Brumby Rescue

by Soraya Nicholas

  ‘She’ll never get back to this mob, but hopefully she settles with another.’

  Poppy felt a pang of guilt over Storm, even though she knew there was probably no actual way to re-release a horse back to his own mob. Besides, he was a gelding now, not a stallion, and she wasn’t sure other wild horses would ever accept him.

  ‘Up there,’ she said, pointing straight ahead. ‘I’m pretty sure we’ll find her somewhere near there.’

  Mark kept driving, still going slow, and Poppy’s heart felt like it had jumped into her throat as she thought of having to help Mark secure and catch the big wild animal.

  Finally, she recognised the spot up ahead and pointed.

  ‘Here goes, girls,’ Mark said as he came to a stop. ‘Let’s do this.’

  ‘She’s here.’ Poppy took a big breath when she heard the familiar noise of the kangaroo thrashing. She hated to think how long the mother had been like this, but hoped she’d only started moving around again because she’d heard them coming.

  ‘Mark,’ Sophie said quietly. ‘We just got a text from the wildlife team. They’ve arrived already so I’ve told them where to meet us.’

  ‘Great,’ he said. ‘Come on, girls, we may as well get started.’

  Poppy took the lead just like he’d asked and pushed through the dense piece of bush, holding back a branch so Milly and Mark could pass through behind her. She knew they’d do the same for Katie and Sophie.

  When she saw the female kangaroo again, Poppy’s heart felt like it fell all the way to her toes. The poor animal was thrashing around on the ground, clearly distressed, and Poppy was certain there was more blood than before.

  ‘What do you think’s happened to her?’ Poppy asked Mark when he stood beside her.

  ‘I don’t know yet. But if there’s a way to help her, we will,’ he said.

  ‘You’ve got the dream team here to help you, Mrs Roo,’ Milly announced in a low voice that made Poppy smile.

  ‘She sure has,’ Sophie agreed.

  The distant rumble of an engine approaching made Poppy look up, and Sophie placed a hand on Katie’s arm.

  ‘Can you and Milly go back and show the others where we are?’ Sophie asked.

  Poppy knew they’d be disappointed to leave the scene when the rescue was about to take place, but she didn’t offer to go in their place. She’d helped Mark before when it came to his veterinary work, and assisting him was one of her favourite things to do. If she didn’t get to ride like her aunt when she grew up, then she definitely wanted to be a vet.

  ‘Pops, come with me,’ Mark instructed.

  Poppy blocked everything else out, focused only on Mark’s voice and doing whatever he told her to do. She knew the most important thing she could do was listen and follow his instructions to the letter.

  ‘Sophie, I’m going to get Poppy to throw the blanket over the kangaroo’s face to calm her, and you and I can secure her legs,’ Mark said.

  Poppy took the dark brown blanket and moved forward, but kept a safe distance from the animal.

  ‘We’ll put a sack over her head soon, but we need to make sure she can’t hurt us first,’ Mark instructed.

  Poppy nodded, catching a glimpse of the joey again. She reckoned he was a few months old, still tiny but very, very cute. He must have been scared, but he was still with his mum so it wasn’t as bad for him. The poor mother was terrified, her eyes rolling and kicking out sporadically with her legs.

  ‘Go, Poppy,’ Mark said.

  She moved closer and threw the blanket, covering the kangaroo’s face and giving her aunt and uncle time to secure the kangaroo’s legs. She grinned, about to say what a great team they made, when she heard Mark curse under his breath. She met his gaze.

  ‘What is it?’ she asked.

  ‘It’s bad,’ he said with a grimace. ‘That wound doesn’t look good, and the only way we can help an injured adult kangaroo is if their injuries require more rest than treatment.’

  Sophie put her arm around Poppy, who gulped, her throat burning. ‘The adult ones get terribly affected by stress,’ Sophie said. ‘Sometimes they have to put the adult roos to sleep so they’re not in pain anymore. But the younger roo will be saved, make no mistake about that.’

  Poppy was blinking away tears when movement from behind alerted her to the fact that her friends were coming back. She was sad the kangaroo would never be with her family again, that she might not live to see another day, but she knew that Mark and Sophie were as upset as she was. They would never let an animal die if there was a way to save it.

