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The Horse Trailer Page 2
 Mike used a
quick-release knot to tie Texas Jewel to the tie rings on the side of the
trailer. Then he untied a short blue lead line from a knot of ropes and headed
back into the trailer for another horse.
Ruling Dancer, the
Arabian mare he unloaded next, was black as midnight with a star in the middle
of her forehead. 'Wow, she's pretty!' exclaimed Katy. 'What's her past all
about?'
'She was abused as
a yearling and is now seven. She's still trying to work out her quirks. Only
advanced riders can handle her; that's how bad she is. She jumps at the
slightest noise and lays her ears back at everything that moves. She's quite a
horse, though. Such a beautiful mover.'
Mike led Ruling
Dancer slowly over to Katy. The mare, true to his words, laid her ears back and
snaked her head out, teeth bared. Then she perked up her ears and snuffled
Katy's pockets when she saw that Katy wasn't fazed. When Katy had nothing to
give her she started rubbing her head up and down Katy's side, scratching her
ears. Katy gently but firmly pushed the mare's head away and told the horse,
'Quit.' Katy knew that a horse could associate 'no' with 'whoa',
and she didn't want to take any chances.
Mike secured
Ruling Dancer on the other side of the trailer, away from the other horses. Then
he picked up another lead rope and disappeared into the depths of the trailer
again. Katy could hear a brief scrabbling of hooves as the horse strained for
the exit. The next to last horse to be unloaded was an albino gelding named
Phantom.
'No offense, but
he's kind of ugly,' Katy remarked upon seeing the horse's conformation and
color.
'Oh, none taken. I
agree completely. Interestingly, however, his owner said that he has done some
killer dressage tests in the past. Evidently he was so blazing that the judges
didn't look twice at his first appearance. Also, he's a very affectionate horse.
He loves people, but pretty much hates other horses. He's been stomping the
floor of the trailer almost the whole way so far.' Mike laughed. 'I'm sure you
could hear and see his eager exit.'
Katy nodded. 'I
sure did. I can tell he wanted to get out of there. Where did you pick the
horses up?'
'I picked up
Jehosephat in Delaware, Jewel in Maine, Ruling Dancer in Massachusetts, Phantom
in Rhode Island, and this last horse in North Carolina. They're all going to
Idaho, somewhere,' explained Mike.
'Wow! That's going
almost all the way across the country!' exclaimed Katy. 'You must like
traveling!'
'Yes, this way I
get paid to basically vacation and see a lot of the country, and I get to be
around my favorite animal while I'm at it. It's really fascinating. I've been in
every state more times than you can count, although I don't think I've been in
the same town more than twice.'
'''Wow.' Katy patted
all the horses while Mike headed up the ramp to unload the last horse. She
caught her breath as the horse seemingly danced off the ramp.
The horse was a
medium-colored dappled gray, with no variation in the dapples on her body until
halfway down her legs, where black legs faded into pure white marks. She had a
huge star on her face and four tall stockings accentuated her slender legs,
which were finished off with polished black hooves. The mare's mane was thick,
perfect for braiding, and just the right length for shows. Both her mane and her
tail were dark gray. Her head was held high and her nostrils flared, taking in
the scents around her. Ears forward, she glanced around in interest, tail raised
and legs braced for action. It was in incredible sight.
'Oh,' Katy
breathed in ecstasy. 'What kind of horse is she? She's got to be a Warmblood.'
'You're right.
She's a pure Trakehner,' Mike told Katy. 'She's four right now, but she'll be
five in September. She still needs a lot of training, but otherwise she's
perfect. You know what I mean. Conformation, attitude, personality - the list
just goes on and on.'
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