his ear lobe. “I don’t want to say his spirit is broken, but it might just be
a little more relaxed. He might be ready to get over his ornery streak and get on about his business. We’ll just have to see.”

Mary and Jody silently took in this bit of information and stood watching as Star sniffed at the hot bran mash, and then,
discovering a nice lump of molasses, began to eat with almost as much enthusiasm as he ever did.

“See there, he’s feelin’ better already. You’d have to worry about him if he didn’t want to eat,” Willie said wisely. “Now,
when he’s done, we’ll take him out and hose his legs for a few minutes and then rub his muscles with some liniment. We’ll
keep him in his stall tonight, but we’ll turn him out in the paddock tomorrow so he can walk around. That’ll keep him from
gettin’ stiff.”

“Thanks ever so, Willie. I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t been here,” Mary said gratefully.

“Well, did you learn anything?”

“Oh yes,” Jody said. “I learned a lot. But mostly I learned not to do anything we’re not sure of until we ask you first.”

“Good idea,” Willie said, and he smiled for the first time that morning. “Now get your rubbin’ rag out, and fetch me that
liniment.”

6

Making Star Beautiful

BY THE TIME Friday came, Star was almost back to his old self. His muscles were no longer sore thanks to a daily liniment
rub, and his cheek and shoulder were not as tender to Jody’s touch. The only change the girls could detect was in the colt’s
personality. Just as Willie had predicted, Star was no longer apt to get in an ornery mood. He did everything Mary and Jody
asked of him, even trotting nicely around the ring. And when it was time for his lesson on squaring up, he was willing to
try, although this was something he had trouble understanding.

“Ok, Jody, let’s try it again,” Mary instructed from the sidelines of the ring (which was really just the pad-dock). Finnegan
sat at Mary’s feet, and Jody, a thin longe whip in her hand, held Star at the end of his lead rope. “Hold his head up a little
higher and tap his right front fetlock with the longe whip—it’s not quite in place yet.”

The idea was to get all four legs in a square position—the two front legs side by side and squarely under the body, and the
two hind legs the same with the head slightly elevated, ears up, looking attentive and content. The problem was, whenever
Star would get the back two legs square, the front two would be out of line. And when the front two were perfect, the back
two were slightly askew. And when his head was just right, all four legs were off! Jody took Mary’s suggestion and tapped
Star lightly on the fetlock with the end of the longe whip. Star obediently moved the leg into position. All four legs were
in line! But then he lifted his right hind foot to kick at a fly on his belly, and when the foot came down, it was all wrong!

“I give up, Mare,” Jody said, throwing the whip down in frustration. “He’s really trying, but he just can’t get it! It’s getting
late, and the show is tomorrow! What are we going to do?”

“Well, we’re going to take him to the show, of course. I’m sure he won’t be the only yearling colt that doesn’t know how to
square up. He’s really good at everything else, like trotting around the ring and standing quietly, even if his legs aren’t
perfect. You’ll see, he’ll do fine. Remember when you were so worried about riding Lady in a show? And you won first place!”

“I know, I know. I guess I should just quit worrying about winning and make it a learning experience,” Jody decided. “It’ll
be fun, right?”

“Yes. But winning wouldn’t hurt either! Now let’s take Star in and give him one last inspection. If he doesn’t behave tomorrow,
at least he’ll look good while he’s being bad,” Mary giggled. “Come on, Finney, you can help us.”

So Star was given a pat on the neck for effort and led into the aisle of the stable where Jody put him on crossties. Finnegan
lay down on the cool dirt floor while Mary and Jody stood back and gazed at Star with a critical eye.

“Get the scissors, Jode, I think I see a few long hairs that need to be trimmed,” Mary commanded. Willie had instructed the
girls about grooming the colt for the show ring, and they had been practicing for weeks, trimming Star’s whiskers and fetlocks
and bridle path of long hair. They had even clipped a little of the hair from inside his ears with electric clippers to get
him used to the noise and had given him several baths under Willie’s supervision. Now Mary trimmed a few stray hairs from
Star’s muzzle while Jody put the finishing touches on his already shiny coat with a soft brush.

Finnegan sat at Mary’s feet, and Jody, a longe whip
in her hand, held Star at the end of his lead rope.

“Now we should pack the tack box with all the stuff we’ll need tomorrow,” Jody suggested, when they were satisfied that Star
looked his best.

“Now just hold yer horses,” Willie’s voice came from the doorway of the stable. “There’s one more thing we need to do before
tomorrow. Should’ve done it before this, but I never had the time to show you till now. You can’t have this old straggly mane
in the show ring.”

“Straggly mane! But Willie, I’ve been training it so it’s all on one side, and I just combed it!” Jody replied indignantly.

“Yes, and it looks right good, but it’s a little too long. It needs to be pulled.”

“Pulled? What do you mean?” asked Jody.

“I know, Jode.” Mary grinned. “I read it in a book. You take a pulling comb and twist the long hairs of the mane around it,
and then you yank them out.”

Jody’s mouth flew open in shock, as Willie shook his head and shot Mary a stern look.

“Mary, hush. You work on real small sections at a time, and you do pull them out, but the horse doesn’t feel any pain. They
have hardly any nerves in the crest of the neck where the hair grows. He shouldn’t mind it a bit once he gets used to the
feel of it.”

