November 27, 2011

• In Another Life

     In Another Life…..

      I was foaled one spring day, 18 years ago. I weighed 79 pounds and my coat was a matted red. My sire was a majestic Morgan that stood fifteen hands tall and carried a respectable bloodline. As he traveled a lot doing one night stands, I was never afforded the opportunity to run with him and learn the ways. My mother was a working mare on the ranch and after I reached the age of eleven months I was left to the devices of the other yearlings as we galloped the pasture harassing the old stallions.

  I took to harness when I was two years but tended to be difficult under the reins. Early one day, four keepers came into my stall and backed me into a corner. One keeper pulled out a slender metal object and an instant later my loins went spastic as all four keepers jumped back. I must have kicked for an hour. For the next few days I stayed backed into the corner of my stall in total confusion with no sense of what I was now feeling. I was led out of the stables after a week and by then I felt calm and relaxed but I did notice a strange attraction for the Clydesdale stud located in the last stall.

  The years passed as I accommodated everything my keepers wanted from me. I was fed well, my hooves tended to and I was brushed everyday. Some of the more inferior ‘dung droppers’ would come and go, but, I knew I was among the favored as the young offspring’s often rode me two at a time and I was always careful in my gait. My life was good.

  I am now well into my 18^th year. This morning, my keepers came into the stable for me.  They led me outside and then up the ramp of an enclosed wagon. It then rolled away and I rode in it for most of the day. It was night when the wagon stopped and the gate was opened.  I was led down the ramp and then placed into a coral with many others of my kind. There was no fresh water or grain and most all the horses were stirring and becoming agitated. We all felt each other’s fear and as the stress increased so did the fear.

  Half way through the long night, a large door opened onto the coral and keepers with ‘hurt sticks’ started herding some of us into the giant stable with bright lights. The large door quickly closed before I could enter. There must of been water and feed inside and this caused excitement among the remaining breeds and agitation at the same time. 

  The sky is now lit and the large door has finally opened again and this time the remaining herd needs no coaxing to enter. As I enter the large door into the brightness inside, I see that all the keepers are wearing white that is covered in dark stains. I hear my kind start to scream.

  　

  
  

  　

  • 2:57 am
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