Got Carrots? Rescued Horse: The Winter Vacation

Got Carrots?

Rescued Horse

The Winter Vacation

Patti Dammier

iUniverse, Inc.

Bloomington

Got Carrots? Rescued Horse

The Winter Vacation

Copyright © 2012 by Patti Dammier

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This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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ISBN: 978-1-4759-2840-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-2841-9 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-2842-6 (dj)

iUniverse rev. date: 05/16/2012

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 CHANGE OF SEASON FOR THE HERD

CHAPTER 2 THE BIG SURPRISE

CHAPTER 3 FLIGHTPLAN

CHAPTER 4 THE PARK

CHAPTER 5 THE FLIGHT HOME

CHAPTER 6 PLANS AND PARADE

CHAPTER 7 PARADE AND FLIGHT

CHAPTER 8 RETURN FLIGHT

CHAPTER 9 WINTER VACATION AT ROLLING HILLS

CHAPTER 10 FESTIVITIES AND SLEIGH RIDE

CHAPTER 11 A TOUR AND OLD FRIENDS

CHAPTER 12 FIRST MEETING

CHAPTER 13 CLASSES BEGIN

CHAPTER 14 ANNIE AND CASSIE HELP THE MARE

CHAPTER 15 WALKING THE MARE AND FINDING JASMINE

CHAPTER 16 LESSONS AND SEARCH CONTINUE

CHAPTER 17 JASMINE IS LOST

CHAPTER 18 THE DRESSAGE LESSON

CHAPTER 19 GOT CARROTS?

CHAPTER 20 JASMINE FOUND

CHAPTER 21 WINTER FUN

CHAPTER 22 MYSTERY MARE

CHAPTER 23 REUNION

CHAPTER 24 FINAL LESSONS AND GOODBYES

For my husband, Ernie, who lovingly cares for all for us …

creatures great and small.

A horse is worth more than riches.

−Spanish Proverb

CHAPTER 1

CHANGE OF SEASON FOR THE HERD

Change of Season

The weather had taken an unexpected turn, and a light chilly wind was in the air. This was a change from the heat of the end of summer, which was a relief for the herd. The herd of horses had enjoyed a plentiful summer with good grazing, but now there was a sense of change. Because the horses sensed the coming change, they continued their daily routine of finding food, water, and shelter. The youngsters were looking fit. There was only one foal that had been born late in the season and this foal looked slightly smaller than the others. Life for the horses continued uneventful as autumn and winter approached. The rainstorms of the summer would now change into winter snowstorms. Unknown to the young horses in the herd was that food would be much harder to find.

The herd still had grassland, but there was much less and the grass was much drier than it had been previously. They had to move around often and cover a larger distance. In a positive way, the horses were hardy because of the harsh demands of living totally outdoors. On the other hand, there was no one to protect them from the reality of nature.

Glamorous movies about wild horses often paint their existence as a wonderful free life in comparison to their relatives kept in captivity. The negative aspects of survival are mostly ignored with no exposure of the perils of open-air horse life. The picture of a free-running shiny horse with clean-flowing mane is portrayed as the ideal. Some of the harsh truth is that wild horses are preyed on by predators, bitten by flies, and often near starvation.

For the present, the horses roamed in small groups eating the remaining grass. There was a cool crisp breeze in the air. A single mare stood alone on a ridge looking off in the distance. She lifted her slender head and sniffed the air and appeared to be looking for something. After a brief pause, lowering her gaze, the mare walked back to the herd. Because at this time the grass was getting sparse, the herd was scattered in small groups. The mare had joined a group she knew, and they walked together wherever there was something to eat. Luckily, the herd had feasted on exceptionally lush grass during the spring, and all the horses were well feed. The cool air was refreshing and most of the annoying insects from the heat of summer were few. The horses felt invigorated by the cool fresh breeze that replaced the hot arid winds of the summer, which often created small dust gusts and thunderstorms.

The mare moved among the herd with her group but was noticeably and distinctly different in her appearance. The mare had longer legs and a slightly different profile to her muzzle−it seemed more refined. The other horses were generally much smaller and less athletic looking although rugged in appearance compared to the mare. This herd was a group of wild horses that lived on the public lands that bordered several of the ranches in the area.

Getting Ready

Meanwhile back in a comfortable home, where a young girl named Annie lived, there was great excitement about several coming events. The most excitement was because her friend Cassie and she were to spend winter vacation back at the Rolling Hills Equestrian School.

