Horse Trade Read Online Free PDF

jeans climbing out of a blue pickup truck. “If you think Carole knows a lot about horses,” she went on, “Judy knows more. In fact,” she added with a grin, “Carole’s ambition is to grow up to be Judy.”
    “Maybe,” Carole chimed in. “I’m still not sure if I want to be a trainer or a breeder or a vet.”
    “Whatever it is, it’ll involve horses—right?” Hollie asked.
    “How’d you guess?” Stevie put in. The four girls laughed.
    Later, when Judy got to Topside’s stall, Stevie bombarded her with questions. “How do you find out what a horse is allergic to? Can you treat allergies easily? What if the horse—”
    “Whoa,” Judy said, looking up from the shot that she was about to give Topside. “Who’s allergic?”
    “A horse at the Marstens’,” Stevie said.
    Judy finished giving Topside the shot and then massaged the spot to ease the sting and get the serum circulating. “You mean the horse they’re boarding?” Judy said. When Stevie nodded, Judy said, “I saw the horse just after they got her. They wanted me to check her bone splint, which is just fine, and her allergies. I couldn’t tell right off about the allergies, though I can do some tests. Allergies in horses are a lot like allergies in humans—they’re hard to track down. Have you ever had a friend with allergies?”
    Stevie shook her head and said, “No.” But then she remembered that Hollie had said something about having an allergy, so she said, “Actually, yes.”
    “Your friend can tell you that almost anything can cause an allergy. It’s the same with animals. It could bethe horse’s food, or weeds in the pasture, or bug spray, or saddle soap,” Judy said. “Or it could be a combination of all of them.”
    “Great,” Stevie said. “Is No-Name going to go around for the rest of her life covered with welts?”
    “That’s the name of the horse?” asked Judy with a smile.
    “For the time being,” Stevie said. “Until I think of a permanent one.”
    Judy put the empty syringe in a pocket on the side of her bag. “You can usually treat hives with cortisone and antihistamine. The Marstens called me last night, and I told them to use the antihistamine.” She smiled at Stevie. “You’ll be glad to know that No-Name was fine in half an hour.”
    “But what if it gets worse?” Stevie said. “Can’t a horse get more and more allergic?”
    Judy looked at Stevie, her expression serious. “That can happen. That’s why we watch allergies so closely—and why we try to get to the bottom of them. It’s also why stables have to be ready for allergy emergencies—in both horses and humans. You know the first-aid box in the tack room?”
    Stevie nodded. The red, white, and blue first-aid box stuck out like a sore thumb among the brown saddles and tack.
    “There’s an EpiPen inside for any human who has an allergic reaction to a bee sting, or anything else,” Judy explained. “When that happens, the person’s air passages swell so badly that they can’t breathe. The medicine reduces the swelling and keeps them from suffocating. And for horses Mrs. Reg has cortisone and antihistamine on hand. An injection takes half an hour, the powder a little longer. Plus, you can always call me,” Judy said with a smile, putting her hand on Stevie’s arm. “Allergies aren’t usually dangerous unless you ignore them.”
    “I’m going to hunt down the cause of No-Name’s allergy if it’s the last thing I do,” Stevie said to Judy.
    “Good for you,” Judy said. “It’s going to take luck and patience.”
    “Hmmm,” Stevie said. “Luck is fun; patience I’m not so sure about.”

“N O -N AME WAS BETTER in half an hour,” Phil said that night over the phone.
    “I guess you must have given her a shot rather than a powder,” Stevie said.
    “How did you know?” asked Phil, sounding startled.
    “My deep knowledge of horse medicine, plus a conversation with Judy Barker.”
    “She’s been treating No-Name,