Brumbies in the Snow

by Paula Boer

  After a few rounds in both directions, Louise urged Honey into a trot. The buckskin shot forward into a canter. “Steady girl, not so fast. Trrrrottttt.” She used her voice to try to slow the mare down. Unlike other days, Honey didn’t slow.

  “Whoa, Honey. Whoa.” Louise didn’t want Honey cantering too fast before her muscles had warmed up. Instead of a nice rhythmic trot, the mare seemed determined to canter. Dropping the whip on the ground, Louise walked in front of the horse with her hands held up in front of her.

  Honey dropped her head and came to a stop. Although she let Louise catch her and walk her around the arena, as soon as Louise asked her to trot again she shot off at a canter. Not knowing what to do, Louise left her to run herself out and went to ask Ben’s advice.

  “She won’t slow down. I knew it would be difficult with only working her once a week. What should I do?” Louise felt angry at having to stay at home the day before when she could have been at the farm with Honey.

  Ben left Brandy and came over to the round yard where Honey still cantered around in circles. “She certainly seems full of life. Maybe you should make her go a bit faster so she’s happy to slow down when you ask her? I’ve seen Uncle Graeme do that with his horses, and that’s a bit like what we did when we tried to catch these guys the first time in the ravine, remember?”

  Louise nodded. The memory of those days working the brumbies in the park came back to her. She knew that without the help of Old Harry teaching them to keep the horses moving, they never would have caught them. “You’re right. I’ll try that.”

  Going back into the round yard, Louise picked up the whip and flicked it to keep Honey out on the wall. She didn’t want to be trampled as the mare cavorted in circles. “If you want to run, run!”

  As she chased the mare faster, Honey put her head down and kicked her heels out behind her. She started to buck and pigroot, squealing at each bound. Louise started to worry. This didn’t seem right.

  Ben obviously heard the commotion as he hurried over. “Pull her up. Something’s wrong.”

  Louise stopped chasing the mare and calmed her down. After several minutes, she managed to get the mare to stop. Each time she approached her, Honey moved away. The mare’s coat curled in sweaty patches. “What’s happened, Ben? She’s never been like this before.”

  “Give her a few minutes to calm down and try again.” Ben opened the gate for Louise to come out. “Come and give me a hand with Brandy. When Honey started squealing, he started to fret. Can you hold him while I pick out his hind feet?”

  Louise helped Ben with the young stallion before returning to the round yard. Honey stood quietly in the centre, her head down. This time when Louise approached her shoulder, she didn’t move away. “What’s wrong, girl? Let’s have a look at you.”

  “Take her saddle off and lead her around. If things don’t work out, it’s good to go back a step and do something that she’s comfortable with.” Ben leant on the railing and watched Louise as she ran her hands over her body and legs to see if she had any injuries.

  Louise unbuckled the girth. “Here’s the problem.”

  Ben came and looked at what Louise pointed at. “What a massive sore. That must have been caused by those back packs she carried last weekend. The strap that we used to tie thm underneath her has rubbed the hair off. I guess all the mud has rubbed her raw.”

  “The poor thing. I’m sorry Honey. That’s really hidden in the crease of skin under your elbow. I can’t have checked you properly when I groomed you.” Louise felt terrible at hurting her horse.

  “You can’t work her with a saddle today. You’ll have to lead her out bareback. Come on, let’s pony them out. I’ll get Snifter to bring in Ned and Snip.”

  Chapter 10

  Ben had his hands full riding Snip and leading Brandy. The young stallion pranced on the end of the rope, tail held high and snorting at everything. A falling leaf, a puff of snow kicked up by his hooves, a crack of a twig in the bush, all set him spinning and dancing. Snip picked up the excitement and jig-jogged under Ben.

  “Calm down, you two.” Ben hauled on Brandy’s lead rope and pulled him closer. Snip sidestepped and rolled his eyes at the brumby.

  “Do you want me to take the lead?” Louise rode up level with Ben, keeping a wide distance between Honey and the other horses.

