Wild Horse Adventure (new RP)

[Pasogirlz]

***The Setting***
The wild untamed plains of the west

You may choose to be a wild horse, or the trusty steed of a Cowboy or Indian.

Remember that there are many things in the wild that could bring disaster or tragedy.....horse rustlers, cougars, coyote, rattlesnakes, bears, draught and fammine, etc.

Who wants to start? :D

[Got Brio?]

I will :D I'am going to play as my old horse Spanky(he looked like a mustang)
Spanky was grazing the tender grass at his feet. He hadnt seen his herd since yesterday. He had been chased by horse rustlers up into the tall mountains,that he used to see when he had been in his herd. He was the lead stallion of the herd and had to find his way back. His horse sense told him to head down the steep rocky hills. A strong wind blew in his face and carried his herds' sent. He followed it till he got to a creek that he had taken his herd to yeaterday morning. He rounded the small group of pine trees and saw his herd.
When they saw him they ran over.He looked at the horses' faces there were several new horses.

[Heidi]

I was one of the new horses in Spanky's herd that went to greet him. I am a buckskin mare that grew up on a ranch, I don't remember my foalhood, but my rider would croon "Querida" to me, and I liked the sound of that word.

I was bewildered and confused about what happened to me. I didn't know any of these horses. I had a bridle on my head, a bit in my mouth and broken reins. Yesterday, my rider and I took a bad fall and he jerked my mouth horribly when the saddle slipped to the side. One of the reins broke as we fell and we slid on the loose rocks, scraping my side and leg. When I got up, the wild horses were running and I ran with them. The saddle eventually slipped further and further sideways as I kept up with the herd. I stepped on one of the flapping pieces and something broke and it fell away. I still have the bridle on my face, and my mouth hurts, but these strange horses have led me to food and water.

I am frightenend and don't know what to expect. Usually people bring me my food and house me in a building at night. It was strange to sleep outside.

[Got Brio?]

Spanky considered the buckskin mare,and helped tug the bridle off. Spanky went around the herd to count the horses...1...2....3....4...5...6...7..8,9 was missing
Spanky neighed to alert the horses. He herded them into the pines. He told them to wait and galloped over the hill. His mare that was missing was being
lead behind saddled horses. Spanky looked around for what to do. He was fired up that one of his mares was being dragged away. He saw the answer. A small pony that was being ridden by a rustler was holding the mare. He nickered out to the pony. The small pony turned her head. And neighed back,Spanky asked the pony if he could do anything to help his mare. The pony repiled yes and snatched the rope out of his hand and threw it. Spanky neighed to the pony and said thank you. The mare that was galloping closer had the rope flying out from behind her.....

[Heidi]

The mare ran to join Spanky and stepped on the dragging rope. It jerked her head down but the old halter snapped and she was able to regain her footing and gallop away with Spanky. The other riders yelled when the pony's rider let the wild mare go and turned their larger horses to follow Spanky and the mare.

Spanky and the mare ran into the pines where I was waiting with the rest of the herd. The herd could hear the hoofbeats coming closer and were getting nervous. I was getting scared because I didn't know why they were getting nervous about the people coming. The people would feed us and take care of us.

I started to trot towards the people on horseback but Spanky intercepted me and ran into my shoulder. He screamed his stallion call and bit me on the crest of my neck, turning me and making me go back to the herd. The entire herd ran through the pines, jumped the creek and raced across a large meadow, heading away for the canyons and then the plains beyond. By this time I was in the middle of the herd and kept running with them.

The people on the other horses fell behind. I guess they were tired after all the chasing they did yesterday and they had to carry people, too. Spanky kept behind us, urging us on while an older mare led the herd. I stayed in the middle of the herd, I didn't want to get bit by Spanky again, so I decided I'd just do whatever the other horses did.

We ran for about an hour and then the younger horses, the foals, started to get tired and Spanky let us slow down to rest. We were in a grassy area with a stream so we all drank, some rolled in the sand and mud along the stream and then we all grazed. The foals had meals from their mothers and then layed down in the grass to rest. They sure were tired.

While I was grazing, I thought I saw something moving in the brush along the edge of the meadow. It seemed to be a large animal and was creeping closer to the sleeping foals. I snorted and even though Spanky was on the other side of the herd, he saw the direction I was looking in...

[Got Brio?]

Spanky neighed and pawed challenging this creature. What stepped out was a 17 hand black stallion. He pawed returning the challenge. The lead mare herded the herd into the woods. Spanky was a 15 hand gaited horse,so he had muscles of steel. He reared into the sky and charged. His bay form a flash as he ran, The black stallion had charged too. Spanky dug his teeth into the other stallions back. The black stallion pushed Spanky on the ground. SPanky jumped back up on his feet. The black was suffering from a leg injury which had occured earlier. Spanky reared and so dod the stallion,Spanky's leg hit that leg,and the stallion fell. Spanky watched and waited. The black got up and ran into the woods.
Spanky walked over to the herd,and herding them into a bunch and urged them into a slow gallop. He brought them into a field and surveyed the area. He decided that this was a great place for the herd to rest. He watched as they grazed. The air smelled funny.....

[Heidi]

When the black stallion came out of the woods and neighed his challenge to Spanky, the foals woke up and ran to their mothers. I ran with them when the lead mare urged us into the trees to watch the fight between Spanky and the black stallion.

The challenger was injured and though he tired to fight, he was no match for Spanky and eventually limped away, defeated in his quest to win mares and a herd of his own.

Spanky led us to a new area, further away from where the black stallion was. He seemed nervous, he kept lifting his head and sniffing the air. I sniffed the air too, but was not alarmed, as the smell of smoke was a comforting smell to me where I grew up. Spanky's bay coat glistened with sweat as he became more and more nervous with the smoke in the air. The lead mare became nervous, too and then the rest of the herd caught their nervousness.

As I looked around, I realized I could see smoke drifting in a haze towards us. Spanky reared and neighed a challenge, but the smoke of course did not answer back. Spanky ran around the herd, grouping us together to protect us against this unknown adversary. Some of the foals were frightened and were whinnying piteously, calling for their frightened dams. All at once, Spanky dashed off into the thickest part of the smoke!

We could hear his hoofbeats as he galloped away. Then we could hear nothing, but faint cracking sounds. I saw a flash of brown fur to my right and looked in that direction and saw some deer bounding away. The herd wanted to run, too...but we did not want to leave without Spanky. Suddenly, we heard Spanky's thundering hoofbeats as he galloped wildly towards us. When he burst through the smoke, his eyes were wild and he was neighing shrilly, telling us to run, Run, RUN!

I looked behind him and it looked like the sun was rising, it was bright and firey looking. That is when I realized the smoke was from a forest fire! My frantic neigh joined Spanky's and together, Spanky and I urged the herd to run from the fire. The meadow was in a draw, with hills on the sides and the easiest way to run was straight down the littel valley. Unfortunately, this was also the direction the wind was moving, making the fire follow closely behind us.

Spanky urged the herd faster and faster, but we were tired from the previous two days before, when the horse rustlers ran us and again when we rescued the stolen mare. The poor foals, they got tired and couldn't keep up. Spanky neighed at them, bit them and even ran his chest into them to keep them going. Their dams were frightened, but didn't want to leave their babies behind so they slowed down too.

The whole herd slowed down and the fire was catching up with us. We could hear the crackling snap of the flames devouring the grasses and sometimes sparks would land on our coats and sizzle on our skin. I was afraid the babies and their dams would have to be left behind, but Spanky looked wildly around through the smoke, his memory of the area, his instincts and with his great leadership abilities...

...he urged us sideways, across the front of the wildfire and towards the hills and mountains at the edge of the valley. As we were heading towards a place Spanky knew, the fire came closer and closer. We could feel the heat on our sides, baking the sweat of our frantic run on our coats. The babies were panting with exhaustion, but Spanky would not let them stop.

We reached a cliff at the edge of the valley and many of the older mares screamed in terror. We were trapped! They tried to run past Spanky, but he worked hard to stop their panicked attempts. I thought he must know something, and I stopped a mare from running past with her foal. When Spanky got them all turned and listening to him, he urged them behind a boulder at the base of the cliff and I was shocked as each horse disappeared behind the boulder and did not reappear on the other side! When it was my turn, I saw why...

Spanky had found a cave for us to hide in while the fire passed us outside. We were safe, for now.

[Got Brio?]

Spanky saw that the foals were tired. He looked at his lead mare,she wasnt doing well. He looked at the herd,he decided to go look for a safer place. He went to the buckskin mare and asked for her to watch the herd. Spanky ran out of the cave to look for stragglers and a safer place. He galloped through the pine forest,searching and neighing. He ran into a gray mare,she was caught in a hole. Spanky helped the mare out and urged her on. The mares' name was Nisha. Spanky found a valley that had a nice creek in it and good sweet grass. He told Nisha to follow him back to the herd. The mare obeyed and proceded to follow him back. Spanky would led the herd back in the morning. When he got back there was a new face........

[Heidi]

It was dark in the cave, but at the back there was a small stream that ran across the floor. The herd was tired and covered with burn marks and soot from the fire. Everyone was hungry, but I kept the herd from leaving the cave to look for food. I knew the fire woud have consumed everything and the herd would scatter, looking for forage. Spanky asked me to keep everyone together in the cave, so I tried my best and kept everyone contained. The lead mare helped, but she was old and tired from the days of running and the dangers of the past several days that the herd had experienced. I hoped Spanky would come back soon.