This past summer, Annie had met Cassie while they attended riding camp at the Rolling Hills Farm. The girls had been roommates and became best friends when they discovered they had many common interests. Annie wasn’t sure that she had wanted to attend the riding camp after she found out her mother was to be hospitalized for medical treatment. Her father had encouraged her and promised to bring her home in the event that her mother’s condition became more serious. He told her that it would actually be more comforting for her mom to know she was not alone. Since her pilot dad had many commitments, it was decided that Annie would go to riding camp. Annie went with a heavy heart, but when she met the cheerful Cassie things changed. The girls had shared several exciting adventures while learning to ride and continued the friendship. The girls had made plans for several fun events. One of the events was to spend their winter vacation back at Rolling Hills Equestrian School and continue taking lessons.

Science Fair

The second big event was a science fair that both girls planned to enter. Even though the girls lived too far away from each other to attend the same school, the combined school districts participated together at the yearly science fair held each spring. Annie and Cassie decided that they would present a subject about horses at the science fair. Both had spent much time researching and reading about young horses.

Annie’s parents and Cassie’s aunt had helped them by arranging for them to get together on many occasions. The event was to be held in spring, and the girls planned the submission of their science project. They often talked by telephone and were in constant contact using email. Both girls were ecstatic, because Annie’s dad had promised the girls a special surprise outing. Annie had decided she just had to call Cassie and tell her the good news.

CHAPTER 2

THE BIG SURPRISE

Horse Museum

Cassie said the voice on the phone, I’ve got great news.

Cassie knew it was her favorite friend, Annie. She thought about the wonderful horse adventure that they both shared during the summer vacation at Rolling Hills Equestrian School.

Cassie wondered what the news was, Quick, tell me I can hardly wait.

Well, you remember that we had planned to do some research about horses for our science project and my dad said he would help. One of his pilot friends knows about a museum where they have a horse exhibit. she excitedly finished, He’s going to take us there for a visit. What do you think?

After a few moments of silence Cassie said, Gosh, that is fantastic … when do we go? She paused and continued, I first have to make sure it’s all right with my aunt. Since the loss of her parents when she was very young, her aunt was the guardian.

Annie replied, My parents are going to find out all the details and call your aunt. I was just so excited about this I couldn’t wait to talk to you. Make sure you tell your aunt that my parents are going to call her and make all the arrangements. We don’t want anyone to think were plotting more horse adventures, she laughed.

Annie thought about the wonderful time the two girls had this summer when they shared a cabin and took horse-driving classes together. The time flew by too quickly, especially when they took care of a foal that was near death. The foal was found during a picnic outing and transported back to the farm. This rescued foal had apparently become separated during a sudden storm a few days before the group outing. It was thought that the foal was with the wild herd of horses living on property near the farm. When the foal was found by one of the older student counselors and Annie, it was in very serious condition. Annie and Cassie had helped with the constant care that the foal needed. They had a wonderful time working with the foal and were sad when the vacation came to an end.

Paleontology

Annie thought about their last wonderful vacation at the farm. She loved to draw and was getting quite accurate drawing horses. Her thoughts quickly jumped forward to the next vacation, I have some drawings I did for our exhibit that I want to show you. This trip will give us more information about the past history of horses. Dad told me that the curator of the museum might be available … we might be able to ask him questions. He is a paleontologist, saying it slowly to make sure she said the word correctly.

Cassie repeated the word and asked, Doesn’t that mean a scientist who studies the bones of animals?

Wow, that sounds like you’ve been doing interesting reading.

Cassie remembered the difficulty with her classes because of reading and her decision to do some extra practice during free time at the riding camp. All that extra reading practice paid off, she replied cheerfully. I had looked for the word in the encyclopedia during a reading assignment. It’s the science that studies fossil plants and animal remains from past geological periods. We should be able to find information about the history of horses and how they evolved to their present state. Horses looked very different than they do now.

Annie added eagerly, I think it will be fun to show how our rescued horse’s relatives appeared.

I’m going to find some more information, so when we get together we can start to outline the project. This gives me a few more ideas to work on, mused Cassie. We can create a timeline about horses that will explain the ancestry of our rescued horse.

Pet Care

This will be fun, exclaimed Annie. By the way, how’s it going with the new dogs you take care of? She had a pet care service to earn extra money. Cassie had also started to take care of several pets in her neighborhood too.

"I have two dogs to walk and the cutest cat to feed and check on each day while the owners are on vacation. The cat looks identical to