  ‘Great work, Mark,’ a man said, carrying a white metal kit as he came toward them, his free hand extended to shake her uncle’s hand. ‘We’ll take over from here if you don’t mind.’

  ‘She has a deep laceration, possibly too bad to be rehabilitated.’

  ‘The joey?’ the woman with him asked.

  Poppy watched, silent but listening.

  ‘I can’t confirm that, but I don’t have any reason to think the little fella isn’t okay.’

  The man nodded, standing there like he was taking in the situation. ‘Look, we’ll take her back if we can move her. I’ll bring the vehicle closer, and if she’s not in too bad shape after we tranquilise her and give the wound a clean up, then we’ll let her be and see if she survives. We won’t put her down without giving her a chance though.’

  Poppy glanced back at her friends and breathed a sigh of relief. They’d done everything they could, and that was what mattered. But she could do more with a certain other wild animal, and now that she understood him better, she’d stop at nothing until Storm trusted her as much as he trusted Missy.

  A week later, her first weekend back at Starlight since the holidays, Poppy hurried down to the paddock where she knew Storm would be waiting.

  ‘Poppy, hold up,’ Aunt Sophie called.

  Poppy turned as Sophie reached her and held something out. It was a cool purple lead rope.

  ‘I thought you might like a new lead rope for your new pony,’ her aunt said. ‘Wouldn’t want you having to use Crystal’s pink one.’

  Poppy gave Sophie a quick hug and took the rope, loving how soft the brand-new cotton felt in her hands. ‘Thanks, Sophie,’ she said. ‘It’s amazing.’

  ‘There’s a nice new halter to go with it hanging in the shed,’ Sophie said, her smile wide. ‘Along with Storm’s name on the wall. Mark made it as soon as you named him.’

  Poppy felt like she was going to burst. She wished she knew how to tell Sophie how lucky she was to have such an awesome aunt and uncle. She hoped they knew how much she loved them. They were the best and it was so good to be back for the weekend.

  ‘Thanks, Sophie,’ Poppy said. She felt her face heat up and was sure her cheeks were red. ‘Thanks for, well, everything,’ she managed to mumble.

  ‘You’re welcome,’ Sophie said. ‘Now come and show me how you’re getting along with Storm.’

  They walked side by side down to the small paddock where he was being kept, smiling when they saw him grazing, looking relaxed. He must have been feeling so much better with his teeth all fixed and healed up, thought Poppy.

  ‘Storm!’ she called out, hoping he’d stop munching and raise his head. ‘Storm!’

  She held her breath, silently hoping, waiting . . .

  Storm raised his head, turning slightly, his eyes meeting hers. Her heart started hammering, her smile so big it made her cheeks ache. He’d actually turned to her! She knew he probably didn’t know his own name, but he’d recognised her voice and looked up for her, and that was the most awesome feeling in the world.

  ‘I think he’s going to be amazing, Aunt Sophie,’ Poppy confessed.

  ‘I’m glad you’ve forgiven him for biting you,’ Sophie said. ‘I honestly don’t think that was ever his real personality, he was just afraid and in a lot of pain. Be cautious of him because he’s still learning about humans and what we expect from him, but I wouldn’t be scared.’

  Poppy n
odded. She agreed with her aunt, because Storm had been a different horse almost immediately after he’d come out of the sedation, as soon as he’d realised all the awful pain was gone.

  ‘I didn’t really understand what Storm was going through,’ Poppy said, stopping at the gate to his paddock. He was still watching her, standing contentedly as he chewed the grass in his mouth. ‘Seeing that big kangaroo when we were out riding last time, seeing how protective he was of one of his own, it made me really understand what Storm had come from, and what he’d lost.’

  ‘Taking on a brumby is a huge deal, especially when you’re used to dealing with horses without trust issues or anything else going on with them.’

  ‘I get that now,’ Poppy told her aunt, leaning on the gate, elbows resting on the gnarled timber. ‘He’ll probably always miss what he lost, just like that injured kangaroo will always miss her mob if she survives, and just like I’ll always miss my dad.’

