Levi spent the rest of that rainy afternoon completing Poppy’s tour of Brumby’s Run and showing her the ropes. He introduced her to their stallions standing at stud and showed her the visiting mares, sent there by their owners to go in foal to one of the stallions. He took her into the foothills to visit the seventeen trail horses, currently turned out to await the start of the summer trekking season.
Poppy, although shy as ever, displayed a keen interest in everything he showed her. Her passion for horses was genuine, and he loved seeing it break through her reserve, but some things troubled him. Her refusal to discuss the pros and cons of western versus stock saddles and bits, for example. Her blank look when he talked about lunging and desensitisation training. Her seeming ignorance ab
