by Paula Boer
With the introductions over, Mr Naylor went on to explain the plan for the day. “When we get to the park, Graeme and John will take the eastern track, and the rest of us the west. Remember, don’t rush. We want any horses we find to go steady. No point breaking any legs.”
With a wave of his hand above his head, he indicated for them all to move out.
Ben rode up beside Louise. “I asked Dad to go where we saw that herd with the buckskin. Hopefully we’ll find her, but there’s no guarantee.”
“Thanks, Ben. I hope so too. Do you think we’ll get the twenty horses we’re allowed?” Louise felt so excited she didn’t care at that moment if they didn’t catch the buckskin mare, as long as they saved as many horses as possible from the meat man.
Ben checked Lady who had picked up on the excitement and pranced on the spot. “No idea. Usually the muster involves a lot more people, and then they gather dozens. I don’t know how we’ll go with only five of us.”
Instead of following the usual road to Jackstown and entering the park through the main gate, the riders followed the old dirt road until they had passed Tumbledown Creek and reached the gate that would close the road for winter.
“Hopefully the river will be high enough to act as a natural barrier.” Graeme waved goodbye with a casual flick of his hat. He and John rode off towards the Dalrymple, the main watercourse that dissected the park.
Louise stayed with Ben and his father as they trotted off through the bush. “Where are we going?”
Ben manoeuvred around trees, keeping roughly alongside Louise. “To the old mines. Dad says the herds often feed there in the mornings. The cleared ground has plenty of short sweet grass.”
Jake had settled but seemed intent on keeping ahead of the other horses. Louise concentrated on weaving between the twisted snow gums, ducking low hanging branches and staying on as her experienced horse jumped any obstacles in his way. Every so often his pricked ears swivelled as he detected movement, like a lyrebird running across the track or the disturbance of branches caused by a larger animal.
After three quarters of an hour, Mr Naylor stopped and held up his hand for silence. Using only signals, he indicated for Ben and Louise to split up and walk forward slowly. He had explained what he wanted them to do before they started out.
The forest thinned then gave way to open grassland in a wide valley. Louise scanned the space for any sign of horses. She stopped and waited until she saw Ben emerge from the woods to her left. A few minutes later, Mr Naylor came out just within sight on her right. Turning parallel to the tree line, the three riders slowly made their way towards the mines, keeping a good distance between each other. Louise watched for any hazards that Ben had warned her of such as abandoned mine shafts or old equipment.
Louise noticed Ben stop. She squinted against the sun to try to see where Ben pointed. Suddenly a movement caught her eye. Horses! Now that she had located them, she could make out half a dozen or so grazing further down the valley. The distance made it too hard to see if the herd contained her buckskin, though she could make out that two of the mares had young foals.
At that moment, one of the wild horses raised its head in alarm. Perhaps it had smelt them? Then Louise realised it must have been the domesticated horses that the brumbies had detected. If it had been their riders, the wild horses would have galloped off. Instead, they all turned to stare at the place where Ben had been.
Louise could no longer see him. She knew he must have retreated into the trees from where she could hear the warning cackles of kookaburras.
The brumbies drew closer together and started to walk away. They didn’t seem in a hurry, despite their feeding being interrupted. They broke into a steady trot and headed in the direction of the old homestead.
Mr Naylor had ridden up to Louise without her realising. “Come on, we’ll follow for a distance. Don’t let them see you. If they turn back, try to stop them from gettin’ in the trees.”
Although she kept her horse to a steady walk, Louise’s blood raced as if she galloped across open country. Mustering brumbies! She couldn’t believe she really rode behind a mob of wild horses in the mountains.
The day grew hotter as the three riders trailed the wild horses. All the time the brumbies kept moving north, Mr Naylor didn’t plan to interfere.
Louise relaxed and enjoyed the ride, her old stockhorse picking his way through shallow creeks and over rocks. The wild horses didn’t follow any pre-defined paths. Rather, they followed the lead mare, picking at green patches of grass as they went.
