Spirit Horses (13 page)

Shane smiled. “I’d like that very much.”

During the drive, he began to wonder what he was
getting himself into, but he decided to look at it both as an adventure and a
diversion.

He didn’t know how to contact Tigee to tell him he
was coming, so he hoped it would be okay to just show up. As Shane pulled into
the ranch headquarters, he saw a couple of men working with a stout-looking,
red roan horse in the corral. Tigee was standing on his porch motioning for
Shane to drive his truck and trailer over to a small cabin. He told him in his
tribal accent in which stalls to put the horses and that he could move his
stuff into the cabin anytime. “Come over to my house after you get settled in
so we can talk.”

The old cabin was in good condition. There was a
sleeping area with a heater and a small TV at the foot of the bed. The small
bathroom was the only separate room with a door on it. A gas stove, sink, and a
refrigerator made up the kitchen area. “Home sweet home,” Shane said, grinning.
It wasn’t much, but it was all he needed.

He unpacked before he headed over to Tigee’s house.
When he entered, two other men were standing in the living room with the old
Indian. Neither of them seemed particularly happy to meet Shane. The old man
introduced them, and then began talking to the two in their Shoshone language.
He turned to Shane and spoke in his broken English, which seemed to be
improving. Maybe he just needed a little practice or maybe Shane was getting
better at understanding him. Either way, both of them seemed pleased that they
were communicating better.

“We are very thankful for the information you gave
us about the plans to trap our mustangs on Saturday. My braves were waiting for
the men when a small incident happened. There were some shots fired. My men did
not shoot back. They did, however, kill three of the dogs that were sent to
attack them.”

Shane asked, “Were any horses caught?”

“The trap had been destroyed, so none were taken,
but the men yelled that they would get revenge for their dogs.”

One of the younger Indians spoke up, “This is no
longer just a dispute over rights to the horses. It’s about how they think
they’re better than us. We have every right to protect what’s ours, and we’ll
do whatever is necessary to keep them from stealing our mustangs! Tigee wants
us to take you with us when we check on the herd this weekend. We are doing
this only because he asked.”

Shane looked at him in a friendly manner, “Hey, man,
I’m not one of the bad guys here. I want to stop these horse thieves too.”

The young Indian didn’t look convinced, “If you want
to go, have a saddle horse ready to load by nine Saturday morning. We’ll
trailer in as far as we can, then we’ll need to ride the rest of the way into
the backcountry.”

Shane assured them he’d be ready.

As the two men left, Shane turned to Tigee. “What do
you expect of me for my keep over the next couple of months?”

“Make yourself useful if you want, but you are my
guest and owe me no money. You provide your own food and take care of your
horses. That is all I ask.” Shane nodded then stood to leave.

As he did, Tara came in, smiled, and said hello as
she walked by. She was wearing faded jeans with a tight fit, a sleeveless white
shirt, and no makeup. Even so, Shane couldn’t help but notice how
naturally good looking she was. Though he couldn’t deny his lighthearted
attraction for her, his family’s memory was still too strong to allow for any
thought of pursuing female companionship. So, it was an innocent request when
he asked, “Would you have time to answer some questions and show me around the
reservation?”

“I’ll be getting off work early tomorrow. You can
come over after lunch, I’ll give you the ten-cent tour,” she offered.
 

“Thanks, I’ll be here.”

Shane spent the remainder of the day settling in and
stocking his little house. The place was in fairly good shape, but some minor
repairs were needed on the front porch railing. After eating a sandwich for
dinner, he borrowed a hammer out of the barn and fixed it.

Later that night, while lying in bed, he hoped he
would be able to stay busy enough around the ranch. He was all too aware that
an idle mind was his worst enemy.

After an early breakfast, he sat on the porch with a
cup of coffee. The house was only about fifty yards from the north side of the
corral, which was in the middle of the compound. In the corral were the same
two men with the horse he had seen there yesterday. They had the big, red roan
tied up tight to the snubbing post and were trying to get a saddle on him. The
horse was terrified and pulling against the post with all his strength. Shane
really wanted to show the men a gentler way to do this, but he knew better than
to disrespect them by butting in.
Mind
your own business, Carson
. He thought,
You’re not out here to put on a clinic
for these people.

Shane finished his coffee and went out to the barn
to tend to Tory and the mustang. Since the two horses seemed to be eager to get
out of their stalls, he decided this would be a good time to explore the
country surrounding the compound.

He waited until they finished eating their morning
grain, then he put Sloppy in one of the turnout paddocks and saddled up Tory
for the ride. As he led his old horse out of the barn and mounted up, it was
hard for him not to notice what was going on in the corral just a few yards
away.

The two men had been joined by a young Indian boy,
who looked to be about thirteen. They’d finally put a saddle on the freaked-out
young horse, but he was still tied tight to the post. Riding Tory closer to the
corral, he saw one of the men slide a blindfold under the halter to cover the
frightened horse’s eyes. During all of this the roan never quit fighting and
pulling against the snubbing post. Shane could hardly believe what he saw next
as the men motioned to the young boy to get on the horse.

With the colt already blindfolded, one of the men
twisted and held on tightly to one of its ears. This method, earing down, would
not hurt the gelding, but would help keep it from moving around or starting to
buck before the rider could get in the saddle. Shane squinted his eyes and bit
his bottom lip as the boy climbed on. At this point one of the men pulled the
blindfold from under the halter and let go of the roan’s ear. Simultaneously, the
other man turned the horse free from the post.

