Broken Horse (3 page)

“We took the police along in case of any trouble,” she explained. “But the owner wasn’t home. The cops stayed behind to wait.” She paused. “I hope they’ll be able to convince the owner to turn over that dog we heard inside the house, too. If the horse was treated this badly, it’s a safe bet the dog isn’t being properly cared for, either.”

“I hope the police catch the owner soon,” Lisa said forcefully.
“I hope they throw the jerk in jail and throw away the key.”

Luanne nodded. “I know, sweetie. It’s hard to believe how cruel some people can be,” she said. “That’s why I like working with CARL. It makes me feel like I’m doing something important.”

It wasn’t far to the facility, which consisted of a redbrick building set on several acres dotted with runs and kennels. There was also a small corral where Sal had spent his final days and where the few other large animals CARL rescued were kept.

“It looks pretty crowded,” Carole commented as Luanne pulled her car up to the CARL building. Most of the outdoor kennels were occupied, and there were several goats and a small flock of sheep in the corral. The sounds of barking and bleating filled the air.

“We have a full house, all right,” Luanne said. “Those goats and sheep come from a small farm whose barn burned down last week. The owner is down on his luck and can’t afford to board them, so we were called in to help him out until he can rebuild. We’re glad to do it, of course, but it does make space a little tight.”

“Look, that must be the mare now,” Stevie said, pointing. A horse van was just turning into the driveway. Judy Barker’s familiar pickup truck was already parked in front of the building.

The van stopped and the girls piled out of the car and watched Judy Barker and several other women, whom The Saddle Club recognized as CARL workers, coax the mare out. The horse was obviously nervous, shying as best she could in the narrow confines of the van. At last she seemed to tire from the fight, and Judy led her down the ramp into the grassy yard. Even then, the mare watched Judy nervously. When the vet reached up to stroke her head, the mare moved back a step.

“I guess she’s afraid of people,” Stevie said.

“Wouldn’t you be if you were her?” Lisa asked. “I wonder where they’re going to put her.” She glanced at the corral, where the curious goats and sheep had moved toward the fence to watch the action in the yard.

The CARL volunteers held the mare while Judy checked her over. The examination seemed to take a long time. It took Judy several tries to lift each of the horse’s feet, especially the swollen one, and the mare flinched every time she was touched. When Judy gave her a series of shots, the mare tossed her head and backed up. Another volunteer had to hurry forward to help keep her still.

“She doesn’t seem violent or anything,” Carole commented as she watched. “She’s just trying to get away because she’s scared.”

“That’s a good sign, isn’t it?” Stevie said.

“I hope so,” Carole said with a shrug.

Finally Judy stepped back, and one of the volunteers led
the mare to the paddock gate and released her inside. The sheep and goats came forward to sniff at her, but the horse ignored the other animals completely. Her head was hanging lower than ever, and she seemed completely exhausted.

Lisa left her friends by the paddock fence and hurried over to Judy, who was crouched down beside her truck, rummaging through her black medical bag. “How is she?” she asked the vet.

Judy stood up and looked down at Lisa, her expression grim. “Bad,” she said. “About as bad as she can be. I’ve given her a tetanus shot and antibiotics, and some of the CARL people are already busy cooking up a hot bran mash for her. But those things won’t be enough to do the trick. A lot of those cuts and welts are infected. She has a fever. Her right forefoot has an advanced case of thrush, and all three of her other feet are mildly infected as well. Considering the conditions she was kept in, I’d be amazed if she didn’t have a bad case of worms. I’ll have to give her a treatment for that, too. It won’t be easy on her body, but it’s got to be done. She doesn’t look good, Lisa. Not good at all.”

“Will she be all right now that she’s being treated?” Lisa asked.

“I’m not sure,” Judy said. “To tell you the truth, I almost think it might be kinder to put her down instead of letting her continue to suffer. She has a pretty slim chance of pulling through.”

Lisa gasped. An image of Sal flashed into her mind. This
mare couldn’t meet the same fate—she just couldn’t. “No!” she exclaimed.

Judy put a hand on Lisa’s shoulder. “Believe me, I understand how you feel,” she said kindly. “But we have to be realistic. CARL has limited resources, and they have to use them on the animals that can be saved, not on those that can’t.”