A shrill whinny sounded and a thundering of hooves broke into Louise’s daydreaming. The small herd she had been following burst into flight. They stretched their necks low and galloped close together, clods of earth flying from their hooves.
Jake picked up speed. She checked him back and looked to see what had caused the disturbance.
Far off to the right, a large mob of horses came into sight. From the look of the white sweat on their necks, they had been moving fast for some time. A few hundred metres behind them, two men rode flat out, trying to steer the racing herd. Manes and tails flew like the first time she had seen the brumbies. She stared in awe at the sight.
“Get ready to block ’em!” Mr Naylor shouted as he hurtled past Louise, his arms flapping as he drove his horse faster.
Louise didn’t have time to think. Her own horse took off, almost unseating her. She gathered up her reins and tried to get back in control. Jake tossed his head and leant on the bit, pulling hard. She had no idea what to do, so decided to let him go, trusting his experience. Far ahead, Ben and his father had joined up and raced towards where the wild horses headed for the trees.
Loud whooping and hollering came to Louise on the wind. A whip cracked and a horse neighed. The pounding of her own horse’s hooves drummed through her body. Tears streamed from her eyes; whether from wind or excitement she didn’t know. Three horses broke away from the fleeing herd and turned in Louise’s direction. The experienced bay beneath her found a reserve of energy and galloped faster.
The breakaways sensed the stockhorse bearing down on them and wheeled southwards. Without any instruction from Louise, Jake spun to pursue them. With no mane to grab hold of, Louise lost her seat. As if in slow motion, she felt herself sailing through the air, her legs flying free of the stirrups. The ground rushed up to meet her and her arms jolted as she landed. The breath rushed out of her body.
Louise lay in shock, still holding Jake’s reins. Her body felt numb. She had no idea if she had hurt herself. She gradually became aware of her legs, her arms, and her back. Taking a deep breath, she tested each limb to see if it worked. Her head throbbed and warmth flooded through her veins. She felt bruised, but not broken.
Pleased that Jake had stopped from the jerk on the bridle, she slowly stood up. Shaking from the fall, she steadied herself against the stockhorse’s shoulder. With adrenaline still pumping, she sprang back into the saddle.
Mr Naylor called out as he trotted towards her. “Are you alright? I didn’t know you could fly.”
Louise nodded, still unable to get enough breath to speak. She gathered her reins and asked her horse to trot, falling in beside Mr Naylor as he turned and headed back towards the fleeing herd.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop them escaping.”
“Never mind that. There’s plenty. Let’s go.” He urged his horse into a canter.
Louise followed, knowing that she’d feel the bruises tomorrow. For now, she only cared about catching the brumbies. Taking a deep breath, she pushed Jake faster and tried not to think about how close she had come to a serious accident.
By the time Louise and Mr Naylor caught up with the others, they were near the old homestead. The fence lines that still stood acted as a large funnel, guiding the galloping horses towards the yards. Sensing the trap, they tried to swerve and escape. Ben, John and Graeme
turned them back with wild hollers and their whips. Dust flew and horses spun, hooves trampled and foals whickered.
With a last push, the riders forced the majority of the wild horses into the large corral that Ben and Louise had repaired earlier in the week. Louise hoped the rails would stand up to any barging or kicking from the brumbies. She wondered if they would try to jump out.
Graeme swung the gate shut before jumping off his mount to secure the latch. “Not a bad effort. There’s probably only five in there worth keeping after we’ve released the mares with foals, but that’s one horse each.”
Louise dismounted and joined the men to watch the brumbies milling around in the centre of the enclosure. She felt proud to have been part of the chase, even if she had fallen off at the wrong moment.
