Winter and Horses at Bracken by Gillian Baxter

Author:Gillian Baxter [Baxter, Gillian]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2021-07-14T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter eleven

The weather turned bleak in the week after the show. Strong easterly winds sent heavy sleet showers driving across the fields and working the horses became harder. Many of Heath’s clients stayed at home and Bobby, Guy, Anthony and Dean worked the competition horses in the indoor school. The riding school horses and domestic liveries were turned out in the day but all except the hardiest ponies came in at night. Englebert phoned Heath and asked if Chelsea’s pony could come back on livery.

‘Chelsea says he’s miserable alone here,’ he explained. ‘We had another horse, an old retired one of Lois’s, but it had to be put down. This one was alright until the weather got bad but now she says he feels really down.’

‘I had to agree,’ Heath told Bobby. ‘I know it isn’t just the pony he wants here, he says how depressed he gets, he likes to have a place to go for company. He even works at home except for a couple of days teaching art. He needs some sympathy.’

‘Heath...’ Bobby began, and Heath said ‘Alright, so I like seeing him. So what?

I’ll try not to seduce him, if that’s what you’re worried about.’

She went crossly away and Bobby sighed. It did seem that Heath could be heading for trouble.

Sundance returned to the same box and Englebert was again a frequent inhabitant of the tack room, drawing for a commissioned series of illustrations for a book on the development of saddlery. Bobby was glad to notice that Heath seemed to have settled for keeping at a distance although Yolanda was quick to notice something.

‘Is Heath keen on that artist man?’ she asked Bobby. ‘She’s cleaning an awful lot of tack.’

‘Maybe because the weather’s damaging it,’ suggested Bobby, but Yolanda laughed.

‘Maybe,’ she said. ‘But he is sort of appealing. Anthony was a bit like that when he first came here although he used to act so arrogant.’

Bobby remembered that. ‘He’s certainly changed,’ she told Yolanda, who agreed, suddenly serious.

‘He certainly has,’ she said. ‘I used to feel a bit protective about him but he doesn’t need that now. He’s really grown up.’

She glanced fondly across the yard to where Anthony was saddling a horse and Bobby, recognising the warmth, was pleased for her. Yolanda had been a part of Bracken for a long time, always willing and cheerful. She deserved this happiness.

Anthony was there today to work his sharp little grey horse in the school, and Guy decided to try Morag indoors. He had ridden her out again with Dean on sensible Ziggy and once away from the gate he reported that she had behaved although Dean told Bobby that he was glad he did not have to ride her.

Morag did not like the school. Although she could see Cracker trotting round in the dry and it was again sleeting outside she took one look and stood on her hind legs. Guy swung her away and sent her into a trot round the wet yard before aiming her, still at a trot, at the school door.

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