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sent pain shooting through her ribs and shoulder. She pushed him away gently. ‘Sorry boy. Not today.’
     
    He didn’t understand, barging into her again and again. She sighed and was just putting him back into the stable, when Lauren shouted.
     
    ‘Whoa. Grace just tried to kick me!’
     
    Toni frowned and went over to join them. ‘Jen said she seemed a bit off. I took a look earlier, but I couldn’t find anything.’
     
    Lauren jumped to one side. ‘She did it again. When I got near her tail.’
     
    It was the one thing Toni hadn’t checked. She stood carefully to one side and ran her hand lightly down the tail, feeling a swelling immediately.
     
    ‘It’s really hot. I’ve not been riding her, so I wouldn’t have noticed.’
     
    Grace hung her head and looked thoroughly miserable.
     
    ‘Could be an abscess,’ Lauren suggested.
     
    At that moment Arabella led one of her horses into the barn. Toni stood up slowly and took as deep a breath as her injured ribs would allow.
     
    ‘We’ve got a problem with Grace,’ she called over.
     
    Arabella made no attempt to hide her irritation. ‘And I haven’t got time to waste.’
     
    Toni swallowed her pride. ‘Please. Could you take a quick look? See what you think.’
     
    Arabella came over, bristling with impatience, and Grace tried to back away as she got closer. ‘Well?’
     
    ‘Here, feel?’ Toni showed her where the swelling was, and Grace stamped nervously as Arabella felt her tail.
     
    ‘Put a poultice on it. See if there’s any pus in there.’
     
    ‘Shouldn’t we shave it first?’ Lauren suggested.
     
    ‘No!’ Arabella said sharply.
     
    ‘But it will help the infection clear…’ Lauren began to argue.
     
    ‘I’m not having Toni lose points in the dressage.’ Arabella was adamant. ‘No shaving. Understand?’ She marched off again.
     
    ‘You’re kidding me, right?’ Lauren’s eyes were wide in disbelief.
     
    Toni shook her head. ‘They’d mark me down on her appearance.’
     
    ‘So, she’d risk Grace getting worse?’ Lauren shook her head. ‘Even leave her in pain?’
     
    ‘She says you can’t get too sentimental about them.’
     
    Lauren went back to forking the straw up furiously.
     
    ‘It’s just the way she is…..,’ Toni tried to explain.
     
    ‘Don’t! Don’t you dare defend her.’ Lauren was really angry now. ‘You’d better make the poultice. The least I can do is to make poor Grace a decent bed for the night.’
     
    They parted uncomfortably when Lauren’s mother arrived. Toni watched them drive off, feeling thoroughly ashamed.
     
    She should have reacted better to Lauren’s revelation.
     
    And she should have stood up to Arabella.
     
    She went inside and found the new bottle of painkillers on her pillow where her father had left them. Swallowing two gratefully, she lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling, waiting for the pills to do their magic, and only then drifted off into a troubled sleep.

 
    *************
     
    The days passed and Toni felt increasingly frustrated stuck at home. Lauren was on her way to Spain for Easter, and the rest of her friends all seemed busy with riding and shows. The yard wasn’t a particularly pleasant place to be either.
     
    She had tried putting the hot poultices on Grace, but found it tricky one-handed, and Jen soon took over caring for the mare instead. Toni couldn’t really tell if Grace was getting any better. But at least she didn’t seem to be getting any worse.
     
    ‘How about keeping me company and coming shopping?’ Her Aunt B phoned one day to try to tempt her out. ‘We could go into Cheltenham. Have some lunch as well.’
     
    Toni was instantly suspicious. ‘Has Dad been telling you I need rescuing?’
     
    B hesitated. ‘He’s worried about you, darling. We all are.’
     
    Arabella isn’t.
     
    Toni pretended to give her aunt’s suggestion some thought. But she hated shopping. The crowds upset her and she couldn’t