Chapter 20 #2
“Hi, everyone, I’m Brayden, and I’ll be teaching your horseback riding class every day after school. I want to go around the circle and have everyone introduce themselves by telling me your name, age and grade in school.”
As the children complied with his request, he committed the information to memory. He made it a point to call the kids by name, to make eye contact with them, to treat them with the same respect he hoped to get back from them.
“The first lesson to being around horses is about safety. Horses are usually friendly animals, but like people, they don’t like to be startled.
They don’t like loud noises or flashes on cameras or any sudden movements.
It’s very important that you always approach them slowly and respectfully.
Extend a hand to let them sniff you so they can decide if they want to be friends with you. ”
“Like dogs?” eight-year-old Maisy asked.
“Just like dogs, only horses are much bigger. The height of horses is measured in hands, with each hand being four inches, but you can see they’re pretty tall and often weigh around a thousand pounds.
They can hurt you very badly without meaning to if you aren’t careful around them.
Another rule is to never approach a horse from behind.
When they feel threatened, they lash out by kicking their hind legs, and trust me, you don’t want to be kicked by a horse.
” He pointed to a white line on his forehead. “See this scar?”
The kids leaned in for a closer look, each of them nodding.
“This happened because I didn’t listen to my grandpa when he told me not to go near the back of a horse unless he was with me.
I didn’t want to wait for him and ended up with a hoof to the forehead.
It took fifteen stitches to close the wound, and because I had a concussion, I couldn’t ride for weeks, which was much worse than the stitches for me.
I was really lucky that the horse didn’t kick me hard enough to kill me.
He definitely taught me a lesson about listening and doing what I was told. ”
The children hung on his every word. He always told the story of how he’d gotten hurt to let them know he’d once been right where they were now, eager to learn and eager to ride. Impressing upon them the potential for grave injury was the most important part of this first day.
“You may have seen me or Ms. Maggie or Mr. Derek feed the horses carrots or apples from our hands. But I don’t want you guys to do that because you can get nipped by their teeth even when they don’t mean to.
They get excited about snacks just like you do, and sometimes they accidentally get a piece of hand with the snack, which doesn’t feel good.
Each of them has their own bucket of feed, and they should only be fed with permission and supervision by me or Mr. Derek or Ms. Maggie and only from their own bucket of feed. Am I clear on that?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Yes, Mr. Brayden.”
“It’s very important to follow the rules in the stables, not only for your safety, but for the safety of the horses, too.”
“Because we want them to like us,” Jimmy said.
“That’s right,” Brayden said. “And we want them to feel safe with you and you to feel safe with them. Horses are very smart animals. If you’re nervous, they can tell, so it’s really important for you to stay calm and quiet and respectful around them so they’ll do the same for you.”
Thunder let out a loud whinny that made the children laugh.
“Are they listening?” Lily asked.
“Thunder is always listening. He’s Ms. Kate’s horse.”
“She’s the famous singer,” Travis said.
“That’s right. The next thing is you never duck under a horse’s leads when they’re at what’s called cross ties.
” Brayden used two leads to show them what he meant.
He’d learned to speak in simple terms the children would easily understand.
“Stand back from a horse that’s tied until one of the adults is with you. ”
Brayden reached for a helmet from the items he’d stashed in the stall earlier. “This is a helmet, and each of you is required to wear one when you ride the horses. Ms. Maggie has purchased helmets for each of you. When we’re done here, I’ll show you where you can find them.”
A nine-year-old boy named Dante raised his hand.
“Yes, Dante?”
“I saw you and Ms. Maggie riding the other day without helmets. You had your cowboy hat on. How come you don’t have to wear a helmet?”
Brayden smiled at the cheeky question. “That’s a really good question.
Ms. Maggie and I have been riding for years, and we know what we’re doing with the horses.
When we were youngsters like you guys, we had to wear helmets, too.
When you get older, you can decide for yourselves if you’d like to wear them or not.
But while you’re in my class, helmets are nonnegotiable. ”
Travis raised his hand.
“Yes, Travis?”