The foals did well staying in the cave. They slept and nursed, gaining strength that the older horses needed, but would not be able to get until we were able to graze again.

During the night, one of the younger mares went down. I was alarmed because she was grunting, groaning and thrashing. The lead mare just looked pleased, but I didn't understand what was happening. All of a sudden there was a slight smell of blood and the entire herd whickered a greeting.

Who were they greeting? They already knew this mare? I didn't see any other horse come into the cave...

I stepped closer to see better and jumped back when a spindly-legged foal staggered to its feet! The young mare had foaled! On the ranch I grew up on, mares went to a special barn and when they came back out, they had foals at their side...
Ah, so THIS is how mares have foals! Rather messy, if you ask me, but the little foal sure is cute.

The young mare got tiredly to her feet and licked her foal all over to dry it and urge it to nurse. The foal responded and nursed noisily and then lay down to sleep. The young mare was very tired and stood with her head drooping over the foal's flank.

I sure hope Spanky gets back soon, the lead mare told me that new mother needs to eat to make milk for her foal. The lead mare also told me that this is late in the year for having foals, usually they are born in the spring and it is mid/late-summer now. Grass is begining to dry and we may have a difficult time finding forage for the new mother to keep her health up and be able to raise her foal through the winter.

I heard hoofbeats at the cave entrance and turned my head and met Spanky's eyes. He glanced at me, and then his alert eyes went immediately to his newest foal. He arched his neck and pranced into the cave, flagging his tail out behind him. He whuffled noses with the young mare and then nuzzled the young colt who was his newest offspring.

Would this colt challenge him for control of the herd in the future? Maybe, but that would be years away and he would worry about that later. Suddenly, there was squealing at the cave entrance! The lead mare was baring her teeth and striking at a beautiful gray mare who had entered the cave! Spanky leaped between the mares and squealed at the lead mare that he had found and rescued the gray mare, whose name was Nisha, and he wanted her accepted into the herd.

At this announcement, the other horses came slowly up to Nisha, who was quivering in fright next to Spanky. They all blew in each others nostrils and exchanged greetings, even the lead mare, who apologized to Nisha. When Nisha saw how friendly the herd was, she sighed and relaxed. She finally felt safe.

Spanky oversaw his herd accept Nisha and also relaxed. He closely looked his herd over and saw that they had rested from running, and had water available in the cave but needed food badly. He advised everyone to get a drink of water and to follow him.

He took us out of the cave and we stood in despair. The grass was gone! Everything was black, as far as we could see. What would we eat? Spanky told the herd about the valley with the creek and grass, but it was far away. He didn't tell the herd how far it was, he didn't want to worry them...but he knew he had to get them there.

He looked at me, then he looked at the new mother and her foal. I understood he wanted me to keep her company to help her along during the journey. We started out in a straggling line, following our courageous stallion.

[Got Brio?]

Spanky knew how the new mother and foal would be stragglers. He turned to Querida(that's the mares name right?)and told her to keep the mare company. Nisha was from a small town about 40 miles away from here,she knew nothing about the wild. When the fire roared through the town her owner turned her loose. She had taken off to the wild thinking shhe could find a wild horse group that would take her in. When Spanky found her she was thinking about giving up,but when she saw the stallion she got her hope back,
Now the danger was on again. The mares were tired and staying their foals no matter how far they were lefted behind. Spanky rounded the herd up and started them at a slow walk. He told Nisha to watch the herd while he ran ahead to look for things that would slow the down or endanger them. Spanky took off a largo. In front of him was a mountian lion that was straving because all the food had died or ran from the fire. Spanky watched him,he was about 2 feet tall at the shoulder. He looked weak from hunger. Spanky decided that the maountian lion was a threat to his herd and reared. The mountain lion charged Spanky stood still and waited. At the right moment he reared high into the sky. His hooves came down striking the mountian lion. He screamed in pain and dung his claws into Spanky. Spanky felt some of his skin rip. he neighed and rolled into the stream near by,the mountian was still on his back. The mountain lion was dieing. Finally Spanky felt the mountain lions' claws let go. Spanky stayed still for a few minutes. He turned to see his back. The wounds were deep all across his withers. They stung very bad and he laid down in the water. When he felt all was well,he stood up and shook.
When he returned to the herd they were almost to the new grazing site.It was about 2 miles. Spanky moved them faster. The horses must have known the they were close because they willing went. When they got to the grazing site all of the herd started to eat and drink. Spanky looked at the herd counting and obsevering.
Then he saw that the mare with a new born was missing along with Querida. Spanky went to look out of the hidden valley then he saw them coming he neighed and sighed with relief.

[Heidi]

I was walking with the mare and her new foal. She was so tired, I was afraid she would fall too far behind if I didn't encourge her. Nisha would come back and check on us periodically and then report to the lead mare, who continued leading the herd in the direction Spanky told her the meadow was in.

The foal was frisky at first, wanting to run and test his new legs. He would run circles around us but as the day lengthened he stayed more and more by his mother's side. She started stumbling a little and I walked with my side touching hers and her baby on the other side. I think it comforted her to know she wasn't alone, even though we could not see the rest of the herd.

I could smell their scent and see where their hooves had trodden on their way to new grazing. I was getting nervous about being seperated from the herd. I was a new member and didn't know everything I should know about being in the wild and the new mother was too exhausted to instruct me. Everything... our safety, our life, finding the herd... was on my withers.

Suddenly, a piercing neigh rang out and I recognized Spanky's voice. I Whinnied in relief, we had found the herd! Spanky galloped to meet us and we walked the rest of the way to the meadow together. The young mother lifted her head at Spanky's arrival and she whickered a greeting and lifted her hooves higher for a few steps, then lowered her head and continued plodding forward. Spanky looked at me and I returned his look and shook my long mane in a noncommital gesture. It would be up to her to regain her strength.

The meadow Spanky had brought us to was a good one. Lush, deep grass that was kept green from a seeping spring that eventually ran into a small creek. There were some trees dotted near the creek for shade and we joined the herd in lowering our heads and filling our bellies.

I grazed next to Spanky and he told me about the cougar he fought. I used my lips to investigate his wounds and while they were deep, his laying in the water had cleaned them and they looked like they would heal, though his bay coat would always carry the scars of the horrific battle he fought with the starving cat.

Nisha was grazing with the lead mare. I think they had struck up a friendship and perhaps the lead mare was telling Nisha everything she needed to know about living with a wild herd. I decided to join them and see what I could learn, too.

I had decided I would stay with the wild herd and not try to find my human.

[Got Brio?]

Spanky was watching the colt,deciding that one day when the time came the foal could be herds stallion. Spanky knew he would have to teach the colt everything along with the herd helping. Nisha meanwhile was learning the way of the wild. Soon Querida came over to learn also. Nisha learned that everything like the human world was based on dominace. Then the mare took them around and told them how everything occured and happened.
Nisha had come from a indian town or tribe and was ridden bareback and no bridle. She was amazed when Querida talked about the tack she wore.
Spanky walked around listening to conversations and answering questions that hey had about his wounds and the new grazing grounds. He told Nisha,Querida,and the lead mare that he would be gone for a day or so while he wondered the area. He said he wanted to make sure there werent any humans camps,tribes,or towns around. When he said this Nisha felt alarmed what if her owner caught her and took her back? She looked over at Querida and saw that she might have been thinking the same thing.
Spanky lefted the valley and wandered along the deer paths looking for signs of humans. He thought he saw a camp fire about a mile away and galloped to it. Spanky got there and saw 3 quarter horses tied side by side. Spanky tried to free them only he heard a lot of noise near by. He freed the horses and they ran neighing their thanks. Spanky went to the noise and watched from behind some bushes.
3 men were talking about a valley they had seen 4 days ago. Spanky worried that they would go and take the herd,but he remembered that there were no horses for them to ride. He waited as he listened to their plans to set it up so they could catch the wild horses they had seen up near the valley. Spanky took off to the valley thinking about where to move the herd. He knew that if he took them to the high mountains the herd would be safe. He decided the mountains were the best for the herd.
Mean while Nisha,Querida,and the lead mare were looking out for the herd. Everything was going great. The newborn was running with the 6 month old foals. He was getting good at running,and his mamma was watching proudly.
Spanky was back in the valley. He looked around and gather the herd and ran them half way up the mountain then let them stop to drink and eat. He gaited around the herd then stopped to have a few bites himself. Nisha knew something was familar about the way Spanky ran and moved, then it hit her! He was the father of the foal she was carrying.
She had gotten loode last spring. And spent a day or so with him, then her owner found her and took her home.
She felt very odd that she was in his herd now. And wondered what tommorrow would bring as she drifted asleep.

[Heidi]

Spanky had been gone for a few days and the herd stayed in the meadow and grazed and rested. When Spanky returned he decided to move the herd up into the mountains. It was cooler up there, even though summer was nearly over, but Spanky knew there would also be less bugs to bother us. Nisha spoke with me as we traveled and told me about the night she got loose and how she thought Spanky was the stallion she had bred with. She said it was dark and windy and she couldn't see him very well, but she recognized the unique sound of his gait. When Nisha mentioned this, I realized that many of the horses in the herd moved like Spanky.

