She hurried after him. “If it’s not too much of a pain, I’d like to help.”
“That’s probably a good idea, since my hope is that you’ll be out here more often.” He kissed her on the forehead—one of her favorite things ever. “Okay, this is the tack room.”
He flipped on the overhead light, and she followed him deep into the barn. They stopped at a door next to Sassy’s stall, and he swung it open with a loudcreak. The rich smell of leather blended with the sweet scent of fresh hay from the stalls, and a surprising sense of contentment washed over her.
She recognized two saddles with pads that were perched atop something that looked like the sawhorses Michaleen used in his woodworking shop. These appeared to be custom-made to fit each saddle. A variety of leather straps and metal things she couldn’t identify hung from pegs on the walls. In one corner of the room there was a wide, metal utility sink built into a cabinet. The shelves above it held all kinds of tins, bottles, buffing pads, and brushes of varying shapes and sizes.
Boone gave her a brief tour, telling her what everything was, the purpose they served, and why they were needed.
“I may need you to remind me what things are.” This was way outside her base of knowledge. But she didn’t want to be a pain in the butt, so she made a mental note to research the heck out of all things horses and ranching.
“No problem. Okay, first things first.” He grabbed two oval-shaped brushes from the shelf and handed one to her. “We need to give them a quick brush-down before we put their saddles on them.”
“Is that something that should be done before every ride?” One day, she wanted to be able to do this on her own.
“Ideally, yes.” Boone moved out to the paddock, and he showed her how to hold the brush. “It helps prevent discomfort and sores, gives me a chance to check them over for any cuts, bumps, sensitive areas or hot spots they might have.” They strolled over to where the horses stood by the fence. “It’s also a great time to connect with the horse. Except when Sassy’s being a pain in the ass, of course. Right, girl?” He stroked his hand down the side of the horse’s broad neck, and Sassy shook her head. “Tonight, we can just brush the areas where the saddle pad, saddle, and girth will go.”
“The girth is the strap that goes under her belly to keep the saddle on, right?” He’d pointed that out to her in the tack room.
“Exactly.” He leaned over and gave her a kiss.
His kisses were better than anyAshe ever got on an exam.
They spent a few minutes chatting. He refreshed her memory on how to use the reins, how to sit in the saddle.
“Let’s get their bridles on.” He headed back into the barn, and she hurried her steps to keep up with his long strides.
He tossed their brushes up on the shelf, grabbed a bunch of different things from the pegs in the tack room, and went back outside. He used Sassy to demonstrate how to slide the bridle over her nose and loop it over her ears, then showed her how to make sure the bit was in the right place in the horse’s mouth.
With some assistance from Boone, she managed to get Patience’s bridle in place. The scariest part was putting the bit in the right part of her mouth. Boone explained how horses naturally have a gap in their teeth where the bit sits comfortably.
“Does the bit hurt them?” She never wanted to do anything to hurt either of the horses.
“Not if it fits right and the rider doesn’t have rough hands.” He explained what that meant. “Jerking, pulling, or constant pressure on the bit is uncomfortable for them.”
Luna kissed Patience’s cheek. “I promise to be gentle.” She stroked her hand down the horse’s downy-soft nose.
“You can loop the reins loosely over the top rail,” Boone said. “She won’t go anywhere.”
Luna did as instructed.
“Let’s grab their saddles.” He led her back to the tack room again. “Patience’s saddle weighs about thirty to thirty-five pounds. Are you comfortable lifting that much?”
“Yeah, I should be okay.” She worked out with light weights a couple of days a week and swam laps at least three times a week. “Is there a right way to pick it up?”
“There is, actually.” He moved over to Sassy’s saddle. “You’re going to put the saddle on from the left side of the horse, the same side you mount from. So you want to pick it up in a way that makes it easier to position it on their back.” He bent over, wedged his left arm under the front of Sassy’s saddle. His right arm went under the back. He straightened with both the saddle and pad over his arms like it weighed nothing. “Now I’m able to swing it up onto her back without having to reposition it.”Boone set the saddle back on the rack. “Give it a try, and make sure you get the saddle pad at the same time.”
She copied what he did—put her left arm under the front, her right under the back—and used her legs to help lift it off the rack.
“I did it!” Luna smiled at him.
If someone had told her two months ago that she would be doing all of this, she would’ve called them crazy.
“You sure did.” He grinned. “Go ahead and head out to the paddock. I’ll be right behind you.”
She shifted the saddle slightly and headed outside.
He came out of the barn behind her, holding his saddle with one hand and the pad with the other. “You okay to hold that for another minute?”
