Five Stride Line (Pony Jumpers #5)

Chapter 2

He set the shoe against Robin's hind foot and looked at it from all angles, trying to judge the fit. Satisfied, he pulled out his hoof knife and started gouging semi-circular chunks out of the sides of the pony's hoof for the quarter clips to sit in.

"What would you recommend?" I asked him, but he just shrugged.

"Like I said. Entirely up to you."

"If he was yours?" Katy pressed, wanting him to be on her side. But he wouldn't be baited.

"If he was mine, I'd be too bloody chicken to jump a metre-twenty in the first place," Rick said with a smile. Robin shifted his weight uneasily, and Rick set his hoof down for a moment. "If you really don't want shoes on him, I'm not going to tell you that he has to have them. He has good feet, your pony, nice and solid. He'll be just fine barefoot for most things, but if he's struggling with slippery ground then studs will help. It's up to you to make that decision."

He picked up a couple of nails and held them between his lips, then clicked his tongue to Robin, who lifted his hoof obediently.

"Just try it," Katy said. "Give it a go, and see if you find a difference. If you don't, then you can take the shoes off again. They're not permanent, you know."

I shrugged, supposing that was true. Rick drove the nails into Robin's shoe, then glanced up at me.

"You better decide quick though, because if I'm going to be shoeing your boy today then I'll need to drag my boy out of the ute and get him to give us a hand."

I blinked at him, then glanced over at his dirty grey ute. For the first time, I noticed that there was someone in there, half-sitting half-lying across the back seat.

"Um...I think just a trim today. Since I haven't given you any warning," I decided, ignoring Katy's exasperated eye-roll.

Rick nodded, driving the remaining nails home in Robin's hoof and setting it down. "Okay. I appreciate that. If you do change your mind, give us a call and I'll try and fit you in."

As he spoke, the back door of the ute swung open, and we all looked up as a teenage boy climbed out feet first. He was tall, close to six foot, with wavy brown hair that glinted red in the afternoon sun.

"Aren't you done yet, old man?" he asked. "Mum's just called to say dinner's on the table."

"I said I wouldn't be done until six," Rick replied, then introduced us. "Harry, this is Katy and AJ. Girls, my son Harry."

We nodded and smiled at each other, and I couldn't help noticing Harry's green eyes and broad shoulders. His eyes seemed to linger on my face for a moment, making me blush, then he returned his attention to his father. "It's ten past six, Dad."

Rick clearly didn't believe him until he glanced at his watch, then swore. "She's not going to be happy with me."

"Nope."

"Give us a hand to finish up then," he told his son, who groaned but shut the ute door behind him and headed in our direction. "Get your pony out for him AJ, he'll do the basic trim and I'll tidy it up afterwards."

Squib was fully engaged in a game of Bite Your Face with Lucas, but he pricked his ears at me as I stepped into his loosebox, his leadrope swinging from my hand. I was pretty sure that none of the online natural hoof care forums recommended letting your farrier's teenage son file your horse's hooves, no matter how cute he was, but I wasn't sure I could say that to his face, so I led Squib out onto the concrete and stood nervously by his head.

"Cute pony," Harry said, reaching up to rub Squib between the eyes. My pony butted his head against Harry's arm, and he chuckled. "Smart arse. Okay then, let's see what we've got."