Nisha said I moved that way, too. I remembered that there was a stallion at the ranch I grew up on that moved like Spanky, and most of the other horses there also moved that way...I just thought that was normal for all horses. Nisha showed me the difference between how she moved and how I moved. I could do all the moves she did, but she couldn't do some of the moves I could. We were different in other ways, too...she was much more refined in her face, with beautiful wide-set eyes and a dished face. (Your Nisha is an Arab, right?) She also seemed to float when she trotted or cantered. No matter how hard I tried, I could not float like her. I only managed to bounce around and look like the deer. That made Nisha whinny a laugh at me because she thought I looked funny.

When we were done playing around the outside edges of the herd we settled down to graze and talk about her foal that would come. I was excited for Nisha. I didn't know anything about having foals and was happy for my friend, but I wondered when the baby would come...Nisha looked huge. Maybe she would foal soon? Like the other young mare? I hoped I would be able to be with her to comfort and support her. Since we were both new to the herd, we had become friends as we learned about being wild horses.

I looked around to check on the young mother and she seemed to be doing fine with her colt. The colt was young and full of life. He was a chestnut, like his mother, but he had a wide blaze on his face and his mother named him for it; Blaze. The name seemed to suit him as he would blaze trails through the woods while racing with the older colts and fillies of the herd. He was also a cocky young thing, constantly trying to be near Spanky and copy everything his great sire did. When Spanky would scan the horizon for danger, so would little Blaze. When Spanky would circle the herd to check on everyone, so would Blaze. When Spanky would go further away to scent and scan for danger, Blaze would try to follow and Spanky would usually have to chase him back to his mother, threatening to bite him with his great teeth. Blaze would run, in fear for his life, but Spanky would always give me a look that was full of laughter. I think he loved that little trouble-maker Blaze!

Nisha and I settled down for the night. She seemd uncomfortable when she layed down, so she stood up and kept shifting her feet from side to side. I layed down near her and fell fast asleep in the grass. When I woke up a few hours later, Nisha was gone!

[Got Brio?]

(Yes Nisha is an Arab lol)
Nisha felt that it was time. She had wanted to tell Querida,but Nisha couldnt wait. Spanky must have seen her go because he neighed out from behind her. Nisha returned the neigh and returned to work. See wandered up the mountain looking for the perfect spot for her foal.
She found a wonderful spot. It was a small thicket that deer used and had grass that could be reached from inside. She laid down to start.
Spanky mean while was watching the sun come up over the horizion. He sighed. His herd woke up and started to graze. Except Querida, she saw that Nisha was gone,and looked worried. SPanky went over to comfort her. He told her it was time. She understood and started to graze.
Nisha looked at what she had produced. The foal was a filly,with a bay coat just like her daddy. Nisha wondered if when she grew older if it would fade gray,just like her chestnut coat did. She wondered what to call it as the newborn nusred. SHe thought that since see had a cresent on her forhead Luna would fit her. Nisha got the foal ready and started home.
Luna was trying out her new legs. She would do the gait Nisha did. When Nisha went into a canter,Luna did a hand gallop.
Spanky smelled Nisha and whinnied to her and then to the herd. When the came in the valley the foal trembled in fear. Nisha moved her on.

[Heidi]

I was grazing when I heard Spanky neigh that Nisha had returned. I snapped my head up and searched for Nisha. I saw her and her new foal! I galloped towards them to greet Nisha and saw the foal tremble in fear at her mother's side, so I slowed down and approached slowly.

Nisha and I exchanged breaths with our nostrils and then she let me inspect her new foal, Luna. Luna stood stock still next to her mother with her head pressed against Nisha's side. She smelled brand new and fresh, like spring grass from laying in the hollow where she was born.

Spanky approached Nisha and the new foal and I stepped away from my friend so our stallion could inspect his new offspring. The rest of the herd followed Spanky to await their turn to greet little Luna.

[Got Brio?]

Spanky sniffed the newborn. Luna was terrified until see saw Blaze. He was her size,maybe a little bit taller. She slowly went toward him,and he sniffed her then ran away. Luna chased him for a while,having the best time of her short life.
Nisha was near by grazing with Querida. They talked about foals and life. Nisha told her about where she had foaled. Nisha asked if Querida ever thought about having a foal?

[Heidi]

Me? Have a foal? I never thought about it. At the ranch I was kept at, they kept the riding mares away from the stallions. I was a young, healthy horse that had lived 7 summers. I turned my head and looked speculatively at Spanky.

He was a fine looking horse. Very well balanced, strong, with good bone and plenty of muscle. I knew he had the ability to lead the herd and protect us from danger. Fine qualities to pass on to a foal. I wondered what would happen when spring came. I knew that was when the breeding season at the ranch began. Oh well, I had all fall and winter to think about it.

I watched Luna and Blaze play around us. Blaze's mother began to graze near us because her and Nisha's foals were so close in age. Blaze's mother still seemed tired all the time. She ate well, but it seemed she just could not get fat on the rich green grass like the rest of us. Maybe she would do better when Blaze was older and able to graze more rather than nurse. Luckily, Nisha seemed to be doing very well.

[Got Brio?]

Spanky pranced around with Blaze and Luna. They both had his special gait and taught them how to keep it even. Luna was now 12 days old and fast for her age. Spanky watched the mares to make sure they were all there. He looked at the new mothers to make sure they were fine. And his eyes fell on a black body.
The black had returned. He wanted to leave with a herd this time. He pawed to challenge Spanky. He reared and charged,Spanky stood his ground. All the mares got together waiting their foals at their side. Spanky slammed his hooves into the blacks side. And grabbed his neck and kicked. The black injured limped away warning that he'd be back.
Nisha watched Spanky chase him out and ran into the stream. When Nisha got closer see saw that the water was red. His cuts that had healed were cut open again. Spanky snorted in pain. rolled in the water.
Nisha looked over his wounds to make sure he was fine. They clotted up,and were fine.
The next day a strange sound rang through the mountain meadows. It sounded like Indian war drums. Spanky ran to the cliff were you could see most of the pairie. He saw that the "white men" as the indians called them were lined up and the indians were coming from their tribes. Spanky remembered that Querida was from a "white man" town,and Nisha was from a indian tribe. He would keep the away for the winter so none of them would be in danger of being caught.

Spring was on the way and Spanky took the herd down to the pairie grass. Luna was fast and galloped up near Spanky,Blaze was still learning
from Spanky on being a stallion. Nisha would watch as Luna gallop over the pairie. She floated like herself and could also gait like her father.
Nisha talked with Querida about how warm it was getting. All the mares were high strung now and days.

[Heidi]

We weathered the winter fairly well. We lost no horses or foals to the roaming wolves. Their howls and pacing around the herd some nights was terrifying for me, but Spanky kept them away while the lead mare kept the herd together.

The herd's foals were approaching yearling age now, though Blaze and Luna were still the youngest at about 5 months old. Spring would be here in only 2-3 months and Spanky and the older mares who had been with the herd a long time told us of the spring grasses where we could eat all day on a sea of grass. It sounded like heaven and I nickered with pleasure at the thought.

Healthwise, the herd was doing okay. We were a little skinny from the dry winter forage but the young mother (Blaze's mother) was skinnier than the rest and didn't seem to have as much energy, though Blaze was doing well.

Spanky was moving the herd further up into the mountians because he saw a battle about to take place below between the two different herds of humans. We were moving through the woods, sort of scattered out and grazing as we moved, when we heard a horse-scream of terror! It was Blaze and he came galloping wildly into the middle of the herd. He was frightened out of his mind. Where was his mother? Spanky went to investigate and I followed him while the rest of the herd nervously moved through the trees to try to reach a meadow and open ground.

Spanky and I neared the area where Blaze had run from and smelled a harsh scent in the air. Very musky, dirty and pungent. Spanky immediately went on alert and I did too, though I did not know what animal the smell belonged to. We rounded a small group of trees and saw Blaze's hoof prints in the grass from when he ran away. In a small clearing among the trees we found his mother. She was dead.

Her skinny body was laying on its side and her neck was laying at a strange angle. Spanky and I stood in shock and stared at her. I forgot all about the strange smell at the sight of her lifeless body. There was a low, rumbling growl and I jumped and looked all around. Spanky was faster than I and he jumped in front of me. When I looked over his back I saw a huge, brown, hairy animal with small eyes and huge teeth growling at us. It had hidden in the trees when we approached and was now coming out to defend its 'kill', our herd-mate the young mare.

It was easy for Spanky to see what had happened. The humans had disturbed the bear during its hibernation and it awoke and was angry and hungry. Blaze and his mother were in this little clearing, with downed trees and no easy way to escape when the bear was able to lunge suddenly at the weakend mare and break her neck with one massive blow. Blaze was smaller, healthier and fast and able to duck between the trees and get away before the bear could try to attack him.

The grizzley bear stood on its hind legs and roared at Spanky. I was frozen stiff with fear and rooted to the spot. Spanky looked behind him and saw me still there and he could not go anywhere, so he reared and neighed a challenge to the bear. The bear shuffled its feet and dropped down to all fours again, looking at its kill and again at us.

The bear began to charge towards us and Spanky glanced behind him again and saw that I was still transfixed by the bear. He bucked and kicked out behind him, catching me in the chest with a hoof. That broke the spell and I spun around and ran. I moved too late. The bear was faster and swung a paw at Spanky and raked his claws on Spanky's shoulder.

Spanky chased after me, biting my rump to make me move faster and faster through the trees. Branches and limbs whipped our faces, necks, chest and legs. After only a short chase, the bear gave up and returned to the dead mare. We ran a short ways and stopped to catch our breath before continuing to the herd. As I was looking at Spanky's wounds that the black stallion had re-opened and inspecting the new ones from the bear, we heard something comping towards us through the trees and brush. I stood tensely, but Spanky was relaxed. He smelled a herd member.

