Debut Plan

By mid-May, the time had arrived quickly.

Ogawa Joe, trainer Tanaka, and jockey Ochiai had gathered together to discuss Mejiro Tenma's debut schedule.

"This bloodline has achieved quite a few results on dirt tracks, and Pegasus's relatively broad hooves should have no trouble handling Monbetsu's track."

As Mejiro Tenma's actual caretaker, Ogawa Joe was the first to speak.

"How has his physical development been?"

Tanaka asked.

"Compared with last week, there hasn't been any noticeable change in his weight."

Ogawa Joe answered with some hesitation.

Mejiro Tenma was the picky sort when it came to food. Aside from apples specially cut into small pieces, he showed little interest even in fresh pasture grass, much less formulated feed.

That was precisely what worried Ogawa Joe.

"Genta, what do you think?"

Without rushing to state his own opinion, Tanaka set down the race schedule in his hand and turned to Ochiai.

"His movements are very smooth. His flexibility isn't especially outstanding, but he doesn't waste unnecessary energy when he runs."

Having already spent several sessions getting used to Mejiro Tenma, Ochiai promptly gave his assessment.

"How is he mentally?"

Tanaka continued.

"He's the somewhat hard-to-read type."

Ochiai paused briefly before continuing, "But he takes in and learns commands quickly, and he has an excellent memory."

"I see..."

Tanaka nodded, then lowered his head in silence and began to think.

"How about trying the 1,000 meters on the 23rd of this month?"

For a horse born in March, making his debut at the end of May was not especially early.

Moreover, according to the person actually in charge of him, his growth currently seemed somewhat slow.

In that case, there was no need to wait for his body to develop further.

It was said that horses grew four times faster than humans.

Yet Mejiro Tenma, who had been born relatively early among horses of his age, did not hold much of an advantage in weight.

If they waited any longer, they might instead waste even the small advantage that came with being early-born.

Though there was some sense of forcing the pace, Tanaka believed his judgment was still sound.

"We'll cooperate on our end."

Although he felt the timing was a little rushed, Ogawa Joe ultimately nodded in agreement.

"No problem on my end."

Ochiai readily agreed as well.

"Then let's report it to Mr. Kitano like this."

Taking out a pen, Tanaka added a new entry to the densely packed race schedule.

With Kitano absent, the three-way discussion came to an end.

As for Kitano—

He and a middle-aged man in a suit were intently observing the droppings on the ground, like elementary school children completing an insect observation diary over vacation.

More precisely, they were Merino sheep droppings.

"Look, these are all undigested milk curds."

Kitano spread out the droppings and began explaining with an unchanged expression.

The suited man looked rather uncomfortable.

"If the milk curds are small and haven't caused a severe blockage in the gastrointestinal tract, normal intestinal movement will most likely push them along little by little until they're eventually expelled with the feces."

After removing his gloves, Kitano suddenly stood up and pried open the lamb's mouth.

After taking a quick look, he let go.

The oral mucosa was normal, and there were no abnormalities in its gait while walking.

That initially ruled out the possibility of foot-and-mouth disease infection.

The little lamb's eyes were wide open as it wagged its tail and repeatedly curled up its upper lip.

Seeing this, the suited man hurriedly stood as well and let out a relieved breath.

"So it shouldn't be anything serious, right?"

With some distaste, the suited man moved his gaze away from the spread-out droppings and asked uncertainly.

"Not necessarily. If the milk curds are large, or if they gather and adhere in the gastrointestinal tract, continued buildup could form an obstruction and threaten the lamb's life."

Kitano shook his head, and that movement made the suited man's expression tense.

"Can it be resolved quickly?"

He asked earnestly.

"We still need to determine the cause first."

Kitano's expression turned somewhat helpless as well.

As a professional manager, the suited man might have been quite capable at operating and managing a ranch.

But when it came to understanding the livestock themselves, he was rather lacking.

From the phone call requesting his services, all Kitano had been able to learn was that the lambs generally suffered from weak legs and poor appetite.

"Do you still have the feeding records from the ewes' mid-to-late pregnancy?"

After walking around and observing between the pens and grazing grounds for some time, Kitano turned his head and asked.

The pens were dry and clean, with no obvious sharp foreign objects, and the grazing grounds were reasonably sized.

Other than parasites and viral infections, illnesses caused by the living environment and the possibility of insufficient exercise had also been ruled out.

Then he would try looking for the cause in the mothers and the feed.

"Yes! All the records are saved on the computer. Even the feeding times and feed batches are recorded clearly."

The suited man nodded repeatedly and led Kitano toward his office.

"There isn't any problem with the feed's nutritional content, but you're feeding too little fresh green forage."

Just as the suited man had said, the feeding records on the computer were extremely detailed, and Kitano quickly found the problem.

"Shortly after the ewes give birth, it's indeed not a problem to feed less concentrated feed and fresh green forage. But once their bodies gradually recover, if they're nursing their young, you need to gradually adjust them back to a normal feeding regimen."

"Give two milliliters of compound vitamin B by intramuscular injection, and keep a closer eye on the lambs' temperatures over the next couple of days."

After saying that, Kitano added uneasily, "Also, record the condition of their droppings. If the weak-leg symptoms persist after a few days, contact me at any time."

Even though he had initially ruled out the possibility of E. coli infection through clinical observation, the follow-up work still had to be handled properly.

"Droppings... those need to be recorded too?"

The suited man frowned slightly, then called over an employee and gave a few quiet instructions.

The troubled expression shifted to that employee's face.

"Then the diagnosis is complete."

Although the consultation fee would not arrive so quickly, for Kitano, who had just paid over a million yen in boarding fees for Mejiro Tenma in one go, it was still some income.

If several breeders had not happened to pay the consultation fees they owed from last winter over the past few days, he would probably have gone back to living on bean sprouts again.

Back in the car, Kitano unlocked his phone, and several unread messages popped up in succession.

Representative Ogawa, trainer Tanaka, and jockey Ochiai had each offered suggestions for the debut race from their own perspectives.

"The 23rd, huh..."

Setting down his phone, Kitano tapped the steering wheel and thought for several seconds.

Then he sent his reply.

"Let's do it."