Page 56 of A Taste of Whiskey
Posey was cowering against the back wall, wearing a rope halter, which was dangerous and could be painful. Sasha’s chest constricted. It had taken a monumental effort for Sasha to push aside her personal heartache to get through the evening, and seeing Posey’s anxious state brought it back to the surface. She ached for the horse, but she knew better than to show it. No matter what a horse had been through, she always led with admiration and not pity, because that’s what horses needed to gain confidence.
“The poor thing doesn’t do well with people,” Kathy said. “Right, Posey? You don’t like the way we move or the noises we make, do you? She just doesn’t understand what’s going on around her.”
Kathy had that backward. The problem wasn’t that the horse didn’t understand people. It was her caretaker who didn’t understand what the horse needed. A horse who was treated as if it were fragile would act fragile. And a horse who had lost her eye because of its owner’s negligence had good reason to fret.
Sasha pushed the ugly feelings she felt toward Kathy down deep and focused on getting Posey settled. “How much time did you spend with her?”
“Not much. I thought I’d have more time for her, but the only barn where I could afford to board her was almost an hour away, and I work full time, so I couldn’t get there more than two or three days a week. I’d stay for a little while in the evenings. But she had a nice stall. She was happy there.”
Would you like to be kept in a stall for days on end?“On the intake documents, you indicated that you don’t know what she’d been through before you took her on or how she lost her sight in her right eye. Is that correct?”
“Yes. She was already blind in her right eye when I got her. A few months later she got an infection in her other eye, and I couldn’t afford to get it fixed.”
“Right.” Sasha would go without whatever it took before she’d make a horse suffer, but unfortunately, she knew it wasn’t always that way for others. “You can lead her into the empty paddock and say goodbye to her there. I’ve put Dream, one of our gentlest mares, on the other side so they can bond.” She motioned to the side-by-side paddocks, which were partially covered.
“But it’s raining. Shouldn’t you put her in a stall?”
It was only drizzling, but she didn’t bother pointing that out. “Horses can be overwhelmed by too many unfamiliar smells, like in the barn, and it’s worse for a horse that’s blind. I’m going to give her some time to adjust with a friend first, and assuming she and Dream do okay together, they’ll be put in neighboring stalls so she can still smell her nearby. Would you rather I walked her out?”
“No,” she said quickly. “I want to say goodbye.”
Kathy lured a very tentative Posey out of the trailer with a treat. While Kathy led her into the pen, Sasha hurried into the barn to grab her rain jacket and a breakaway halter for Posey. When she came back out, Kathy was already heading back to her truck.
“That was quick.”So much for a heartfelt goodbye.
“I’ve got a long drive home,” Kathy said. “Good luck getting that halter on her. It took me forever to get this one on her.” She held up the rope halter.
Great. You could have left it on while I got mine on her.“We’ll be fine. Thanks for bringing her in. I’ll take good care of her.” She headed over to the paddock.
Dream stood by the partition between the pens, gazing curiously at her frightened new friend. Posey was a beautiful horse, with a chestnut coat and a white splash with chestnut spots along her hips and loin. She didn’t look malnourished or injured, but she was cowering. Her ears were back, her muzzle pursed, and her nostrils flared. Sasha’s heart went out to her. Not only was every smell new to her, but she’d also gone on a long trailer ride, which could be unsettling for even the most confident horses.
“You’re okay, my sweet, strong girl. I’m Sasha, and we’re going to be good friends.” She needed to earn Posey’s trust and help her be less anxious. But she also needed to get a halter on her so she’d be able to safely lead her into the barn later. “We’ll take things slow. I’m going to come into the paddock with you.”
She opened the gate, and Posey backed away from the sound.
“You’re okay, Posey,” she reassured her as she walked slowly toward her, but Posey shrank back. “You’re safe here, sweetie.” Every time Sasha moved, Posey scrambled away. She didn’t want to chase her, because it would only make her more anxious. She needed Posey to come to her, and she had an idea of what might work, a trick she’d learned during her internship in Montana.
“I’ll be right back. Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out together.”
She went out of the paddock and retrieved a bucket of senior feed, which horses were drawn to because it smelled like molasses. She put the halter in the bucket, with the nose piece on top of the feed. If she could get Posey to trust her enough to eat from the bucket, she could put the halter on her while she was eating.
Knowing it was going to take a while, she sent a group text to Doc and Cowboy.
Sasha:Posey is safe and sound. She looks healthy, but she’s not halter trained, and she’s terrified. I’ve got her in the side-by-side with Dream. It’s going to take some time to get a halter on her, and you won’t be able to get near her tonight, so please don’t come by. I don’t want to make her more anxious. I’ll text you when she’s in her stall. On the plus side, Dream is curious and is being a very good girl. I think she’s the perfect friend for Posey.
Cowboy:Good job. Text me if you need a hand.
Doc:Sounds good. I’ll check with you in the morning.
She considered texting Ezra and felt a pang of sadness. She’d hated questioning what they were doing, but she’d never forgive herself if she didn’t put Gus first. She didn’t want to get upset while working with Posey, so she pushed those thoughts away and pocketed her phone without reaching out to him.
It was raining harder now. She zipped her rain jacket, put on her hood, and carried the bucket into the paddock. “I apologize ahead of time for my singing, Posey, but it’s going to be the easiest way for you to know where I am. I know you’re nervous, but we’ll get through this together. Even if it takes all night.”
Sasha stood in the middle of the paddock holding the bucket of feed. She grabbed a handful of it and held it out for Posey as she tried to figure out what song to sing. Thinking of Posey and Ezra, the answer came to her, and she began singing “Lean on Me,” so Posey would know that she’d never be alone—and maybe also to soothe her own confused heart.
EZRA SKIPPED HAVING a drink with the guys at the Roadhouse after church and headed back to the ranch. He was losing his mind. He’d texted Sasha after the meeting, but she hadn’t responded, and there was no way he could leave things up in the air overnight. He drove to her cabin and was relieved to see the lights on and her truck parked out front. He climbed out of his SUV, jogged through the pouring rain up to her porch, and knocked on the door.
When she didn’t answer, he knocked again. He didn’t think she was avoiding him again. She wasn’t that type of person. He headed back to his SUV, and as he drove away, he glanced down the hill at the rehab barns and saw a light on outside one of them.
