Chapter 47 – Teaching Carlo

By the time Jack was done explaining they back at the stable. Jack parked the side by side and Nathan headed into check on Ghost.

"I am going to head to the house." Elizabeth said. "I will see you at supper in about an hour."

"See you then." Jack said.

When Nathan walked into the stable, he found Carlo sitting across from Ghost's stall reading a book.

"Hey there." Nathan said lightly kicking Carlo's foot.

"Hi, Mr Nathan." Carlo said jumping up.

"It is just Nathan." Nathan said. "If anyone says anything you tell them that I gave you permission."

"Okay." Carlo said. "Miguel got everything that you asked for, plus some things that his wife suggest that he pick up. Everything is in the feed room."

"Well." Nathan said. "Let's go see what Miguel got."

Nathan and Carlo walked over to the feed room and found the bag on the middle table. There was also a list of things from the store that Nathan wanted. He started pulling out things and setting them on the table. He realized Miguel or his wife knew what they were doing.

"Oh." Carlo said. "There is something in the fridge as well. I will go get it."

Carlo was back a few moments later with dandelion greens.

"So what are you going to make?" Carlo asked.

"We are going to make Ghost's supper." Nathan said. "First, this is a mortar and pestle. We will use to crush some of the items so they are easier for Ghost to eat. We need to wash it out and dry it really good before we use it each time."

Carlo took it over to the sink, washed it out and took a clean towel to dry it off really well. While he was doing that, Nathan grabbed a bucket and put a scoop of oats and a scoop of the other feed in it. He tossed the bucket a little to mix things up. He then grabbed a second bucket and poured half of the mixture into in.

"Alright." Nathan said. "I have one scoop of oats and one scoop of the other feed. I mixed them up and divided them in half. We are going to add to it and mix it up again. I want you to take one of the tea bags from the chamomile tea and open it up. Put everything in the mortar. I need to run to the kitchen, so I will be right back."

"What do you need?" Carlo asked.

"I need a sharp knife and a regular spoon." Nathan said. "If there is a cutting board, I will need that as well."

"I will get it." Carlo said.

Carlo was back with two spoons, a sharp knife and the small cutting board.

"Good." Nathan said. "I want you to take a small amount of those dandelion greens and chop them up. Not too fine, but not big pieces either."

Carlo pulled out a small amount of the greens and started cutting them up.

"That is really good." Nathan said. "Now I want you to take five or six pieces of the dried apricots and cut them into bit size pieces. Like what you would do for a small child."

While Carlo was doing that, Nathan measured out a spoonful of celery seed and added to the mortar. Jack had wandered over to the feed room and was watching Nathan and Carlo work together. Jack realized how natural Nathan was with children. Carlo wasn't a small child, but a young man of fifteen. Jack watched as he explained what he was doing and including Carlo.

"What did you add?" Carlo asked.

"A spoonful of celery seeds." Nathan said. "We need to crush them along with the stuff from the tea bag. I will do that while you cut up the apricots. So do you know why we have added each of these things?"

"No." Carlo said.

"So the tea has chamomile, lavender and peppermint." Nathan said. "Chamomile will help keep Ghost calm. It also has anti-inflammatory properties. The peppermint and lavender will also help calm and relax Ghost. The dandelion greens that you cut up are good source of iron and calcium. They will promote good blood flow for healing. The celery seeds also have anti-inflammatory properties. They will work with the chamomile. Before we give it Ghost, we will also be adding echinacea oil, and lemongrass oil. The lemongrass will help with any pain. The echinacea will help boost his immune system. I also will add a couple drops of turmeric oil. That is another anti-inflammatory."

"What are the apricots for?" Carlo asked.

"A sweet treat to encourage him to eat it all." Nathan said. "They are also good for horses as they are a source of vitamins. We just don't give them to all the time and never a lot at one time."

"So how do we do this?" Carlo asked.

"See how I have crushed the items in the pestle really well?" Nathan asked.

"Yes." Carlo said.

"So if you do this." Nathan said. "You will know what it is suppose to look like. Now we will pour this in with his oat mix. We will them add the oils on top. Each one has an eyedropper attached to the top of the bottle. We only need about half a dropper full. No more then one full dropper. The turmeric is the one that we need to be careful with. It only takes three or four drops. Here I will show you."

