Rory smiles. “Good question.”
He picks up one of the nails and holds it where the group can see.
“These nails are special. They’re shaped to go through the outer wall of the hoof, not into the sensitive part inside.”
The boy’s nose wrinkles. “But nails hurt.”
“They would if we put them in the wrong place,” Rory says honestly. “That’s why only trained people should ever do this. The hoof wall is like your fingernail. If you clip the white part of your nail, it doesn’t hurt, right?”
The boy looks down at his hands. “No.”
“But if you clip too far down where it’s pink?”
“That hurts.”
“Exactly,” Rory says. “A horse’s hoof is similar. We only work on the part that doesn’t have feeling. If we ever got too close to the sensitive area, it would hurt, and we would stop immediately.”
Thor snorts.
Amelia chuckles softly. “And Thor would tell us very quickly if we got it wrong.”
The little boy studies the massive horse. “How?”
“He’d move away,” Amelia says. “Pin his ears. Toss his head. Shift his weight. Maybe try to pull his foot back. Horses talk with their bodies, so our job is to pay attention.”
Olivia steps forward with her clipboard hugged to her chest.
“And if you don’t pay attention,” she adds seriously, “you fail.”
Several adults laugh quietly.
I glance at Amelia and watch her press her lips together like she’s trying not to smile.
Rory points at Olivia. “She’s not wrong.”
The little boy nods like this answer satisfies him, then looks at me.
“Do you know how to do it?”
“No,” I admit. “Which is why I will be listening very carefully.”
Olivia makes a note on her clipboard.
“Good answer,” she says.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Amelia shakes her head, but her eyes are warm when they meet mine.
And for reasons I can’t explain, earning approval from a ten-year-old girl with a clipboard feels far more important than it should.
***
This…is…insane.
“Why can’t we keep his heavy-as-hell leg on that little stand you’ve had it on this entire time?” I ask as Rory shows me how to use the tool to clean the inner part of Thor’s hoof.