Lisa glanced from Judy to the corral, where the mare was huddled against the far fence. The goats and sheep were milling around nearby. It didn’t seem like the perfect recovery room. Suddenly Lisa had a brainstorm.

“What if we moved the mare to Pine Hollow?” she blurted out. “Max would probably agree to lend her a stall, wouldn’t he? Maybe there she’d have a better chance of recovering. My friends and I could take care of her, and—”

“Hold on, Lisa,” Judy interrupted. “I know you girls are hard workers, but this mare is going to need constant care for the next few days if she’s even going to have a chance to pull through. I think she’ll be better off here at CARL, where she can be monitored twenty-four hours a day.”

Lisa was disappointed for a second. Then she realized what the vet had just said. “Does that mean you think she might pull through?” Lisa asked. “That she doesn’t have to be put to sleep?” She held her breath while she waited for Judy’s answer.

Judy watched the mare for a moment. Finally she spoke.
“I guess we can wait and see how it goes. She deserves at least a chance to make it.”

Carole and Stevie joined them just in time to hear Judy’s words. “Of course she does,” Carole said. “And we’re going to see that she gets the best chance she can.”

Stevie nodded. “We just talked to Nicholas, that guy we spoke to on the phone,” she told Lisa, pointing across the yard at a thin man with wire-rimmed glasses. “He said they’d welcome our help with the mare while she’s here.”

“Great,” Lisa said. “Don’t worry, Judy. We’ll make you glad you didn’t decide to put her down.”

“What? Hold on a second. Who said anything about putting her down?” Stevie exclaimed.

“Relax, Stevie,” Judy said. “Lisa already talked me out of it. We’re not going to do anything drastic right now. But I want you to understand that this is a long shot. Only time will tell if she’s going to recover. And if the CARL folks and I think she’s suffering needlessly, we may have to put her down eventually, for her own sake.”

“She’ll recover,” Stevie said with certainty. “We’ll make sure she does. We can’t let the animal abusers win this time.”

“Not like with Sal,” Lisa added quietly.

“Well, sometimes a positive attitude is the best medicine,” Judy said with a shrug. “Come on, we’d better get started. You girls can help me clean out all those wounds, worm her, and pack her feet with thrush medication.”

“Aye, aye, Captain,” Carole said. “Just tell us what to do.”

For the next half hour The Saddle Club worked hard, directed by Judy and watched by the goats and sheep. They cleaned and dressed the mare’s wounds, brushed the worst of the dirt from her coat, and cleaned the infected feet so that Judy could pack the cavities with medicine.

Finally Judy stepped back and wiped her forehead with the back of one hand. “I think that’s about it for right now,” she said. “Good job, girls. Now all we can do is wait. If she makes it through the night, she just might have a fighting chance.”

“How’s it going out here?” asked Nicholas, appearing behind them with a large, steaming tub in his hands.

“Hard to say,” Judy replied honestly. “We’ve got her cleaned up as best we can. Is that the bran mash?”

“Sure is,” Nicholas replied. He set the tub down, then pulled a paper bag out of his pocket. Walking to the far side of the corral, he reached into the bag and pulled out a handful of what looked like corn kernels. He scattered the kernels inside the corral, and within seconds every goat and sheep in the place was greedily searching the ground for the tasty morsels.

Then he walked back to where Judy and girls were standing. “That should keep them busy for a few minutes,” he said. “And keep their noses out of the big girl’s food.” He picked up the tub and set it down carefully just inside the
gate. The horse’s ears flicked in his direction and her nostrils flared. She shied away from Nicholas and let out a snort.

“Step back, everyone,” Judy ordered. “Give her some space.”

They moved around the outside of the corral so that the goats and sheep were between them and the mare. As Nicholas continued to toss handfuls of corn to distract the other animals, the horse cautiously sniffed at the aroma rising from the tub. Then, after much hesitation, she stepped forward, lowered her head to examine the tub’s contents more closely, and finally started to eat.

When the mare had finished every drop of mash in the tub, Nicholas reached in and removed it. The mare shied away from him, returning to her spot on the far side of the corral. “That should help her,” he commented with satisfaction.

Judy was more cautious. “At least she’s eating,” was all she would say.

Carole turned to Nicholas. “Have you heard anything about the owner?”

“I haven’t,” Nicholas said. “But maybe someone has. Let’s go find out.”

