by Immy
(Derbyshire)
CHAPTER ONE
I was awake long before the sun rose up to its place in the sky watching down on us. Terror was rising inside me as it was the day I was going to try out ponies and my sister horses! People told me that some ponies have a bad temperament and some were good. The last thing I wanted was to be thrown off!!
I reluctantly got out of bed, pulled on my jodhpurs and my T-shirt, I hadn't worn my body protector in ages but something told me I would need it this time.
I didn't want my family to see how ungrateful I was being, so I ran VERY heavily down the stairs and skipped into the kitchen.
"Well hello there heffalump," said my sister. "I am SO excited are you?!"
I wolfed down my breakfast and jumped into the car! As the engine started, I gulped down the fear inside me. I was getting a horse! What was bad about that?! I started to feel happy what would go wrong?!
"Mum?" I said "If we find the PERFECT horse and pony can we buy them today??"
"Its up to you! You each have 8,000 pounds, half you saved half we gave to you! Now remember if we do buy one today, YOU will pay for the bedding and food, so I would advise you not to buy any horse over £5,000 or £6,000!! Or if they are over persagene!"
I laughed.
"Okay Girls fist stop, Oak Farm Stables and then if nothings here we have 10 more!" My dad said!
My dad went with my older sister Nacey to the horses and my mum with me to the ponies, I was glad my mum came with me, she NEVER, EVER panics!!
I was taken into a barn, it looked empty, then a lovely lady the owner of the farm and horses and ponies non of which could not be seen!
"Thanks Sally, I'll take it from here, you can go home now, or ride the horses."
"I'll ride!!" Laughed Sally VERY quietly.
Why were they both whispering??
"Hello!! You must be Amimmy?? Is that right!? Be very quiet and when I tell you make a clicking sound, on the count of three one, two, three!! Click!"
I click and one by one 15 heads popped out of their stables!!
"Five are for sale at the end," she pointed, "go on down!"
I slowly walked down, at the end a beautiful Dappled Grey popped its head out.
"Now shes a bit off, not like the others, I would suggest you looked at the others!"
"Please," I whispered "let me ride her!"
"Okay then go and get the tack, just down there! Her name is Dipsey!!"
I ran down and two minutes later I came out with the tack!! I tacked her up, Dipsey kept on fighting but soon she was tacked up!!
"Bring her out, this way. Dispsey is a 14.2hh pony and I can tell you now you have 5 years left in her, height wise! She is only two so skittish and frisky!"
"How much is it to buy her?"
I asked "£4,000, no more no less including tack and rugs!"
I took her into the arena, "walk her round warm her up, can you jump?" I nodded.
"Jumps like a dream, she does!"
I walked her round and soon I was trotting, Dipsey had a steady but fast pace, when I went into sitting trot she wasn't the smoothest!!
i pushed her into a canter, Dispey spooked at a plastic bag and galloped around, I half halted her and slowed her down to a trot.
"Are you okay?, Ready to jump?"
"Yes, I'm okay, and I'm ready to jump!"
"Turn her around down the school at A."
"You will need to hold her back keep half-halting her, straight over line her up!"
I did as she said and sure enough she did it!!
Again and again I was enjoying it why oh why was I SO worried??!!
"Okay Bring her in, no cool her down you know what to do!"
I trotted around, while my mum and Tracey spoke, now I knew I had to buy Dipsey!!
I slowed to a walk, "That's it, now come on in, your mum and I were talking ,do you want Dipsey?"
"Yes oh yes! Thank you SO much!"
"Then its sorted!, You sister has a horse called Marmite, and they get along together SO well! Both excellent jumpers and fast at gallop!"
"Dipsey is fine in traffic, good in the trailer and only spooks at plastic bags! Hacks alone and in company, and if you worked hard enough with her she would be good enough for HOYS!!"
"Oh!! Good! I am SO excited!! Are you really selling her to me?! Can we take her home today?!"
"Yes, of course I am selling her to you!! And yes you can take her home!! Now come to my office and you can pay and we can sort out tack rugs and feeding list!"
I jumped off and untacked her patting Dipsey and brushing her, while my mum and Tracey got all the tack together!!
I gave Dipsey an apple, and came and joined my mum and Tracey!
"Okay money!"
I handed her £4,000.
"She is yours now! Lets load her up in the trailer!!"
We did this and Marmite came round the corner a brilliant Chestnut!!
We were bringing our horses home!!