Nathan showed him how to measure out a few drops.

"Now we mix this up again." Nathan said. "You can shake it, but I think I will stir it. After that we will add what you have cut up. We will give it another shake then we add the rest of the feed again, giving it a small shake. When we pour this out into his feed tray, the good stuff will mostly be on the top so he will eat it."

"Cool." Carlo said. "What is that other bottle?"

"That is tea tree oil." Nathan said. "NEVER put that in food. It is for external use only. Do you know what I mean?"

"On the skin." Carlo said. "Not to be eaten or drank."

"Very good." Nathan said. "We will use this to help clean the cut before we feed Ghost. He may not like it, but it will help keep it clean and help to fight any infection that might be brewing."

"I will help." Jack said from the doorway.

"How long have you been standing there?" Nathan asked.

"Long enough." Jack said. "Let's go take care of Ghost, Gran is expecting us to be up at the house for supper."

"Then we better move." Carlo said. "No upsetting Mrs Sims."

"Yes, Sir." Nathan teased.

Nathan grabbed the feed bucket and the tea tree oil. He also grabbed a clean rag.

"I think Jack will be able to keep Ghost calm." Nathan said. "So do you think you can help me clean the cut."

"I will try." Carlo said. "He is pretty big."

Jack came up and put his hand on Carlo.

"Relax." Jack said. "If you are upset, he will be upset. If you don't feel comfortable, Nathan and I can do it."

"I want to help." Carlo said.

"Then take a deep breath and stay calm." Nathan said. "We won't let anything happen."

They got the stall and Jack started talked to Ghost and he was calm. Nathan and Carlo slipped in the stall after allowing Ghost to sniff their hands.

"Okay." Nathan said softly. "We put a little of the oil on the clean cloth. We then dab around the cut and the cut itself. Never rub, you don't want to cause more pain or open the scab."

Jack got Ghost to lower his head so Carlo could see. When Nathan touched the area, Ghost got it little antsy.

"It is okay, boy." Jack said calmly. "We are trying to help. Stand still and we have a treat for you."

At the word treat, Ghost's ears flicked forward. Nathan let out a little chuckle. They finished cleaning the wound.

"Okay." Nathan said. "We will need to clean this two or three times a day until is is healed."

"I can help." Carlo said.

"I know that you can." Nathan said. "Now lets give Ghost his supper and treat."

Carlo poured the feed mixture into the pan and Ghost dug right in.

"He should be fine until morning." Nathan said closing the stall.

"We will try to hold off on anymore willow bark tea." Nathan said. "Unless it gets worse. I want to use the chamomile and lemongrass."

"Okay." Carlo said.

"We will do the same feed in the morning." Nathan said. "I will have Gran pick up more dandelion greens and apricots. We should have enough of everything else."

"Let's go clean up." Jack said.

"I will do it." Carlo said. "You better get up to the house."

"Are you sure?" Jack asked.

"Yes." Carlo said. "I will put the dandelion greens back in the fridge. I will wash everything else. Miguel said we could put the items in a cabinet under the table. I will put everything else there."

"Thank you." Nathan said. "If you can find a couple small containers with lids, please put the tea and celery seeds in those."

"I will." Carlo said. "See you in the morning."

"See you in the morning." Jack and Nathan said as they headed out of the stable.

"You are good with him." Jack said as they crossed the yard.

"Thanks." Nathan said. "He is eager to learn and help."

"Still." Jack said. "Most people wouldn't have taken the time to explain everything to him the way that you did."

Nathan just shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh." Jack said. "I added Tasse to the computer system. Everyone now knows that the foal has a name. I gave you credit. They will have his name plate for you in a couple days."

"You didn't have to do that." Nathan said.

"Tradition." Jack said.

Nathan shook his head, but didn't say anything.

"Hey I was going to ask you." Jack said. "Where did you learn that. I mean I know that you told me that you did a few schooling shows and some rodeo."

"My mother was about natural remedies." Nathan said. "Especially when money was tight. We didn't always have the money to go to the doctor. Then as I got older, I wanted to read about what my mother was doing. In case you haven't realized, I have a very good memory."

"Photographic or eidetic or some combination there of if I am not mistaken." Jack said.

