Chapter 44 – Ghost (long)
When Jack, Nathan and Elizabeth got to the stable, the first thing that Jack did was go get Ghost. Nathan took Elizabeth in to show her the horses.
"Remember." Nathan said. "Not every horses is going to want to be petted."
"I know." Elizabeth said. "Hold out my hand first."
"Good." Nathan said.
Nathan took her over to Honey and Bandit first. Both were happy with the attention. As Elizabeth was giving them attention, Nathan had stepped over toward Athena as she had stuck her head out.
"Who is that?" Elizabeth asked.
"This is Athena." Nathan said. "She is Jack's trail horse. I guess she use to be Laura's competition horse."
Elizabeth took a step closer to Athena, but the horse backed up.
"Easy girl." Nathan said softly. "She isn't going to hurt you."
Nathan grabbed her halter and tried to calm the horse down.
"Jack said she doesn't like many people." Nathan said.
"It is okay." Elizabeth said. "I will give her space if that is what she wants."
"Thank you for understanding." Nathan said.
Elizabeth went back to giving Bandit and Honey some attention. Elizabeth turned when she heard the clip clop of hooves on the floor. She saw Jack with a large white/grey horse. Jack had only gotten two or three steps into the stable when the horse he was leading reared up. Jack couldn't hold on and the horse took off.
"Watch out!" Jack yelled.
Nathan turned in time to see the horse charging at them. He pushed Elizabeth back and tried to grab Ghost. Nathan missed catching Ghost, but another hand was able to catch him. As soon as Nathan saw that the horse was mostly under control, he turned to Elizabeth. She was curled up on the floor. He slowly went over to her.
"Elizabeth." Nathan said. "Are you okay?"
Elizabeth didn't respond. Nathan knelt down next to her and put his hand on her back. That caused Elizabeth to recoil from his touch. By that time, Jack had joined them.
"Elizabeth." Nathan said. "It is okay. We caught the horse. I just want to make sure that you are okay."
Jack leaned down and scooped Elizabeth up off the floor and carried her to the jockey room. Nathan was close behind him. When Jack sat her down on the bench, Nathan could see that there was a small cut on Elizabeth's forehead. Nathan went to get a cloth and grab the first aid kit he had seen on the wall. When he returned, Elizabeth was crying in Jack's arms.
"Elizabeth." Nathan said. "I am so sorry. I didn't want you to get hit by the horse. I didn't mean for you to get hurt, I was trying to prevent it."
"It is okay." Elizabeth said between sniffles.
"Are you hurt anywhere else?" Nathan asked.
"I don't think so." Elizabeth said. "I guess I am more scared then hurt."
"Let me take a look at your head." Nathan said.
Nathan cleaned up Elizabeth's forehead and put a small bandage on the cut. He checked her eyes to make sure that there wasn't anything else.
"Please let me know if you get a headache or dizzy." Nathan said.
"I will." Elizabeth said.
Turning to look at Jack.
"What happened?" Nathan asked.
"I don't know." Jack said. "He was pulling on the lead rope and then he reared up. I couldn't hold on. He has always been a high strung horse and I wonder if he didn't smell Athena. We have always had to be careful with him around any mare."
"Okay." Nathan said. "I am going to go check the horse."
"Go." Jack said. "I got Elizabeth."
Nathan nodded to Jack before heading back out to the horse. Nathan wasn't sure he even wanted to ride Ghost at that point. That was the second time he had seen that horse act up. As Nathan rounded the corner to check on the horse, he saw a couple of hands try to check the horse. They had him cross clipped in the aisle, but Ghost was stomping and snorting at them, fighting being confined.
"Give him some space." Nathan said. "Everyone back up."
The hands looked at him, but back away. Nathan slowly approached the horse.
"Hey, boy." Nathan said in a calm soft voice.
Nathan held out his hand with a treat in it.
"No, settle." Nathan said keeping the treat just out of reach.
Ghost started to settle, so Nathan gave him the treat. He rubbed Ghost's muzzle a bit and then started to run his hand down over his neck and over his head to continue calming the horse. Nathan immediately found the problem.
"Get Jack." Nathan said turning to one of the hands.
The hand ran off to to get Jack.
"You." Nathan said point at the other hand close by. "I need you to call Mr Sims. He should be at the office in the arena. Tell him Nathan said to come down here right away. Also get me a rope to make a rope halter."
The hand nodded and was off just at Jack and Elizabeth walked around the corner.
"Elizabeth." Nathan said. "Please stay back. This is a stallion and I don't want you to get hurt again. He is agitated enough."
"Okay." Elizabeth said softly.
Jack let go of Elizabeth's hand and slowly walked over to Ghost. He held out his hand and Ghost sniffed at it before blowing on Jack's hand looking for another treat. While he was doing that, Nathan slipped the rope halter on and had it further down so it didn't rub on his ear, but they were able to control the horse. Once he had the horse cross clipped to the rope halter, he then slipped the other halter off.
"What is going on?" Jack asked.
"I had a hand go call your grandfather." Nathan said. "I think he needs to see this."
"See what?" Jack asked.
Nathan motioned for Jack to step closer to him.
