Brumbies in the Mountains

by Paula Boer

  Louise approached with her hand outstretched. When the brumby orphan remained still Louise went closer and ruffled the foal’s withers. “She’s so cute. She looks better already.”

  “Yeh, but she’s going to be really small. I hope she’ll be up to carrying all that stuff that Harry lugs around with him.” Ben raked up a couple of droppings in the straw while he talked.

  Wheeling the barrow in to help, Louise studied Eve. “How old did you say Oliver thought she was?”

  “Six weeks.”

  “Maybe she’ll have a growing spurt now that she’s getting looked after. I’m sure Harry won’t overload her.”

  After tipping out the manure on the heap near Mrs Naylor’s vegetable patch, the friends strolled across to the paddock where Shadow and Peach grazed. Rays of sunshine filtered through the trees, reflecting off the foal’s golden coat. Louise gasped. “She’s gorgeous! She’s lost that pink colour already. You must be really proud of her.”

  Ben shuffled his feet. “She’ll raise the value of Shadow when she’s sold, for sure. I still can’t see how Dad can bear to part with his old horses. They’ve been good workers for years.”

  Louise realised she had touched on a sore point with Ben. “Surely he won’t sell Shadow. Isn’t Peach yours, anyway? There must be a way to keep your horses.”

  Kicking at the dust, Ben hung his head. “Only Brandy, if I’m lucky enough to get a job where I can take him. And that’s in doubt. Why did Dad have to roll that bulldozer? If he’d been more careful we wouldn’t have to sell the farm.”

  “That’s a bit unfair. He hardly did it deliberately. Look at the pain he’s in. And losing your family property must be even worse for him than you.” Louise wondered if this was the right moment to ask Ben about using Brandy on Honey. Would that make the situation better or worse?

  “Come on, let’s tack up and go to Gould’s caves. That way we get to do plenty of hill work on the way and have a good gallop along the river on the way home.” Ben strode off without waiting for an answer.

  After giving the horses only a quick brush to make sure there was no dirt under their saddles, Louise and Ben mounted up and headed out of the yard. Louise could see that Ben was determined to set a hard pace and had trouble keeping Jake alongside. Deciding that Ben didn’t want to talk she let Jake slip behind. She hoped Ben would be in a better mood by the time they returned.

  Ben chose a track that Louise hadn’t ridden before, winding upwards across rocky outcrops. Low-hanging branches swiped at her face as she ducked to avoid them. Within half an hour she and Jake both dripped in sweat as Ben kept up a steady trot regardless of the terrain they crossed. When they came out onto a ridge above the old road she called for a halt. “You and Brandy might be getting fit but Jake and I are pooped. Can we slow down?”

  Without stopping, Ben turned and called over his shoulder. “No, I need to keep Brandy’s heart rate up. Jake’ll be fine. Come on.”

  As the track wound downhill Ben let his stallion break into a canter. Brandy’s powerful rump thrust his legs beneath him, well-balanced and sure-footed. Foam dripped from between his hind legs, the sweat that Ben and Louise jokingly called ‘ice cream’. It was a sign he was working hard.

  Louise gasped with exertion and adrenalin as they plunged down the slippery trail. Although she had ridden fast on Jake before, she had never felt out of control like this. The stockhorse seemed excited at the prospect of careering down the hill and tossed his head in the air. “Ben! Slow down.”

  Ben rode on. Louise didn’t know whether he hadn’t heard her or was ignoring her pleas. Her heart thudded and her hands started to shake. As the brumby in front hit flat ground he broke into a gallop. Jake thrust his head down with the bit between his teeth and followed.

  Remembering the first time she rode Jake and fell off when he turned unexpectedly Louise clung tight with her knees. Realising that pulling the reins would do no good she grabbed the pommel with one hand. She had no intention of hitting the ground today.

  As the Dalrymple River came in sight Ben allowed Brandy to slow. By the time they reached the bank they had eased to a walk. Ben leapt off and looked at his watch before searching for the stallion’s pulse in his throat.

  “What are you doing?” Relieved at being back in control, Louise slid from Jake and led him to the water.