  Poppy blinked away tears when her aunt put her arm around her shoulders, leaning into her. She dropped a kiss into her hair and Poppy breathed in deep, slowly pushing the air back out as she refused to let the tears fall.

  ‘Poppy, you know if you ever want to talk about your dad with us, you can,’ Aunt Sophie said gently.

  Poppy glanced at her aunt and smiled. ‘Yeah, I know. I guess the last couple of weeks have made me think about him heaps more. Maybe it’s why I wanted Storm, to give him a family when he’d lost his.’

  Sophie opened the gate. ‘Well, if that was the reason, then this little brumby is very lucky to have you. You know what it’s like to lose someone you love, and that means you’ll have lots of patience when you’re teaching him new things.’

  ‘Sophie . . .’ Poppy said, knowing she needed to ask her about the muster. Katie and Milly would be furious with her if she didn’t say something when she’d promised that she would. Her friends were cleaning their gear and mucking out their stables, but she knew they’d be running down to see her with Storm as soon as they were finished.

  ‘What is it, Pops?’

  ‘You can totally say no, because I know it’s a lot to ask and it would mean taking the truck and . . .’

  ‘Poppy, just spit it out,’ Sophie said with a laugh. ‘Seriously!’

  ‘Katie read about the Barmah National Park muster. It sounds amazing and since it’s where Storm is from, we were thinking that it would be cool to go.’

  ‘When is it?’

  ‘Um, I think in a couple of months,’ she said. ‘I think it’s a few hours to drive there, and then we could either go alone or you and Mark could . . .’

  ‘Poppy, why are you so nervous?’ Sophie said. ‘It sounds like fun. How long have you been waiting to ask me?’

  ‘Um, a while,’ Poppy admitted, reaching for her ponytail and twisting the hair around her fingers.

  ‘Look, leave it with me and I’ll look into it. It sounds like a great idea and I can imagine how fun it would be to camp out with your horses for a few days. The bush would be an amazing place to explore.’

  ‘Seriously?’

  ‘Seriously,’ Aunt Sophie said. ‘I still remember what it was like being your age and horse crazy, Pops. I keep telling you that. If there’s any way I can make it happen, I will.’

  Poppy bit down hard on her lip. She should have just come out and asked Sophie as soon as they’d started talking about it, but sometimes she forgot how easy her aunt was to talk to. Sophie was the only adult she knew, other than Uncle Mark, who actually seemed to remember what it was like to be twelve.

  ‘Come on, let’s focus on Storm for now. We can talk about the Barmah muster later.’

  ‘Deal,’ Poppy agreed.

  ‘I don’t want you getting your hopes up about taking Storm though. Even if all goes well with him, it will be a long time before you’ll be able to ride him off the property, because I want to make sure he has a little work and then a nice long time turned out to mature. We want him rested and relaxed before we start him under saddle properly and you start working him.’

  Poppy had known Sophie would say that and the truth was that as awesome as it would be to ride Storm through the country that he’d grown up on, he wouldn’t be ready for it and neither would she. And Crystal was the horse she wanted to explore the national park on, with her friends on Joe and Cody.

  ‘You know what?’ Sophie said, surprising Poppy with how excited she sounded.

  ‘What?’

  ‘If Mark and I tag along on this muster, maybe I could ride Storm. Get him out and about back in the country he came from. Depending on how his training is going, of course.’

  Poppy stared at her aunt. ‘Seriously? You would do that?’

  ‘Leave it with me, kiddo. I could do with a break from training, and a muster sounds like fun.’ She laughed. ‘Besides, I’m going to be doing a lot of work breaking Storm in while you’re at school, so it’ll be something nice to work toward. But no promises yet, okay?’

  Poppy nodded and grasped her new lead rope, walking confidently toward Storm. His ears were pricked forward as she approached him. She grinned as she reached into her pocket for a carrot, holding it out to him. He sniffed it, interested but not sure what to do with it.

  ‘Give it a try,’ she encouraged, clipping the rope to his halter with her other hand. ‘It’s yummy, I promise.’

