The Lonely Pony (7 page)

Truman raced over to greet the kids, barking and wagging his tail. Janey hugged
him. “I'm glad you brought Truman along,” she told Ms. Tanaka, giggling as Truman licked her chin.

Ms. Tanaka smiled. “Truman loves going places,” she said. She greeted Mr. Simpson and the other kids. Then she stepped toward the pen. “Oh, you were right—Lola is adorable!”

The pony took one more bite of hay, then wandered over to say hello. Ms. Tanaka scratched Lola's neck, which made her stretch out and grunt happily.

“Hey, she likes that!” Zach exclaimed.

“Horses usually love having their itchy spots scratched,” Ms. Tanaka said with a chuckle. She glanced at the pony's hooves. “Oh, dear, it looks as if Lola hasn't had her feet done in quite a while.”

“Yeah, Zach's mom said something about that, too,” Adam said. “Can you show us how to do it?”

Ms. Tanaka shook her head. “That's a job for an expert,” she said. “Lola will need to
see a farrier soon—that's another name for a horseshoer, or a blacksmith. She's probably also behind on her shots and deworming, and might even need her teeth floated.”

“Floated?” Zach laughed. “Lola's pretty small for a horse, but she's too big to fit in the bathtub!”

Ms. Tanaka laughed, too. “Floating is the term for a horse getting her teeth filed down,” she explained. “If it isn't done regularly, her teeth can get sharp and cut her mouth when she tries to eat.”

“Oh.” Janey bit her lip. “I guess that's not something we can do ourselves, either?”

“No, sorry.” The teacher shrugged. “You'll need either a vet or a special horse dentist.”

Lolli's father had been listening. “All this is starting to sound expensive,” he commented.

“Yes. Keeping a pony isn't cheap.” Ms. Tanaka looked sympathetic. She rubbed the pony's shaggy mane and glanced at the kids. “If Lola stays with the Pet Rescue Club much longer, you'll probably need to think about how to raise enough money to pay for her care.”

“Yeah.” Janey traded an anxious look with her friends.

What had they gotten themselves into?

Lolli could tell that her father was worried about what Ms. Tanaka had said. “It's okay,” she said quickly. “We can have a fundraiser. Right, guys?”

“Yeah!” Zach and Janey said at the same time, while Adam nodded.

But Lolli's dad shook his head. “I don't know, kids,” he said. “This might be more than we can handle. Lola really needs to be with knowledgeable horse people. We should probably call the shelter in Lakeville—it sounds like they have people there who
know how to take care of horses.”

“No!” Lolli cried. “We want to help Lola ourselves!”

“Yeah, tons of people have already seen her on the blog,” Janey said.

Lolli's dad looked dubious. “But you told me you haven't heard from anyone who sounded right for Lola.”

“Ms. T is going to help us write a better ad,” Zach told him. “Right, Ms. T?”

Ms. Tanaka was staring thoughtfully at Lola. “I might be able to do better than that,” she said. “I just had an idea.”

Lolli's heart jumped. “What is it?”

“I just remembered—an old friend of mine keeps her horses at a stable not far from here,” the teacher said. “I could call her and see if she'd be willing to help find a new
home for Lola.”

“Really?” Adam said. “That would be great!”

Janey held her breath while Ms. Tanaka pulled out her cell phone. Just then the goats started head-butting each other and making a lot of noise. Ms. Tanaka stepped away behind the barn where Janey couldn't hear what she was saying.

“Do you think her friend can help?” Lolli wondered, watching as her father waved his hands to shoo the goats away.

“I hope so.” Janey gazed at Lola, who was nibbling at some grass beneath the fence. “Because it would be totally vile if Lola had to go to the shelter in Lakeville.”

“Yeah,” Zach agreed. “Especially after all the work we've been doing!”

A moment later Ms. Tanaka returned. She was smiling. “Good news,” she told the kids. “Darby is at the stable right now. She's showing a horse to a potential buyer. But she said we could come on over and she'll talk to us about Lola after she's done.”

