Free Schooling Horse by Bonnie Bryant Page B

but discarded it. Max always had Judy Barker, Pine Hollow’s veterinarian, examine any new horse before he brought it to the stable. Judy would have found any long-standing problems.
    Lisa sighed. She’d been so hopeful that she would discover a logical explanation for Milky’s fits. She carefully put his saddle back on. As she tightened the girth, Milky turned his head toward her and laid his ears back. “Stop it,” Lisa said. She flicked the end of the reins at him. “Behave.”
    But when she went to put her foot into the stirrup, she found that she couldn’t do it. She absolutely could not bring herself to get back on the horse.
    You have to
, she told herself. It was one of Max’s rules: Always get back on. Every ride was supposed to end on a positive note. If Milky got to go back to his stall now, he might see it as a reward for rearing. At the very least, he wouldn’t have any chance to learn that rearing was wrong. Lisa knew she had to get back on him and make him behave. Walk and trot calmly around the field, that was all.
    She reached for the stirrup but again let her foot fall back to the ground. She looked around the field as though the answer to her problems could be found in some grassy corner.
How hard can this be?
she asked herself. She knew the answer: Too hard. She just couldn’t make herself ride this horse.
    Well, The Saddle Club could help her figure things out. She’d talk the situation over with Stevie and Carole and come up with a new plan for tomorrow. Meanwhile, she’d had enough of Milky for the day. She ran the stirrups up on the saddle and led Milky out of the field.
    She was almost to the stable when Max ran out to meether, a worried look on his face. “What happened?” he asked. “Why are you walking him? Did you fall off?”
    Lisa didn’t know how to explain. “No,” she said at last. “I didn’t fall off.” Which was not a lie, she told herself firmly. She had thrown herself off Milky on purpose.
    “You’re not hurt?” Max asked.
    “No,” Lisa said, relieved that she could answer that question entirely honestly. “I’m fine.” She started walking again. Max walked beside her. He seemed to be waiting for an explanation. Lisa didn’t want to give him one.
    “Is the horse hurt?”
    “No, Max. He’s fine, too.”
    “Did he lose a shoe?”
    “Max!” Lisa stopped. “I’m just not feeling very well today. I must be getting a cold. I started coughing when I was riding, and I just couldn’t stop, so I got off. I think I’m going to go home.”
    Max smiled. “Well, that’s good. I hope you’re feeling better soon, but I’m glad you didn’t have any kind of problem with the horse.” He patted Milky. “I was worried there when I saw you coming back on foot.”
    Lisa forced herself to smile. How could she tell Max she was afraid of Milky? It was so embarrassing! She just couldn’t do it. Not yet, anyway.
    “Do you feel well enough to untack him before you go home?” Max asked her kindly.
    “Sure,” Lisa said. She coughed a little into her hand.
    “You can use the office phone, if you need to call your mom to pick you up.”
    “Thanks.” Lisa nodded to Max and turned Milky to lead him through the side door. She put him into his stall, took off his saddle and bridle, and shut the door on him with a feeling of total relief.
    How could she be so afraid of a horse? After all, what had he really done? She thought back to the terrifying moment when he had leaped into the air, when she had clung to his mane hoping desperately that he would land on his feet. But he
hadn’t
flipped. She really wasn’t hurt. She hadn’t been lying to Max about
that.
    Only about all the rest. She felt miserable and ashamed. Why couldn’t her dream horse be like Belle or Starlight? Or Prancer or Topside or Derby or Barq? Or even little shaggy Nickel? All the Pine Hollow horses and ponies were friendly and reliable. Why did she have to get a horse like Milky?
    And why couldn’t