Free Schooling Horse by Bonnie Bryant Page A

the saddle as Milky reared higher, reaching skyward with his front hooves. “If you’re ever on a rearing horse,” Max had told them, “
get off.
”
    At the time Lisa hadn’t quite understood what he meant, but now, as Milky touched his forefeet to the ground and immediately reared again, she understoodthat it was dangerous to be on him for even another second. She let go of the reins and Milky’s mane and threw herself off to the side.
    The hard ground hurt as she crashed onto her shoulder. She rolled to the side. When Milky came down, she didn’t want to be within reach of his hooves. But Milky didn’t seem interested in her now that she was off his back. He landed, bucked once, and ran to the other side of the field. He put his head down and began to graze.
    Lisa lay on the cold, dead grass. She couldn’t believe that Milky was just standing there, eating, as though he hadn’t just thrown the worst fit she’d ever seen a horse throw. She couldn’t believe it. Her shoulder ached where she had landed on it, but she knew it would only be bruised. Her spirit, however, was crushed. She had been scared before, but now she was petrified. Milky could have killed her. Accidents could always happen around horses, but this wouldn’t have been an accident, because Milky had done it on purpose. Lisa had no doubt of that.
    Lisa’s shoulders started to shake. She pressed her face into the ground and let herself cry loud, heart-wrenching sobs. She didn’t want this horse. She was afraid of him. She would almost rather not have a horse than have this one.
    Almost. Lisa quit crying. She drew herself up into a sitting position and watched Milky graze. Part of her—most of her—wanted to give up. But if she could fix him, wouldn’t he be worth it? And wouldn’t she feel terrific,knowing that she’d tamed and befriended such a wild horse?
    But
could
she fix him? She wiped the last traces of tears from her face and got to her feet. She just didn’t know.

L ISA WALKED SLOWLY toward Milky. He lifted his head and watched her approach, but he didn’t show any signs of anger or fear. His reins hung loose under his chin, and his bit was smeared with half-chewed grass. “Steady,” Lisa said, as much to herself as to Milky. She reached for the reins. Milky dropped his head to grab another bite of grass, but Lisa tugged on the reins and he gave up.
    “What am I going to do with you?” she asked him. Horses didn’t understand English, she knew. But she had the feeling that even if Milky could speak to her, she wouldn’t trust his answer.
    Still, maybe there was some logical, easily solved reason for his crazy behavior. Maybe Milky was in pain. Maybesomething started hurting him when Lisa rode. Maybe there was a burr on his saddle pad.
    That was it! That really could be it! It would be un-usual, but it could happen. Lisa walked Milky over to the fence line and quickly stripped his saddle off. She hung it on the fence and went over the fleece saddle pad as carefully as possible, squishing the white padding between her fingers. A short piece of hay could be as sharp as a needle.
    The saddle pad was clean except for a few of Milky’s silver hairs. In fact, it looked as if it had been freshly washed. Lisa put it down and began to examine the saddle—maybe part of it was broken or something was stuck to it—and then the girth, but to her disappointment both seemed entirely normal.
    Next she turned her attention to Milky himself. Could he have a sore or a bruise where the saddle fastened tight around him? She ran her hands over him, first lightly, then pressing hard, and watched his face and ears carefully for any change in expression. Milky looked bored, even uneasy, but he never looked as if he was feeling any sort of pain, and Lisa couldn’t find any bumps or marks on his smooth skin. In the end, she had to conclude that nothing had caused him any sudden pain.
    Could he be hurting from an old injury? Lisa considered the idea