Kobi- Memoirs of a Mustang

by Heather Hamel

  “Good boy, Midnight. Now let’s try the saddle.” Danny held up the saddle and allowed me to sniff it as well. It also smelled like Lazy. He slowly eased the saddle on my back, talking in a gentle tone the whole time. The weight of it concerned me. I have never had anything on back except for rain and snow back home in Nevada.

  “Easy, boy. It’s okay.” Danny continued, scratching my neck. When I realized nothing more would happen, I dropped back down and continued my snack. That’s when he strapped something under my belly and tightened it, the strap holding the saddle onto my back.

  Now I was scared. My head was tied and I had something strapped to my back. What else could I do? I started bucking like my life depended upon it. It might!

  “Whoa, now. Easy, Midnight,” Danny said. “Everything’s fine.”

  No, it’s not! Get it off me now!

  Of course he didn’t. He tried to calm me down until I had worn myself out with all of my bucking and screaming and just stood there, hanging my head down. Worried. Panting.

  “I’m not sure what all the fuss is about, Midnight, but you’re going to have to get used to it.” He untied my head and led me around the dusty pen. I was too tired to fight anymore. The saddle moved around slightly with each step I took. It was one of the worst feelings I’ve ever had in my life.

  Danny led me back to where we started and tied me up again. This time he held up a metal piece that he called a “bit” to my lips and tried to put it in my mouth. I clenched my teeth together. I already had a saddle on my back; I wasn’t going to let Danny put that thing in my mouth. Then, all of a sudden, Danny surprised me by getting his thumb between my lips and rubbing my tongue.

  Ugh! Human taste again! I spat. But it was enough time for Danny to get that bit in my mouth. All I wanted to do was spit it out. It was cold and bitter. But he wouldn’t let me. He held it there and then clipped it to my halter. So there I was, stuck, wearing a saddle, with a bit in my mouth. I was so glad Father couldn’t see me. I hung my head down in shame, experiencing the worst feeling of my life.

  “Oh, come on, Midnight. You look good. You look like a real horse now!”

  Hmmph! I sure don’t feel like a real horse anymore.

  I heard Loco laughing at me from behind the fence.

  *****

  The next day Danny came out and continued to torture me with the saddle and bit. The only good thing was that we all got to eat two days in a row. I fought the saddle less the second day. There didn’t seem to be much point to protest anymore. When I hardly bucked or kicked at all, Danny decided it was time for him to try to ride me.

  Oh, what a day that was! He had brought a friend along to help him. His friend held my reins while he mounted. I felt Danny’s weight drop onto my back. I held my breath and didn’t move a muscle, but soon I felt him squeeze my ribs with his legs.

  My mind immediately took me back to Nevada. The only time a mustang had something on his back, squeezing his ribs, it was either a wolf or a mountain lion.

  Predator! Run!

  I flew across the pen. Danny didn’t stay up too long, which was fine by me. But he didn’t quit, either. He walked up to me, had his friend hold the reins again and swung right back into the saddle. This time he didn’t squeeze my sides. He had his friend walk me slowly around the pen. After the third or fourth step, I decided I really didn’t like this either. If I couldn’t get him off my back by running, I’d try something different.

  I went into a bucking frenzy. I kept kicking long after Danny had fallen off. He tried to ride me a few more times, each ride lasting a bit longer, but with the same results: I was up, without a rider, and Danny was down, on the ground, without a horse.

  “Alright! You win. For today. I will ride you, though,” Danny promised as he left.

  It wasn’t over. Danny came out the next day, and the day after that. We went through the same routine every time. He’d try to ride me, and I would try not to be ridden. By the end of the week, he was bruised and worn out, but he grew quieter every time he mounted; quieter with his voice, his hands, and his seat. And since he was settling down, little by little, I became more tolerant of having him up on my back, and didn’t try to get rid of him every time.

  One evening, Danny brought Alise along with him while he fed us. She asked, “When do you think I’ll get to ride?”

  “Ride who? Lazy or Midnight?”