It was Blaze. Blaze came through the woods and joined us. He looked miserable. He was covered in sweat and had bite marks on him. I looked at Spanky and Spanky looked back at me with a question in his large eyes. Who would bite Blaze when he was so scared? ...and the rest of the herd would be saddened to learn of the death of his dam.

We had to explain to Blaze that his mother was gone. The large hairy beast he had seen attack them from the woods had killed his mother. He would have to be a big colt, now. Spanky assured him that he would take over teaching Blaze about being a good horse and herd leader. Blaze just dropped his head even more and said he had already failed at being a herd leader.

Spanky gave me an amused glance, thinking the young colt was just playing at being a herd-sire, but then Blaze said a huge black horse came and bit him, chasing him out of the herd and took the mares, leaving him behind. Spanky's head came up and fire sparked in his eyes and his nostrils flared... The black stallion! His mares! He had to rescue them from the black stallion! He took a step forward and stumbled heavily from his injuries.

The blow from the bear's claws, though not deep, had bruised him badly and made him stiffen up as we stood talking with Blaze. Spanky gritted his teeth and made himself move forward. He HAD to rescue his herd. I noticed that the longer we walked, the looser and easier Spanky moved. I breathed a sigh of relief that my stallion would be alright.

As we walked through the night, following the scent of the herd, and the hated black stallion, Spanky shared part of his plan with me. He said that since the black stallion ran the only colt out of the herd (Blaze) that he would use me as 'bait' since I was a mare.

Spanky would use the black stallion's lust for mares to advantage...he would have to find a place to set a trap for the black stallion. One where I would lure the black while Spanky rescued the herd. He said it could be dangerous for me, but I wanted to help get our herd back together. Blaze wanted to help, too, but Spanky said the black stallion would try to kill Blaze because he was another stallion's colt. Blaze would have to stay in a safe place while Spanky and I put our plan into motion. I saw Blaze dip his head, but I wondered about the glint in his eye...I hoped he would obey Spanky and stay safe...

[Got Brio?]

Spanky heard hooves in a distance. Spanky moved faster,his muscles loosening. He saw the black ahead. Spanky got behind the tree with Blaze. Querida stepped into the clearing and neighed. The black came to get her and Spanky got ready for action.
As the black got closer and was parallel to Spanky he charged slamming down on the blacks' injured leg. The black tried to attack,but Blaze came from behind him rearing and kicking the blacks' leg spraining it. The black laid down and the threesome went to go find the herd.
Nisha meanwhile was worried,she didnt like knowing that Blazes' mom was dead. Luna was making friends with an other filly named Miramar they galloped around racing. When they heard Spanky coming they neighed to rejoice in his presence. Spanky and the lead mare gathered the herd and took them down the mountain. The stopped in a mountain meadow,Spanky went to go see if the war was still going on.It was,so they all ran around when a huge bang went off.
Luna was so scared she took off down the mountain running toward the war. Spanky following her. They were closing in Spanky went into a dead run and finally catching up with Luna. He herded her back to the herd.
When Nisha saw them she cantered over and nuzzled Luna. Nisha watched at how all the mares were crazy from knowing breeding season and even Querida was acting funny. Luna was running around the mountain meadow. Nisha remebered when she was 2 (she's 8 at the moment) her owner had raced her at a near by race track. She had won but had never raced again.
Spanky was watching the mares closely. Trying to figure out which mares would be a good breeding choice. Nisha,Ginger,Maggie,and even maybe Querida. He liked how she had the same gait as he had.
Luna was watching Blaze sparr with an older colt. She liked watching them sparr. It made her laugh,to see them pretend to fight. Luna started to graze and kept her eyes alert. She wanted to see the war up close.
Luna cortoed away from the herd,down to a cliff and saw that there were humans dieing. She hated watching so she galloped back and saw that everyone was around Spanky. They were having an important meeting.

[Heidi]

Spanky's plan to lure the black stallion away from the herd worked. The Black saw me and left the herd, giving Spanky a chance to ambush him. I was sorry to see the Black's leg broken, I knew it was a death sentence, but he was an evil stallion who had mistreated Spanky's mares while he had them. As we galloped away, I heard wolves howling in the distance and knew the Black would be dispatched quickly. That was life in the wild and I had to be careful I did not get injured.

Spanky had gathered all the mares to him and was discussing the upcoming breeding season. He knew the winter had been a harsh one and that we had lost a mare. Everyone remembered Blaze's mother quietly. Spanky felt that as the different mares came into season, if they were agreeable, he would breed them all. In some years, when the weather was uncooperative, he would only breed a few, so there would be enough feed for everyone. This year, he felt would be a good one to expand his herd.

While the adult horses were discussing the upcoming season, Luna kept finding herself drawn down the mountain to the noises she was hearing. Her friend, Miramar followed her. The two fillys whinnied and snorted at each other as they ran down the mountain. They heard a crashing behind them and stopped to look and saw Blaze trying to catch up. Blaze thought he was a big stallion, though he was still young and motherless...he had gained a lot of confidence since Spanky took him under his mane when his dam died.

The three weanlings continued down the mountain and managed to get lost. They had been talking among themselves and not paying any attention to where they were going. They heard a noise in the brush up ahead and all three startled when a man with a feather in his black hair stood up. The three young horses wheeled and ran, but in their fear they ran even further away from their herd. When they stopped running, they realized they didn't know how to get back to their herd...and the feather-hair man was between them!

Blaze tried to keep the girls from panicking and assured them that their father and the two girls' mothers would try to find them. It was getting dark and they huddled together under a tree to wait for morning. All they knew, was the herd was up the mountain...

[Got Brio?]

Luna was scared and the threesome huddled together. She relaxed and sighed. Blaze had a nice tall frame that was warm and Miramar was warm and tall also,so soon Luna fell asleep.
In the morning Luna woke up she looked around and nuzzled Mira(Miramar) and Blaze. They grazed then talked about what to next they decided to head down the mountain for the day. When they got to the bottom there were 100's of men fighting. Luna,Blaze and Mira hid and watched. There were hoove beats from behind. Nisha and Querida flew down. 4 men from behind them were chasing them the horses scattered.
Nisha was lasoed,then Querida and then Mira. Luna and Blaze were able to escape in time.
Spanky had finished breeding before Nisha and Querida lefted to look for the yearlings. He looked around waiting for the mares to return. He was asking himself why had he let the mares go alone. He decided that they would take care of each other and started to graze.
Luna was worried as her mother,friend and other friends mother was being dragged away. her mother told her to go find Spanky. He would be moving the herd up the mountain for spring grazing.
Blaze thought that scince he was a colt her was in charge and bossed Luna around. Luna noticed how much he reminded her of Spanky. She neighed for her mother. And Blaze herded her up the mountain. Luna was not going to be herded so she turned around and nipped her on the nose. She hadnt hurt him just reminded him that she was not going to be herded. They made their way up the mountain and saw Spanky and galloped up to him and told him what happened. He told the lead mare to take the herd to the grazing spot and took off down the mountain.
Nisha and Querida had arrived at a military camp,they needed new horses for the war. Nisha told Querida to act like you had ever been ridden.

[Heidi]

After Luna told Spanky to mind his manners, he was contrite and the friends made their way up the mountain together to try to find the herd. They were lucky and managed to find the herd fairly quickly. They whinnied and Spanky heard the panic in their voices and galloped to them. He noticed right away that Mira, Nisha and Querida were not with them.

Blaze and Luna told Spanky what happened, that men had taken the two mares and the other filly. Spanky told the lead mare to keep the herd together and take them to the new grazing meadow further up the mountain. Spanky set off down the mountain to look for his mares.

Blaze was angry that Spanky didn't ask him to come along. He knew he could help!...so he followed far enough behind Spanky that he wasn't noticed. Halfway down the mountain, Spanky met Mira. Mira had a rope burn around her neck and had trouble speaking because her throat was sore. She said the rope 'bit' her and the man who had caught her let her go because she was so small. They needed riding horses for their war, not baby horses that had to grow before they could be ridden.

At this time, Spanky heard a noise behind him and saw Blaze emerge from the trees. Blaze was embarassed to be caught, he thought a good stallion would have been able to approach without detection. However, instead of Spanky being irritated and angry with him, Spanky asked Blaze to escort Mira back to the herd and her mother. Blaze perked his ears up and puffed out his chest. Yes, he could do that...just like a big stallion, take care of the young fillys.

After Spanky sent the two youngsters back up the mountain, he kept going and several hourse later he found the human encampement that had taken Nisha and Querida. He stopped at the edge of the trees to watch. The men had tents and several corrals. One corral was empty of horses, but he saw a commotion and watched in horror as the men dragged Querida to the corral.

Querida listened to Nisha when she told her to act like she had no training. Querida would have to act like a truly wild horse, if they knew she could be ridden they would put her with the saddle horses and she would have no chance at all to escape. Men had put a bridle and saddle on her and one of them twisted her ear and made her lower her head and he got on. When he let her ear go, she stood still for a moment and then she let 'er buck!

Spanky was surprised at the athletic ability Querida showed. She bucked, jumped sideways and backwards, sunfished by flashing her belly at the sky, she even reared up and tried to fall on her riders. One by one, they were all bucked off. They put her in the corral that Nisha was in, and then they got ready to try to ride Nisha...

[Got Brio?]