  Ben counted out loud for fifteen seconds before answering. “Checking his heart rate. We’ll break for ten minutes and I’ll check it again before we go on. It’s his rate of recovery that shows how fit he is.”

  Starting to understand Ben’s mad ride Louise felt slightly appeased though her heart still thumped in her chest. It had been a long time since she had been scared on horseback. “Do we have to go quite so fast? I was totally out of control.”

  “If you don’t want to ride like that don’t come out with me. I need to get Brandy fit.” Ben let his brumby take a long drink from the river. Using his hands as a scoop he splashed water down the horse’s neck and chest before scraping it off. After repeating the process a few times he remounted and set off.

  Louise scrambled up onto Jake so she didn’t get left behind. The stockhorse hadn’t settled despite having a drink. She knew she’d never be able to mount if Brandy went too far away. Jake started trotting after his stable mate before she had her right foot in the stirrup. She had never known Ben to be like this.

  Back at the stables Ben checked Brandy’s heart rate again before hosing his horse. Every few minutes he stopped to check the rate again. “He’s got a long way to go. It’s taking ages to get it down below sixty beats per minute.”

  Louise stood waiting for the water. The sweat had crusted on Jake in gooey streaks down his flanks, under his elbows, and round his ears. She couldn’t believe Ben was taking so much time and not letting her wash her horse off. “Can I have the hose for a few minutes? Maybe Brandy’s heart will come down better if you walk him around a bit? That’s what Patti has me do with her horses after she’s worked them hard.”

  There was a time when Ben would never have accepted advice from Louise. Now he considered the idea and passed over the hose. “Sorry. Be quick with Jake so I can do more on Brandy if I need to.”

  After Louise finished washing Jake she made up a couple of feeds. Jake tucked into his as if he hadn’t been fed in weeks. Brandy saw the bin and started to tug on his lead rope where Ben was once again taking his heart rate. “That’s done it! Now he wants his meal and his heart’s gone up again. Thanks, Louise.”

  “I was only trying to help. I have to get going. I told Patti I’d be there by now and it’s a long cycle.”

  “You go then. I’ll turn Jake out.” Ben turned back to administer to his horse.

  Louise hesitated. The whole point of coming for a ride with Ben this morning had been to talk to him about Honey. “Patti had a great idea yesterday.”

  “Yeh, what?” Ben didn’t bother turning to answer Louise.

  “She thought that instead of selling Honey, maybe Brandy could serve her so she could have a foal with the other mares at Gold River Run while I’m away. When I get back from Africa I can break the youngster in. Patti says we can split the money from selling it. I can give you a share too for a service fee.” Having rushed out the suggestion Louise took a deep breath.

  Ben turned and shook his head. “No. Brandy can’t serve mares and run the high country race. It’s one or the other. Doing both would take too much out of him.”

  Louise was shocked that Ben could be so selfish. He didn’t seem to understand, or care, that his refusal meant she’d probably have to sell Honey. Disappointed, Louise carried her pack with her lunch and helmet over to her bike. She thought Ben wanted to use the brumby stallion as a stud. Pedalling off with aching legs, she sighed. Nothing seemed to be going right. Unsure whether Patti would be keen to have Honey without her being in foal she wondered how she could earn enoug
h to pay agistment. She doubted she would be able to get a job in Africa and send money home.

  Chapter 8

  Ben whistled to Snifter, his three-legged dog, to round up the horses. Knowing the morning routine the herd thundered in, dust billowing behind them. As the stockhorses neared the yards they turned as one, like a shoal of fish, streaming through the open gate.

  Shadow whinnied across the fence as Peach pranced with her fluffy tail held straight in the air, pointing her hooves, and tossing her head. The filly’s flaxen mane still stood in upright bristles, too short to hang down her neck. Ben watched her from across the fence. “I’d turn you out with the big boys except I want you to make friends with Eve. You two foals should be able to chase each other around soon.”

  Having brought in the working horses Ben went to catch Brandy. The stallion had also seen the other horses come in and waited at his gate. Slipping on the headcollar Ben fended off the brumby’s attempts to nip. “Stop that. If you’re feeling fresh we’ll go for another hard ride later. First I have chores to do.”