  “Midnight, of course. You know, my horse!”

  “I’ve been working with him for a couple of days now, and I think he’s ready for you. How about first thing tomorrow morning?”

  Danny, you’re kidding, right? I don’t want you up there, much less Alise.

  “Oh, Danny,” Alise squealed, throwing her arms around his neck, “I can’t wait!”

  Oh, I can!

  The next day dawned sunny and warm. Danny and Alise arrived while the grass was still wet with morning dew. I felt their excitement mixed with nervousness. Alise took her time brushing my coat and combing through my mane and tail, talking to me the entire time. “So, Midnight,” she whispered to me, “I’m finally going to ride you today. Pretty soon we’ll be able to go on rides with Danny and Lazy. Won’t that be fun?”

  Fun? Uh, no, not really. I’d rather we didn’t.

  I could sense through her short hard strokes that she was becoming more nervous than excited at the thought of riding me. I felt the same. When Alise had finished grooming my back Danny helped her saddle me, and I had decided to accept the bit without any disagreement.

  The trouble came when Alise went to mount. Since she wasn’t experienced with horses in general, much less riding one, it wasn’t a good mount. I tried to stand as still as I could. I tried to remain as calm as possible as her butt slammed into the saddle, bouncing on my back. And I tried to be quiet as I could when she picked up the reins too quickly, gagging me with the bit. But when she jabbed her heels into my ribs, I couldn’t stand it a moment longer!

  I started bucking, and bucking, and bucking!

  Alise started screaming, and screaming, and screaming!

  She flew off of my back and landed hard. She lay quiet - for a moment.

  “Danny,” she screamed. “Help me, please!” She started wailing. “That’s it, I’m done! I don’t ever want to ride him again! I don’t even like him anymore!”

  “You have to understand he’s wild. He’s going to be a little rough around the edges. He needs more time to be trustworthy and quiet when he’s ridden.”

  “I don’t care, he almost killed me! He’s more than just rough.”

  Danny sighed, untacked me and turned me back out with the two mares without saying a word.

  “That was some ride you gave Alise today,” Loco smirked. “I can’t wait until they try to ride me again. I’m gonna do the same thing!”

  The next day Danny put a large wooden sign in the yard: BLACK HORSE FOR SALE.

  Although I didn’t know what the sign said, I felt it in my bones it wasn’t good. Turned out, though, I was wrong again.

  CHAPTER 6 — KOBI

  The day I met Daisy is the day that changed my life forever. It started out like every other day. Loco, Lazy and I all awoke hungry, as usual, and tried to forage on the small dirt lot for something to eat as best we could. Around midday, when it was starting to get too hot to stay out in the open and getting close to nap time, a large white truck I’d never seen before pulled into the yard. I wondered who would come to visit us and watched as two humans got out of the vehicle and came over to the fence.

  The male was tall, really tall, with short dark hair. He moved with calm confidence towards the fence. He didn’t rush over, but his long stride covered a lot of ground and before I knew it he was at the fence. He turned to look back at the female who was still getting out of the vehicle.

  “Are you coming?”

  “Yes. Now just hold your horses! Get it? We’re here looking at a horse?” She giggled at her own comment.

  Walking towards the fence, I saw she
was considerably smaller than the male. She walked slower and appeared much more cautious. She flipped her short blonde hair out of her eyes and looked around. I could tell she lacked the confidence he had.

  I was curious as to who they might be and went over to check them out. The female started pulling up grass on her side of the fence.

  Oh, I hope that’s for me. Yes, it is!

  She came over to where I was standing and offered me the sweet grass. I was very hungry, but didn’t want to scare her off, so I moved my lips gently to take the grass from her, careful not to let my teeth graze her open hand. I noticed both humans had a kindness around their eyes. Within minutes, Danny and Alise arrived too and the introductions began, distracting the new human and ending my snack.

  “Hi! I’m Daisy and this is my boyfriend, Rex. He talked to you about the black horse you have for sale.”

  “Yeah, come on in and take a closer look.” Danny said, opening the gate to our pasture. “He seems to like you already.”

