Hummingbird (on hold...probably not going to finish)

Hummingbird

This is not about a real racehorse but the horse on the cover is Seattle Slew. Also my dad is NOT like the dad in this story. I dedicated it to him becasue he's awesome and he is a retired jockey :). Love you Daddy!!! Oh and feathers are the fluff on the horses hooves. A cart horse is just that. A horse that pulls carts.

I shivered in my thick coat, waiting for my father's mare, Lullaby, to drop her foal. It was snowing hard outside. Looks like I'll be spending the night in the barn. Lullaby panted heavily. She started bleeding. Is she ok? I wonder if I should help her. I thought. I heard a creaking noise on the roof. All the snow must be bad for this old roof. I quit looking up and looked at Lullaby. I could see the foals head. That must be a good sign! Then I heard it. A faint buzzing sound. A bee? No...their all dead....aren't they? I thought. No! It wasn't a bee! It was a hummingbird! But I didn't see it until Lullaby's new foal took its first breath.  The hummingbird flew into Lullaby's stall and circled the foal's head. It neighed happily. It was a filly.

"Hummingbird. I'll name you Hummingbird." just as i said that the bird left. Hummingbird tried to get up, but fell. Finally she got up and suckled. I smiled. This filly was perfect. Just like her mother. Her mother was a retired racehorse. She won many races. Including the Kentucky Derby. But she injured herself and retired. Her father was a draft horse called Silver Knight. He broke his leg and had to be put down. He sired many foals. All had been cart horses. But this was the first time that the dam had been a thoroughbred. I wanted Hummingbird to be a racehorse. But I could see feathers on her hooves. Face it, I thought, she'll be another cart horse. Like her father. I sighed and watched Hummingbird suckle. She did have long legs like a racehorse. She also wasn't hefty and bulky like a draft horse. Maybe she could be a racehorse! I pulled out my cell phone and called my dad.

"Hello?" he said.

"Hi dad. Lullaby just had her foal."

"Filly or colt?"

"Filly."

"Not what I wanted. Stallions make good cart horses."

"How could you say that? You haven't even met Hummingbird!"

"Hummingbird?"

"That's what I named her."

"No. I don't like that name. Whats her color."

"Black."

"Call her Coal."

"No! That's a stupid name!"

"Well so is Hummingbird!"

"Why?"

"Well why is Coal a bad name?"

"Its boring!"

"Whatever. She'll start training as a cart horse when she's two."

"No! Shes not going to be a cart horse! She'll be a racehorse!"

"A racehorse? Heck no! Her sire was a draft. Shes not even full thoroughbred. Stupid girl!" he hung up.

I shoved my phone in my pocket and looked at Hummingbird again. She looked back at me. Her eyes were brown Like chocolate. I pulled my long, wavy brown hair into a ponytail and walked to the window. It was still snowing. I sighed and grabbed a air mattress from the saddle room and put air in it. I set it outside Lullaby and Hummingbird's stall. I layed on it and let sleep grab me.