She watched the horses circle the yard. Their eyes rolled, showing the whites, and their nostrils flared. Bays, chestnuts, a couple of greys and a pale palomino bunched as they looked for an escape route, kicking out at each other as they pressed close. Louise thought they looked wonderful, despite no buckskin milling amongst them.
Chapter 6
An air of expectancy hung over the yards at Tumbleford Farm. Ben loaded the feed racks full of sweet smelling meadow hay. His father always kept a few acres on the river flats to mow each year.
“Did you pick out which horse you want, Uncle Graeme?”
Mr Naylor’s brother cut open the strings of another bale. “Yep. There’s a good looking grey yearling colt I fancy. I don’t know if I’ll keep him as a stallion, but he’s big enough to make a good workhorse.”
He threw a few more slices of hay into the metal racks. “What about you?”
“I didn’t get much of a chance to look at them. I think Dad was keen to get Louise home in case she was hurt more than she let on.”
He didn’t want to tell his uncle about the liver chestnut colt they hadn’t seen yesterday. Somehow he felt that might jinx his chances of catching him in the future.
“I reckon she did well for her first muster.”
Graeme nodded, as he raked up the loose hay that had fallen out of the bales. “Pity those mares got away though. In the old days we’d have used dogs too. It’s a shame they aren’t allowed in the park any more. Still, we mustered plenty.”
John turned off the tap where he had been filling the water trough. “I’ll have to pick one of the youngsters. I can’t work an older horse while I’m at college. If there’s a two year old mare, I’ll take her and turn her out to grow.”
He threw his leg over the four-wheel bike that he’d used to bring the hay from the shed. “I was surprised to see such a big mob of horses on our side of the river. I think that fire must have burnt out all the grazing on the old leasehold land and driven them nearer the homestead.”
Mr Naylor joined them. “We never did find out how that fire started. Good job we got a crew there early. We stopped it on the fire trail before it could get into the trees. Come on, we’d better go get these horses before it gets too hot. Bad weather coming. The girl’s here.”
Ben left the men and walked across to the vehicles where Louise dismounted from her bike. “How are the bruises?”
“A bit sore. I barely slept a wink last night from replaying the whole thing in my mind.”
Louise plucked at her sky blue T-shirt that had a rearing horse emblazoned across the front. She kicked the toe of her leather boots in the dust and looked at the ground. “I’m sorry I fell off and lost those brumbies.”
“That doesn’t matter. As long as you’re not hurt. We caught plenty of horses, didn’t we?” He opened the doors of the twin cab and jumped in the front. “We’re going in the ute with Dad. Uncle Graeme and John will follow us in the horse truck.”
As Mr Naylor pulled out of the farm gate, Louise leant forward from the back seat and shouted in Ben’s ear. “How do we separate the ones we want?”
Ben tried to answer amidst the rattling and roaring of the old ute. “We’ll use that race we fixed to run them through to the drafting pen. Mares with young foals will go into the big holding yard. Fully grown stallions too if there are any. Then we can decide on the rest. Those we want to keep we’ll channel into the small yard to go on the truck. Once we’ve loaded them, we’ll let the others go.”
“That sounds easy.”
The struggle of trying to hear over the noise proved too much. They carried on to the old homestead without any more conversation.
Ben’s mind buzzed with the days ahead. He’d never broken in a wild horse before. All his experience had been with young stock his Uncle Graeme had bred. He wondered how different it would be to start a brumby. The horses he broke in had been handled from birth, and worked from the ground for their first few years. By the time he came to ride them, they had happily let people handle them. He couldn’t wait to pick his horse from the mob they had rounded up yesterday and get started with its training.
A strong wind blew by the time the two vehicles reached the park entrance. Ben had a chance to talk to Louise while his dad showed the gate ranger the mustering permit.
“I hope the horses don’t get spooked in this weather.” Ben knew from experience how difficult horses could be in the wind.
Louise leant forward between the two front seats. “Will we have a chance to work them when we get back to the farm today?”