  “Yeh, try a slow trot.” Sweat dripped from Ben’s face despite the cold breeze.

  With Louise trotting ahead, Brandy moved in a straight line, despite pulling to follow. Focused on the mare in front of him, he stopped shying at horse goblins, those imaginary monsters that only horses can see. Snip also settled and picked up a steady rhythm as he trotted along.

  Ben started to relax. Although his left arm still dragged out of his shoulder, he had Brandy under control. At last he could look around and enjoy the ride. The winter sunshine sharpened the edges of the trees either side of the track. Leaves glistened with moisture and snow drifts twinkled.

  “You can go faster if you like. It’s a good five kilometres to the locked gate.” Ben knew if he was going to back Brandy today, he needed to get the bounce out of him.

  Louise rode with confidence. Ned extended his stride and Honey quickened her pace to keep up. The brumby mare seemed happy now she didn’t have a girth strap rubbing her sore.

  Ben thought it a pity that Louise wouldn’t be able to try riding Honey this weekend. He felt as disappointed as her that she had been grounded on Saturdays. Her parents didn’t understand how much work was needed to break in a young horse, especially a brumby that had spent the first few years of her life in the wild. Although he thought Louise had done really well with the young horse, especially as she had so little experience in horsemanship, he knew that the mare needed a lot more time spent with her. One day a week wasn’t enough.

  Ben found time every day to handle his horses, even if it was only a few minutes playing with them when he put out their feed. He made sure he stayed top of the herd in their minds so they didn’t push him around, at the same time as being gentle. He wanted them to respect him, not fear him. That was hard with a stallion, as they naturally had the instinct to dominate. He felt that he was making good progress with Brandy. The liver chestnut had grown into a very fine horse. Even with his shaggy winter coat he looked muscled and fit.

  Half an hour later, the locked gate came into view. Louise slowed and Ben pulled up next to her. “Honey went well. I’ll try leading on the way home if you like.”

  “Okay. That was a good trot, wasn’t it?” Louise brushed a strand of hair off her face, looking warm from the exertion.

  All the horses stood relaxed, steam streaming from their nostrils. Ben let them have a breather for a minute. “Ready? Let’s go.”

  The ride home took less time than on the way out with the horses keen though still well behaved. They walked the last five hundred metres and clopped into the farm yard. A dozen steers watched them from the cattle yards and started to moo as the riders passed by.

  “Sorry, you lot. You’ll have to wait until later for your hay.” Ben jumped off Snip. Pushing Brandy into a stable, he noticed a chip out of one of his hooves. “Can you come and give me a hand with Brandy after you’ve unsaddled Ned? I need to trim his feet.”

  “Sure. I won’t be long.” Louise had already stabled Honey and now followed Ned into his. She emerged in a few minutes and carried Ned’s saddle across to the tack shed.

  Ben carted his farrier tools over to the concrete wash bay where he had tied Brandy. He undid the lead rope and gave it to Louise. “I’d rather you held him while I did this than keeping him tied up. Are you okay with him?”

  “He’s fine. I won’t let him bite me. Why don’t you shoe the horses? The ponies at the riding school are all shod, and the tracks are much rougher here.” Louise stroked the liver chestnut’s face as she backed him up so she wasn’t crowded by the wa
ll.

  Picking up Brandy’s near fore, Ben picked the hoof clean and brushed off the mud. “The horses’ feet are conditioned to going over stones and gravel. It’s much better for them to be barefoot, like nature intended. But it’s important to keep them well trimmed.”

  Placing the stallion’s leg between his knees, Ben bent over and rasped the hoof wall at an angle of forty five degrees. He lowered the heels and checked the white line. “See, his walls are really thick, and his sole. You can tell by the depth of this groove next to the frog.”

  Having taken off what he could from below, he checked the angles using his rasp as a level. Satisfied he had the shape correct, he stretched the leg forward and rested it on the stand. Turning to face the front, Ben made long strokes with the rasp, rounding off the toe. The whole process only took five minutes.

