For Sale or Swap - Alyssa Brugman [4]
'But leasing is different. You have to pay.'
'Not necessarily. Some of them are free.' Erin leaned her broom against the wall, the handle fitting neatly into the galvanised groove. 'Look, I'll show you,' she said, reaching into her bag to pull out a horse magazine. She flicked through the pages, and then sat down next to Shelby, handing her the magazine.
Lease/option to buy. Thoroughbred gelding. Off the track.
Free lease. Pretty black mare going to waste in paddock.
'That one looks good,' said Shelby.
Erin shook her head. 'It's in Victoria. You'd have to pay to bring her up here. You might as well buy one.'
Another advertisement caught Shelby's eye.
For sale or swap. Eye-catching brown pony. Fully educated. Royal quality. Consider swap for beginner's mount.
'Look at this one,' said Shelby, pointing. 'It's a mobile number, but it might be in Sydney.'
Erin took the magazine from her. 'Sounds perfect. It could be a bit of a handful though.' She turned to face Shelby. 'Would you really swap Blue? He's not the best-looking horse in the world but he's quiet and great on the roads. It's good to have a horse you can trust.'
Shelby scuffed her feet across the rough brick floor. 'If he's in Sydney then I can go and visit him on weekends. They might let me ride him sometimes, and I'd make a rule that we have to swap back whenever I want.'
Erin licked her thumb and flicked through the magazine. She stopped and spread it out across her lap. 'Have you seen this page? It makes me so sad, but I always look through it, just in case.'
The page was for 'Lost and Found', dedicated to people trying to track down horses that they'd sold, or looking for information about horses that they'd bought. Erin and Shelby leaned forward with their heads close together, poring over the page.
Seeking info on Caesar, bought from sale yard. Possibly from Central Coast. Timid.
Stolen. Grey mare. Greatly missed by owner. Please send our girl home.
History for Lara. Appaloosa mare. Crescent moon brand. Any information good or bad appreciated.
Stolen from Southern Highlands, black Shetland mare in foal. Dearly loved family pet.
'Isn't that the saddest thing?' asked Erin, pulling the magazine towards her face for a better look at the photo. 'I can't imagine it.'
Shelby mumbled in reply. She wasn't thinking about lost and found horses. She was thinking about the eye-catching brown pony for sale or swap. 'Can I borrow this?' she asked.
'You can have it,' said Erin, standing up and adjusting her jodhpurs. 'I've got to get ready for my lesson now. Are you going to watch?'
Shelby nodded. At fifty dollars each, Shelby's family couldn't afford lessons, so the closest thing for Shelby was to watch, and then apply what she'd learned on her own. Each weekend she rode Blue across the gully to the stables, leaving him in one of the spare yards. She would perch herself on the railing of the arena while the other girls had their lessons.
Hayley Crook, who had her lesson earlier in the day, joined Shelby at the side of the arena. She was eating an ice-block.
'Where'd you get that?' Shelby asked.
'Mum's put a bar fridge in our tack room,' she replied.
Typical, thought Shelby. Her family didn't even have ice-blocks at home, let alone in a spare fridge.
'How are your horses going?' Shelby asked.
Hayley nodded. 'Good. We sent Scamp up the gully.'
Shelby inhaled sharply. Up at the end of the gully there was an abattoir.
Hayley let out a bray of tinkling laughter. 'No, silly, to a trainer up there. He'll only be gone for a month.'
'Phew,' said Shelby. She couldn't imagine sending Blue away for a month, but Hayley had other horses, so she might not miss him. Hayley's life was so different from her own. Shelby always felt a little bit shy around Hayley – she never really knew what to say. She wondered whether she would feel more confident if she had a better