Unwanted - Part 1

by Keely
(Australia)

The first memory that I can recall was my mother telling me that not all people are like the ones that we belonged to. I was confused. Did that mean that our owners were really nasty or were they kind, gentle people? The answer to my question was discovered a few years later.

It started off like another morning, out with all of the horses and their mothers. I was chilling in the shade of the tree by the lake with two other horses: a chestnut named Scarlet and a paint called Belle. I was a dapple grey. My name is Hollie. We were three years old and ready to be 'backed'. We were relaxing when men with sticks and whips came. They were on giant horses, decked out with heavy saddles and ropes.

My mother whinnied in fear and ran straight for me and my friends, herding us to the middle of the field. The men on horses came and herded of my mother with a few others, before surrounding my friends and I. Scarlet let out a terrified snort. We had not seen any man or another horse before and here people were trying to cut us off from out family. Using their sticks, they it us to make us move.

When we reached the gate, we wouldn't go through. I was searching for my mother and Belle and Scarlet were trying to bite and kick the men. I found my mother, her held held high. Her eyes were pained as she watched me go, but she couldn't fight for other men were restraining the horses in the field.

SWOOSH
I had stayed still for too long and the men had lost their temper, belting me across the head with the whip. I staggered in pain, but now they were making us move. We were herded into a small cattle yard together, where we could hardly move around. There was no water or grass, just dry dust. The men snapped halters on us and rode off. I heard them say that they would come for us in the morning...

* * * * *

I stared out of the plane window listlessly. I could hear the couple next to me having a heated argument. Did they need flowered curtains or not? Yes, no, yes, no. You would think that they were deciding a life or death situation.
Slowly drowsiness engulfed me and I was back in South Africa....

I put Apollo back in his stall. His grey coat was gleaming. I kissed his nose softly.

'Oi, Bronte! Are you coming?' Hollie yelled. She had already put her gorgeous mare Honey away. She poked her head around the stall door. 'C'mon! It's time to go the auction!'

I laughed.'I'm coming, I'm coming! I wouldn't pass up the chance to choose some new breeding stock!'

Half an hour later we pulled up at the market. Hollie dragged me away to look at the foals.
Later in the afternoon we loaded the new stock onto the trailer. As we headed out onto the road, it started bucketing down. The horses in the back nervously stomped.

And then the car slipped and fell down the hill. We were falling, falling, falling.......

I awoke with a jolt. I was quivering, my eyes filled with tears as I remembered that horrific day. The horses had all died, my parents and my best friend Hollie were crushed. I survived with nothing worse than a broken wrist.

That was why I was on a plane now, heading to my aunt and uncle's house in Victoria, Australia. I knew that they had a horse farm, but I knew that I was never going to ride again...

Unwanted - Part 2

by Keely
(Australia)

Unwanted Part 2
I'm sorry it took so long, but I have been really busy with school and horses lately! Please comment any advice. Thanks! :)

Hollie-
As I woke up the next morning my throat was parched and my stomach was rumbling. I went to walk over to the water trough and then to start eating the fresh spring grass, but then remembered everything that had happened in the past twelve hours.

The men said that they would come back the next day for us and I was, for the first time in my life, scared.

Scarlet and Belle slowly stirred around before waking up with a start. Scarlet let out a nervous nicker and Belle shifted uneasily.

'Where are we?' Scarlet snorted.
'No idea, but don't like it,' Belle huffed back.
Suddenly Belle's ears snapped right back and she let out a menacing snort.
The men had come out.

One of the men chuckled at Belle- It was a loud, dry, mean laugh. 'Easy tiger, I'm not going to hurt you if you behave.'
There was four of them and they all were about the same size. They were big, no doubt about that. The one who had laughed seemed to be the one in charge of the others.
'Bob, tie up the paint, Aaron, get the chestnut. Bill, go inside and get the equipment. I'll tackle the grey.'

As bob, Aaron and the other man came inside, we had nowhere to move. If we were in the paddock I would surely have run.

He whipped the leadrope onto my halter before doing my halter up tighter than it had been all night. I had never worn a halter but was definite that they weren't meant to be this tight.

He yanked me out of the yard, holding me in a death grip. As soon as we got out of the yard I tried to run, but he caught me, pulling me to a stop before picking up a stick from the ground and hitting me. I realed back, dizzy from the blow. He took advantage of my lack of fight and tied me to a pole. Now I couldn't move my head. Belle and Scarlet were tied as well.
Bill came back holding a bag that looked heavy.
'Here you go Mike,' he said, talking to the boss.
'Put it there,' Mike indicated. 'Ok, now these horses need to learn some ground manners, but not today. We'll ride 'em today. We'll take the chestnut first, then the paint and finally the dappled grey.'
He walked over and looked at us one by one. 'All of 'em have good breeding for eventers. TOo bad this one's coloured and won't sell for as much.' He kicked out at Belle, catching her on her flank. She fliched and kicked back.
'Ok- chesnut, paint, grey. Let's go!'
First Scarlet was led away, then Belle. I was left on my own, waiting for my fate to begin....

Bronté

After I disembarked from the flight (with the arguing couple deciding to but striped curtains instead) and collected my luggage, I heard a shout yelling out my name.

'Bronté! Bronté! Over here!' I turned and saw what could only be my uncle, Peter. We had never seen each other before, he was like my second or third uncle or something like that. He hd light brown hair, blue eyes and tanned skin. He was tall.

'Hi,' I said awkwardly. Really Bronté? You're first time meeting you're uncle and you come up with "hi"?!
I roll my bags over to the car, a dusty holden ute. When we get going, Uncle Peter attempts some conversation 'You know that when you're in Melbourne, the weather is unpredictable..... blah blah blah.' I tune out, thinking back longingly to the days in South Africa, mucking around on the beach with Hollie and the horses, going to horse comps...

'Isn't that right Hollie?' my uncle cuts in. I have no idea what his been talking about, so I just nod mutely. He rambles on and on, talking about this and that. he hasn't talked about any horses. Maybe it was my other aunt and uncle who have the horse farm. Yeah, that definitely must be it, he hasn't mentioned anything. Good. I never want to see another horse again. Slowly, I doze off.

I wake up when we're turning off a road, onto a dirt track.

'We live on a mountain. uncle Peter says, 'there's a beach on the other side. The lands great for walking and stuff.'
The more he talks, the more convinced I am that there is no horses here.
'Another family lives here as well; there's anoter mountain over that side,' he points where it is, 'We work together.'
it is dark and when we finally stop, the clock reads 11:30. I can't see the house very well.
'Everyone will be asleep because school's tomorrow.' uncle Peter whispers, unlocking the house. He takes me up to the very top of the house and shows me my room. To tired to do anything, I collapse onto the bed and drift straight off to sleep.

A couple hours later, a horse neighing stirs me from my slumber.