  Leaving Brandy in his stable with a bucket of clean water and a full hay net, Ben tacked up Jake to ride out to check on the stock. He suspected the old stockhorse would be a bit stiff in his muscles after the fast ride the day before and knew it would be good to give him a light ride. As Jake walked out of the yard Ben thought his stride felt uneven. “Seems like those stony hills were too much for you, old boy.”

  Leaping off, Ben checked Jake’s feet for stones. Finding none he ran his hands down the horse’s legs to see if he could find the problem. Nothing seemed amiss. Seeing his father sitting on the front verandah Ben called across the yard. “Dad! Can you watch Jake as I trot him out? I think he’s a bit lame.”

  Switching the reins behind him Ben ran alongside as Jake trotted the length of the yard. Turning, he trotted back towards his father. “What do you think?”

  Mr Naylor hobbled across to the garden fence, still slow on his legs due to his accident. “I’d say it’s in his back end. If you can’t find anything wrong with his legs he’s probably hurt his spine or pelvis. He’ll need turning out for a few weeks. What did you do yesterday?”

  “I’m getting Brandy fit for the high country race so I pushed hard up past the caves.” Ben didn’t add that Louise had asked him to slow down. He decided to train on his own in future. He really wanted to use the tough tracks leading up from the old road. However, that meant he’d see the devastation from the logging. He couldn’t bear to witness the destruction of the forest. With that thought he wondered how the owl was faring that he’d taken to Harry. He promised to himself that he’d visit the old hermit again soon.

  Feeling guilty about Jake being hurt, Ben turned him out and caught Ned. As he rode around the cattle and sheep he planned where he would go later. He wanted to increase the distance each day, gradually building up to a trial run of forty kilometres.

  When he returned, Ben groomed Brandy, probing his fingers into the muscles to test for soreness. As he ran his hands down Brandy’s near fore he felt heat and a slight puffiness. “Not you, too?”

  Ben checked over the rest of his horse. The leg that had been so badly damaged when Brandy had become hung up in the fence looked fine. Only the near fore fetlock had a problem. “No work for you today. If you need too long off I’ll never get you fit for the race.”

  Frustrated, Ben decided to spend his ride time hosing the injured leg instead. He led the stallion out to the wash bay. Brandy pawed the ground as the cold water blasted against his sore foot. Ben moved the hose to the other leg to settle him before trying again. This time the brumby stood and let the coolness soothe the swelling.

  Mr Naylor came over. “What’s up with him?”

  As he continued to hose his horse Ben’s face flushed in embarrassment. “A puffy fetlock. I guess the going was too hard. But how am I going to get him fit if I don’t work him hard?”

  “I don’t know why you want to enter that race anyway. Either you or that horse will end up hurt. It’s a fool’s game. You’d be better off fattening him up and taking him to a few local shows to try to sell him.”

  Ben ground his teeth. “I don’t want to sell him. I want to see if I can get a stockman’s job. We need to demonstrate what we can do together.”

  Mr Naylor patted his son’s shoulder. “I know it’s tough on you, lad. I don’t want to sell the farm either, but we’ve no choice. The stock agent was coming out tomorrow, but I’d better delay him. There’s no point asking him to look at a couple of lame horses. At least the young bulls are in their prime. The sheep should go well too. We’ve always had good wool and meat from them.”

  Brandy fidgeted as Ben scraped the water off his leg. “Hold still. We’re going to that race, you see. I’ll get you better.”

  Patting the stallion’s neck, Mr Naylor sighed. “If you’re determined to break your neck you need to train him long and slow. Don’t add speed in to your exercise regime yet.”

  “Yeh, I guess so. That’s what Harry said too, to better up Brandy’s strength and stamina first. He lost a lot of condition with his injury.” Ben knew what his father said made sense. At least he wasn’t going to prevent Ben from entering.

  As he started to walk back to the house Mr Naylor called back. “Why don’t you ring your Uncle Graeme and see if he or Simon can find you work? You’ll have more chance out west than around here.”

  Ben thought that was a good idea, though he still wanted to enter the high country race if Brandy recovered in time. As he locked the horse back in his stable he went over yesterday’s ride in his mind. He’d been too hard on the horses, and Louise. As he couldn’t ride Brandy he decided to take Ginger over to Patti’s tomorrow. Perhaps he could let Brandy serve Honey while his leg recovered. Any exercise was better than none and it would keep the stallion happy as he couldn’t go out.