Nathan didn't say anything, but just gave Jack a lopsided grin. Jack wanted to say something else, but they had reached the house. They went in the back door and immediately went to wash up. When they came into the kitchen, Elizabeth was helping Gran pull everything out for supper and start to heat it up.

"How can we help?" Nathan asked.

"You could set the table." Gran said. "James and Char should be here in a few minutes with Tommy. He just texted they were leaving the arena."

"Good." Jack said.

"How are you feeling, Elizabeth?" Nathan asked.

"I am okay." Elizabeth said. "Tired, but nothing to be concerned about."

"Okay." Nathan said. "I still feel bad."

"Don't." Elizabeth said. "I realize that if you hadn't pushed me out of the way, it could have been worse."

"As long as you are okay." Nathan said. "With the way that you reacted, I was afraid you were really hurt."

"No." Elizabeth said. "I think my reaction had to do entirely with a different situation, one that I didn't even remember until it happened."

"Okay." Nathan said. "We are here if you want to talk."

Elizabeth nodded, but didn't answer. After a couple of minutes she found her voice again.

"How is Ghost by the way?" Elizabeth asked.

"He is good." Nathan said. "We just finished with him before coming up for supper. Carlo helped us clean the wound. We then fed him his oats with herbs and stuff. We also added a treat. That reminds me. Gran, I was wondering if you can pick some more dried apricots tomorrow. They need to be organic. Miguel got them at Healthy Living. I will also need more dandelion greens."

"Write it down." Gran said. "Glad you were here to help. I know that Ghost can be a handful, but Doug does loves him."

"Glad I could help." Nathan said. "Hopefully a few days of letting him be and we can ride him again. I still can't believe the attitude from that vet tech."

"I see where it comes from." Elizabeth said. "But it is still not the way that she should act with a client. She treated you guys like you had done something wrong, when you were just trying to do the best for the horse."

"Part of it is her training." Nathan said. "They are taught they know what to do and that they have knowledge that others don't. I don't believe that is always true. Owners who are hands on and work with the horses know better sometimes. Vets and techs see tons of horses and can't always know each horse. People who work with a horse everyday know the horses better and they are the ones that are left to deal with problems that vets and techs can create."

"I agree." Jack said. "Even through we have worked with Dr Matthews and Sarah for years, the people that see the horses everyday know them better."

"That is why I stood with you." Nathan said. "From what I could see she was one of those treat 'em, drug 'em and street 'em vets."

"I haven't known Dr Matthews to be like that." Gran said. "But then again, things could have changed. There are a lot more pressure with that large new practice east toward Grangerville. I know that some of the bigger places moved the care over there."

"Oh." Jack said. "I didn't know about that."

"Yeah." Gran said. "It finally opened back in March. They are equine specialists and do ortho surgeries. They got the season contract with the racetrack. They have five vets and twenty techs over there. We got their flyer, but chose to stay with Dr Matthews. They have been with us a long time. Don't get me wrong, if for some reason one of the horses needed ortho surgery, we would look at that new place. I just didn't like having them so far away. Dr Matthews is much closer."

"I get that." Nathan said. "But if they are not willing to work with you when you fight for a horse, I would suggest that you look else where. I have a feeling that it is going to be a constant battle if you truly want to go natural as much as possible for the horses."

"I couldn't agree more." James said.

"I didn't mean to speak out of turn, Sir." Nathan said.

"No, son." James said. "You are right. There was no excuse for her to treat you like that. That is not the first run in I have had with her. That is why I didn't say anything more then I did. She knows where I stand. Besides, we are hoping that we only have to deal with outside vets for a few more years. Hopefully we can convince our granddaughter Melissa to come back here and be a full time vet for Coal Creek and Thornton Thoroughbreds. And before you say anything, I know, I know she still has to complete vet school, but I can hope can't I."

"Yes, you can dear." Gran said. "But we will have to see what the future holds."

"If we continue to expand." Jack said. "It might actually be worth looking into hiring a full time vet and a tech anyway. I am sure we could work something out that they could help cover for other vets as needed as well."

Before James could say anything, Charlotte came over and laid her hands on both Jack and James' shoulders. She looked between the two of them before she spoke.

"Enough talk." Charlotte said. "Let's have a nice supper. We can discuss this later."

"I agree." Elizabeth said. "Let's have a nice supper."