  As Ben approached the horse’s hind leg, the stallion held his foot up ready. “Look at that. He must like having his feet done.” Ben trimmed the hind hoof and did the offside. Brandy stood like a statue the whole time. Proud of his horse, Ben was pleased to show Louise another of his skills.

  “He can go in his stable, thanks, and they can all have some hay. After I’ve put this gear away, let’s go for a hot chocolate. I need a break before trying to get on Brandy.”

  The stirrups on Brandy’s saddle flapped against his sides as he trotted around the yard. Unperturbed by the banging, the young stallion continued in circles, looking as fresh as before he’d trotted ten kilometres. Ben thought his horse looked magnificent and couldn’t wait to ride him out. He knew he’d be the envy of every horseman around.

  “That’s it, boy. Now round the other way.” Ben turned the horse by moving in front of him and holding out his arMs Brandy bent away from him and changed direction without altering his stride.

  “Great. A couple more laps, and then you can stand still.” Keen to be in the saddle by the time Louise finished grooming Honey and Ned, Ben hurried through his usual routine in the round yard. Having already taken Brandy out, he didn’t think the horse needed much more work.

  Bringing the brumby to a halt in the centre of the yard, Ben tightened the girth and unbuckled the reins from where they had been looped around Brandy’s neck. Standing at the horse’s shoulder, Ben flexed the stallion’s neck around to touch the stirrup. Used to this exercise, Brandy softened his neck and bent, pushing Ben with his nose. Ben continued with the ground exercises for a few more minutes, backing his horse up, turning him on the forehand and on the hindquarters.

  Satisfied that Brandy was soft and responsive, Ben upturned a metal bucket next to the stallion’s shoulder. Although the brumby was only 15.3 hands high, smaller than Snip, Ben didn’t want to swing on the stirrup when he mounted. He knew it would be far easier to use a mounting block until the brumby had become accustomed to weight pulling on his withers.

  Ben gathered the reins in his left hand and climbed up onto the upside-down bucket. The handle rattled as it wobbled under his weight, making Brandy step away. Ben stood back on the ground, moved the bucket next to his horse again, and deliberately rattled the bucket. This time Brandy stood still as Ben climbed on.

  Talking quiet soothing words, Ben placed his left foot in the stirrup iron and gently pressed his weight onto the ball of his foot. Brandy didn’t move. Encouraged, Ben bounced a few times before standing up straight with all his weight in the iron. He held that position for a few seconds before standing back down on the bucket.

  Brandy seemed to be taking everything very well. He turned his head around to see what was happening and gave a whicker.

  “Yeh, you’re a good man, aren’t you? Ready for me to get on?” Ben put his foot in the stirrup and this time lay across Brandy’s back, keeping both legs together. He wriggled to let the horse feel his presence before sliding back down onto the bucket.

  “Okay, this time I’m getting on.” Taking care to move slowly, Ben weighted his left foot in the stirrup, leant across the saddle and started to swing his right leg over Brandy’s rump. Ben had practiced swinging ropes, whips, girths and anything else he could think of over the horse’s hindquarters over the last few weeks to make sure he wouldn’t spook. The effort seemed to have paid off; Brandy stood motionless.

  As Ben started to lower his right leg on the other side of the saddle, Brandy’s head shot up and he whinnied. With a sudden spin, he shot across the round yard to the gate. Taken by surprise, Ben fell backwards and landed on the bucket. He had been so busy concentrating on his legs that he had failed to keep a tight grip of the reins and mane.

  As he fell, he realised what had caused the stallion to shoot away from him. Honey pranced on her lead rope as Louise led her by the yard. Ben didn’t know which was worse, the pain in his back or his frustration at his lack of success. “You idiot. Get that mare away from here.”

  Louise must have seen Ben fall and had started to come towards the gate. “Are you alright? Can I help?”

  “You can help by getting Honey away from Brandy. Are you stupid or what?”

  Ben struggled to his feet. A shooting pain forced him to lay back. He could hardly breathe. Brandy started cantering around the yard as Honey moved away to the paddock.