  I suspected that this human, Daisy, was my chance to get out of here, and finally fill my empty stomach, so I poured on the charm. I went over to her and rubbed my head on her shoulder. I sucked on her fingers, but was careful not to bite.

  My heart sank when she said, “He’s very sweet, but is he rideable?”

  Here we go again. What is it with humans wanting to ride horses?

  “Of course he is,” Danny replied. “Would you like to ride him?”

  What? Come on, Danny. Me, ride? You know me better than that. Don’t you? You remember what happened last time with Alise.

  “No, not yet. I would like to see you ride him. I want to see how he moves.”

  I was as good as gold. I figured if Daisy bought me and I got out of here, maybe I would have more food and wouldn’t be hungry all the time. She and I could work out any riding issues later.

  Daisy helped groom me. She had nice firm brush strokes, reaching all of my itchy places. I liked that. It made me think she was much more comfortable around horses than other humans. She stood back and watched my reactions as Danny saddled and bridled me. Not waiting to be directed, she stepped right up and held my head as Danny mounted. I caught my breath, hoping Danny wouldn’t ask me to do something I didn’t know how to do yet.

  Daisy backed away slowly and stood next to Rex, whispering to him about me. “Watch his legs and his head while he walks. See if he has any jerky movements that might indicate lameness.”

  Jerky movements? Me? Why I’ve never been lame a day in my life.

  I put on a show for them. I didn’t bolt or buck the entire time. I walked along slowly and allowed Danny to steer me around the pen. I knew I had passed the test when I heard Daisy say, “Okay, he looks great and he’s sweet, but I need to bring a friend by to see him before I can buy him. I’ll be boarding him at her house and need her approval first. Will that be okay?”

  Would that be okay? That would be great! I’m ready to get out of here.

  Before Danny had time to answer, I saw Loco sneaking up on Rex. I wasn’t sure what she was up to, but with her, well, it’s never good. I looked at Rex and whinnied. Look out, Rex!

  He spun around just in time to see Loco rearing up, aiming to land a hoof on his hip. Rex pulled back, narrowly missing her sharp hooves and a broken hip.

  “Did you see that? He just warned me. That’s amazing! I don’t know much about horses, but I think this one’s brilliant. He just saved me a trip to the emergency room.”

  Daisy walked over and started scratching my forehead. “What a good boy. I think Rex is right, you are brilliant! We just need Lilith to see it too.”

  Danny agreed for Daisy’s friend, Lilith, to come over and give her seal of approval for the sale.

  One down, only one more to go! I just know I can convince Lilith to adore me too.

  *****

  When Daisy brought Lilith out to meet me, I tried to be as charming as I could. I found it wasn’t as easy as I thought. While Daisy adored me and rubbed my neck or scratched my ears any chance she got, Lilith would not come close and never once tried to touch me. She was different from Alise or Daisy in almost every way. Lilith was a tall, thin, older woman. She didn’t seem to have any soft spots on her at all; she was all harsh lines and sharp corners. Even the way she wore her hair, tightly pulled back in a ponytail, without a single gray hair loose, made me think Lilith was a severe, strict woman.

  Her words were clipped short, like she didn’t have time to talk to anyone. When she did speak, she had a certain tone about her; the words themselves didn’t seem bad, but the way she said them let whoever she was speaking to know Lilith thought she was smarter and better than they were. I never saw her lips curl into a smile. Why was Daisy friends with her? More importantly, how could I convince her to let Daisy take me away from this barren dry lot?

  “Well, Lilith, what do you think?” There was a nervous catch in Daisy’s voice.

  “It’s hard to tell since he hasn’t been tested for Equine Anemia. Get a vet out here to make sure he’s healthy. As long as his Coggins test comes back negative and he won’t infect my horses with anything, I’ll let you board him at my house.”

