The Lonely Pony (4 page)

“She must have known we were coming back to get her,” Zach said. “Come on, it's time to go to your new foster farm!”

Adam blinked. “Yeah, but wait,” he said. “How are we going to get her there?”

Janey didn't know why her friends looked so worried. “It's not very far to Lolli's farm,” she said. “And Lola is little. Why can't we just put her in the back of the car? That's how we'd carry a dog the same size, right?”

Dr. Goldman glanced at her hatchback, which was still parked beside the road. “Uh, I don't think so,” she said. “Lola may be small, but she's not a dog. Her hooves will make a mess of my upholstery.”

“Yeah” Zach grinned. “Besides, horses aren't house-trained.”

“Don't you mean car-trained?” Lolli joked.

Janey looked at Val and Tom. “How do you take her places?” she asked.

“We don't.” Tom shrugged. “My racetrack friend dropped her off here with a big horse trailer.”

“Oh.” Janey bit her lip. “Well, maybe we can find someone with a pickup truck we could borrow. Lola could jump into the back and ride over that way.”

Adam looked alarmed. “That doesn't sound very safe for Lola,” he said. “What if she jumps out while we're driving?”

“We could ride back there with her and hold her in,” Zach suggested.

“No,” Dr. Goldman said immediately. “Out of the question. That would be much too dangerous.”

Tom sighed. “Sorry, kids. Maybe we need to leave Lola to the experts after all. The shelter in Lakeville might have a trailer they can use to pick her up.”

“No!” Lolli's eyes filled with tears. “I
really want her to come to my house.”

“I understand, dear,” Val said kindly. “But if we can't get her there . . .”

Janey frowned. Why did this have to be so complicated? All they needed to do was transport Lola a mile or so down the road. . . .

“I've got it!” she blurted out. “We can do it the old-fashioned way.”

“You mean hitch Lola up to a wagon and drive her back that way?” Zach said. “Cool!”

Janey shook her head. “We don't need a wagon,” she said. “We can just walk her to Lolli's place.”

“I suppose we could, at that,” Dr. Goldman said. “It's not very far. Probably less than a mile.”

Tom looked relieved. “I think we have a halter and lead rope around here somewhere.
Let me take a look.”

He let himself into the pen. Lola followed him halfway to the shed, but when Zach called her name the pony returned to the kids.

Janey patted Lola as Tom disappeared into the shed. A minute later he emerged holding a tangle of dingy straps.

“Found it!” he called, hurrying back. “Now, if I can just remember how to put this thing on . . .”

“I think I can help.” Dr. Goldman smiled and let herself into the pen. “At least I learned that much about horses in vet school!”

It only took her and Tom a moment to figure out how to put on and latch the pony's halter. Then Tom clipped the lead rope to the metal ring beneath Lola's chin.

“There you are, Lola.” He gave the pony a pat. “Ready to go to your new foster home?”

Adam held the gate open as Lola followed Tom toward it. As soon as she went through, she yanked her head down and started nibbling on the long grass at the edge of the road.

“Looks like she's hungry,” Lolli said.

Tom gave a tug on the lead rope. “Come on, Lola. You can eat when you get to Lolli's place.”

The pony ignored him and kept eating. “Here, let me try,” Zach said, grabbing the rope. He tried to pull Lola's head up, but it stayed where it was. “Wow, she's stronger than she looks!”

“Come on, Lola,” Janey cooed, leaning closer.
“Don't you want to come with us?”

“Yeah, you'll love Lolli's place,” Adam added. “Come on, girl!” He let out a whistle.

That got Lola's attention. She lifted her head to look at Adam. At the same time, Zach gave another tug on the rope. The pony took a step forward.

“It's working!” Janey cried. “Keep going!”

Zach walked a few steps. Lola followed him.

“Good luck, kids,” Tom called. “We'll stop over in a little while with her leftover hay and things.”

“Great,” Dr. Goldman said. “Maybe you can give me a ride back to my car then.”

She started giving the Valentines directions to Lolli's house. Janey kept moving, staying beside Lola and urging her to keep walking.

For a while, Lola seemed willing to let the kids lead her along beside the road. But then she spotted a tasty patch of clover and lowered her head again.

“Lola, no!” Lolli cried. “We'll never get there if you stop to eat every few steps.”

Dr. Goldman caught up and helped the kids get Lola moving again. But once again, the pony stopped after a minute or two to eat more grass.

“How does anyone ever get a horse anywhere?” Janey exclaimed.

“Most horses must not be as hungry as Lola,” Lolli guessed.

Zach grinned. “Now I know why there's no grass growing on racetracks,” he said. “All the horses would just run out of the starting gate and start eating!”

“Actually, I saw a racetrack on TV once that was grass,” Adam said.

Janey frowned at them. “Would you stop talking about racetracks and help keep Lola moving? Otherwise this will take all night!”

“Sorry,” Adam said. “Lola—heel! Heel, girl!” He patted his leg, like he did to signal a dog to follow him.

But Lola ignored him. “She's not a dog, Adam,” Janey said. “She probably doesn't know what ‘heel' means.”

“Is there another word they use to get horses to heel?” Lolli wondered. “Gallop, Lola! Trot!”

The pony didn't respond except to move a step forward to a nicer patch of grass. Janey sighed and wiped her forehead. It was a warm afternoon, and she was starting to sweat.

“We haven't gone very far,” Dr. Goldman said. “Do you want to turn back and tell the Valentines this isn't going to work?”

That made Janey forget all about how hot she was. “No!” she said. “We'll get her there.” Glancing at Lola, she muttered, “Eventually.”

Eventually, they made it. It took a long time, but finally the Pet Rescue Club reached Lolli's long gravel driveway. The kids had taken turns leading Lola, and it was Janey's turn right then. She kept the pony in the middle of the drive so she wouldn't be tempted to try to eat the grass growing alongside it. Lola looked from side to side as she walked. Janey guessed that the pony was checking out the orchard of fruit trees on one side of her and the big fenced-in pasture on the other side.

Lolli's parents were waiting halfway up the driveway, with Roscoe sitting beside them. The family's sheep and two goats were right on the other side of the fence nearby, staring curiously at the new arrivals.

When Roscoe spotted the pony, he jumped up and barked. His tail wagged, and he tried to run forward. But Lolli's father had
him on a leash, and held him back.

“We were just getting worried,” Lolli's mother called. “Oh, that pony is adorable!”

“I know, right?” Lolli said. “She doesn't like walking on a leash, though.”

“Yeah,” Zach said. “She definitely needs a few training sessions with Adam.”

“Never mind that.” Now that they had arrived, Janey couldn't wait to get into a nice, air-conditioned house and have a snack. “Let's put her in the pasture and then go take a rest.”

“Not so fast,” Dr. Goldman said. “You can't just toss her in a pasture.”

“Why not?” Zach said. “Isn't that where horses live?”

“Yes, but Lola has been in that small, weedy pen for a few months now,” Dr. Goldman
reminded the kids. “She's not used to eating lots of nice, rich grass. In vet school, we learned that horses' stomachs are surprisingly delicate. Eating too much really nice grass right now could make Lola very sick.”

Janey was surprised. She'd never heard about anything like that. But she trusted Dr. Goldman.