A Cowboy on My Horse?

         

A Cowboy on My Horse?

         Stacy rushed to get changed the moment she got off the bus. It had been a long day at school, and it was time to get to the stable. Time to shed some stress and have some fun.
         She glanced in the mirror and pushed a few stray strands of hair back behind her ears. Her horse didn’t care how she looked, and she’d be wearing a helmet in a few minutes anyway. She called to her mom to say where she was going, then dashed out the door.
                   Within a few minutes, she was in front of her horse’s stall. Well, Walter wasn’t actually her horse. She borrowed him two times a week for her lessons from another girl; an older girl who knew a lot more about horses than she did. Walter was gone.
                   Stacy sighed, that probably meant Kyra was riding him, and that she’d have to ride Prince, a chubby pony that belonged to the riding school. He was well broke, but he was slow and he wasn’t as good looking as Walter. Well, at least Prince was better than nothing.
                   Stacy decided to walk to the indoor arena and see if Kyra was riding Walter. Maybe he was just turned out, and she would get to ride him anyway. She hurried over to the arena and stared in shock. A strange boy was riding Walter, in a western saddle!
                   The boy had a western bridle and snaffle bit on the black gelding and was holding the reins in one hand, trying to get Walter to move at a steady jog. He rode calmly and easily, like he really knew horses. He picked up the reins to put a little more contact on the bit, then released them the moment Walter slowed down.
                   Stacy watched him angrily for several minutes. This boy seemed to know what he was doing, but he was still riding her horse the wrong way!
                   Finally, he gave Walter’s neck a firm rub and halted him. He swung off easily, then flipped the near-side stirrup up over the saddle and loosened the cinch. He picked up one of the split reins and led Walter toward the gate.
                   “Hey there, is there something you need?” He asked when he saw her.
                   “No, but that’s my horse you’re ruining.” Stacy said angrily.
                   “Ruining?” He smiled a little. “I think Walter likes this, it beats his English saddle.” He glanced from the horse to Stacy, “Did you know his saddle didn’t fit properly?”
                   “No. But how do you know that one does? It doesn’t belong to Kim,” Stacy said, speaking of her riding instructor.
                   “I know his saddle doesn‘t fit because I checked it. Kim agrees with me. She thinks it stopped fitting because of all the muscle he’s gained since he’s been working harder. This saddle fits because it’s a good saddle for a regular horse. It’s mine,” The boy said patiently, as if he was talking to a small child.
                   “Who said you could ride Walter?”
                   “Kyra. She‘s out of town on holidays this week, and asked me to come exercise him.”
                   “Does Kim know?”
                   “Yeah, she‘s fine with it. You‘re the only one who‘s got a lesson on him this weekend. She said it would be good to get him out.”
                   Stacy  was still fuming. “Who are you anyway?”
                   “My name’s Tom, I’m Kyra’s cousin. I’m staying here with her parents while I go to school. I’m studying to be a farrier.”
                   “Well, good for you,” Stacy said sarcastically. “Now can I ride my horse?”
                   “Sure, I’ve only worked him for about twenty minutes, and I didn’t lope him or anything. Mostly we just walked.”
                   “Does Kim know you’ve been here working him, even though it’s time for my lesson?”
                   “Yeah, she said that he’d be fine if I didn’t work him too hard. I didn’t, don’t worry.” Tom handed Stacy the rein he’d been holding. He glanced back at Walter, “Ol’ Blacky here’s a good horse, you should be proud to ride him.”
                   “His name is Walter, not Ol’ Blacky!”
                   “Yer a fiesty little filly aren’t you?” Tom said, smiling a little.
                   “You’re a rude cowboy.”
                   “Oh really?” Tom was teasing her, and enjoying it.
                   “Yeah,” Stacy said with a stamp of her foot. Walter spooked at her sudden movement, and tossed his head.
                   “Easy boy,” Tom said, laying his hand on the horse’s poll and cueing him to drop his head.
                   “What did you do that for?” Stacy asked, noticing that the movement had calmed Walter.
                   “I told him to drop his head, that makes him calm down.”
                   “I didn’t know he knew how to do that,” Stacy said.
                   “He didn’t, I just taught it to him yesterday, and I see that he’s remembered, even though he was scared. That’s good.” Tom scratched Walter’s favorite spot and Walter leaned into his hand. “So, are you going to ride in my tack, or do you want me to take it off?”
                   “I wouldn’t ride in a western saddle if you paid me to,” Stacy said, trying to sound sincere, but failing. Suddenly, Tom didn’t seem so bad.
