Bright, Broken Things by Linda Shantz

Author:Linda Shantz [Shantz, Linda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Linda Shantz

Chapter Sixteen

Her study notes were words and sketches; not that she could draw very well. Like any horse-crazy kid, she’d doodled in the margins of her schoolbooks, but she’d never become adept. Funny that now such sketches were part of her schooling, rather than a distraction from it.

Not that she really needed to study equine anatomy. She knew the proper names as well as the lay names. She’d be able to speak to trainers, translating them as easily as her brain now translated French to English and back again. In track speak, the fetlock joint was the ankle, even though it really wasn’t. The carpus was the knee, when the corresponding joint on the human body was the wrist. The tuber coxae was the point of hip. Trainers weren’t going to magically start using scientific names. They didn’t have much use for science at all. It was up to the vets to take the science and make it palatable.

No, she wouldn’t be illustrating any anatomy texts, but the parts were where they were supposed to be, at least, even if the shapes weren’t quite right. She picked another species on which to focus, comparative anatomy from first year undergrad Biology the starting point on which to expand everything she needed to store in her memory. Medical students didn’t know how easy they had it, with only one species to worry about, though having to deal with human patients might even things out.

A warm breeze fluttered the edge of the notebook pages, and she planted a hand on top of them to settle them, glancing up at the sky. Still clear, blue and cloudless above her, but the wind was picking up. It was almost time to pack up anyway, Geai emerging from the barn with a stud shank in his hands. She could study more tonight.

Just Lucky paced back and forth. The young stallion always had to be first. He pushed his head over the gate and Geai poked him in the muzzle every time he tried to nip. Liv didn’t know how Geai kept up with it, because it was a constant natter, natter, natter. It made her laugh, because Geai said she let horses get away with stuff. Just Lucky was like a grandchild to the old farm manager, as much as Liv and Emilie were.

Lucky finally stopped his pestering and allowed the manager to loop the long chain part of the lead shank over the horse’s nose, wrapping it around the leather of the noseband, then back under his jaw. From there, Lucky was relatively civilized, prancing lightly on the way to the barn. He hadn’t covered a mare since the end of June, but he was still hopeful.

Just Lucky’s first foal was due the third week of January, carried by Sotisse, her father’s favourite mare. The mating combined the genes of the farm’s two most successful runners. It was hard not to be excited about that one.

The foal could be nothing, of course. You could plan all you wanted — breed the best to the best — and still end up with a lot of disappointment.

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