Chapter 17

Victor had taken his horses right after the ranchers picked out theirs and Scott and Ty finished vetting them. His heart was elated in what Marion's daughter was doing. He know in his heart that she would succeed.

Amy was thrilled that Victor had come. It was like having a huge shot of adrenalin. She had no idea that word had spread about what she was doing. To her it was no big deal. She was going to have to talk to Ty about what Victor said about her calling but that would have to wait until next spring. She had enough to get done in the next 6 months.

Jack, Lisa, Tim and Georgie left the next morning while Scott left that same afternoon once the stallion was loaded.

Amy had 5 rancher and a retired couple in their early 50's that want horses. The retired couple wanted the 3 oldest and only wanted them to be halter broke. Their acreage could early handle 3 and was all fenced in with a nice barn so Amy agreed. The ranchers took 2 apiece and Will wanted the other old one. That left Amy and her crew 20 horses to take back to Heartland three of which were pregnant, Molly being one of them.

Everything was ready for class to begin as Will called it and it did at 8 am sharp. Jerry was the first rancher to start. He and Amy went to the center of the round pen. Amy showed him what he needed to do and then after maybe 5 minutes Jerry said he was ready to take over the lunging. Amy was telling him to watch the horses ears and to change direction. It had only taken about 20 minutes before the horse started to lower her head and act like she was chewing. Amy told Jerry that was the signal he wanted to see and to stop and turn around and to relax. The horse walked right up to Jerry's back and stood. Amy told him to give the mint to her then congratulate the horse with a pat on the neck. Jerry's excitement was obvious.

"Usually Jerry before I do a join-up I have named the horse so have you thought of a name from her?" Amy asked.

"Sure have. Ms. Amy I'd like you to meet Whiskey." He told her grinning from ear to ear.

Amy chuckled and agreed that she did have the color of a shot of whiskey. Amy then had Jerry to place a halter on her and a lead rope. " Now what I need you to do Jerry while holding the lead rope so you have control start with Whiskey's neck and just softly start rubbing her with you hand and work your way all around her but if there is a spot where she is sensitive stop and start back aways and move forward again. We need to teach her at it is okay for you to touch her anywhere. I want you to work on that till it time for you to go. What I'll have you do then is take her back to the corral and release her but keep the halter on. Tomorrow I'll have you do another join-up and then the rub down and if Whiskey is ready I'll have you to start brushing her. You did a great job." Amy told him

The first week for Amy was full. If she wasn't helping a rancher she was working with one of her girls. Their were picking up on the join-up rather quickly. Ty was what he called playing Mallory. Amy had put him in charge for teaching the girls about western riding. When Amy first told him that he laughed so hard he had to run to the outhouse before he peed his pants. Never in Ty's mind had he visioned himself a teacher of western riding. He did take his task to heart and shared all the he knew which surprised him just how much he had learned. Ty other main job was Joe and Sheri Mattlock, they were the retired couple. Ty was to spend Saturday mornings with them and their three horses.

Amy had things planned out so the first weekend they had off. While Ty was with Joe and Sheri, Amy had the girls saddle up Spartan, Harley, Lucky and Star and they took them on their first major trail ride. Amy's girls were just like her, they took to western riding like it was second nature. Aysha had never ridden in such beauty she told the others. Tara and Hedi had looks of pure delight on their faces. After riding for a few hours the girls got off for lunch. Amy showed them how to hobble their horses and taught them the importance of it out here in the middle of no where. As they were eating Amy ask what each thought about their first week and if they enjoyed it.

All three started talking at the same time which once they realized it they all broke out in laughter. After the laughter had calmed down Amy pointed to Tara to go first. "I'm glad you bought Midnight and sold him to Nick. If you hadn't done that none of us would be here. That put aside you have showed me that a horses trust in you is such a big deal. That for me the biggest thing I've learned."

Hedi agreed with all that Tara said but added "when you told us that the main goal is to have the horse want to do what you ask of it is something that I never realized. I had been taught the horse was to obey us, not trust us in the way you show it."

Aysha was overwhelmed by everything and said she really didn't know where to start. She started by confessing she had fear the first time she saw Amy do the join-up. But the more she saw it done by either Amy or one of the ranchers she knew she could do it. She told them when she did her first join-up and Reco came up to her, she almost had an orgasm. The girls then broke out in another laughing spree. They weren't making fun of Aysha they understood where she was coming from. Amy almost told them what Ty had told her about how he would get a erection when he watch Amy do join-ups but thought she best keep it in her lock box for her own enjoyment.

They girls headed back all with smiles and joy in their hearts. The next three weeks flew by. Everyone was pleased with what they had accomplished. Amy had heard that the ranchers in the area were so thankful for what she had done that they wanted to pay her something for her time and effort. When Amy heard that she told Joanna to tell everyone she saw that she didn't do this for money and that if they wanted to do something then on her last night in Pike River she wanted to have a good old fashion country barbecue and dance. Amy told Joanna to buy whatever she needed that she'd pay for it all.

To be continued