Nisha had never had tack on her so she wouldnt need much encouragement.
They tried to tack her up but she nearly but on mans finger off. And they put her up. Spanky waited till they went to bed and made his move. He moved through the camp site silently. He went to the coral and kicked down the fence. They ran out and they wandered out of the camp.
Luna wanted to see these humans up close. Blaze wanted to also, So they both went down the mountain. They had to spend the night on the mountain for it was too dark to see anything in front of you.
Luna fell asleep and Blaze dozed to keep watch. Luna thought that when he got older he would be a good stallion. Luna wandered if the mares were free yet. Blaze was restless. He said that he didnt feel it was safe here. And that they should go down farther. Luna got up and fell into step beside him,and looked behind them. She felt like they were being followed,and she even heard footsteps. Blaze must have too,because he hurried her on. They were almost out of the woods when a stallion stepped out in front of them. Luna thought about how Spanky had said that other stallions would kill colts that were out of another stallion.
This was a chesnut stallion,he shoved Blaze out of the way and herded Luna out of the woods. Luna refused to leave Blaze alone,but the stallion wasnt leaving with out a mare.

[Heidi]

The stallions name was Red, and he wasn't taking "no" for an answer!

He tried to herd Luna away with him, but she kept circling back to Blaze. Blaze was also trying to seperate Luna from Red so Luna could run away, but Red was much quicker. Red got angry and finally charged at Blaze. Blaze tried to stand his ground and reared up to meet Red, but Red ramed his shoulder into Blaze's belly and knocked him down. He then tried to rear up and stamp on Blaze's head to kill him but Blaze rolled away from the sharp hooves and they struck his shoulder instead.

Luna screamed in horror, thinking she was witnessing her buddy being killed. Red reared one more time and and when Blaze didn't move he turned and ran after Luna. Luna thought her friend was dead and ran in front of Red with her head down, making sad little whickers of protest.

Blaze was stunned. He had never been hurt so badly before. It took him some time before he staggered to his feet and whinnied after Luna, but she didn't appear to hear him. He knew he had to find the herd and he started back up the mountain. It was hard because his shoulder hurt so bad.

He was in so much pain that he didn't hear the other horses until they were right next to him. Luckily it was Spanky and Nisha and Querida were right behind him. Spanky asked Blaze why he was down the mountain and how he had gotten hurt. Blaze was contrite when he told them he and Luna had snuck away from the herd to look at the people again and that a red stallion had taken Luna and tried to kill Blaze.

Nisha was frantic. She had thought that her daughter was safe with the herd and to hear that another stallion had taken her weanling she was almost beside herself. Spanky tried to get the mares to take Blaze back to the herd but Nisha refused. Querida said she'd take Blaze back so Nisha could go with Spanky. Spanky wasn't happy about taking Nisha with him...especially taking another mare with him, to rescue a filly, from the red stallion. What made matters more difficult, was Spanky knew this stallion.

They were half brothers from the same herd they had grown up in and had been best-friends in the bachelor herd until Spanky won his mares. Now he had to take his own daughter from his brother AND keep his brother from trying to take Nisha, too.

Spanky and Nisha began trailing the scent and trail of visual clues that Red and Luna had left...

[Got Brio?]

Luna was in a small herd,the herd was pitiful 3 mares and 1 foal. Luna was grazing trying to think of a way to leave. Luna missed her mom really bad,she hoped Blaze was alright.
Spanky found the trail and Nisha was right behind them. When they got to the entrance of the cave. Spanky went in slowly in and Nisha was close behind. They saw Luna grazing and looking into space. Spanky saw that the stallion was watching and then he saw Spanky.
Spanky charged and kicked and bucked at him. When the Red saw who Spanky was and attcked with greater force. They reared and bit at each other. The Red finally release relizing he was no match for the taller stallion. Luna ran to her mother,and they nuzzled each other.
When they got back it was quiet,because it had been a long day. Everyone was tired and grazed slowly and they dozed. Luna and Blaze talked quietly under a oak tree. nisha and Querida were near by. The soft humming of the war slowly pulled Luna to sleep.
The war last 2 whole months and finally ended in the late summer. Luna was 9 months and so was Blaze. It was werid how quickly they seem to have grown up. No mares died during the summer nor foals.The winter season was coming soon,and adventure filled the cool air.

[Heidi]

The herd grazed the upland meadows of the mountains, occasionally crossing paths with Red's small herd. Red and Spanky would glare at each other, but they did not try to fight again. Spanky was happy with his herd and did not need to fight for more mares. Red's herd was small, but he knew he could not fight Spanky for his mares because Spanky was stronger.

The two stallions had been friends before, but now they were rivals, each with the responsibilities of protecting their herd.

As summer gave way to fall, that year's foals were getting larger and closer to weaning. Blaze, Luna and Mira were now considered yearlings. They didn't have much responsibilities within the herd, but next year, the two fillies could become breedable and have foals of their own the next year. Blaze would have to prove himself to Spanky over the next summer. It would be up to Spanky to decide if Blaze could stay with the herd or have to leave and find a bachelor herd until he could get mares for his own herd. A lot of changes would be coming over the next few years.

However, even now...adventure was just around the corner....

The war had displaced many people and the Indians had decided to move from their traditional hunting and living grounds because of the Pale-Faces encroaching into their territory. As the Warriors moved their families into the mountians, they saw hoofprints of the two herds, both Spanky's large herd and Red's small herd. The older warriors were content with their horses, they had many because they had counted many coup.

But one of the younger warriors decided he would come back when the tribe's families were settled. He wanted to catch a young horse to start his own herd. If he could catch one of the wild horses....he dreamed of being able to offer mares for one of the Indian girls' hand in marriage...

...he kept looking back down the mountain, hoping to catch a glimpse of one of the herds of horses...

[Got Brio?]

Spanky kept the herd hidden,so no one could catch them. Luna was becoming faster and more independent. And when Spanky tried to herd her back she would protest by running around him,but each time Luna would end up being herded back into the herd. Blaze was learning more and more everyday from Spanky. Often Luna would challenge him to a race. Luna would win then the next time Blaze would win.
Nisha was 9 now and was very clse to having her foal. She hoped for a black foal. Querida was getting big now too. They both watched as they waddled around to eat grass. Luna would be able to be bred next year too. Nisha thought the independent filly would make a good mother. And hoped she would pass her looks and gait on,but that would happen next year.
Spanky was 9,but still a legacy(in the herd). He like to teach Blaze everything he needed to know. He would take the herd high into the mountains.
One day Luna was near a Indian tribe watching wondering what it would be like to have a owner. She ran back to the herd,SPanky scolded her for going near the humans. Nisha was ready for her foal to come. She lefted the herd,she went to where she had had Luna.
The foal was coal black,a filly. The foal would be called Dream(cheesy I know). Dream had a big blaze on her face. When Dream was ready Nisha took her back to the herd. When she got back Spanky sniffed the newborn and almsot smiled at Nisha. He backed up to let the herd see the filly.
Nisha took Dream over to Luna so she could see her new little sister.
Luna sniffed Dream then back up and neighed. She told Nisha that Querida had lefted that morning. Nisha sighed in relief,as she watched Luna bound after Blaze in a game of tag. Although they were 1 they still loved to play. The play stopped when the mountain rang with gallopong hoof beats. Spanky told the herd to flee. They all took off,but Blaze.

[Heidi]

Blaze thought he could try to protect the herd like Spanky did. What he didn't know, was that the herd could not fight the humans, they had to outsmart them by running away and hiding.

Blaze saw the single horse running towards him and reared up, neighing a challenge. Spanky heard the ringing neigh from Blaze and slid to a halt and turned to look. He neighed a warning to Blaze, but Blaze either didn't hear him or he ignored his sire. Spanky saw the signs that an Indian warrior was riding the other horse, but he could tell that Blaze did not see the rider. Spanky was heartbroken, but he knew it was more important to save the mares and foals than to save one independent and headstrong colt. He shook his mane and ran after his herd.

Blaze met the running horse but was surprised when the horse veered away. Blaze chased after it and the horse made a quick circle and came up beside him. Then an astonishing thing happened! ...a rider who had been hanging, hidden, on the other side of the galloping horse dropped a loop of braided rawhide over his neck and pulled it tight! Blaze screamed in protest and tried to charge the horse and rider, but the rider never let him get close enough and always kept tension on the rope. This made it hard for Blaze to breathe and he got tired quickly. Eventually, he dropped his head and followed the horse and warrior rider.

The warrior, named FoxTail, took Blaze to a hidden meadow near his Indian encampment. He had built a strong brush corral for Blaze and left him there with food and water. He also put his riding mare in the corral with Blaze so when he visited every day, his mare could show Blaze that FoxTail could be trusted.

Blaze tried to escape the corral at first but it was strongly built and he could not free himself. The other horse, a young mare named Wind, tried to tell him how great life was with the Indians. Blaze had always been a free wild horse and would not listen to her at first. Eventually, he would let FoxTail approach him and feed him treats of apples or nut-meats, but if FoxTail tried to come in the corral, Blaze would run to the other side.

Spanky brought the herd to a safe meadow further up the mountain and then returned to see if he could rescue Blaze and find Querida, who had left the herd to have her foal before the rider came and made them run away. Spanky trailed the Indian warrior, but stayed high on the mountain. From his vantage point, he could see the corral that the warrior had put Blaze into and knew he could not rescue him. He saw that there was a mare with Blaze, and hoped that Blaze would be treated well by the young warrior. He sadly shook his mane and turned away, leaving his son behind.