  Ben worried that he’d be trampled. Knowing he had to catch his horse, Ben eased himself up into a sitting position. Leaning on the bucket, he rolled onto his knees and staggered to his feet. “Whoa, boy. She’s gone. You’re supposed to be listening to me, not every passing mare.”

  Ben tried to control his fury. He knew it would do no good if he became cross with his horse. Ideally he should calm him down and get on him now. Instead, the pain in Ben’s back prevented him from doing much more than tottering across to where the stallion had stopped back at the gate.

  He grabbed hold of the reins which hung to the ground. “Come on. I’ll have to call it a day.”

  By the time Ben had returned Brandy to his stable, Louise had turned out the other horses. She came and leant on the half door. “I’m sorry, Ben. I didn’t think Brandy would get so worked up. He doesn’t normally pay much attention when I turn Honey out.”

  Ben grimaced as he rubbed the sweat off the stallion’s neck with a handful of straw. “It must be because he spent all morning following her. Can you turn him out for me? I don’t think I can walk as far as the stallion paddock. What a waste of another weekend.”

  Chapter 11

  Once Louise had turned Brandy to face the gate inside the stallion paddock, she slipped his headcollar off. He reared as he felt himself freed, spinning on his hind feet. With a flick of mud, he pelted off towards the fence where the other horses pulled at hay in the racks. Trotting up and down with his head arched and tail cocked, he looked big and powerful.

  Sad that Ben hadn’t been able to ride the young stallion, Louise watched the antics of the brumby as he showed off to Honey on the other side of the fence. She felt guilty for causing Ben’s fall, even though she didn’t know what else she could have done. Brandy had to learn to behave with other horses around, and it wasn’t unusual for mares to be walking past where he worked in the round yard.

  With a sigh, Louise turned and walked across to the house where she had seen Ben hobble. She hated it when he was in a bad mood. This time it was worse because she knew he blamed her. Maybe she should go home? The thought of returning to Crowhurst when there were still daylight hours left didn’t appeal to her. She’d rather be messing around with horses than stuck inside the house. She knew her mother would find her chores to do.

  As she walked, she scooped up a handful of snow and packed it into a ball. The wet stickiness made ideal conditions for snowballs, not like the fine powder when the weather became really cold, nor the slushy warmer snow that made her gloves wet. She threw the ball against the trunk of a tree growing next to the garden fence. It smashed with a satisfying thud and shattered into a puff of white.

  Whack! A snowball
hit Louise on the arm. “Hey! Stop that.”

  She spun around as another ball caught her on the shoulder. “Ben! That hurt. I’ve said I’m sorry.”

  Ben kept patting together more snow from where he leant against an old bench near the house wall. Turning, he threw the snowball overarm at the tree. “Yeh, you’re right. Sorry I snapped at you. It wasn’t your fault Brandy played up. I should have had a better hold on him.”

  “How’s your back?” Louise could see Ben still moved in pain, despite his brave expression.

  “It’s only bruised. I should be okay in a few hours though I wouldn’t want to try mounting Brandy again yet.”

  Louise relaxed as she realised things would be alright. “Let’s make a snowman.” Without waiting for an answer, she started to roll a ball along the ground. It rapidly grew in size until she could barely move it on her own.

  Ben had risen and also made a massive snowball. “Come and help me make this one even bigger. It can be the base and yours can be the middle.”

  A flame robin perched on the gate post and watched the two friends roll the larger ball around the garden. They left a trail of cleared grass that looked like a mad caterpillar had chewed its way around the trees. Leaving the giant snowball near the gate, they rolled Louise’s ball over and hefted it up on top. Ben snapped a couple of spindly branches off a gum tree for arms while Louise made a head.

  Ben forced a stick into the side of the middle snowball. “He needs a nose. Can you grab one of the horses’ carrots from the shed?”

  “Sure. Here, use my spare mittens for hands.” Louise rummaged in her pockets for her woollen gloves and handed them to Ben before dashing over to the feed shed.