The boy was on his own now, and the big red roan
wasted no time exploding underneath him. The horse bucked hard and honest as
the boy held on for dear life. Shane kept waiting for the kid to fall and was
impressed by how well he could ride. This rodeo continued for a full thirty
seconds, with the horse still showing no sign of weakening. Shane wondered how
long the boy could take this punishment, but the kid showed a lot of heart and
hung on.

 
Suddenly, the
roan stumbled, falling to his knees. When he jumped back up, he had lost his
bearings and crashed through the boards of the corral where he fell to his
knees again. Amazingly, the kid was still hanging on as the horse scrambled to
get back on his feet.

“Oh shit,” Shane whispered under his breath. The
bronc and the rider were no longer in the safer confines of the corral. The
crazed horse was loose in the compound, bucking wildly with the boy still
mounted. Shane grabbed his rope and rode Tory straight into the fury. Tory was
a seasoned pony horse so Shane knew he could count on him to remain under his
control while he tried to help the boy. He quickly got his rope over the
gelding’s head and snubbed it up
close to his saddle horn. With this maneuver, Shane now had Tory
running alongside the bucking horse. He hollered at the boy to let go of the
bronc and slide behind him on Tory. The kid grabbed on to Shane and transferred
over behind Shane’s saddle. Then with an impressive athletic ease, the boy
safely slid off Tory and onto the ground.

Shane continued riding alongside the big, tough roan
until it quit bucking. Then, he ponied the horse over to a nearby turnout
paddock and led him in. One of the older Indians stood at the gate of the
paddock and motioned for Shane to ride out. Shane shook his head, no. Instead
he politely requested, “Would you please step out and shut the gate?” The man
looked puzzled, but did as Shane asked.

The two men and the boy watched from outside the pen
as Shane picked up the lead rope on the frightened gelding’s halter and began
to work with it.

A good pony horse is an extension of a rider’s own
legs; therefore Shane had total control over where he wanted Tory to be. “Atta
boy,” he told his horse. “You’re an old pro at this stuff, aren’t you, bud?”

They were now standing side by side facing opposite
directions as he put Tory’s nose at the bronc’s hip. Shane slowly kept pushing
Tory’s shoulder into the gelding’s flank. When done correctly, this exercise
would eventually convince the bronc to let go
of his defensive frame of mind
and move over, allowing him to be released from his brace and his
tension. It wasn’t long before the big roan began to relax, and Shane was able
to pet him softly on his neck and head. Shane worked on the gelding a while
longer, then motioned to the boy to come into the pen and over to him.

As he waited for the kid, he noticed that he had
drawn quite a crowd. Tigee was watching from his porch and about a dozen other
Indians were standing at the paddock fence. Shane realized it would have been
hard for them to ignore the commotion that had been happening in the middle of
the compound only a few minutes
earlier. The boy showed courage and walked right out to the horses, then looked
at Shane for instructions.

“Climb up behind my saddle,” Shane said as he
reached down. The boy grabbed ahold, swung himself up onto Tory from the other
side, and waited for Shane to tell him what to do next.

Still side by side, but now facing the same way, he
moved Tory forward a couple of steps while letting the bronc continue to stand
still. This now had the boy even with the saddle on the scared young horse.
Shane winked his eye, smiled, then motioned to the kid to gently slide over and
onto the roan gelding’s saddle. “Stay calm and relaxed,” he instructed, “and
keep on petting him. I want you to make this horse think he is your best
friend, so keep rubbing and talking to him.”

The boy quietly answered, “Yes, sir,” and then did
exactly as he had been told. Shane gently pulled on the horse’s lead, urging
the gelding to step forward with Tory beside him.

He kept the gelding tied in close to his saddle horn
in case he blew up
again.
The first couple of steps, the unsure horse tensed, but Shane and the boy kept
talking him out of any more trouble. Soon, they were walking around nice and
free. Now the roan was accepting the boy on his back. Shane stopped the horses
and motioned the kid back over onto Tory, then down to the ground.

He glanced toward the paddock fence and noticed that
the
people watching were smiling as they discussed what they had
witnessed.

Shane rode Tory, leading the gelding over to one of
the men he had seen in the corral. Before Shane handed the man the lead rope,
he explained, “The horse will need more work tomorrow or he’ll just come
unglued again. I’ll be glad to work with the horse and the boy in the morning
if you want me to.” The man thought a minute, looking as if he wasn’t sure how
to answer. Then, he slowly nodded his head, accepting Shane’s offer. Shane gave
the man the roan’s lead rope, then rode Tory off for the ride he had started on
earlier.

As he passed by the young boy he reached to shake
his hand. The kid shyly looked at Shane and spoke softly, “Thanks, mister.”

“What’s your name, son?”

“Tommy.”

“Mine is Shane Carson. That was some good riding,
Tommy. I’m looking forward to working with you tomorrow.” Tommy responded with
another quiet, “Thank you.” Shane turned Tory toward the compound gate, and
rode away at a slow trot.

Chapter 9

Shane’s focus since he’d arrived in Wyoming had been centered
on finding Sloppy’s herd. As he rode out of the ranch entrance, he realized how
very little he knew about this reservation she was
born on.

He found himself looking forward to meeting with
Tara tomorrow, appreciating her willingness to show him around.
I’ll try not to drive her crazy with too
many questions
, he thought with a grin.

Shane was even more pumped about his first chance to
finally see the wild mustangs this weekend. He was a little concerned about
getting along with the two guys who were guiding him. However, he felt pretty certain
the two Shoshone men would show him respect because they were taking him at
Tigee’s request.