As he retraced his steps, he tried to think of where Querida would have gone to have her foal. When he entered the meadow where the herd had been grazing, he found he didn't have to search for Querida because she was grazing at the edge of the woods. Spanky neighed and Querida whickered quietly back to him. She waited for Spanky to approach because her foal was sleeping in the dappled shade of the trees. She was curious to know what Spanky would think of her buckskin foal with a star on her forehead and four white socks.

[Got Brio?]

Spanky went over to the foal and sniffed. He neighed to Querida,saying the foal was beatiful. He quickly said Blaze is gone Indians took him we have to get up the mountain to safety. Querida,the foal,and Spanky went up the mountain as fast as the foal could go.
Meanwhile Luna was watching Dream while her mother went down to the pairie. While Nisha was down there she was caught by the horse rustlers. When they caught her they took her to a small horse corral and gave her a lump of sugar. Nisha got the saddle put on her and then the bridle she did great. The boss said she would be his 8 year old sons horse. Nisha figured that meant there wouldnt be a lot of riding. SHe was wrong the 1st day Nisha was ridden out to the pairie for about 3 hours. She would turn her head to the mountains and neigh. The son whos name was Cody would use his leg pressure to move her on. When they got back,Cody would groom her and play with her in the corral. Then he lefted her a flake of hay.
Spanky was told Nisha was caught he was very upset that his new foal didnt have a mother. She looked at the young mare named Ginger,her foal had died during the birth. Ginger accepted Dream and Dream already started to nurse.
Luna was grazing sliently first Blaze then Nisha her own mother. Luna felt abandoned. She looked at the herd,at least she still had her sister and Querida.

[Heidi]

Blaze found that his new life was pretty exciting, full of new things to learn (like being trained to ride) and traveling all over the tribe's territory with FoxTail. The territory was as large as his wild herd's had been, but shared only a small part, so most of the tribe territory was new for Blaze.

He loved his new life with FoxTail. FoxTail taught him how to be ridden, come when called, lay down and hide, run while FoxTail jumped on and off of him and sometimes crawled over him and hung from his side, like he'd seen FoxTail do with Wind the day he was caught. Soon, FoxTail and his stallion were the envy of the tribe and all the young Indian maidens tried to catch FoxTail's eye. FoxTail knew he would need mares to trade for a wife, so he decided to ride his stallion into the wild horse's lands and see what he could catch.

Meanwhile, Star, Querida's foal grew alongside Dream. The two filly's were fast friends and wherever they were, Luna was always nearby. After Luna lost Blaze, she kept a close eye on the fillys, because she didn't want to lose any more friends from her herd.

Querida was sad that her friend Nisha had been captured. She wanted to go and try to free Nisha but Spanky adamantly refused. Querida argued with him several times. He said he already had one filly that lost her mother and he would not let Querida go and maybe lose her, too. Ginger could not nurse both Dream and Star. Spanky said he had tried himself to get Nisha back, but she was kept at a stable and corral in the middle of town. It was just too dangerous.

Luna overheard that conversation and thought to herself: "Querida can't go and possibly endanger her foal by being caught...but I don't have a foal...and maybe I can free my mother!"

[Got Brio?]

Luna thoght and planned and planned. She would go on friday 6 days away,She couldnt wait. luna played with the fillys all day. She taught them how to run fast and jump. Luna enjoyed those days,but she missed Blaze.
Nisha was ridden almost every day. She enjoyed being ridden by Cody. She was ridden out on a round-up to get some cows that were lost from a strom a few days ago. Nisha would leap through them so they'd be together.
Luna was walking down the mountain she wanted to find Blaze and say a good-bye. Finally she founf the Indian tribe they were all fast asleep. She largoed to the corral. She said hi and told him about the herd and how her mother was gone. He told her about how the human way of life was and said that his owner was nice. Luna knew he would never feel the feeling of being free and said she must go and they said good bye.

[Heidi]

Blaze was sad to see his friend look so downhearted about her mother being captured. Blaze could understand, since he lost his mother when he was 5 months old. At least Luna's mother was still alive...

Blaze thught about trying to help Luna, but knew he loved his life with FoxTail and didn't want FoxTail to think he had run away when he had just started trusting him and letting him run loose with the Indian Pony herd.

He thought for a while, but then decided he would try to follow Luna the night she planned to rescue her mother. He was sure he could follow her without her knowing and be back in the Indian Pony herd before FoxTail noticed he was missing. This way, he could make sure Luna was okay.

[Got Brio?]

Luna snuck out of the grazing grounds. She was going to go get her mother,at last. She saw Blaze waiting for her. They were going to go to the humans place to get her mom. They cortoed up to the corral and nickered waiting for a and answering nicker. Then Luna heard Nisha whinning to tell her that she was in the small corral. Luna and Blaze galloped over to the corral. Someone in the house opened the door and yelled to the horses to be quiet. Cody ran to the door to get a glance at Nisha before he went to bed. His dad told him to go up to bed and he'd be up in a minute.
Luna waited till it was dark until she moved to the corral. When she got there she was very disapointed,when Nisha told her that she wanted to stay here. She was going to be turned out with the saddle horses that were turned out on the plains every Monday and Tuesday. Nisha nuzzled both of them and told Luna to come back anytime to come and see her mother.
Then the upstairs window opened and Cody jumped out of the window and ran to the corral. Then he saw Blaze and Luna and stopped dead in his tracks. The horses ran to the cold mountain stream on the other side of the pairie. When they got there they said good bye and left.

[Heidi]

Blaze was surprised to see the young Pale Face run towards him and Luna. He urged Luna to run away with him. They ran to the stream at the edge of the prairie and stopped to talk. Luna was almost heartbroken to learn that her mother wanted to stay with the Pale-Faces, but Blaze tried to tell Luna that people weren't all bad, that he liked his Warrior, FoxTail.
Luna just couldn't understand. She was wild, through and through. It was her heritage, her legacy and it coursed through her veins. She couldn't be anything else BUT a wild mustang.
Blaze and Luna walked together towards the wild herd's grazing grounds and parted company when Blaze had to take a different path to return to the Indian's pony herd. Blaze hoped that Luna would be content to have no mother, like him. But he also had a flash of jealousy, because Luna had her sister Dream to keep her company and play with. Blaze thought about leaving the Indian Pony herd and returning with Luna, but he thought he would be better off with FoxTail and breeding the mares FoxTail brought to him than to fight with his father Spanky for control of the herd.
Meanwhile, back at the herd...Star had woken Querida up so she could nurse and Querida noticed that Luna was missing. She suspected what Luna had done, and hoped that her friend Nisha would be returning with Luna...

[Got Brio?]

Luna was galloping back to the herd when she heard hooves galloping near by. She reconized them as Spanky's hoove steps,she neighed to let him know she was going back. Spanky appeared in the moon light galloping beside her,he asked why she had gone to the humans home. She answered she wanted to get her mother back.
She told him the story of her rescue and how her mother didnt want to come back. He snorted saying how close she had gotten to being caught. She made her self small showing she was submissive to him. Spanky stopped and pawed,she told him that human had seen her but was a foal and wouldnt catch her.
Next morning Nisha woke to see Cody running down the steps to come see her. He told her that the ranch hands told him that his dad was going to take him on the yearly round up. They would take the cows to the summer grazing grounds and it was a weeks ride to get there. Nisha knew she would have the best time ever. He told her that he would be back later to ride her to the near by farm to see his new stallion. Nisha remembered that she had a foal and a yearling at home. Then she remembered Spanky and how he had protected her then when she was caught he hadnt come after her. She missed the mornings that she had gotten up and seen the sun coming over the horizon. She missed those times,but she liked the owner thing. She was grazing when Cody came out to tack her up. They cantered to Cody's friends place,when they got there the 2 boys untacked Nisha and Ryans(that's Cody's friends name) dad came out and told them that they were to put Nisha in the pen next to the stallion. The stallions name was Comet he was jet black,and when Nisha was out in her pen the stallion came over. They talked about the wild,because he had come from the wild to. Then Cody and Ryan came out to feed them. Then they climbed into the loft to talk about the round up,because Ryan was going on the round up with them.
Ryan's dad was going to breed Nisha to Comet,because Codys dad was going to need a new horse for his daughter Grayson. Cody thought that Nisha would have a pretty foal. They fell asleep a few minutes after talking together about the round up.
The next morning Nisha was eating hay when she heared war drums in a distance just like when the 2 year war. nisha whinnied to Cody when he came out she pranced around the pen neighing loudly. Cody ran in Ryans house to tell about the Ryans dad. They all came out hurried to tack out Nisha and Ryans mare Marisa. They wanted Ryan away from the war so he was sending him with Cody. They would be there later with all of the horses.
Luna heard the war drums and looked at Dream and Star who were grazing next to her. Querida raised her head and nodded. They knew it meant war.

[Heidi]

Back at FoxTail's encampment the Indians were quickly working to get ready for another battle with the Pale Faces. They had moved from their traditional grounds once before and liked this new place. They did not want to move again and that meant they would have to fight for their territory and push the Pale Faces away.
FoxTail braided and tied up Blaze's tail and painted marks on his body, a circle around one eye to symbolize sharp vision and a lightning streak running from one hip, down his flank and to his hoof to show his swift speed. He had no horse-hooves painted on him because FoxTail had not taken him on a raiding mission yet to win other horses. Maybe he would be able to steal other horses during this fight, but until he had, he could not paint hooves on Blaze's rump.
The warriors had their women and children pack up the camp and use travois on the older horses and larger dogs to move further up the mountain and into the trees to protect them while the warriors were gone. When the women and children were under way, the warriors began to ride down the mountain towards the settlement, pounding on the war drums. They hoped the settlers would be afraid and run away...but the Indian Chief had stated that people who live in an area and settle it, do not run away. They either try to resolve the conflict peacefully...
...or they fight.

