Safeguarding Miley by Melissa Kay Clarke

Author:Melissa Kay Clarke [Clarke, Melissa Kay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aces Press, LLC
Published: 2018-08-21T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Cowboy kept his eyes open as he followed Miley around the Double H Ranch. To keep close to her, he had lugged her medical bag as she checked the horses in the stable. Although Tariq watched with barely suppressed disinterest, Loran appeared angry that Cowboy tagged along. Cowboy couldn't have cared less. He was there to keep Miley out of trouble, and he intended to do his job.

They had made it to the last stall of the second stable. Miley was kneeling beside a chestnut quarter horse named Artemis checking the hooves. The position caused her shirttail to raise slightly. He could see the little freckle tracker just above the waistband of her jeans. It made him feel a little more comfortable knowing it was there.

"What's in the pasture you're putting him in?" Her question shook him out of his musings. Glancing over her shoulder, he could see her examining the hoof bed of the beast with a frown on her face.

"Just plain grass," Drake replied. He was leaning against the wall with his hands stuffed in his pockets. "You know, the stuff that grows naturally," he smirked.

"We had a bad winter and a hot summer," Miley muttered.

"Laminitis?" Cowboy asked as he sat the bag down and squatted beside her. The horse whinnied and took a half step to the side. "Woah there, boy." Cowboy muttered as he gently stroked his chest. Looking up, he could see the pain in the animal's eyes.

"Yeah. Thankfully, I believe we caught it in time." She stood, turned to Loran, she narrowed her eyes. "Why didn't you call me sooner? Surely you noticed this horse limping on his right front leg?"

Loran glared at Drake who had turned visibly paler. "You're in charge of the stable. Why did you not take proper care?"

"I...I... didn't see it." Drake now stood ramrod straight as he eyes fell to the horse.

"We will discuss this later." Loran dismissed him with a glare then turned to the horse. "Is there a problem with the grass in the pasture?"

Miley squatted again as she dug into her bag, pulling out items and placing them on her knee. "I need a saline bag. Drake, there's a small cooler in the back of my truck. Could you get it please?" She looked up as he bolted out of the stable. "When grass becomes stressed, it overproduces sugar. Consuming this super-sweet grass overloads the digestive tract and leads to inflammation of the laminae. It could cause the bone in the hoof to move and if that bone pokes out the bottom, the horse will have to be put down. Luckily, Artemis isn't that bad."

Drake returned with the cooler and placed it on the ground next to Miley. She popped the top open and pulled out a bag of clear liquids. "I'll start him on medication to ease the pain. You'll need to move the horses nearby to another stable."

"Laminitis isn't contagious," Drake growled.

"No, but with him being sick, he'll be more stressed if there are other animals nearby.

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