It Started With A Horse

Nine Years Old

The age when Mama and her baby came to our small recuse ranch. Mama was about 18, Baby was about 6-8 months old. A nervous little filly who was feeding off of her mama.

Mama was sick but wouldn't let anyone near her to give her the help she needed. Baby being small, was watching how mama was being around the things with two legs. She knew Mama was scared, so she thought there was a reason to be scared.

Mama sadly passed about a month after arriving at the rescue, leaving Baby all alone and not knowing how to trust anything but her own judgement.

Being as young as 8 months and not having a mother was going to be difficult. There wasn't another mare we could pair Baby with, so it was left up to one of the two legged things to gain her trust to feed and care for her.

She watched as the small human walking around the property, looking at her every time she walked by her stall and small outside pasture. Baby had never heard this Small one talk, only silence and the weird looks of squinting eyes, trying to block out when the bright sun was out.

As the days went on, no one was able to get Baby to properly eat from the bottles they kept giving her. The one with blonde hair, who looked like an older version of Small, but with a different hair colour, had suggested one day that 'Maggie' try and feed Baby. So, they brought this Maggie in.

Baby instantly felt at peace.

The first time Baby had felt safe since arriving.

She had figured out that Small's real name was Maggie. That name will forever be stuck in Baby's mind.

Finding a new name for Baby was going to be difficult, because they didn't want to keep calling her Baby.

Maggie was the one to come up with a new name for Baby after another 4 months of hanging out, caring and other things with the filly.

She decided to name the filly Colby.

'Suiting, for a gorgeous little one like her. It'll fit her perfectly as she grows and gets used to the new name!' Maggie's older sister, Ashton, had said.

As Colby's trust for Maggie grew, she saw that the world around her, wasn't so bad after all. Colby grew to be a majestic, black beauty that had been abandon and was thought to have die after her Mama had passed.

Colby had never had this amazing life, completely forgetting, but still in the back of her mind, of the life she'd lived before. Horrible people all around her, abusing her, forcing her, separating her from Mama at such a young age when it was inappropriate. Mama would not eat when Colby was taken for more than a week.

Seeing as Mama would not be coming back at all, Colby had found peace in having Maggie as her new mom. She had never been happier to be under the safety of this young nine year old girl who'd never trained a horse from filly or colt, to be a strong, independent mare or stallion.