Mr. Barry hired a new groom named Alfred Smirk. Alfred Smirk was a humbug (a person who is not honest about who they are). He was very polite to Mr. Barry. He patted me when Mr. Barry was watching.
Alfred Smirk was very lazy. He spent a lot of time looking in the mirror. He brushed my hair so I looked shiny. But he did not clean my feet. He did not clean the stable. The stable smelled very bad.
The bad smell made my eyes hurt. The air was not fresh. Alfred Smirk did not take away the dirty straw. He just put clean straw on top of the old, wet straw. My feet were always wet.
One day, Mr. Barry noticed the smell. Alfred Smirk said the smell came from the drains. He told Mr. Barry that washing the stable was dangerous for horses. Mr. Barry believed him because he did not know about horses.
Because I stood on wet straw, my feet became sick. This sickness is called thrush (an infection in the horse's foot). My feet were very tender and painful. I started to stumble when I walked.
Alfred Smirk did not exercise me. I stood in the stable for many days. I felt restless and feverish. Alfred Smirk gave me "horse balls" (large pieces of medicine). They were hard to swallow and made me feel worse.
One day, I stumbled two times while Mr. Barry was riding me. Mr. Barry was worried. He took me to a farrier (a person who makes horse shoes and treats foot problems).
The farrier looked at my feet. He said I had a very bad case of thrush. He said the stable was very dirty. He told Mr. Barry that the groom was not doing his job. Mr. Barry was very angry.
The farrier cleaned my feet. He used a strong lotion to help the infection. He told Mr. Barry to give me fresh food and a clean stable. I soon felt much better and my spirits returned.
Mr. Barry was very sad. He was tired of bad grooms. He decided to sell me and stop owning a horse. He wanted to hire a horse only when he needed one. I stayed until my feet were healthy. Then, I was sold again.