The Life of a Wild Horse

Chapter 4

There was a cave entrance that I saw, and we trotted towards it. It was twisty around the cave. The wind would not get in, and there was a pool at the end. "We have to pick grass to put into the cave for winter." I told them. For the next month we fattened up, and brought grass into the cave. There was a small bit of snow one day, so we ate outside, and brought in more food than we ever did in fall. Now in the cave there was enough food for winter.

We all cuddled together, and let the little appaloosa in the middle because she was a whole head shorter than the second smallest. The winter was still cold in the caves, but nothing compared to the blizzard his father's herd was facing.

At his father's herd:

All the mares were standing in a corner, fighting the wind with their strong winter coats. The mother of the appaloosa lay down quietly, and let go of her life. She was already dead when Blizzard found her. They mourned, but he watched his herd more closely after that.

Back to Colebrook's:

One day I heard the wind die down, and quietly left Moondust's side. I walked down the cave to see no snow falling, and no more blizzards. I still saw belly deep snow, but winter was coming to an end. I trotted back, and found my mares already awake. I gently nuzzled them all, but went to check on the little appaloosa. She was shaking, and I saw that the life was leaving her.

"Moondust, come here." I called, and she knew my voice was not calm. We got the filly up, and were supporting her weight as we moved forward. The other fillies came and helped, either keeping her warm, or getting her food. "Water." The little filly croaked, and we moved towards the watering hole. She drank the cold water slowly, getting it down without getting colder.

I moved off and another filly took my place. "I have some news, the blizzard has stopped, and spring is on its way." I told my herd, and I saw some hope get into their eyes, especially the little appaloosa. Three days later I trotted to the end of the cave, and saw green shoots above the snow. I galloped threw the cave and told everyone. We ran back out as a herd, and for a bit, just ran around.

Stiffness from standing in that cave for so long was fading out of my legs fast, and I threw back my head and reared. My ears were forward as I whinnied in triumph, of my strong herd, of my new home, and for running again. At that point I saw my father's herd in the mountains, and they all saw me. "Mama!" I yelled, and I saw her turn to me, looking at how much I had grown.

The other fillies in my herd do the same, calling to their mother's. The appaloosa kept calling, but as she saw the herd span out, she then realized what had happened. She stood as still as a statue, and I trotted up to her. "You will never let me die, will you?" she asked when I came up to her. "You already tried to die once, and when I saw, I saved you." I responded to her, and I saw her relax a little bit.

"She was really sick, but hid it well. She trusted another mare and told her about it. The mare lost her foal, who was born a day after me. I drank from my mother until that mare came back. Then I started to drink from her, so I would not get sick like my mother." She told me, and I could tell she was holding back a little bit. "It turns out I got a little of the sickness my mother had. That's why I was giving up." She told me.

I nudged her, then started to walk away. She followed me, like I wanted her to do. We went to a clearing in the trees, and I started to speak again. "If you think you should not breed in the future, or need help feeding your foal, please tell me about it because I will help you." I told her, and I saw she was now calm. We both walked out, and the herd looked up, seeing she was calmer than before.