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It happened so fast that Léof almost missed it. Javan had jerked up the horse’s foot and within seconds he was on the ground. While Lys hurried to help Javan up, Léof went straight to the horse’s head to calm him. “Whoa, there, boy, easy now,” he murmured, catching the bridle in one hand and rubbing the horse’s cheek and neck with the other.
By the time the horse was calmed, Lys had returned to the stream of conversation and Javan was back up on his feet, eyeing the horse’s foot and looking ready for another go. “Hold on, Javan,” said Léof. “I need you to tell me honestly: have you ever cleaned out a horse’s feet before?”
“I know how; I’ve done it before!” said Javan, sounding both defensive and abashed. Under Léof’s steady gaze, however, he added, “Well, once.”
Léof sighed internally. “Fine,” he said. “You just have to be careful, alright? Horses are big animals, and you could easily have been hurt just now.” He hated to sound like he was lecturing, even if he was, a little bit. “Now let’s try this again. Walk up to the horse, put your hand on him, let him know you’re there. Then run your hand down to his foot and gently lift it up. Most horses will know what you want by then and let you pick up their feet. The key is not to surprise them.” He watched as Javan carried out the instructions and nodded at him. “Good.” Still keeping an eye on Javan, he walked around the horse to where he had dropped his own brush and began brushing where he could continue to watch Javan. He didn’t want Javan to feel like he didn’t trust him, but it was little mistakes like that which led to problems… he wiggled his toes in his boot – he knew.
A silence had settled over the stable since Léof’s ‘lesson.’ Léof spoke up, trying to ease the mood again. “Sorry, Lys. I hope I didn’t interrupt you.”
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