“But Danny, I really like this one.” The female gestured to me. “He’s the only one that’s come up to the fence since we’ve been here. All of the other horses run away as soon as we get close. He so handsome and seems so sweet. I think he likes us.”
Handsome and sweet. That about sums me up!
“Alise,” Danny said with a sigh. “We agreed that we weren’t going to buy a horse today. We just came here to see them.”
“But Danny….”
“No ‘buts.’ I have two horses at the house if you ever want to ride them.”
“But I want my own horse. Lazy is your horse, and Loco is, well, crazy. They’re no fun for me to ride. If I had my own horse, we could go riding together. It would be so much fun.”
“No,” Danny said. “We’ll go through and look at the horses one more time and then we are leaving—without one. You can always ride Lazy when we get home. Leave this horse alone and please step away from the fence.”
The couple meandered away. I saw the female, Alise, looking back at me and smiling each time she would approach another horse’s pen. Eventually, they made their way back around to me.
“Oh, Danny, please, can we get him?”
“No.”
“But didn’t you hear what those guys over there said? What they said they were going to do with him? I just overheard that man over there saying that this one, number 5761, is going through his last roundup. He said that 5761 falls under the three strike rule. If this horse is not adopted by his third auction, then he’s going to be put to sleep. And this is his third auction.”
What? Why would they want to make me go to sleep? How long would I sleep for? I’m not really tired right now.
“What? No, now that just doesn’t make any sense.” Danny said. “Why in the world would they want to put him down?”
What? Now they want me to lie down? And go to sleep? This is crazy! Are you sure you heard them right?
“It doesn’t make sense.” Danny continued. “Why would they spend all of this money to capture him, vaccinate him, worm him, and have him halter broke, just to kill him?”
Kill who? Kill me?
I got a terrible knot in my stomach and my blood turned to ice in my veins.
Why would anyone want to kill me? I haven’t done anything wrong.
I had to get out of here and fast. That female, Alise, was my only chance. I inched closer to the fence and stuck my nose through it, trying to reach her and give her a good nuzzle, like I used to give Wade.
Alise was crying now. “See, Danny, he wants to be with me. We have to take him home. We have to save him. Oh, pleeeease.”
“Oh, for the love of….” Danny muttered. He seemed irritated now. “We don’t even have a trailer here. We can’t bring him home.”
“I’m sure we can find someone willing to bring him home for us,” Alise sniffled. “Please.”
Danny muttered something under his breath. “Alright, I’ll go see if I can find someone willing to trailer him to our place. If not, I’m sorry Alise, but you won’t be able to rescue him.”
“Thank you, Danny, you are the best!”
Yes, Danny. If you get me out of here, you are the best!
Danny seemed to be a little nervous and way too twitchy, like he had an itch inside him he just couldn’t scratch, but if he could get me out of here, then he would definitely be the best human I had met so far. Wade had told me there were other good humans out there.
Danny must have been able to find a way to get me home since he and Alise were still hanging around when the auction started. When I heard, “Number 5761, black gelding from Nevada,” the humans shook their loud sticks around me, making all the other horses move away, and chasing me into a smaller, tighter pen.
When I was alone and separated from the other horses, I looked around to find Danny and Alise. Now was their chance to get me out of here. After watching other horses going through this a few times ahead of me, I figured out what to expect when a human wanted to take a mustang away: they just raised their hand. I never understood why waving away flies allowed them to take a horse, but it did. If more than one human raised their hand for a horse, all the humans around them became excited, buzzing like bees. The longer the hands went up, the more excited everyone became. Humans have some unusual habits.
I found Danny in the crowd and expected to see his hand fly into the air. It didn’t. Someone else’s hand went up first to start me at $125. Alise elbowed Danny in his chest, making his hand shoot up, raising me up to $135. And that was it. The other person decided not to go any higher for me. The excitement quickly quieted down. I was sold for $135.