“What does that mean? Nonneg… nego…”
Brayden smiled at the adorable child. “Nonnegotiable means it’s a rule, and we aren’t going to debate whether or not it should be.”
“Like bedtime?” Travis asked.
“Just like bedtime.” Brayden talked to them about the riding boots Maggie had purchased for each of them and how important they were to protecting their feet while around the horses and for keeping their feet in the stirrups.
He held up a boot and a stirrup to show them what he meant.
“Your feet go in the stirrups while you’re riding, and the boots keep your feet from sliding all around.
Boots are also nonnegotiable, as are long pants. ”
That met with loud groans.
“Even when it’s hot?” Lily asked.
“Even when it’s hot. Sorry. Pants protect your legs from sores, rub rash and scratches and wounds from brush while you’re on the trail. That’s why we say no shorts.”
He talked to them about the importance of putting things where they belonged in the stables and doing exactly what they were told at all times.
“I want you guys to enjoy this and have a lot of fun, but anyone who can’t follow the rules won’t be allowed near the horses until they’re able to behave properly. Okay?”
They nodded in agreement.
“Great, now let’s get up and have a tour of the stables.
” Over the next half hour, he showed them the tack room and how each horse had their own equipment that was labeled with their names above their hooks.
Similarly, each horse had their own bin of food, also with their names on them.
He familiarized them with the various pieces of tack, from reins to leads to saddles to stirrups.
“We’ll get into the tack more when we start to ride next week. ”
“We hafta wait a whole week?” Jimmy asked mournfully.
“It’ll take that long to get you ready.” Brayden led them out to the paddock where he’d left Sunday earlier. He whistled, and she came to him, nuzzling his side with her nose the way she always did. “This is my horse, Sunday Morning.”
“She’s so pretty,” Lily said.
“Yes, she is, and she loves children. I want each of you to take a turn saying hello to Sunday and stroking her muzzle.”
“Will she bite?” Travis asked.
“Nope. She’s sweet and gentle as long as you’re sweet and gentle to her.
When you’re done, step back over to the fence by Ms. Maggie.
” Brayden held Sunday’s lead while each of the children took turns greeting and touching the horse.
He corrected a few of them on the proper way to place their hand on the horse’s muzzle.
Accustomed to being around kids, Sunday stood by his side and allowed each of the children to approach and touch her.
When they were done, he gave Sunday a kiss and sent her on her way. “You guys did great,” Brayden told the children. “Sunday thinks you’re all going to be very good at riding.”
“How do you know that?” seven-year-old Jayden asked. He had olive-toned skin, big dark eyes and curly brown hair.
“I’ve had Sunday for a long time. I know what she likes and doesn’t like, and she liked you guys a lot. Tomorrow, we’ll go over how to groom her and work on getting her ready to ride.”
He led them out of the paddock and back into the stables, where they returned to their original seats. “Who can tell me what we learned today about safety around horses?”
Every hand went up.
“Let’s take turns going around, and everyone can say one thing we learned.” He dismissed them ten minutes later, feeling confident they had absorbed the day’s lessons and understood the rules.
He’d been so caught up in the kids that he hadn’t noticed that their mothers had been watching the class along with Maggie and two young people named Wyatt and Jessica, whom she introduced to him and the children.
“Sorry we were late.” Wyatt shook hands with Brayden as the kids headed inside with their mothers. “There was an accident that shut down one of the roads from town.”
“No worries. Good to meet you. Just give me a second, and we’ll talk.” He walked over to speak to Maggie. “That seemed to go well.”
“You were great with them. They loved it.”
Her praise meant everything to him. He wanted her to be happy she’d decided to take a chance on him. “Nice bunch of kids.”
“Thank you, Brayden.” She seemed almost emotional, which he chalked up to seeing the program she’d envisioned coming to life.
“My pleasure.”
She started to walk away, and his gaze was drawn immediately to the snug fit of her jeans. “Hey, Maggie?”
She turned back to him, brow raised in inquiry.
“Can we talk later?”
She studied him for what felt like a full minute before she gave a swift nod and then headed for the house.
Elated to know he’d get to see her later, he watched her walk away and then went to find Wyatt and Jessica to get them up to speed on what he needed from them.