“But, Willie, his mane is so pretty. It’s black and white hairs all mixed together. I’ve never seen another one like it, even
in books!” Jody protested.

“Now, it’ll still look just as good, just a little shorter, that’s all. The judge will like it better that way. We have to
even it up so it’s all the same length, and it’ll be easier to bathe, too. Don’t forget you have to get up early and give
him a bath in the morning.”

The girls groaned in unison at this reminder, but Jody dutifully went to her tack box, took out the metal wide-toothed comb
she used to comb Star’s unruly mane, and handed it to Willie.

“Well, go ahead,” she said glumly.

“That’s not the right comb, Jody,” Mary said smugly. “I told you, you have to have a
pulling
comb.”

“But I don’t have a
pulling
comb!” Jody said in frustration. “I don’t even know what a pulling comb looks like!”

“Looks like this,” Willie said, taking a small metal comb with very short teeth placed close together from his overalls pocket
and holding it up for the girls to see. Star extended his muzzle and sniffed curiously at the funny-looking tool. “Now, you
just start with a little section of mane and tease some of it up with the comb,” Willie murmured, demonstrating the technique
as he spoke. “Then wrap the long hairs you want to get rid of around the comb and pull them out,” he continued. And with that,
Willie jerked quickly on the comb and the long mane hairs pulled out easily, still wrapped around the little teeth. Star startled
slightly at the feeling of pressure and the quick movement of the comb, but his ears stayed up. He turned and looked at Willie
as if to say, “Hey—this is something new!”

“Willie!” Jody grimaced, putting her hand to her mouth. “Are you sure that doesn’t hurt?”

“Does it look like it hurts?” Willie asked, patting Star on the neck. “It felt a little funny to him the first time, but watch,
he’s getting used to it already,” he continued, expertly wrapping the next section of mane around the comb and pulling out
more strands of hair. The girls watched in silence as Willie worked his way along Star’s mane with the comb until it all lay
evenly on his neck, shorter by a few inches. When at last he came to the base of Star’s neck, Willie replaced the comb in
his pocket and stood back to examine his handiwork.

“Look, Jode—Star’s asleep!” Mary whispered. The girls giggled as Star’s head dropped lower and lower until the crossties seemed
to be holding him up and his nose almost touched the dirt floor of Lucky Foot Stable.

“See, it hurt him so much he dropped right off,” Willie said sarcastically.

“Thanks, Willie. It does look better, I guess,” Jody acknowledged. “Oh, I just know Star is going to be the prettiest colt
at the whole show!”

“Pretty or not, he just better behave himself,” Willie growled. “Now you better get all your stuff gathered up for tomorrow.
I don’t want to be waitin’ on you in the mornin’.”

Willie gently patted Star awake and led him into his stall, while the girls bustled around Lucky Foot Stable gathering up
the rest of their show supplies. Since they wouldn’t be riding Star, they didn’t need a saddle or bridle. But they did need
a soft brush, a hard brush, a mane and tail comb, a rubber curry, and a hoofpick. These were all scrubbed clean and packed
neatly in the little tack box. Saddle soap was added to buff up his leather halter if necessary, and hoof dressing thrown
in to make his hooves shine. Jody carefully found a spot for the horse shampoo and scrubby mitt for bathing. Last to be tucked
safely into the box was the soft leather lead shank with a brass plate reading, “Star of Wonder.” Jody’s father had given
this to Jody as a gift when Star was born. When the tack box was full, the girls stood back and gazed at it with a contented
sigh. “Now, where am I going to put these towels?” Mary asked herself, holding up two fluffy blue towels, one in each hand,
for drying Star after his bath.

“Um, Mare . . . there’s one problem,” Jody said sheepishly.

“What? Are you still worrying about Star squaring up?”

“Nooo . . . I’m just wondering why we packed the bathing stuff in the tack box and why you’re worrying about where to put
the towels when we’re giving Star a bath
before
we go to the show,” she said with a grin.

Mary didn’t reply, but looked first at one towel and then the other. “Hmmph,” she giggled. “I guess we didn’t think of that.”

The girls looked at each other and giggled again. The week had been very long and nerve-wracking, and the training had been
frustrating. Mary and Jody were tired. Their giggles turned into full-blown laughter and they were off on a laughing jag until
tears ran down their cheeks. Finnegan joined in by barking and turning in circles, and Willie just shook his head and hobbled
out the stable door.

“I think we’d better go home and go to bed,” Mary suggested through her tears. “We’re so tired we can’t think straight.”

“And we have to get up early,” Jody added, wiping her cheeks. “Willie said to be here by five, so Star would have time to
dry before we go. Are you sure your mom said it’s OK for me to stay at your house?”

“Of course it’s OK. And she even said she would drive us up here in the morning, so we wouldn’t have to ride our bikes so
early. I think she feels guilty, because she has to work and can’t come to the show.”

“I know, my dad can’t go either. He promised he’d come to the next one.”

So the girls filled Star’s water bucket, gave him another flake of hay, and said good-bye. They were both ready for a good
night’s sleep. The day they had been waiting for was almost here at last.