[Got Brio?]

Luna was graing next to Querida,Dream,and Star. She was listening to the war drums and thinking about how Blaze woulld probley be in the war. Dream was playing tag now with Star,they ran through a stream and running back. Ginger, Dreams adpoted mom was nickering for her to stay closer. Luna could tell that she was worried about the war.
Nisha was being ridden back to the farm when...
Sorry that was a short post my parents are telling me to go to bed!

[Heidi]

I saw a new, though short, post to this thread and was happily reading it...when I saw you ended it bybhaving to go to bed! (sorry, I'm laughing!)
I'll let you finish it tomorrow before I add to it. :)

[Got Brio?]

When they could see indians in the distance riding horses and walking. Nisha started to prance wanting to go home to her save stall and corral. Marisa beside her reared,and the Indian war drums got louder. Ryan and Cody urged the horses into a flat gallop and held on for dear life.
Luna was down at the bottom of the mountain,Spanky had said she could go for a walk. She felt as if someone was watching her,and she shook her long mane thinking it was Spanky. She turned around and neighed,and out from the woods came a pack of wolves. She galloped and neighed for help. They were closing in on her,she saw a small river in the distance,it was deep as she jump it. She knew the wolves would have trouble but her leg was bleeding from galloping over the rocks.
Nisha was approching the corral,and when she was untacked she talked to Marisa about the war and Indians. Then Nisha told her about Blaze,and how he was caught by Indians. Nisha heard gun shots,so that meant the calvary had arrived she turned her head to the pairie. They were so close you could see what they were carrying and the horses. Nisha's eyes scaned the horses for Blaze,then she saw him galloping to the others.
Luna was fearing that the wolves knew how to swim they were coming quickly,and her leg was hurt. Would she make it home?

[Heidi]

Blaze ran wildly in the middle of the battle. He was frantic, pnaicking and not able to think straight. FoxTail had been shot and fallen off of him and Blaze could not find him! He galloped wildly around, neighing and searching for FoxTail.
Eventually, he ran a wide circle that carried him near an outcropping of rocks and he caught FoxTail's scent. He searched frantically among the rocks. The smell of blood was strong in his nostrils...and he found a bloody trail leading through the rocks. He leaped around a boulder and came upon FoxTail lying face down in the dirt.
Blaze nudged him with his muzzle and when that had no response he pawed at him and even nipped FoxTail. FoxTail groaned when he was nipped and with the help of Blaze's nudging nose, rolled over. He reached a hand to touch Blaze's muzzle, muttered something intelligeble... and then his hand dropped from Blaze's muzzle as he died of his wound.

Blaze was hearbroken and reared up, neighing a challenge to the sky!

The sounds of the battle raged on beyond the rocks and Blaze had fury coursing through his veins, but there was nothing to vent his pain upon. So he ran.
He ran away from the battle and in his fury, noticed a smell of wolves. They were hunting some creature and they happened to be in his path. Blaze was in a killing fury when he jumped the river and continued following the wolves. When he came upon a clearing where they had cornered their prey he was surprised to see the wolves were about to attack a horse.
Blaze leaped right into the middle of the pack of wolves. He kicked one wolf in the ribs a glancing blow and it rolled away, tumbling and yelping in pain. Another wolf took a blow to the shoulder and it also yelped and scrambled to limp away from the fracas. Blaze reared and tried to stomp some of the wolves but they were too quick for him to land a blow so he went back to kicking with his hind hooves. He struck one wolf directly in the head and killed it instantly. When that wolf died, the others abandoned the atack. Blaze was able to chase the remaining wolves as they retreated and bite a few on their rumps, making them yelp and run faster into the woods.
Blaze stopped at the edge of the woods listening to the wolves crash through the underbrush to escape him. He snorted and shook his mane, then remembered his lost FoxTail and dropped his head as he tried to catch his breath. He had forgotten about the horse the wolves had been about to attack. Then he heard a soft nicker...and was surprised to recognize Luna's voice!

He may have recognized her voice, but he nearly did not recognize her! She was drying from splashing through the shallows of the river, but dust was stuck to her coat, dulling the shiny pelt. Leaves, sticks and burrs were stuck in her mane and tail, blood marred her legs where she had struck them on the rocks that lamed her and she had a tear on her shoulder where one of the wolves had leaped and she had been unable to spin fast enough on her hurt legs to avoid the sharp teeth. She tried to take a step towards Blaze, but she fell over in a faint!

[Got Brio?]

Luna was lying down all of the fear had taken over her and she felt as if she couldnt hold herself up. Luna woked up and saw Blaze standing over her,and then she saw Spanky and Querida. She could hear the war drums near by. They all urged her to stand up,and she tried but it hurt. Finally she got to her feet,and she walked to the water to let her pain drain away. When she was done they went up into the mountains to the grazing area. Luna was trying to figure out if Blaze was staying or going back. She found out about FoxTail and nickered softly to comfort him.
Luna was gald she had her friend back to play with and race over the meadows. She watched Dream try to nip at Star but Star whipped around and ran away. They chased each other for about 10 minutes,and then stopped and laid down to sleep.
Nisha was running around her pen with Marisa following her. The barn was on fire,and they were trapped. Nisha knew the fence was to high to jump,but maybe they could try. They both backed up and galloped to the fence,when Marisa was over she saw Nisha falling she landed on the ground. 10 seconds later she was up and they ran to the house to get them out. Everyone came out of the house,and they told Cody and Ryan to ride their horses to the mountain,and they would come get them later.
Cody knew they couldnt get the saddles or bridles so they got on the horses bareback. Nisha was used to being ridden like this so she explained it to Marisa. Soon they were flying along the river. They were in the woods so they were safe. Nisha was very fast as she passed Marisa,and Cody was going to direct Nisha in a different way,but Nisha was taking them to the herd. She hoped SPanky would understand the emergency on Nishas hands(hooves).
When got there Spanky nieghed to Nisha and largoed over and Luna galloped over,but Spanly made her wait. He saw Marisa,Cody,and Ryan. He looked at Nisha and she told him about the fire. He agreed to let them stay for a little while. Cody and Ryan got off and made a fire and shelter. Their backpacks had food and blankets in them. When night came a strange shrill came over the mountain.

[Heidi]

It was the shrill cry of a mountain lion!
It had been disturbed by the nearby fighting, and since the fighting had scared all the game away...it was hungry...and needed to hunt. It had smelled the cooking smells from the two boys' fire.
Cody and Ryan were sort of scared to be with the wild herd, at first. But as Nisha and Marissa stayed nearby and the wild horses came to look at them but kept their distance and didn't hurt them, the boys became more confident and were able to make their camp and take care of themselves. When they heard the Mountain Lion's cry they became frightened.
Spanky looked at the herd, and they gathered near the boys and their fire. Nisha, Marisa, Querida and Blaze explained to the herd that the fire was okay. If the boys had it under control, it could not get away and burn everything up like the wildfire did the year Blaze was born. The mares made the foals, Dream and Star get close to the boys while the younger horses like Ginger and Luna stayed near the foals. The older mares, Nisha, Marissa and Querida and the Lead Mare stayed near the outside edge of the group.
Spanky and Blaze headed into the darkness to try and make the hunting cat go away...

[Got Brio?]

Spanky and Blaze made their way through the woods. they were walking when they heard the same high shrill. They both galloped up the mountain to fight it. When they got to the tree he was at they had no idea where he was. Then the lion jumped on Blazes back,and Blaze jumped and bucked. Spanky bit the lion to get him off,but the lion was straving and wasnt letting a meal get away.
Spanky told Blaze to roll in the river like he had 2 years ago. It woorked and soon they were on their way back to herd. When they got back they saw that Nisha and Marisa had Cody and Ryan on their backs,and they were racing around the meadow. Luna loved to run so she ran ahead of them,and soon the boys were tried and wanted to go to bed.
Nisha was grazing with Luna and Querida telling them about the fire,the stallion,and the boys and other horses. Marisa agreed that the fire was scary and wild. Luna told them about how the herd was doing and everything that happened. Star and Dream were growing tall and strong,and they were able to race all the way around the meadow at top speed.
The war was worse than last time they were coming up the mountain! Spanky was going to move the herd up the mountain near the summit where it was cold, but the boys would be too cold so they decided to move the herd about 5 miles west. That way they be in the river country,it was called that because there were about 12 rivers criss-crossing paths with meadows in between. Perfect! The boys packed up their stuff and got on the horses. Nisha galloped down the mountain with the other horses. They had a hard trip a head of them,and it would be worth it.

[Heidi]

Querida was worried about crossing some of the rivers. She knew she would be okay, but Spanky had told her of at least one large river they needed to cross and she worried for Star.
Blaze was keeping up well. He was very sad over having lost his human. He liked to stay near the two boys and hear them talk, even though their language was different from the Indian dialect he became accustomed to. Luna usually stayed near him to cheer him up. Her wound from the wolves was healing and she kept checking Blaze's scratches from the Mountain Lion attack. They seemed to be healing well, but he would have scars like Spanky.