  Storm snuffled the carrot and she laughed when he lifted his top lip high, showing off all his top teeth and being silly. For a moment she even forgot that he was supposed to be wild, that he wasn’t just another lovely horse in the paddock.

  ‘Good work, Pops,’ Aunt Sophie called out.

  She bit a piece off the carrot thinking he might eat it if it was smaller, but he just dropped it then pawed at it with his hoof, making it all dusty and gross. ‘Seriously, you have no idea what you’re missing out on,’ she muttered to him, stroking his neck and wishing she could give him a bath.

  ‘Why don’t you see if you can lead him? He looks very relaxed,’ Sophie suggested.

  Poppy kept stroking him, happy just to be touching him and to see how relaxed he was. She had a brush bulging out of her pocket, and once she’d had a play around with him, she was going to groom him, just spend time with him and show him that she meant him no harm.

  ‘Come on, Storm,’ Poppy whispered, turning so they were both facing the same way, her right hand holding the rope, left picking up the slack and holding the remainder of it. ‘Want to come explore?’

  She put gentle pressure on the rope, encouraged him forward, and the second he moved she released. He went to stop again and she pulled again, asking him to go forward and taking off the pressure as soon as he did what she’d asked.

  ‘He’s really listening to you,’ Sophie said from the other side of the paddock.

  Poppy had been completely focused on her horse, but she glanced up and looked at her aunt, so proud of herself. When she realised Milly and Katie were standing there watching too, it made her even more excited. Her brumby was learning so fast, adapting so quickly to everything around him, and the fact that he was letting her lead him around so easily made her body tingle all over.

  ‘Love you, Storm,’ she whispered as they kept walking, the horse following her, ears still pricked as he listened to her.

  She hoped he knew how she felt about him. Because now that she’d seen him behave like this, she knew the last time hadn’t just been a fluke.

  ‘Take him for a decent walk, Pops,’ Sophie instructed. ‘Show him all around the paddock and keep talking to him. Maybe even start saying “whoa” every time you stop.’

  ‘Go, Pops!’ Milly called. ‘You rock!’

  Poppy smiled to herself as she walked with her new horse. She couldn’t believe it. She was actually leading a once-wild brumby around the paddock, and believing without a doubt that one day soon she’d be climbing up onto his back and riding him. The first person to ever ride her horse.

  ‘Let’s hope we’re together forever,’ she whispere
d to him. ‘I won’t ever sell you.’

  Less than two weeks ago she’d thought he hated her and that they’d never be friends. And now she loved him so much and he seemed to love her right back. She glanced at her friends again, cheeks all achy for the second time that day from grinning so hard.

  Storm and Crystal.

  She liked the sound of it. Who would have thought that the horse-mad girl from the city, who’d begged for a horse her entire life, would suddenly have two of them? Not her, not in a million years.

  ‘Why is it that the week goes so slow at school, and the weekends here just fly past?’ Milly asked.

  Poppy smiled to herself as she brushed into the groove of Crystal’s girth line, making sure there was no dirt there before she saddled her up. Milly was right – the first couple of weeks back at school after holidays always seemed to take forever. She crouched down to brush Crystal’s legs.

  ‘Sophie said there’s loads of water in the creek after all that rain they had this week!’

  Poppy looked up and saw Katie leaning over the stall door. She straightened and put her brush back in the tack box. ‘Want to ride down there?’

  ‘Definitely.’

  Her aunt had told them to go and have fun for the morning. She had other lessons on for the day, so their arena riding and training with her wasn’t until Sunday. These kinds of Saturdays were Poppy’s absolute favourite, and she knew her friends liked just riding out and having fun on the farm, too.

  Only this time she had a secret plan to make it even cooler.

  She grinned to herself and saddled Crystal up as Katie walked off to get Cody ready. It would be a good hour’s ride to the creek, and she couldn’t wait to swing up into the saddle and get going.

  Poppy checked her girth was tight enough then led Crystal out of the stable, trying to keep a straight face. She didn’t want her friends knowing what she was up to. Sophie had been working hard with Storm all week while she was at school, and she’d shown her the night before how well he was doing. He was like a totally different horse, and Poppy couldn’t wait to show off to her friends now that they were here.