Loving Spirit

Nothing’s going to hurt you. There’s no snake, I promise. It was just your tail bandage before and now Spirit’s in there .
    Spirit whinnied. Picasso hesitated and then stepped cautiously forward. Ellie walked beside him, not pulling or urging him, just murmuring soothingly. After a few steps he hesitated again. Trust me , she told him in her thoughts.
    He walked forward. However, just as he got near to the ramp there was the sound of the back door opening and Joe, Luke and Len came out. She heard her uncle’s voice saying something, then their laughs. They walked over and Picasso swung round.
    Oh, no , Ellie thought, groaning inside. Why did they have to come now?
    ‘Looks like we’ve come out just in time to see the horse whisperer in action,’ commented Len loudly.
    ‘Not that he’s keeping his ears still enough for her to whisper into,’ cracked Luke, glancing at Picasso’s ears that were moving nervously back and forth now they were there.
    ‘Let’s watch and learn then, lads,’ Len said, folding his arms across his chest.
    For a moment, Ellie just wanted to run away. She couldn’t bear them all watching to see if she failed. But then she lifted her chin. She wasn’t going to fail. She also wasn’t going to rush. She saw Joe’s face, his eyes willing her on, and then she blocked out her audience. She talked to Picasso in her head.
    It’s all right , she told him. We can take as long as you want .
    Gradually she felt him tune into her.
    I won’t let anything hurt you. Spirit’s waiting for you. There’s nothing bad in the horsebox, I promise. You’ll be safe with me and Spirit .
    She hoped her words were getting through, wished he would reply as Spirit did. All she had to go by was the fact she could sense his tension was easing. His head lowered and he nudged her with his nose.
    ‘I’ll get behind him,’ offered Luke.
    Ellie opened her mouth in alarm to stop him, but, before she could, Joe had grabbed Luke’s arm.
    ‘No! Ellie’s doing this on her own.’
    Luke glanced down at Joe’s hand on his arm and then at his face. His eyes narrowed, but he stepped back. ‘What’s it to do with you?’
    ‘Just let her do it,’ insisted Joe. ‘Give her a chance. I bet she can.’
    Ellie felt a rush of gratitude for his confidence.Picasso’s eyes met hers and then he stepped towards the box. She kept him on a loose rein, just repeating over and over again in her head: It’s OK. Spirit’s there. He’s waiting. There’s no snake .
    As they reached the ramp, Spirit called again. With an answering whicker, Picasso stepped on to the ramp and stopped. Ellie felt as if the world paused for a second and then suddenly, without a fuss, the pony pricked his ears and walked quickly inside.
    Ellie stopped in front of him. Her heart was in her mouth. She could hardly believe she’d done it – she’d got him in! She heard Joe’s delighted exclamation, her uncle’s snort of astonishment, and then she came to life and started patting Picasso over and over again as he touched noses with Spirit. ‘Oh, good boy! I told you there was nothing to be frightened of. And thank you.’ She turned to Spirit and kissed his nose. He looked up at her through his long forelock and she kissed him again before swinging round in delight. Luke and her uncle were stunned. Ellie could have giggled as she saw their faces. Joe was grinning, jogging over.
    ‘That was brilliant! Well done, Els! I knew you could do it.’
    ‘No use just getting him in once, though,’ Luke called.
    ‘I can do it again,’ she said, needled. Touching Picasso’s neck, she led him back down the ramp andwalked him in a circle. Then she clicked her tongue and led him back inside. This time she had absolute confidence he would follow her and he did. He stopped and she tied him up and put the partition across. Then she turned and looked challengingly at her uncle.
    He still had his arms folded, but now he was nodding slowly. ‘You did it, lass. Full credit to you.’
    She knew from his face that he had never expected her to succeed and she felt a sweet rush of triumph.
    ‘It was a good idea to put that grey of yours inside,’ he went on. He looked at Spirit with narrowed eyes. ‘Stuart’s been saying the other horses like him.’
    ‘Can I keep him?’ Her heart was in her throat. She didn’t care that her uncle thought the only reason Picasso had loaded was because of Spirit; she just wanted the answer. Her heart thudded in her ears