The herd reached the first river around mid-day and crossed with no problems. The younger foals only had to swim a few strides and the horses were able to keep their footing, even in the middle where the foals had to swim a bit. They decided to stay in the first meadow they came to and continue on the next day.
Querida grazed and kept looking over the herd and watching the two human boys. She hoped they would have no problems when they had to cross the larger river.
Heidi

[Got Brio?]

Spanky saw that the humans were small and didnt have much muscle. He would go tonight to figure out another way for them to get across. He lefted the herd alone letting BLaze watch them. He went down the river and saw a human bridge. So he went across it,and saw the remains of an old Indian tribe.
He saw that the old ashes were old and were probley a few weeks old. Spanky would take the herd this way so that the boys would be safe. Spanky still wasnt very sure about haveing them come along. When Spanky got back he saw that most everyone was asleep,but Blaze and Luna. They were chating and Spanky went to the tree that had nice grass under it. Soon Luna and Blaze went to bed.
Next morning Spanky told everyone his plan,but the boys had no idea what he was saying. They got on their horses hoping that their horses would take them home soon. They were wondering how far the stallion was going to take them. They were crossing the bridge hoping that a town was across the bridge,but they were disappointed with seeing the remains of the tribe.
Luna was galloping with blaze running beside her. She was gald Dream had Nisha,her mother,back. Blaze showed Luna how high he can rear. Luna reared,but wasnt as near as good as Blaze. The fall wind carried cold wind to the horses nostrils. They whinnied at the smell of it,and pranced eager to go faster. Soon they were galloping along the rivers the wind racing by. Soon Spanky brought them to a halt,and told them they would stat here. He didnt want the boys to get too cold. So they set up a camp,and they raced on their horses. Cody wanted so much to ride Luna,as he watched how fast she galloped. He decided that soon he would teach her to be ridden.
The next day he cornered Luna he put a rope that he had in his backpack over her neck. Luna reared,then calmed down as she saw Nisha watching her shaking her head. Then Luna went willing and let him climd up on her back. Cody put leg pressure on her and she took off,and she galloped faster than normal. Nothing could stop her! Cody hung on for dear life,and soon he heard Marisa coming up on his side with Ryan on her back. Luna slowed down just a little then at the right moment jumped on Marisas' back. Luna ran back to the herd,and beat them back to the camp.
Blaze felt sad as he watched Luna race by with Cody on her back. He missed Foxtail so bad he could hardly stand it. Luna went over to comfort him,and he nuzzled her. They continued to graze and talk.

[Heidi]

Blaze asked Luna how she felt when the boy rode her. He was excited to share his experiences with learning about being ridden with FoxTail. Luna was so nice to let him talk about his human friend that he lost. It made it easier to remember the good times and try to forget about FoxTail dying while touching his muzzle.
Luna said she was surprised at first and wanted to fight, but she saw her mother telling her to be calm, but she said when Cody jumped on her back that all she could think of was "Run!", so she did. She felt that maybe if Cody tried it again, she would pay attention more and see what else they could do together.
Blaze thought he might try to see if the other boy would try to ride him. Blaze already knew how to be ridden, but the boys didn't know that...if they could get Ryan to ride him, he could show Luna what to do if she got confused.
Querida looked around the area they were staying at. It had a large meadow for grazing, the river for water and splashing, large trees for shade and it even had a hill with a bit of an undercut to shelter the herd from winds and snow. She thought it was a good place to be, but she knew the human boys would not be able to stay with them through the winter...and she wondered if their sires and dams would come looking for them...

[Got Brio?]

Luna was wide awake that night. Something was bothering her,but she couldnt figure out what it was. She got up to go talk to Spanky. He asked her if it was about the boy riding her. Luna thought,and repiled yes. She didnt want t ogo home with him,and she knew he would think about taking her.
Spanky told her to be nice,and if the time comes that he wants to take you home I'll be there. Luna felt better after talking to the noble stallion,and soon fell to sleep.
The next morning Nisha was grazing with Querida and Marisa down by the river. They were talking about the trip and how if Spanky wants to go any farther they'd have to cross the huge river. They continued to talk,but also watching Star and Dream. It looked like they were napping,but if you looked closer you could see the were biting and picking on each other. Nisha shook her mane and laughed.
Luna was over near the boys camp site,and waiting for Cody. He went back in the tent,but had been in there for a while. Soon he came back with a rope and jumped on her back. He rode toward Blaze. Blaze accepted the rope and let Cody put it over his neck. Cody then lead him back to his camp.
When they apporached it Ryan came out and said that he looked tame enough to ride. So Cody told him to ride him,and Ryan jumped on him and said that was easy. Blaze nickered at Luna,and awat they went. The boys wanted them to gallop today. And they flew across the meadows,and Luna asked Blaze how to know if Cody wanted her to stop. He said when pulles back on your mane.
Soon it was noon and Luna,Blaze,Cody,and Ryan arrived at a river as the horses went in to drink the boys ate sandwhiches. Luna blew air out of her nose as the water hit her legs. It was cold and refreshing,and she started to paw so she could get Blaze wet. Blaze started to paw and it was water everywhere. There was a flat rock about 12 meters down the river,and Luna went to it and stood on it. Then just to show off she reared,and Blaze came over to sniff the rock. He never seen a rock as flat as this one,and he looked at Luna. Luna really didnt care she just wanted a rock like this one.
Then the boys wanted to go back to camp,and the horses walked out of the water and Cody and Ryan jumped on their backs. This time the troted then Largoed. The boys had never felt a gait like this. they thought it was cool how even and smooth it was. (please note that they grew up around trotting horses).
The day was over and night was begining. Luna wondered if the boys were ever going to leave,as Querida did. It seemed as if they would need the attention of their mothers and fathers. Luna wondered if the war was still beating away like the Indian drums.
Night was over quickly and the new day began.

[Heidi]

That night, Cody and Ryan talked about the smooth gait they rode the two young wild horses in and how great it was. They began to make plans to try and take Blaze and Luna with them when they left. Cody felt that they should return soon, it was getting colder and he was worried about his parents and the settlement.

In the meantime, the Indians were not successful in fighting off the settlers, the guns of the settlers were too strong for the Indian's traditional fighting weapons. The Chief went to speak with the Chief Pale Face and they came to an agreement, that they would stay out of each other's hunting territories but would meet several times a year to trade and barter.

Cody and Ryans fathers decided to go and look for the boys. They really did not know where to look, but decided to go out and make wider and wider circles until they came across some sign or tracks of any kind. Eventually they found the boys' first camp in the mountain meadow and from there they were able to follow it down into the plains and they began heading towards the place where the rivers met.

Would Spanky be able to detect them in time to get the boys headed in their direction without their fathers seeing his herd? Would he be able to protect Luna like he promised?

[Got Brio?]

(I have to do a short one)
Spanky could sense the humans getting closer. He tried to get the boys to understand that their fathers were getting close enough for them to go back safetly. Nisha would try to gallop in the right direction when Cody rode her,but he always kept her close to the herd.
Luna was worried about her and Blaze going back with them. Would they have to go?

[Heidi]

Ryan and Cody kept close to the herd. Ryan got impatient and roped Blaze before Cody was ready. Cody yelled "You were supposed to wait until we were closer to home so I could rope the filly, too!" Ryan didn't respond, he was having trouble with Blaze.

Blaze had reared up and was pulling on the rope. Ryan didn't have a good dally around the horn of his saddle on Marissa and the rope pulled through his hand, burning it, as Blaze tried to run away. Ryan finally got a good dally, and when Blaze hit the end of the rope...he flipped himself and landed on his side, but he also pulled Marissa and Ryan down sideways.

Ryan had to let go of the rope and try to get out from under Marissa. Cody was able to control Nisha, but the rest of the herd spooked and ran away. Spanky stopped with Luna to watch as Blaze got up and ran towards them, with the rope dragging behind him. As he reached Spanky, Luna told Blaze to not step on the dragging rope and they ran after the herd.

The herd had only gone a little ways and when they reached them, Luna was able to get the rope off of Blaze, and Spanky returned to check on the boys. Ryan had sprained his ankle when Marissa landed on him, but Marissa was okay. The boys were continuing to ride towards home. Spanky cut across a valley and ran up a hillside and saw that the boys' fathers were riding nearby. He stayed in the treeline until he could see that the boys had found their fathers. There was a lot of hugging and crying, and the boys kept pointing back towards where they left the herd...

[Got Brio?]

Luna was heart broken to see her mother leave her side once again. Luna helped Blaze get the rope off from around his neck. Spring was in the air and once again the mares were frisky. Luna knew it was finally her year to become a broodmare. She was excited yet nervous,and she worried about Blaze and how him and Spanky could hurt each over the mares.
Soon the boys,fathers and horses were home. The boys mothers came out crying and hugging them. The horses neighed to the other horses. Nisha was close to having her foal. Snice the were at a human ranch they breed horses year round. Nisha stomache was getting big and Cody's father put her in a stall in the new barn.
Luna was eating under a beech tree,and the wind blew cool air in her forelock. Querida,Star,and Dream grazing over by a creek. The foals were growing quickly as they picked and reared. Luna saw Blaze largo close and he saw her and came over to her. He asked her what was wrong? She said she was nervous about having a foal. He said she'd do fine,and she saw that Spanky was holding a group meeting near by. Blaze and Luna galloped over to see what was going on.

[Got Brio?]

Ok this isnt part of the story,but other people can post if you want to. :D