Humph, $135! I’ve seen other horses go much higher. In fact, I’m worth at least twice that!
Alise came running up to my pen. “We did it! You’re safe and all mine. You’re going home with me. You’re just going to love it there.”
“Now Alise, I just want to set the record straight while we’re still here,” Danny said. “I’m not sure what you overheard earlier, but the guys who work here said that there is no such thing as the three strike rule. You were either mistaken about what you heard, or he made the whole thing up. I hope you didn’t make up that story just so I’d agree that you could have your own horse.”
“Oh, then maybe I just misunderstood them.” Alise waved her hand, dismissing Danny’s comment. “Still, you have to admit it will be fun to ride our horses together. He is such a sweet and handsome boy, too, and he’s all mine.”
The humans with the loud sticks came by and spooked all of the horses that were in my pen. But the other horses seemed to know it was me they were after and they all ran to the other side of the enclosure, leaving me all alone.
It was my time to leave and I knew just what to do. I ran into the alley that would lead me into my next trailer, my next meal, my next home.
Right before I entered the trailer, someone cut the numbered auction tag from around my neck. Then they placed the brand new halter Alise had just bought on my head, shook the loud stick at me, and sent me into the trailer. I heard that familiar sound: CLICK! On to my next adventure.
CHAPTER 5 — MIDNIGHT
I was rattling around in the horse trailer by myself for what seemed like hours, with no other horses for company or support. After awhile it was difficult to stand up. I was tired of slamming into the sides of the trailer whenever Danny made a turn, banging my chest in the front of the trailer when he stopped, and crashing my rump into the back of the trailer when he moved again.
I was exhausted and scared of what would happen to me if I fell onto the floor. With no one there to help me get back up, I would be just rolling around back and forth knocking myself bloody and senseless.
Finally the trailer stopped and the roar of the truck quieted. I heard Danny and Alise’s voices as they walked around to the back. The trailer hinges screamed as Danny opened the door, flooding the inside with light and making me jump. I didn’t want to stay in that metal trailer one minute longer, but I didn’t want to get out, either. This couldn’t be my new home. I couldn’t smell any grass, fresh or dry. All I could smell was dirt. Surely these humans must be confused by stopping here and making me get out. Why would we want to stay in a place with no food?
Danny wouldn’t give up. The more insistent I became about staying in the trailer, the heavier his hands became to get me out. He shook the lead rope, shooting vibrations all the way to my chin. I threw my head up, banging into the roof. I dropped my head back down, shaking it, trying to get the buzzing in my ears to stop. I didn’t notice that Danny had walked into the trailer to help encourage me to get out. He grabbed my lead rope. He shoved my nose to my chest, which knocked the breath out of me, and made me back up to get away from the pressure on my nose.
Before I knew what had happened, I had backed all of the way out of the trailer. When my feet hit solid ground again, I thought there must be some kind of mistake. I had been brought to a wasteland. This was no place for a horse
to live. It was bigger than the pens back at the adoption roundup, but it was nowhere near as large as the plains of Nevada. It was a dry, sandy lot, kind of like Nevada, but there was no grass whatsoever where I was to be kept. The only grass I saw was outside the fence. There were several old, beaten up vehicles in the fenced area along with an old, ramshackle house that was about to fall in at any moment. It would probably kill everything in it, both human and rodent, when it collapsed.
This can’t be right. This place is awful. Let’s get back on the trailer and go someplace that has some grass. I’ll even lead the way.
Danny and Alise didn’t make any moves to get me back on the trailer. I started to worry that this wasn’t a joke.
“NO!” I screamed, rearing up on my hind legs, swinging my body and trying to get away. “I don’t want to stay here! There’s no food!”
I worked myself up into a rearing, screaming frenzy. Then suddenly, when I threw my nose in the air, snorting to clear my nostrils, I smelled something. I took in a huge gulp of air, curling my lip up in order to get the smell deeper into my nose to help figure out what the scent could be. Horses! I smelled mares! This might not be too bad after all.
