Hot Potato (Shelby and Blue) - Alyssa Brugman [10]
Fat broodmares and spelled horses grazed in a herd. Shelby noticed that they were all facing the same direction and wondered if that was always the case. She couldn't see the small pony amongst them.
Beyond the herd was the gate that led out to the Gully where the girls rode. Fire trails stretched away left, right and straight ahead into the bush. She wondered if Lindsey had headed out for the afternoon, and felt a flare of anger in her belly at the thought of it.
Blue strained at the reins, keen to munch at the grass in front of him, but Shelby held them firm. She took a deep breath. She was already cross, and there was no proof that Lindsey had even done anything yet.
'There,' said Erin, pointing.
Through the trees further along the track that ran along the ridge, Shelby could make out a chestnut hide moving at speed.
'Is she riding her?'
'Yep,' said Erin with her hands on her hips.
Lindsey rode up to meet them at a canter. She hadn't bothered with a saddle either. Her face was flushed and she beamed. The pony tossed her head and crunched on the bit.
'There you are! Well, she's definitely broken. I don't think she's done much, but she's got a nice soft mouth and she responds to leg aids. Watch.'
Lindsey put her calf to the pony's side and the pony moved her back end away from Lindsey's leg. 'See?'
'Nice of you to wait,' snapped Erin.
'I get off early on Mondays so I came straight out here. I was going to wait, but I knew you guys would take ages. I couldn't help myself! She's pretty good. You should have a ride.' Lindsey slid off the horse's back and held the reins out.
'Erin and I have been looking forward to this all day,' said Shelby. 'Don't you think it's a bit selfish? She's our horse too.'
Lindsey tilted her head to the side. 'Well, technically speaking she's my horse at the moment. Remember?'
Shelby and Erin exchanged a glance.
'You would have made me get on her first anyway,' Lindsey said. 'Why don't you have a ride now? What's fifteen minutes?'
Erin's face broke into a smile and she took the reins. 'Give me a boost, will you? Is she fiery? Has she shied or anything?'
Lindsey cupped her hands together and Erin stepped into them, flipping her other leg over the pony's back.
'OK, Bess, be a good girl now,' Lindsey murmured, patting her neck.
'Her name is Hotty!' Shelby said. She could feel her chest tightening and her face going red. 'You can't have every part of it all to yourself. It's not fair!'
'Jeez, Shel, chill, peppermill,' said Erin, adjusting the reins. 'Wow, she feels really narrow after Bandit.'
Shelby glared at Erin. She shook her head, and then squeezed Blue's sides, pushing him around towards the gate.
'I'll leave you to it then,' she said.
'Shelby,' Lindsey called after her. 'What's the big deal? I'm sorry, OK?'
It's too late, Shelby thought. It wasn't as though Lindsey could unride her. 'I have work to do,' she said without looking back.
7 A Levy
The afternoon sunlight slipped through the cracks between the wall palings, leaving bands of light and shade on the floor. One of the muscular feed-shed rat-cats lay on a stack of hay bales licking its paws. The striped shadows on its fur made it look like a tiger.
Shelby looked up at the blackboard, muttered, 'Two green chaff, one pellets, two stud mix,' and then slid the dipper into the chaff bin.
Some of the agisters at the stables kept their own feed in their tack rooms, while others paid extra to have their horses fed by the staff.
The feed buckets for these clients had the horses' names on them. It was simply a matter of filling it with the ingredients listed on the board next to the horse's name and then placing the bucket in the trolley ready to take out to the stables.
All around were the sounds of horses – snorting into their bins, cantering in the arena, clip-clopping down the laneway. Shelby could hear the puff-squeak of electric brakes from a truck