                   “Is that so?” Tom asked easily.
                   “Well, maybe if you wanted to pay me, I’d consider it.”
                   “Can‘t do that, I‘m about broke,” Tom said grinning. He had a nice smile, Stacy decided. She assumed he was about twenty. She herself was almost thirteen.
                   “O.K. but I want to get my helmet.”
                   “I’ll wait, a helmet’s a good thing to have.”
                   “Then why don’t you wear one?”
                   “I don’t know, I just never have. I grew up riding before I could walk, and I guess I never thought about it.”
                   “You should Tom, you could get really hurt if you fall off.”
                   “I know,” Tom said sincerely.
                   Soon, Tom had Stacy mounted on Walter. “These stirrups feel funny, are you sure they aren’t too long?”
                   “I’m positive, that’s the way they’re supposed to be,” Tom said, crossing his arms as he leaned against the arena gate. “Try riding one-handed, he doesn’t really neck-rein, but he won’t get away from you in here,” Tom suggested.
                   Stacy put both reins in one hand, and put her other hand on her thigh, like Tom had done. She looked up to see Kim coming toward the arena, wearing breeches and tall boots, along with a purple t-shirt.
                   Kim talked with Tom for a few minutes, then looked up at Stacy. “Stacy, would you rather Tom give you your lesson tonight? He can teach you a lot about western riding, and it might be an interesting change for you.” Stacy thought for a second, this western riding thing was getting to be fun, even if she really was an English rider.
                   “O.K.” She finally agreed.
                   Stacy spent the next hour with Tom, learning about western riding and improving her partnership with Walter.
                   “To change him, you have to change you,” Tom told her when Walter refused to back up. “You just told me he doesn’t like to do that, so you don’t ask him. No wonder he won’t do it now.” Tom thought for a minute, then walked over to Walter and Stacy. “Can I try riding him for a minute?”
                   “Sure.” Stacy swung to the ground. “Do you want my helmet?”
                   “Will it fit?”
                   “Probably, it’s adjustable.” Tom took the helmet, and handed her his western hat. He mounted Walter, and within a few minutes, was able to get him to back through the pattern, but still had trouble with Walter tossing his head.
                   Tom dismounted, and gave Stacy her helmet back. “When we’re done, I think we should check his teeth,” Tom said.
                   “Why?” Stacy asked in surprise.
                   “I think he’s got sharp teeth, and they’re interfering with the bit. When we pull on the reins, it makes his mouth hurt, then he throws his head, and when he does that a lot, he makes his back hurt. The fact that his saddle doesn’t fit as well as it should doesn’t help either.”
                   “How do you know all this?” Stacy asked amazed.
                   “I read a lot, and just observe the horses. They’ll tell you everything you need to know.”
                   “Except that you need to wear a helmet.”
                   “I said I’d think about it.” He said. He grinned at her. “I just wore yours, and I let you hold my hat so I must trust you.”
                   “I didn’t yell at you when I saw you riding my horse, so I must trust you too.”
                   “You didn’t yell, but you sent daggers with your eyes,” Tom said laughing. “Get back on, we have a lesson to finish.”
                   Three days later, Stacy came to the barn. The vet was coming to float Walter’s teeth, they had been sharp, just as Tom had assumed. She found Tom in the corner of Walter’s stall. Walter was nosing his pockets looking for treats. “What are you doing?” Stacy asked.
                   Tom straightened up, “His hayrack lost a screw, I was just fixing it before he hurts himself on it.”
                   “Good.”
                   “Is the vet coming?” Tom asked, exiting the stall.
                   “Yeah.” 
                   “Then I guess neither of us will get to ride him today.” Tom scratched Walter’s forehead, then turned back to her. “I did what you said yesterday. I went to the tack shop and well...” He nodded toward the wall, where his tack was on a saddle stand. At the bottom of the rack, there was a box. A helmet box. 
                   “I knew you were smart Tom,” Stacy said.
                   “Thanks.” Tom pulled a piece of carrot out of his pocket and dropped it into Walter’s feed bucket.          
                   “What was that for?” Stacy asked.
                   “It’s only fair, he deserves a treat, the dentist is coming,” Tom said, making a face.
                   “You don’t like dentists?”
                   “Not when they’re working on my mouth,” Tom said, he turned around and strode out of the barn. Stacy smiled, with Tom around, the rest of this year was going to be fun, for her and for Walter.