Mel did as she was instructed, doing so with relative ease and grace now that her whole foot maneuvered in the stirrup. She smiled at Sammy, before re-mounting, her right foot in the stirrup. This time, it was smooth and graceful. They both knew horses, including what was needed to train a horse in a new skill. Five times, Mel dismounted and mounted from the right. Each time, Sammy eased a bit more of his grip on the headstall. By the fifth time, Sammy just stood quietly, his hands at his sides.
“Good idea, kids,” Mel said.
“Old Sammy there, he inherited all of Dad’s talent, reading a horse’s mind,” Hoyt said.
“He sure did,” Mel said.
Mel did manage to get the prosthesis in the stirrup, but she did so cautiously, placing the toe only. She wasn’t sure she’d feel it if her artificial foo
