The Horseback Pack

The Horseback Pack

By Gina Sanders

Copyright Gina Sanders 2012

Published at Smashwords

1.

All that could be heard were the sounds of sweet nickering as Nicolette entered the barn. Sleepy horses came alive at the sight of her, and the nickering grew more persistent as she opened the feed room door. Nicolette smiled to herself and secretly acknowledged that they were greeting the idea of breakfast more so than greeting her, but she was happy to hear them nonetheless.

Having assembled the breakfasts of the 33 hungry horses that currently knew Paradise Acres as their home, Nicolette began the feeding process, greeting each horse by name and with a pat on the neck. Some were more demanding than others and some were downright rude, but the heavy sighs they let out as they ate were thank you enough to make the early morning chores enjoyable. After feed came water, a far less excitable experience for the horses, and beyond that was mucking stalls. Nicolette had a busy morning ahead of her, but it was all worth it for that extra time spent with her precious Aster, who waited patiently at the end of the stall row.

Aster greeted Nicolette with a head-butt, as she often did, in her trademark style. All horses have unique personalities, and Aster was the type to show her love in a playful rather than affectionate way. Sure, she would accept affection from a person, but she would almost always head-butt them in return, because that was her personal form of expression. It was almost as if she got embarrassed by the thought of showing how much she truly loves her people, and instead of allowing her true adoration to shine through, she mixed her love with a dash of pain.

Nicolette laughed off Aster’s standard greeting and echoed with her own.

Hello, pretty girl. How was your night? she asked, stroking Aster’s shiny neck, and almost immediately being given another head-butt.

Yes, ma’am, I see that you’re impatient this morning. I am sorry for making you wait, but you see, there are several other beasts in this barn that are at times nearly as impatient as you.

Another neck pat and Nicolette reached around the front of the stall for Aster’s halter. In seconds she had it on and was leading the sleek sorrel mare out to the pasture that awaited her. As they walked, Aster shifted gears from pushy and insistent to excited and eager. Every morning it was the same routine, yet no horse danced their way out to pasture quite like Aster. She may be the plainest horse in the barn, solid red with only one marking, the star on her forehead for which she was named, but no one ever dared tell her that, for Aster knew she was something special.

As they rounded the barn and approached the pasture gate, the spark in her eyes showed that Aster was feeling good this morning. Nicolette opened the gate, removed Aster’s halter, and instantly the horse took off, burning up the dew-covered field, her mane and tail whipping in the wind. Aster ran her heart out for several minutes, basking in the glory of having the pasture all to herself, with no cranky mares to dodge or competition for the best grazing spot.

Nicolette gave a little laugh as she watched Aster settle down and begin to graze. For as long as she could remember, Aster had always been the number one horse when it came time to turn out. It was ritual that she went first and delivered the same performance every day, and don’t even think about forgetting the order of things because Aster would remind you. If you dared bring another horse past her stall, Aster would instantly protest loudly, informing you that you have done wrong and it was simply not to be tolerated.

Nicolette returned to the barn and repeated the same routine of turning out the remainder of the horses, most of which were far less impressed by the process than Aster. The mares went in one pasture and the geldings in another, as the current pasture rotation dictated. Occasionally there would be a need to separate horses due to injury or for other reasons, but this was not the case today. Everyone was where they should be and everything was as it should be. Paradise Acres was paradise indeed.

2.

Nicolette looked up and stretched her back at the sound of tires crunching on gravel. Several hours of stall cleaning had passed, and due to arrive fifteen minutes prior was Julia West. Alas, she was nothing if not fashionably late, and fashionably late was often an understatement.

Julia stepped out of her mom’s car wearing a mismatched outfit consisting of neon green pants and a hot pink shirt, possibly brought together by the flowered Doc Martens on her feet. Nicolette looked down at her own ensemble and frowned at how much conformity ruled her wardrobe. At times she wished she had the flare for the outrageous that Julia did, but those thoughts were often fleeting in nature.

Around the corner came footsteps and Julia presented herself, leaning over the stall Nicolette was cleaning, thankfully her last for the day.

