Crown Prince Challenged by Linda Snow McLoon

from Jack’s hands.
    When Jack straightening up and spoke to Sarah, his words were clipped. “There’s nothing wrong with this horse. Let’s put him away.” He took the lead rope and led Midnight Jet back into his stall. Jack looked troubled when he stepped back into the aisle. He slid the stall door shut, and without another word, headed back to the office. Sarah stayed for a few minutes, watching Midnight Jet. The horse was content, eating his hay and occasionally going to his water bucket. He certainly didn’t act like a horse experiencing any discomfort.
    Why do some people have to go out of their way to make trouble?
Sarah thought. She headed to her own horse’s stall, where Prince was also busy eating. Derek must have left for the day. She felt a twinge of disappointment as she walked to the tack room to get the things from her trunk she needed to wrap Prince’s leg. Upon returning, she put him on the cross-ties in the aisle and brushed the injured area lightly with a soft brush. The cut was lightly scabbed over, and following Jack’s instructions, she dabbed it with Furoxone ointment before applying the bandage. She stepped back to survey her work, noticing that her bandaging job didn’t look nearly as good as Jack’s.
I hope it won’t slip down,
she thought.
    Sarah suddenly remembered that Mr. DeWitt had suggested she try riding Prince in a different bit. Maybe someone in the barn had one she could borrow just to try it out. She decided to call Jack.
    His phone rang twice before Jack answered. “Sorry to bother you, Jack, but there’s something I forgot to ask you,” Sarah began. She told him about her conversation with Mr. DeWitt and his suggestion of switching to a stronger bit. “What do you think, Jack? If it’s a good idea, I could try to get one before I take Prince into the woods the next time.
    There was no hesitation in Jack’s response. “Sarah, a stronger bit is not the way to go with your horse. You want him to respect the bit you put in his mouth, and he must respond to what you ask, but at the same time he needs to go forward into that bit, to take it willingly. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
    â€œI think so,” she said, feeling her cheeks warm at the correction. “You’ve told us it’s bad for a horse to be behind the bit. Is that what you mean?”
    â€œExactly. When a bit makes a horse uncomfortable, he’ll bring his head back too far in an effort to evade it. You certainly don’t want that. I believe training and experience are the keys here.”
    â€œThanks,” Sarah said quickly. “I thought I should ask, and thanks for explaining it to me. I’ve got so much to learn!”
    Biking home from the barn, Sarah’s thoughts were on her horse. As soon as his leg healed sufficiently, she’d be able to ride him again, and not just in the indoor or sand ring. They were going on another trail ride, and she and Prince would have their chance to convince her parents and everyone else that her horse was as level-headed and well-behaved as he was beautiful.

CHAPTER 7
Enemies
    SATURDAY DAWNED MORE LIKE SUMMER than fall, with a warm breeze skimming over the grass in the fields at Brookmeade Farm. As Sarah biked along the farm road that morning, she watched the three Thoroughbred foals with their dams turned out in the acres of green pasture on her left. The two colts and a filly had grown a lot in the last month, and before long they’d be weaned from their dams and shipped to Hank Bolton’s farm in Florida. If all went well, someday their speed would be tested on the racetrack.
    As she pedaled up the hill toward the O’Briens’ bungalow, Sarah thought about her new fall schedule at the farm. Now that school had started, she would have much more work to do on weekends. Not only would she feed the horses in the morning, but on Sunday, which was Gus’s