Tires crunched down the driveway and Faith lifted her dark brown head and snorted nervously. I jingled the chain shank to get her attention and keep her tender fore hooves in the shallow pan i was using to soak her sore hooves. "AUTUMN!" Jared called, obviously not knowing where i was. "Down at the barn" i called back, not loudly enough to scare Faith. I could hear the patter of Michelle's small feet and Jared's footsteps heading up to the barn and the stall i was sitting in with Faith. "What is that?" Jared asked, a hint of shock and disbelief in his voice. "A horse. I almost hit her coming home from the tack store friday. Her name is Faith" I answered, slightly defensive of the filly. "Are we keeping her?" Jared asked. "Maybe, we'll see. Shes registered thoroughbred, but i havent tried to trace her yet" I answered. "Well, whats wrong with her?" Jared asked, looking her over with experienced eyes. "Shes about 400 pounds underweight, maybe a little less now, shes gained a few pounds since she got here, and she was barefoot near the road so her hooves are pretty broken up and she has absesses in both forlegs. The vet thinks she'll be perfectly sound once her feet are healthy" I answered. Jared simply nodded. "Well, i'll go start dinner" he told me, scooping Michelle up and going to the house. I sighed and leaned my head on Faith's bony shoulder. It didnt seem like Jared liked Faith, but he would learn to like her eventually. In the few days i had been caring for the horse, i had become quite attached.
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