Danny stroked my neck while holding on tightly to my lead rope. “Easy, boy. This is your new home.”
Really? This is my new home? You’re leaving me here? There might be mares here, but there’s no food. Seriously, you can’t leave me here.
I dropped my head down a bit, trying to see the rest of my new herd. Maybe we could all get out of here together.
“Here, Alise,” Danny said as he handed my lead rope over to her. “Hold on to your new horse while I put Loco and Lazy up in the back.”
“Um, okay.” Alise’s voice sounded higher and more nervous than before. Her hands turned white as her grip on my lead rope tightened. “Hurry, though.”
“Hurry? Why, what’s wrong? Are you having second thoughts now that we have him home? He’ll be fine. He just needs to get used to us. I’ll be right back.”
Alise allowed me to graze while we waited for Danny to confine the two mares in the back. It had been so long since I had eaten real grass instead of dry, crunchy hay that I had forgotten how sweet and tasty real grass was.
A few minutes later Danny came back, carrying a bucket. It smelled like flowers. It didn’t smell like food, but it was interesting nonetheless.
“Here boy.” He offered me what he was carrying. “Have a snack.”
I put my nose in the bucket and snorted as small brown pieces of sweet smelling dust floated around the bucket and came towards my eyes. I threw my head up and backed away. What am I supposed to do with this?
Danny took a handful of the mixture out and held it under my nose. “It’s okay. It’s just grain.”
Grain? Never heard of it. It smells sweet. Is it something I’m supposed to eat? I took my lip and played with the grain in his hand. Small pieces of it dropped out of his palm.
“Don’t play with it, silly boy.” Alise said, sounding more relaxed, “You’re supposed to eat it.”
I took a few pieces of grain in my mouth. It was like nothing I had ever tasted. It was as sweet as new shoots of spring grass still covered with morning dew. It was delicious! I bobbed my head up and down, and curled my lips with excitement. If I wouldn’t be able to eat fresh grass, this was definitely the next best thing.
“Have you decided on a name for him yet?” Danny asked as I was enjoying my newly found favorite food.
“Midnight. I think I’m gonna call him Midnight,” Alise answered. “He’s all black, so he looks like it does out here at night without any lights on. Or maybe I should call him Licorice! You know, like black licorice….”
“Nah. I think Midnight suits him better than Licorice.”
I shook my head. Midnight, Licorice, I don’t care what you call me. Just let me eat. By the way, this bucket’s empty.
*****
I didn’t get to eat for long before I was dragged, kicking and screaming, into the dry, grassless wasteland that was to be my new home. When I saw the mares my excitement returned, but then I got to know them.
“Wow! Aren’t you a handsome little thing?” The young paint filly bounced over to greet me.
You’re half right. I am handsome, but I’m not little!
“Loco! Mind your manners!” The older mare chastised. “He just got here; give him time to adjust before you start pestering him. There will be plenty of time for us to get to know him.”
“But I don’t want to wait, Mother! I want to talk to him now!” Loco didn’t miss a step as she headed in my direction.
Her mother was finally able to stop her with a quick nip on her hindquarters. “I told you to mind your manners. Now give him a minute to get through the gate and get settled.”
I could tell immediately I would never get a moment’s peace and quiet again. That paint filly was quite the talker. If she thought it, she said it. By the end of the evening, I had heard all their stories at least twice, told in the quick, forward manner in which Loco does everything.
They were also mustangs. Lazy was from the wilds of Oregon. She told me she was rounded up and captured several years ago, when she was still pregnant with Loco, and went through the same auction process that had so recently brought me into their herd. Loco’s father was also part of the herd of mustangs from Oregon, but, for whatever reason, the humans had released him back into the wild. Loco was born in captivity, and had never known what it was like to be wild and free. Lazy still remembered what it was like to live without fences, but many years in captivity, and having to tend to Loco constantly, had taken away all of her desire to be free again. She was content to live out her days on this tiny piece of grassless wasteland in exchange for an occasional meal of grain and hay.