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by Immy
(Derbyshire)
CHAPTER TWO
We had loaded the horses into the trailer and where pulling out of the drive waving good bye to Tracey and Sally, who was now back from riding.
We drove along road after road, the thrill inside me just would leave!!
Why did I have a feeling something would go wrong!!??
As we finally turned to go down our drive a startling site nearly made our eyes pop out of their sockets!!
Horses LOADS of horses were blocking our drive tearing up the grass!!
"Oh!! What are they doing?! On my grass!?" My mum gasped.
I jumped out and grabbed the two halters we had brought for the horses but we used the horses halters instead, I grabbed two apples and a carrot, jumped out of the car and pulled my sister along with me!
I gave a halter to my sister and I gave her one apple, we were trying to catch them!!
I walked up to a horse, who looked like the leader, gave him the apple and slipped the halter around his neck, I did the same to the other stallion, next to him, my dad got out the car and held the bigger looking stallion, who was now pulling on the lead rope.
We decided to put these horses in the yard and our two in the paddock.
As we lead them into the yard I noticed that the horse I was leading was lame, so I told my dad who then took out his mobile phone and called the vet, he told him to bring LOTS of helpers!!
When the vet arrived the horses were running around and kicking each other, so the vet brought the lame one into the spare paddock, he said to go and put him in a stable, he has laminitous!!
The other horses had mites and ear infections but soon they all had jabs and injections and were tabbed and put in our care, out in our spare paddock, luckily this was a big 20 acre one!!
I went out to the field with a halter and caught Dipsey, well I didn't catch her, she came up to me!!
Marmite followed behind, and wouldn't leave Dipsey, so I took them both and put them into the same stable, this was originally two but it was knocked into one, for cowboy's horses!!
I groomed them both and fed them, I got two lunge rains and I went to get my sister!!
We lunged them in the paddock and rode them bare back, I even rode Marmite!!
This was great, apart from all those other horses what would we do with them??
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by Immy
(Derbyshire)
CHAPTER 3
2 months went by and we had found no home for the horses.
Dipsey and me, we had entered into 5 shows, won 2 and came 2nd and 3rd in the rest.
Marmite was turning out to be trouble, he would bolt off if a gust of wind came, and if it was quite and someone said something he would rear.
Tracy wouldn't get rid of him though, she tried and tried nothing would work!
We were told to choose two horses each out of the herd that came to us, I chose a stallion who was lame but was better now and named him Azuret which means Unexpected Love.
And I chose a foal who seemed to have no mum, a palomino, a filly of about 6 months old and called her Sandy, when it turned out Sandy did have a mother, I took her in and called the Dapple Grey Ocean.
Tracy chose 4 and said I could have one, when I asked her why she said, "Mum said I could choose 4 one would be a birthday present for me but I only want three because I have Marmite so choose one and name it!"
I chose a young colt of about 1 and a half, and called him Chaser, her liked to chase Azuret around the paddock, it looked like they were playing tigg!
I decided to try and back them starting with Ocean and her foal, who would never leave her mothers side.
Ocean did as she was told and was as graceful as a feather, her foal Sandy copied her mum and soon they were ready to be backed (well Sandy was to small!)
So I did and soon I was riding Ocean!
But one day a big horse trailer pulled up and offered to take the horses...
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by Immy
(Derbyshire)
As I turged up to bed, after a long day working with the wild horses I had a feeling something wasn't right.
Why would a big herd of wild horses turn up in our driveway, we had never had this happened before, so why now?
Was it just a coincidence??
An owl was hooting and the moon shone brightly in through my curtains. Something wasn't right, a faint banging was coming from the stables below my room. I could hear horses hooves on cobbled stone, around the back of the stables where the tack room was.
Suddenly I realized, the horses where in the field, not in the yard, had they escaped? Had some-one let them lose?!
I hopped as silently as I could out of bed, and crept to my window. Outside the horses where walking in circles looking distressed.
I grabbed my coat and boots and shoved them on, tiptoeing down stairs I grabbed the torch hanging from the hook, by the bottom of the stairs.
Opening the door, as quietly as I could I peeped out. Someone was guiding the horses down to the gate!!
I rushed to the phone and dialed 999, and as quickly as I could explained what was happening.
Once I put the phone down I rushed out-side, closing the door behind me.
But a bit to quickly, it slammed shut and a man came running over, grabbed me by the collar of my coat, and dragged me along the driveway.