A Horse's Story

Chapter 2

The next morning all us colts (about 20 of us) were hauled onto a trailer, about to be taken to another facility..

When we got there, I immediately felt unsafe and insecure. Harsh hands grabbed the rope on my face, and roughly pulled me and my friends out of the trailer. I reared up, fighting the discipline, but that only ended in me getting whipped. I was chucked into a dark, damp stable, and left there for the night.

In the morning, a tighter, rougher rope was put on my face, and these people started pulling me about, like I was a dog on a lead. When I stopped, I got whipped, when I ran forward I got whipped, so I reared up, and struck a hoof out at the man. That worked. He fell onto the ground clutching his already purple eye, whilst I galloped off. First, I went to the paddock, and saw my friends, but I could see the humans running after me, so I panicked and galloped away. I didn't know where I was going, but I knew it was better than here. The longer I'd galloped, the harder it was getting to stop. I jumped a barbed wire fence, and thought I was free, when I came down with a thud.

The humans had lassoed me, cowboy style, and I was harshly hauled back to the stables. Every time I fought, I was whipped. I ended up covered in whip marks, but I wouldn't stop fighting. They put me in the field, and as they let me go, I reared up, to full height, and struck my legs out, trying to make myself look like a threat to the humans, but they only laughed. My friends looked impressed, though. Dragon, Tyro, and Ollie. They were my best friends, but I was mates with everyone in my herd. My herd. I was the leader. And if I wasn't strong for what was mine, who would be?

6 months later, and I'm a strapping 1 year old stallion. I'd been taught manners, and behaved well enough, but I was still unpredictable and stubborn. If I thought that the humans were getting too rough, they'd get a kick, or I'd rear up. I was by no means a push over. Today, I got taken into the arena, but with lots of people surrounding it. They put another thing over my head, but this one had a metal thing that went in my mouth. I chewed it uncomfortably, and they slammed a heavy thing on my back. It wasn't nice. To my bewilderment, a human, actually sat on me! I bucked, and reared up, and the human was thrown off, that was easy. Another human climbed on, but was disposed of quickly, the same for the next one, and the one after that. After about 16 humans had tried, and failed, to sit on me for longer than 10 seconds, the head rider came. He had a whip, and metal spiky things on his boots. He heaved himself onto my back, and dug those metal things into my sides, and started whipping me. I bucked and bucked, I pig-rooted, I reared up, I shied, I bolted, I spun around, and finally, I'd gotten rid of him.

That night I, and 10 others, were loaded into another trailer and taken off somewhere else.