The Horse That Could Never Be Trained

Night Rides

Charlotte awoke at 3am as her alarm drilled into the depth of the night. She had put it as quiet as possible but it still rung in her ears. She glanced around trying to make out objects but the darkness shrouded her vision.  Fumbling around she grabbed some jeans and a sweater and clumsily put them on. She sneaked down the stairs trying to be as quiet as possible. The stairs beneath her creaked and she stopped for a few seconds and listened, double checking that nobody had woken. All was quiet so she continued making her way down to the bottom. The door outside was always the most difficult part as it tended to make a annoyingly loud screech when opened. Slowly she began to turn the knob like she had done many nights before. A small sound was all that the door made so Charlotte continued on her way towards the barn.

Charlotte had been at anticipating this day for almost a year now. Now it was time for her to put her plan into action and she was going to be the first one to achieve it . The barn smelt of dusty hay and horse sweat, oh how Charlotte loved it. It made her reminiscence for just a second the many days she had spent here just enjoying the scent. She focused again and looked ahead towards her destination of Hunters stall. The strong black colt's head hung over the top of the stall and he had his eyes closed peacefully. She was sad that she was going to disturb him but knew he wouldn't mind. 

Charlotte softly spoke his name and his eyes fluttered open. For a second his eyes bulged and he threw back his head but it soon registered to him that it was only her, he calmed down and let out a small nicker. She gave him a soft pat on the muzzle and pressed a kiss on his forehead. He breathed her in and gave a soft grunt. Slowly she opened the door and made her way in. His shoulder blocked her path and she gently pushed him out of the way. Hunter turned around and gave a playful nip. She half scolded him and grabbed the brush from the top corner of his stall. Gently she brushed down his soft coat taking extra care of his underbelly and legs. Hunter gave a stomp of impatience and she quickly finished up.

When she had finished his light grooming she grabbed a small stall from the lounge and sat it beside Hunter. He sniffed it cautiously but soon recognized it was not a threat. Charlotte stood on top of the stall and grabbed a chunk of Hunter's mane. She took a deep breath knowing this was a big risk and pulled herself onto Hunters back. For second he just stood there but it wasn't long before he threw his head in the air and tried to rear. Charlotte quickly slipped off of him and waited patiently for him to calm down. His eyes were wide and she could tell he did not like her on his back at all. She was determined though to get him used to it.

Charlotte calmly talked to Hunter making sure he had completely calmed down before trying again. This time when she pulled herself up he shuffled around a bit but didn't try to rear. Charlotte talked to him softly and giving his neck a gentle pat. He snorted and his eyes were wide but she could tell he beginning to trust her being up there. He kept twisting his neck around to double check it was her and she laughed a little at him trying to nibble her boots. Charlotte slipped off and gave Hunter one last pat on the nose before leaving his stall.

Charlotte could feel the heat from his body radiating into her skin. It was like the two of them were meant to be together. She gave him a soft pat and hugged his long neck. He rolled his eyes back to see her and gave a playful whinny.

"Shhhh" she said to him quietly. "We don't want anyone hearing us"

Hunter eyed her cautiously. Charlotte slipped off his back and opened the stall door, holding Hunters lead rein in the opposite hand. The last two weeks Charlotte had slipped out into Hunters stall and sat on his back. It had taken her a while but she thought he was ready to go for a walk around. Slowly she eased Hunter out of his stall. He walked steadily out of his cramped stall and shook off the imaginary dust that clung to him. Slowly she walked him towards the oval training track. She hoped desperately that nobody would be out. Even though it was 3 am she still panicked that somebody would see them. Once they were on the dirt track Charlotte grasped a handful of Hunters mane and pulled herself up. He danced daintily beneath her and she steadied herself.

Charlotte had ridden racehorses most of her life  so her experience was great but she felt like riding Hunter was a whole different story.  She coaxed him forward and he threw his head up and moved forward at a walk. Hunter wouldn't let anyone close to him. She was the only one who he allowed to touch him. Charlotte worried about this as she knew somebody else would have to ride him eventually if he was going to be a good racehorse.  Charlotte was 15 and she knew that eventually she might be able to ride him if she could convince her parents anyway.

Hunter pulled on the lead rope she had knotted around to form reins. She sat on his bare back comfortably sticking to him like glue to paper.  She tried keeping him to a walk but ended up giving in to a canter. They were flying. This was the fastest canter she had ever experienced. She felt a flurry of excitement rush through her body and her arms began to tingle. It was just her and her horse together as one. Hunter pulled forward trying to gallop and she let him. He reached all the way out, running as if there were rockets beneath his feet.  She didn't need a stopwatch to know he was a bullet.  Charlotte clung to his body moving with him like they were one. It felt like they had been running for what felt like only a few seconds when she could feel he was beginning to tire. Charlotte signaled for him to stop and he tiredly eased back into a walk.

After walking around the oval once more Charlotte jumped off of him and gave him a appreciative pat on the shoulder. It was then that she saw something move at the corner of her eye. It looked like somebody had been watching them. Worry lines began to crease her face and she took Hunter silently back into his stall after he had cooled off. She hurried back into her house praying that whoever it was didn't tell her father.