  Ginger settled into her rocking-chair canter as Ben let her dictate the pace across the plains. Alpine flowers carpeted the ground in tiny dots of yellow, purple and white, rippling in the breeze like a kaleidoscope. The regular sound of the desert brumby’s hoof beats lulled Ben, calming him from the disappointment of not being able to ride Brandy.

  Ben had been attracted to this horse when he rode her at Simon’s during the winter holidays. Having earned money from catching wild bulls, he had purchased the mare to add to his herd. Although smaller than the horses he usually rode, he loved her responsiveness and sweet nature. Simon had trained her well and Ben had been successful at a number of local campdrafts. He knew he’d have no trouble selling her. The fact that he’d probably make quite a bit of money didn’t lessen his pain at not building up his own breeding herd.

  Last night he’d rung his uncle to ask about work on a cattle station. It seemed there were usually quite a few opportunities but at the moment the country was suffering from severe drought. Ben liked the idea of being a jackaroo even though it wasn’t the future he had planned for himself. Now he wasn’t sure what to try. He’d mentioned to Graeme that he planned on entering the high country race providing Brandy recovered in time to get fit. His uncle had been very enthusiastic.

  Ben barely noticed Ginger climbing the ridge behind Goldriver. She seemed to read his mind about where he wanted her to go, happy to roll along on a loose rein. He steadied her as they started to descend towards the main road. Trotting along the verge he could see Patti’s horses in the distance, grazing with foals at foot. That reminded him of Peach and Eve. He knew he had to find a solution to their future too.

  Ben found Patti giving Louise a jumping lesson in the indoor arena. Honey had come on a long way. So had Louise. She confidently rode without stirrups, or even a saddle, these days. Ben waited for Honey to come to a standstill before he called out a greeting. “I’ve put Ginger in the end stable. Is that okay?”

  Patti waved and wandered over. “Fine. Is there water in there? I’ve had t
he drinkers turned off as there was a leak in the pipe.”

  “Yeh, I gave her a bucket. She’s got a bit of hay left over from the last horse too.”

  Louise rode over and said hello. “We’ve just finished. Did you see Honey jump?”

  Ben was glad Louise seemed happy to talk to him despite his rudeness the day before. “She looked great, really relaxed.”

  Patti left to get them all cold drinks from the house. Louise led Honey out to the wash bay where she unsaddled her mare and turned the hose on. “Can you pass me the scraper, please?”

  After cooling off Honey, Louise and Ben joined Patti at a bench where they could watch the mares in the paddock. Two of the colts squealed and reared as they played, nipping each other’s necks and pawing the air. Louise laughed at their antics. “They think they’re stallions already.”

  Ben cleared his throat. “I’ve been thinking more about what Louise said you suggested, Patti, about Honey and Brandy. Maybe it is a good idea to get another foal from him, just in case.”

  Patti cocked her head. “I thought you’d jump at the chance. I was surprised when Louise told me you’d said no.”

  Ben tried to justify his change of mind. “He’s been working hard to get fit for the high country race, but I’m giving him a few days off. If Honey came in season soon it would be a good time for her to visit.”

  He could see Louise looked confused. Only yesterday, he’d been pushing his horse hard. “Actually, he’s a bit sore in one fetlock.”

  Louise sipped her lemonade. “What happened? Was it from our ride?

  “Yeh, I pushed too fast. Jake’s sore too. Dad’s pretty peeved with me ’cause he had a stock agent coming to look at the horses as well as the cattle and sheep.”

  Louise frowned. “That’s awful. I didn’t think the ride was that tough, just a bit fast. I’m not as fit or strong as you.”

  Patti must have seen Ben’s discomfort as she changed the subject back to breeding. “Honey’s not in season at the moment. I have a hormone shot I can give her that’ll bring her in within a few days. How about Louise rides her over to you tomorrow? That way she’ll be there when needed, and Brandy will let you know when she’s ready. I can drop off Louise’s bike as I’ll be passing your place to visit a horse nearby.”