"You checked him this morning?" Nathan asked. "Was there anything wrong with him?"
"No." Jack said. "Then again, I didn't check him closely. Since we weren't going to ride him this morning, I didn't brush him. Why?"
"This." Nathan said.
"Is that what I think it is?" Jack asked.
"Yep." Nathan said. "He was/is in pain. That was why he reared up. It looks fresh. Honestly I don't think it was there this morning."
Jack looked around and saw both hands were still near by. He took a step away from the horse and then turned to the hands.
"As anyone been out in the west pen?" Jack asked.
Both hand shook their heads.
"I need a bucket of clean water." Jack said. "I also need a soft cloth. Also get me some … actually get me the vet tech on call."
"Yes." One of the hands said before running off.
"What is going on?" Elizabeth asked.
"Somehow." Jack said. "Ghost has a cut near his ear. His halter probably rubbed on it and that was why he was acting up."
"What can I do?" Elizabeth said.
"Go over to the feed room and grab a small bucket with some alfalfa cubes in." Jack said.
Elizabeth looked around a bit, before Jack pointed her in the right direction. By the time that Elizabeth returned, James and Charlotte were both there.
"We called the vet tech." Jack said.
"How did this happen?" James asked.
"I don't know." Nathan said. "Neither of us noticed it this morning before we turned him out in the west pen. Jack was bring him in, when he reared up and charged. I pushed Elizabeth out of the way and a couple of the hands caught him. After making sure Elizabeth was fine, I came over to check the horse who was stomping and snorting. I got him to calm a bit, gave him a treat and started checking him when I noticed an open cut behind his ear."
"Let me see." James said.
He slowly approached the horse and saw what Nathan was talking about.
"That doesn't look like a normal cut to me." James said. "It looks like it was made with metal."
"Exactly what I was thinking." Nathan said.
"Here." Jack said handing a damp cloth to Nathan.
"No." Nathan said. "You clean it. I will keep him calm."
"Okay." Jack said.
"Elizabeth." Nathan said. "Hand me those cubes."
Elizabeth handed the small bucket over to Nathan. He then carefully stood in front of Ghost.
"I will give these to you." Nathan said softly to the horse. "But I need you to stay calm. Jack is going to clean that cut. I know it won't feel good at first, but it will when he is done."
Nathan nodded to Jack. Nathan held a single cube in his hand and let Ghost eat it as he petted his muzzle. While Nathan was doing that, Jack carefully started to clean the wound. Ghost snorted and stomped his foot a bit. Charlotte saw that the men had things under control so she headed back to the arena. Not only did she have plenty to keep her busy, she also wanted to check on her youngest.
"I know, boy." Nathan said trying to calm the horse.
After a few moment, Nathan could see that the horse was getting more agitated. He didn't want anyone to get hurt.
"Stop and step away." Nathan said.
Jack immediately stopped and both him and James stepped away.
"He needs something for the pain." Nathan said.
"I don't want to bute him." James said. "He will only get agitated coming off it and there will be no way you guys can ride him."
"Do you have willow bark?" Nathan asked.
"I don't think so." James said. "Why?"
"Willow bark tea." Nathan said. "Mix it with apple juice. The horses love it. It is a natural pain killer."
"We have some willows over on the far side of the house." Jack said. "I also know that there is apple juice in the pantry."
"Good." Nathan said. "Go get the bark from some of the young branches. Steep in hot water for fifteen to twenty minutes. We will let it cool a bit and then mix it with apple juice."
"I will go get the water on." Elizabeth said. "I will also check with Gran about the apple juice."
"Let's go." Jack said. "I will walk with you toward the house."
Nathan continued to calm Ghost as Jack and Elizabeth left. James looked at Nathan and could see that he was a natural with horses, much like JP.
"How did you know about that?" James asked.
"My mother." Nathan said. "She has a thing about putting chemicals in our body. If she could use a natural remedy, she would. She made my sister and I willow bark tea plenty of times when he had cuts and scraps."
"Good to know." James said. "I will have to look into getting some of that. There are a number of horses, I don't want to bute for various reasons. No harm in trying the willow bark first. I mean if it works, it works."
"Just remember." Nathan said. "It needs to be mixed with apple juice. One of my friends who rides, he would use the extract and add it to apple juice, instead of making the tea. Either work."
"Are there other natural remedies I should know about?" James asked.
"Plenty." Nathan said. "I saw a book over at Cheshire. I think that they have some of the stuff as well. You could always look it up online."
"I am going to have to do that." James said. "I guess I have gotten so use to letting the vet and techs handle these things."
"Nothing wrong with that." Nathan said. "Many of them are going away from strong meds as well. The more we all know the better. There are things that can get added to feed to help calm a horse. There are things that can be added to help with conception."
"Now you have my attention." James said. "Do you think that you would be able to do a little research for me, then maybe we can sit down together."
"Sure." Nathan said. "But I don't need to do much research. I have been doing it for years. It would just be a matter of writing things out. What I don't know off the top of my head, I can call my mother or look up. I also have another friend that I can call and talk to about things."
