Greener Pastures - Alyssa Brugman [22]
If she waited too much longer her parents might decide to go ahead anyway, and then she would lose Blue and move away.
She needed advice but who could she confide in? Aunty Jenny and her parents all wanted to move, so there was no point talking to them. They had already made up their minds. The Crooks had made it clear that they thought she should sell Blue anyway, and Erin had said that she needed her friend at school. Lindsey and Mrs Edel would want her to stay too, because she did a good job at the stables. There was only one person she could think of who didn't have a vested interest in her choice.
When they went back inside Shelby wrote Chad a quick email.
Would you be able to meet me tomorrow?
She had promised to help Clint with the school ponies in the morning and she had a trail ride in the afternoon, but there was a gap in between. The Ledge Café was perched on the escarpment overlooking the Gully. It was not far from the stables, and easy for them both to get to on their bikes. She had also heard that it served excellent iced chocolates.
Do you know The Ledge? How about we say eleven?
11 Shelby Names a Price
Clint was always trying something new, and on this visit he had set up shop in the wash-bay, where he had the advantage of shade and a flat surface to roll on his new little wheeled stool. He held Siete's hoof across his lap. Shelby was worried that he wouldn't be able to move out of the way fast enough if one of the horses spooked, but so far none of them had.
'You could do this,' he assured her.
'I'm not strong enough,' she said.
'You don't need to be strong if you have the right tools. You could be my apprentice. It would be a good career for you, Shelly Shoes. If you leave school in year ten you could put out your shingle before you're twenty. There's nothing like being your own boss.'
She narrowed her eyes, not sure if he was teasing. What was it all of a sudden with people giving her options?
'You're observant,' Clint continued. 'That's the most important thing. Horses are regular old chatterboxes, if you take the time to listen.' Clint rolled back and Siete put his foot down gingerly at first, testing it before he put his weight on it. 'This fellow doesn't trust me yet.'
Siete twisted his neck around and nuzzled the top of Clint's head. 'But he thinks I did a pretty good job.'
Clint stroked the horse's face, and then rolled back further, indicating that Shelby could take the gelding away. She brought in another of the school ponies, this time a mare, and Clint scooted around looking at her hooves from different angles.
'What do you know about founder?' Shelby asked.
'Probably a quarter of my business is founder rehab. Horses overfed and underworked. It's an epidemic. Why?'
Shelby explained to him about Lydia and her pony.
'Let me tell you something; steer clear of horses called Chance, or Houdini,' Clint said. 'Jinx is another one . . . and Bronco. I once worked on a racehorse called Problematic. What were they thinking!'
'So what causes it if it's not diet?' she asked.
Clint picked up one of the mare's hooves and cleaned it with a scrubbing brush. He held it up to his nose and sniffed it. 'It can be toxins, concussion, Cushing's disease, hyperthyroid, steroids.'
'How do you test for those things?' Shelby asked.
Clint selected a pair of nippers out of the toolbox and clipped away the overgrown wall of the pony's hoof. 'Blood tests usually. Your friend should also get him X-rayed to see how far the bones have rotated. She should get her hay tested while she's at it.'
Shelby sighed. She couldn't see Lee going for all of those tests.
'I don't think she's feeding