Judy nodded. “And I’d better find out who’ll be watching the mare overnight and give them some instructions.”

The group headed into the CARL building. While Judy went to the front desk to find out who would be on duty that night, the girls and Nicholas found Luanne in the dog
room. She was brushing one of the inmates, a big, friendly mixed breed with long brown-and-white fur.

“How’s the mare?” Luanne asked after greeting them.

“Judy has done all she can for her,” Carole reported. “Now she says all we can do is wait and see.”

“Did the police catch the creep who owns her?” Stevie asked.

Luanne shook her head. “Sorry, sweetie. They didn’t. They waited around for an hour or so, then gave up and left a note. They’re going to check back at the farm later, but they’re afraid the owners might be out of town. If so, I just hope they left some food for that dog.”

“Me too,” Carole said. She was crazy about horses, but she loved other animals, too, and she hated to think that another creature might still be suffering on that terrible farm.

“Don’t worry, they’ll track the owner down sooner or later,” Nicholas assured the girls, pushing his glasses farther up his nose.

“I hope it’s sooner,” Stevie said. She yawned. “Boy, am I tired. All that veterinary nursing is exhausting.” She glanced at her friends. “I think we’ve done all we can do here for now. What do you say we call my dad to come pick us up? It’s time to head back to my place and relax.”

“Sounds good to me,” Carole said.

Lisa shook her head. “You guys go ahead. I think I’ll stay here for a while. Judy might need my help.”

“But how will you get back to my house?” Stevie asked. “It’s too far for you to walk. Maybe we should all stay.”

“That’s okay,” Luanne put in. “I’m not leaving for another hour or so. If Lisa wants to stay, I can drop her off on my way home.”

“Thanks, Luanne,” Lisa said quickly, before her friends could protest any further. “That would be great. I’ll see you guys in an hour then, okay?”

“Well, okay,” Carole said. “If you’re sure you want to stay.”

“I’m sure,” Lisa said firmly.

W
HEN
C
AROLE
AND
Stevie walked into the Lakes’ house with Stevie’s father, the first person they saw was Alex.

“Well, if it isn’t Romeo,” Stevie commented. “Where’s Juliet?”

Mr. Lake just smiled. “Take it easy, Stevie, okay?” he said. “By the way, you girls missed dinner. There’s leftover chicken in the fridge and pizza in the freezer. Just help yourselves.” With that, he disappeared upstairs.

“It’s funny you should mention
Romeo and Juliet
, Stevie,” Alex said with a smile. “Paige and I were just talking about it today in school. We might ask our teacher if we can act out one of the love scenes for our final English project next semester. We think we’d be perfectly cast as star-crossed lovers.”

“Star-crossed
losers
is more like it,” Stevie muttered.

Carole heard her, but she didn’t think Alex did. He was gazing into space, a dreamy look in his eyes and an even dreamier smile on his face. He was also humming quietly. It took Carole a moment to place the tune, but finally she recognized it as a popular song called “You’ve Stolen My Heart.”

Stevie obviously recognized it, too, because she let out a disgusted snort and stomped off toward the kitchen.

Carole followed. “You weren’t kidding about Alex,” she said as soon as they were out of earshot. “He has it bad.”

“I told you,” Stevie said. “Isn’t it annoying? I’ve been waiting for the day when Alex finally found a girl who could stand him. I thought then I’d have a chance to get him back for all the times he’s teased me about Phil. But now I can’t even get him to pay attention long enough to make him mad.” Phil Marsten was Stevie’s boyfriend, who lived in a town a few miles away. Luckily he had sisters, so he understood when Stevie’s brothers teased her about the relationship.

Carole laughed. “At least you’re making a valiant effort,” she comforted her friend. “And isn’t that what counts?”

“I don’t know,” Stevie said. Finally she gave in and broke into a grin. “Okay, I guess you’re right. Everything is more fun if it’s a challenge.”

The girls heated up a couple of slices of frozen pizza and headed for the living room. Alex was there watching TV.

“Am I seeing things?” Stevie asked, pretending to be surprised.
“Don’t tell me you’re staying home alone on a Saturday night—date night. Is there trouble in paradise?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Stevie,” Alex replied. “Paige and I don’t have to see each other
every
night. Our relationship is much stronger than that. Besides, she’s visiting her grandmother tonight.”