"You do that." James said. "Then we will sit down and talk. Let's see what we can do to help have better horses. JP has talked about a more natural approach, but it is hard to get going and there is so much other stuff going on that need attention at the moment."
"If I made a list." Nathan said. "Do you think someone could run into town? Since you don't want to bute him. I was wondering if we can try few others things to help him."
"Sure what do you need?" James asked.
"I will tell you." Nathan said. "Have them check at Cheshire. If they don't have it, a GNC or something like that should have what I need."
"We have a GNC." James said.
"Good." Nathan said. "Have some paper ready? I will tell you what I need."
James snapped his fingers and one of the hands gave him a clipboard.
"Ready." James said.
"Okay." Nathan said. "I will need chamomile, either in an oil or leaf form, a tea with other herbs is fine."
"Got it." James said. "I assume that is a calming agent."
"Yes." Nathan said. "I will also need echinacea, that needs to be in an oil. That is an immune system stimulant. Also tea tree oil, that will help keep the wound clean. Finally, turmeric. That needs to be an oil or powder. It is an anti-inflammatory."
"I will have one of the guys run in." James said.
"Sir." One of the hands said.
"Yes." James said.
"I will go." The hand said. "I know that GNC has all of those things. My wife uses a lot of natural products and she gets them there."
"Is there anything else that you want?" James asked.
"No, unless you can think of other things." Nathan said. "I can't think right now, it has been awhile since I dealt with an agitated stallion. But see if you can get a list of their products. It will help with the list I make later."
"Yes, sir." The hand said. "Mr Sims, I will be back as soon as possible."
"Good." James said. "Stay clocked in and bring me the receipt, I will make sure you are paid back."
"Yes, Sir." The hand said before leaving.
"Mr Sims." Another hand said.
"Yes." James said.
"The vet tech called." The hand said. "She is about ten, fifteen minutes away. I told her that would be fine."
"Thank you." James said. "Go back to work. We have things under control here."
"Yes, Sir." The hand said. "I checked the west pen. But didn't see anything other then it looked like he kicked the new mesh fencing. That was the only place Ghost was other then his stall since he came over here."
"Thank you." James said. "Please have someone check his stall over at the stud farm and the trailer that he come in."
"Yes, Sir." The hand said.
"Good plan." Nathan said. "But it looks really fresh. I think it happened within the last few hours. That or he opened it up again with in the last few hours."
"Never hurts to check." James said.
"Your right." Nathan said.
James went over and checked Ghost's stall, but didn't see anything that would have caused the injury. He also knew that he was going to have to check the west pen, just for his own piece of mind. He also wanted to see the damage to the mesh fencing. It wasn't that long and both Jack and Elizabeth were back.
"I have the mixture." Jack said. "Gran looked it up on how to mix it."
"Good." Nathan said. "See if he will drink it."
Jack offered the apple juice/tea mix to Ghost. He drank the whole thing.
"Good." Nathan said. "Give him a few minutes. I think we should be able to clean the wound then. We sent one of the hands to town to get a few things to help him. The vet tech should be here soon as well."
"Right here." A female voice called out.
"Sarah." Jack said turning around.
"JP." Sarah said. "They didn't tell me you were here."
"Only been back a couple of days." Jack said.
"What seems to be the problem?" Sarah asked.
"Ghost." Jack said.
Sarah rolled her eyes. She knew that the stallion could be a handful.
"He just had some apple juice and willow bark." Nathan said. "He is already a lot calmer. He has a good size open cut near his ear. It looks to have been made by metal, but we haven't found anything yet. We tried to clean it, but he was getting agitated. That is why I had them make some willow bark tea to mix with the apple juice."
Sarah stepped over toward Ghost who responded by stomping his foot. She looked at Nathan, but he was paying attention to the horse.
"Hey." Nathan said holding the horse. "Enough. She isn't going to hurt. I am right here."
Ghost calmed down, but continued to eye Sarah as she tried to work. Nathan continued to pet his muzzle while Sarah checked the cut. Jack and her set about cleaning it a little better. Ghost didn't like it but was fairly calm.
"I think I will leave it open." Sarah said. "It isn't deep, but ragged. I suggest maybe covering it if he will tolerate it. I have have Dr Matthews prescribe some bute. The main thing will be to watch for infection. I suggest no halter or bridle for a few days, let it heal."
"We will pass on the bute." James said. "Nathan here suggests the nature route. I will agree with him, given how this horse reacts to bute."
"Up to you." Sarah said. "I will let Dr Matthews know. Let us know if there is anything else."
"I will." James said.
"Hey, Sarah." Jack said.
She turned and looked at him.
"What is with the attitude?" Jack asked.
"Nothing." Sarah said with a slight roll of her eyes.
"If you have a problem with the way my grandfather and I chose to treat a horse." Jack said. "We can find another vet for Coal Creek and Thornton Thoroughbreds. I am sure your boss will miss the business."
Sarah stared at Jack for a moment.
"You wouldn't." Sarah said.
"I would." Jack said. "Just because we have been with you guys for years, doesn't mean we won't change. I agree with Nathan about the natural course for Ghost. He is high strung as it it. The last time that you had to bute him, we couldn't ride him for a month. We have a competition in three weeks."