A Horse Named Mercy

Finding Mercy

 Bear's small hooves padded the ground as he made his way down the long path that led to the river, their favorite spot. Bear was not alone. Samantha Jennings sat straight in the saddle on his back. She was outgrowing the small pony, and desperately needed a new horse. She just hadn't found one she'd fallen in love with yet. Sam wanted a horse that when she looked into it's eyes, she saw a long life together, filled with friendship, trust, and many new adventures. She'd already seen 10 horses with her parents, and scanned all the ones at the farm, but none had the spark. Bear changed his gait into a canter. And that's when they heard the voices.

"Dumb horse!" a man yelled. Sam felt herself wilt inside. No horse deserved to be talked to like that. She dismounted and tied Bear's reins to the branch of a tree. Quietly, she ducked behind a bush to take a closer look. Two men were conversing about something seemingly important.

"Tom, you're never going to sell that horse! Even the dog food company won't want him!" Sam turned to see the, well, once beautiful, bay thoroughbred cowering behind the man holding his reins. She gasped. She could see every bone under it's skin. It's eyes were dull, and it had nasty gashes that looked to be infected. He was favoring his left hind hoof, and it appeared swollen. Tears welled in her eyes.

"Bill, wait, he's fine!" The man named Tom tried to yell. But Bill had left. "Stupid horse!" he smacked it. Hard. A shrill cry escaped the horse's mouth. The man shoved the horse into a barbed fence, and a thorn bush, which marked the end of her parents land. The tears came. The man backed up to observe the damage done to the horse. He laughed. But he had not realized that there was a ledge behind him, where he would fall into the swampy part of the river. Just as he began to tip, the horse perked up, and ran to catch him, grabbing on to the front of his coat and pulling him back up. "Darned horse!" he yelled, and threw a stick at him, before driving off, leaving the horse alone. A small sob escaped Samantha. She climbed up so she was level with the horse. It looked afraid.

"Shush, here baby, I won't hurt you," she said. The horse seemed calmed by her words. She couldn't believe anyone could be so nasty to a horse, let alone after that the horse save the person. The gelding walked up to her quietly. She hadn't expected him to be so willing. "Good boy," she said quietly, rubbing his nose. The horse quietly sighed. She had come up with a name. "Good boy, Mercy,"