I have a surprise for you! cooed Julia.

And what might that be? asked Nicolette.

Julia then held up a brown paper bag, grease from within evident, having been absorbed from the food contained inside. Nicolette’s stomach responded to the sight of the bag with a heavy rumble, and as she looked at her watch, she realized it was noon. She looked up at Julia and smiled.

I should have known you’d have my back. Cheeseburgers, I presume? Nicolette inquired.

But of course! You know I must maintain this hot body by pumping cheeseburgers into it on a regular basis!

Nicolette laughed; she had no problem with Julia’s cheeseburger obsession, especially when there was enough to go around. The two girls wandered off in the direction of the lounge where they could eat and gossip in peace. School had let out a couple of days ago, but so far they were the only ones around milking up all the extra horse time that had now become available to replace unimportant things like algebra and biology.

So, have you heard anything about the new lesson schedule? asked Julia.

All I know is that there is some consolidation in the plans. Supposedly it will enable more riding time overall by freeing up ring space, replied Nicolette.

"I am all about more room and more time to ride, but this consolidation thing has me worried. I feel like I’m advanced enough that I don’t need to ride next to the little kids in order to conserve space. I get that it will be good for everyone overall, but I don’t want to have to worry about Pina tripping over a pony being poorly piloted by the brat du jour," declared Julia.

"Well, Jules, I don’t think it will come to that, especially for the more advanced riders, but I suspect we will have some fresh meat to maneuver around. I’m going to try to bite my tongue and make the most of it. Perhaps it will be for the best and a learning experience for all."

Typical Nicolette, always hugging up to the bright side, while I am ever the fatalistic realist.

To this Nicolette could not immediately reply, unless laughing to the point of nearly choking on her last bite of burger constituted a reply. Taking a much needed moment to recover, she was finally again able to speak, although Julia’s sarcastic grin made it difficult.

Jules, who are you kidding? You will be flailing around on Pina, the two of you in your own little world, and if you had to navigate her around pony trip wires, we’d all be in danger because the two of you would be setting off bombs.

Ah, I suppose you are right, wise one. If you can’t stand to tune them in, you simply must tune them out, Julia declared with a hand to her forehead, looking for pony trip wires in the distance and giving up on finding them in short order.

So how is my precious Pina today? she asked.

Pina is just fine, but possibly feeling a little lonely and ignored. You’ve been here almost an hour and done nothing but pour cheeseburgers down your hatch while poor Pina stands out in the pasture.

Well, I suggest we do something about that! Julia declared, grabbing Nicolette’s hand and dragging her into action.

3.

As they approached the pasture gate, Nicolette’s eardrums were suddenly pierced by a sharp whistle. In the distance, a golden horse head popped up and looked towards Julia. A communication was taking place, unspoken words somehow spoken between two beings who, inexplicably, understood one another like no two other beings possibly could. Thunder began to echo in the distance as coming towards them was the one and only Despina, a beautiful Palomino paint mare, galloping with fervor to the person she loved.

Despina was a one of a kind horse, especially in this setting. Most people would be extremely frustrated by her lack of concentration and the amount of difficult work it took to keep her on task, but this was not the case with Julia. There was an understanding between Julia and Pina, a communication running deeper than any ocean. Those two were kindred spirits who truly understood each other. Where a mere mortal would wash their hands of Pina due to her near constant distractedness, Julia seemed to embrace it. The two operated like a finely oiled machine, the scatterbrained horse and the free spirited girl, coming together in some sort of oddly chaotic harmony that still plays out beautifully in spite of its flaws.

Julia wrapped her arms around Despina’s neck, hugging her like a long lost friend, and without so much as a halter and lead, swung up and onto her back. Pina, in seeming reciprocation, craned her head around and sniffed Julia’s leg. Once this little exchange was complete, off the pair went in the direction of the gate, leaving Nicolette to collect Aster, who was less than enthusiastic to come in from her pasture. First to go out and last to come in, Aster was not nearly as