“Sure. We’ll put each one in the round yard and one of us can put them through their paces.”
Ben enjoyed being able to share his knowledge with Louise. None of his male friends ever showed any interest in horses. They only wanted to ride trail bikes and shoot his air rifle.
“Cool! Do you think I’ll be able to have a go? You’ll have to tell me what to do.”
Before Ben could reply, his dad stuffed the muster permit back in his top pocket and shifted the ute into gear. The noise of the engine drowned out any further chance to chat. The tops of the trees waved from side to side and a flurry of dry leaves fell as they drove on.
Ben tried to remember the horses that they’d caught yesterday. He’d only noticed that the mob didn’t include the liver chestnut. He wondered whether he would end up with a mare or a colt. A mare would be best, because then he could start his own herd. As these horses came from a different part of the park to the liver chestnut, they’d be unlikely to be related. He still hoped to catch the stunning colt one day.
Graeme stopped the horse truck next to the ute in front of the old homestead. “We’ll leave the truck here until we need it.”
He clambered out of the cab with his stock whip in hand.
Ben wondered why the horses hadn’t kicked up a fuss at the arrival of the vehicles. There didn’t seem to be any dust rising from the yard. The only sound came from a shutter banging on one of the windows of the house and a gate creaking on rusty hinges. He thought maybe the horses had become accustomed to all the noise and had settled. Good. He rummaged in the back of the ute for ropes and a whip.
“Where are they?”
A cry from Louise brought Ben rushing to her side at the yards. The empty yards. The only signs that horses had recently been there included hundreds of hoof prints and a few droppings.
“What the…!” Graeme, John and Mr Naylor joined Ben and Louise. For a moment, no-one said anything.
“The gate is still fastened. They must have escaped over the rails.”
Louise’s face turned pale. Her hands grasped the latch to check the twisted wire that held it closed.
John walked around the outside of the yard, looking for signs of where the horses had escaped.
“This top rail is down. They jumped out here. They’ll be long gone by now.” He continued pacing round the entire yard until he returned to the gate. “We may as well go home. It’s all been a waste of time.”
Ben still couldn’t believe what he saw. “But we fixed every rail! Is it
broken? Did it get kicked?”
“Nope. It’s just loose on the ground.” John pointed across to the gaping hole in the fence. “You can’t have repaired them properly.”
Ben hurried around to inspect the damage with Louise close behind. He rattled the rails on either side of the opening. All stayed firmly in place. “We checked and double-checked every rail. I don’t know how this could have happened.”
Louise had been following the horses’ hoof prints where they had fled from captivity. “Look! Tyre marks! Someone’s been here.”
Sure enough, under the dust of dozens of hooves, wide tracks could be seen. Although the horses had obliterated most of the trail, wheel marks became more distinct further from the yards.
“Dad! Come look at this.”
The three men joined Ben and Louise and studied the ground.
“You’re right. Someone’s let the horses out.” Mr Naylor growled. “I reckon it’ll be that tramp we saw here the other day, Old Harry.”
Ben shook his head. “Why would he do that? They’re no good to him. And he wouldn’t have a vehicle. It must be someone else.”
He kept his suspicions to himself.
Mr Naylor cursed and kicked at the ground. “Him or not, some people think all the brumbies should run wild regardless of the damage they do or their own well-being.”
The mood of the five people matched the storm clouds that had started to build overhead. In the distance, a low rumble echoed around the hills. Summer storms came quickly in the mountains, often bringing hail.
Graeme crammed his hat down hard on his head. “It looks like it’s going to rain soon, or worse. We should get back in case any lightning starts a bush fire.”
He shrugged as he crossed to the horse truck and threw his whip in through the open door.
Ben beckoned to Louise who still looked at the tyre marks. “Come on.”
“Can’t we follow these tracks and see where they go? Maybe the horses are nearby, or we’ll get more clues who let them out?” Louise paced back and forth, her eyes to the ground.