Oh, that reminded me…. “How often do we get to eat the food that comes in the bucket? I’ve never had anything like that before.”
“What? The grain?” Lazy asked. “The man brings some out to us every few days.”
“What about the female? How often does she feed us?”
“We don’t see her much at all. But now that you’re her horse, maybe she’ll come out more.”
“Wait a minute. ‘Her horse?’ I belong to somebody? No, something’s wrong. I don’t belong to anyone.”
“That’s what you think.” Loco smirked. “Just wait until they make you carry them around.”
“What? Carry them? I’ll never carry a human on my back!” I thought of Father and the day he told me those words.
“Oh? We’ll just see about that,” Loco said, giggling as she walked away.
I had plenty of time to mull over Loco’s words. The humans had left and didn’t return until the sun was up the next day. I was so hungry I was in a pretty foul mood and feeling quite sorry for myself. Here I was, a mustang, used to running wild and free, eating and drinking whatever and whenever I wanted, now reduced to living in a small, barren dirt lot with nothing to do and nothing to eat except for some dried out hay that was kept in the back of a metal box and the promise of some of that sweet grain every few days. What had my life turned into?
Little did I know, things were about to get even worse!
*****
One morning, after I had been exploring what little there was to explore and getting used to my new home for a few days, Danny came out bright and early carrying big, heavy items in each hand.
Uh, oh!
I had seen other horses wear these things when the humans rode them. I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“Alright, Midnight, today’s the day.” Danny grabbed my halter. “We’re going to get you all trained up so Alise can start riding you.”
As Danny started brushing my coat, I thought of Father again, and heard his voice.
I would rather die than to allow a human to get up on my back.
I panicked. I didn’t want to let Father down, so I knew I had to get away. And fast. I threw my head hard up into the
air, breaking the clip on the lead rope that tied me down. As soon as I heard the SNAP I ran to the other end of the pasture as fast as I could.
Danny crept towards me and spoke as slowly as he walked. “Now, Midnight, there’s nothing to be scared about. I’m not going to hurt you.”
You want to turn me into a beast of burden! I won’t let you!
I was alert and ready for Danny now. As he came closer, I darted around him, staying just out of his grasp.
“It’s okay.” Danny turned around to follow me, then stopped. “I know just the thing.”
He walked into the little half-fallen down building and had my full attention now. I knew what he kept in that small building: grain! I waited patiently for Danny to come back out, shaking the bucket around so I could hear one of my newest, favorite sounds. I let him come up to me. It was worth it to get a mouthful of that tasty food. As I stuck my nose into the bucket, I heard the CLICK, CLICK of two more lead ropes being snapped onto my halter.
Oh, how I hate that sound!
“Not taking any more chances with you.” Danny announced as he led me back to where the saddle waited. “Now, let’s try this again. But this time I’ll let you eat while I do it.”
How bad could it be, really? If I’m given grain to eat, maybe I can try this and it won’t be so bad.
I stood still and allowed Danny to finish grooming my coat, while I crunched on the grain.
“First the blanket,” Danny said as he approached my left side. Before he tossed the heavy pad on my back, though, he allowed me to smell it to see what it was. It didn’t smell too dangerous; it reminded me of Lazy when she’s hot and sweaty. Danny moved the blanket slowly away from my nose and gently placed the blanket on my back, up over my withers.
“See, boy, it’s not so bad, is it?”
I disagreed. It was awkward and quite unpleasant. It was scratchy, like when I walk under a low hanging branch and a twig sticks to me. It also had a little weight to it like when the snow would sit on my back. I stood perfectly still and didn’t breathe. I waited. When I didn’t feel any pain or other sensation, I exhaled and dropped my nose back down into the bucket.
Kobi- Memoirs of a Mustang Page 4