  *****

  I passed the vet’s exam with flying colors, and the day to go to my new home had arrived. Daisy, excited to be my new human, came early to get me. Lilith came with her to oversee everything and ensure there wouldn’t be any problems. While I hoped there wouldn’t be any problems either, I wish Rex would have come instead; he seemed much calmer, which seemed to rub off on Daisy.

  Their plan was to walk me the three miles back to Lilith’s house, which is where Daisy would be keeping me since she didn’t have a barn or pasture to call her own. I walked up to the fence so Daisy could scratch my forehead and rub my neck and shoulders until it was time for us to leave.

  “I hope you enjoy Midnight and that he works out for you,” Danny said as he looked for my halter and lead rope.

  “Thanks, I know he will,” Daisy continued to scratch my ear and smile as she moved her hand down to rub my forehead.. “And we’ve changed his name. He’s no longer Midnight. We’re going to call him Kobi.”

  “Kobi. That’s, um, an, um, interesting name,” Alise said.

  “Rex and I figured that a unique horse, like Kobi, needed a unique name. Since he’s a mustang from out west, we started looking at Indian names. The Comanche Indians had a word for horse, which I can’t pronounce, and a different word for wild horses: Kobi. I think Kobi is a perfect fit for him.”

  I couldn’t agree more; a unique name for a unique horse! I think I’m going to like my new human and my new name. Kobi.

  After what seemed an eternity, it was finally time for us to walk to my new home. At times the walk was frightening. Large trucks thundered by and humans blew the horns of their vehicles, like they had never seen a horse walking down the road before, but Danny had planned for this. He knew of my love for grain, so the last thing he handed Daisy before turning over my lead rope was a bucket full of yummy sweet grain. Every time I started to get a little excited, Daisy offered me the bucket of food. It was great. I ate the entire way to my new home and gave no more thoughts to Loco, Lazy, Danny, Alise, or the wasteland I came from.

  When we got to my new home, the first thing I noticed was that my new pasture was wonderful—it had grass! I had the entire, luscious, grass-filled field all to myself, too.

  Daisy whispered as she turned me loose in the pasture to eat and explore, “Kobi, I may not be the smartest human you’ll ever meet, but I promise you no one will ever love you more than I do. I will always do my best to take care of you.”

  Slipping my nose out of my halter, I turned to look at her. Daisy, you’ve already shown me more love by bringing me to a place with food. A full belly means a lot to me. Don’t worry; I will always try to do my best to take care of you too!

  Before I took off to explore my new grass-filled pasture, I spotted two other horses, both mares, in a pasture next to
mine. The mares ran to the gate to meet me. I wandered over and touched noses with them to be polite, but before they had a chance to talk, I wandered to the farthest part of the pasture, as far from them as the fence would let me go. With the memory of Loco and Lazy still fresh in my mind, I didn’t know if I wanted to get involved with any more crazy mares just yet.

  I didn’t have much choice, though. After stuffing myself for a week on all the grass I could eat, I was sent into the pasture with the mares. The pasture I left was closed off and we were restricted from it. It wouldn’t have been too bad except it was the only pasture that had any grass. My new pasture didn’t have a single blade. It was awful. I was hungry all the time again. The one thing that made it even worse was I could see my former pasture and all that tantalizing, luscious green grass and smell its sweet juiciness, but I just couldn’t reach it. I was living a food-restricted nightmare.

  My first day with the mares was stressful, with both me and the younger mare, Malevolent, trying to establish our dominance over the herd. The older mare, Brownie, didn’t argue one bit about the leadership. “I’m too old for this nonsense,” she muttered as she wandered away, “Leadership is for the young.”

  Malevolent , though, was another story. She saw my arrival as an opportunity to be the leader she always wanted to be. Malevolent was named for her personality flaws. She was a spoiled brat. The name fit her to a tee. It didn’t matter what I said or did, she always had some smart remark or rude comeback. She had a quick temper and didn’t mind unleashing her quick tongue or a swift kick or nip. She could take it as well as she could dish it! When all was said and done, though, I found I spent less time with docile and easy going Brownie, and more time with Malevolent, because I understood her better. She was more like the feisty wild horses I had grown up with.