“What are we waiting for?” Zach exclaimed. “Let's go!”

Ms. Tanaka left Truman at Lolli's house so he could play with Roscoe while they were gone. Then Mr. Simpson drove everyone over in his big old station wagon. On the way, Ms. Tanaka explained that she and Darby had grown up riding together.

“I haven't seen her in a few years, since we're both so busy,” she said. “But I heard she's training horses professionally now.”

“Just like Adam!” Zach said with a grin. “Only horses instead of dogs.”

Mr. Simpson chuckled. “I think we're here.”

Janey looked out the window. They were passing a sign for the boarding stable. The driveway curved around some trees and ended by a large riding ring with a pretty green barn beyond. A woman was riding a tall,
handsome chestnut horse in the ring.

“Is that her?” Janey asked, squinting at the rider. It was hard to see the woman's face clearly beneath her riding helmet, but she looked at least ten years older than Ms. Tanaka.

“No, Darby's over there, standing by the gate,” Ms. Tanaka said, pointing to a woman around her age wearing a baseball cap, tall boots, and sunglasses. “The woman on the horse must be her client.”

As soon as they all got out of the car, the younger woman spotted them and waved. “Hi!” she cried, hurrying over to meet them as they reached the ring fence. She gave Ms. Tanaka a big hug. “It's so good to see you! I'm glad you came. We'll be finished here soon.”

Ms. Tanaka hugged her back, then introduced everyone. “Don't worry, we'll stay out of your way until you're done,” she added.

“No worries,” Darby said. “Mrs. Jamison is just trying out this fellow one more time before taking him home.”

“What a beautiful horse!” Lolli exclaimed. “Why in the world are you selling him?”

“Lolli!” her father chided. “That's not polite.”

Darby laughed. “It's okay,” she said. “I'm
selling him because I love helping ex-racehorses find new careers and new people to love them.”

“That's a racehorse?” Adam sounded surprised.

Janey was surprised, too. The horse was trotting slowly in a circle, his neck arched proudly. He looked nothing like the lean, fast horses she'd seen racing on TV.

“He used to be a racehorse.” Darby smiled as she watched the horse slow to a walk. “Now Red is turning into a wonderful riding horse.”

“Red?” Janey could hardly believe her ears. “Did you say that horse's name is Red?”

Zach looked excited. “And he used to be a racehorse?”

Lolli gasped. “I think we know your horse's best friend!”

Janey, Lolli, Zach, and Adam all started talking at once. Darby looked confused for a second. But when Ms. Tanaka started to explain about Lola, her eyes widened.

“Hang on,” she said. “Are you talking about the cute little Shetland pony companion I saw with Red at the track?”

“Yes, that's Lola!” Janey said. “Red's old trainer gave her to some people who couldn't keep her. So now we're trying to find her a home.”

Lolli's father nodded. “The trouble is, we're not really equipped to take care of a pony.”

“Oh, dear.” Darby looked sad. “I wish I could have taken Lola. But I'm not allowed
to keep two horses in one stall here, even if one of them is tiny. And the stable is full right now—no extra stalls.”

Zach glanced at Red, who was walking past the spot where they were standing. “Do you think Red misses Lola? We heard they were best friends.”

Red's rider brought him to a stop. “Hello,” she said with a smile. “I couldn't help overhearing some of your conversation. . . .”

“Sorry,” Zach said. “I get that a lot. My mom says I'm louder than a howler monkey with a megaphone.”

The woman chuckled. “No, it's fine,” she said. “But what was that you were saying about Red's best friend?”

Darby repeated what the kids had just told her. “
It seems Lola has lost her home, and these nice kids are trying to find her another one,” she said. “I'm hoping I can help.”

The woman patted Red. “So this fellow had a pony as a friend? How charming!” She smiled at Janey and the others. “Is there any way I could meet this Lola?”