Moon Shadow

by Chris Platt

  She tied the draft horse to the hitching post outside the old barn, offering her a handful of sweet feed to make up for the early ending to her breakfast. She quickly brushed and bridled the mare, then coaxed her over to the nearest barrel and hopped onto her broad back. When they reached the sand trail that led to the back of the mustang corrals, she prodded Celah into a trot.

  Twenty minutes later, Callie halted the big horse on the ridge overlooking the corrals. She squinted into the early morning sun and noticed movement in the center pen below. Shielding her eyes with her hand, she made out Justin’s black Stetson. A flash of jealousy stabbed through her chest when she saw that he was handling Moon Shadow. With Moonbeam gone, Callie knew that the little buckskin filly would imprint on those closest to her in her first few days. And she wanted it to be her!

  She pressed her heels into Celah’s sides and guided her down the gentle slope to the back of the pens.

  Justin’s head snapped around as Callie and Celah came nearer. It was hard to miss the echo of the two-thousand-pound horse’s huge feet as she plodded down the trail.

  The boy straightened and waved her over to the pen where Moon Shadow was teetering around on unsteady legs. “Come see your filly,” he said. “We got a couple more meals into her during the night. My dad just pulled the feeding tube. He wants to try fostering her onto this other mare as soon as the vet gets here.”

  Your filly, Justin had said. Callie felt a pang of regret at her jealous thoughts just a moment ago.

  Justin tucked his thumbs into his belt loops and watched Callie and Celah approach. “That’s an awfully big horse for such a little girl,” he said.

  The words “little girl” hung in the air. Callie frowned at him and swung her legs over the mare’s side, dropping to the ground with a bone-jarring thump. “I can handle her,” she said, in a more snappish tone than she had intended. Her lack of sleep was making her touchy. She opened the gate of an empty pen and stood on her toes to remove Celah’s bridle, then grabbed a flake of hay from a nearby pile and tossed it in the feeder.

  Justin pulled his Stetson down on his forehead and grinned. “I’m sure you can.” He looked over the big mare. “I’ve never been on a horse that large. Maybe you’ll let me ride her sometime?”

  Callie glanced over her shoulder to see if the young cowboy was kidding. Her rotten neighbor, Luke, was forever teasing her about the draft mare. Justin’s sleek paint would rival any of the horses on Luke’s ranch. Maybe he had the same stuck-up opinion of Celah.

  She noted the open smile on Justin’s face and decided that he might not be making fun of her after all. “Sure,” she said. “If you’re not worried about falling off.”

  Justin laughed. “Don’t worry. When I’ve got that far to fall, I’ll be extra careful.”

  Callie studied the young cowboy again. He seemed sincere. Maybe he was just trying to make up for the bad start. He was definitely trying to help save Moon Shadow, so he couldn’t be that bad.

  “The last time I fell off Celah, I couldn’t sit down for a week.”

  “I bet.” He motioned her into the corral. “Come see your filly.”

  Callie followed him, smiling to herself. He’d said Moon Shadow had been fed a couple times during the night. That meant there was hope. She entered the pen where Moon Shadow wobbled around on her long, spindly legs. “She doesn’t look like she’s improved much,” Callie said in concern as she took in the filly’s gaunt sides and weak appearance.

  “Well, I wouldn’t exactly say that she’s thriving,” Justin said, walking up to the skittish filly. He crooned soft words to her as he extended his hand to touch the foal’s golden coat. “But at least she’s still alive.”

  Callie felt another wrench of jealousy when Moon Shadow gave a soft nicker to the boy.

  “She’s improved a little,” he added. He wrapped his arms around Moon Shadow to stop her from running away and motioned with a nod of his head. “Come touch her. She’s really soft.”

  Callie stepped forward slowly, extending her hand toward the filly’s neck. She knew that the center of a horse’s forehead was like a blind spot. Patting a wild horse there might cause it to react in fright. Horses were prey animals. In the wild, they were the hunted instead of the hunter. They needed vision that enabled them to see forward, to the sides, and behind them; that’s why their eyes were on the sides of their head. Callie softly stroked the filly’s neck, then trailed her hands up toward the filly’s cheekbones.

  “You’re good with horses,” Justin observed with an approving smile.

  Callie felt herself blush at the unexpected compliment. “I want to be an equine vet like Susan someday,” she told him. She ran her fingers through the filly’s wispy, black mane, marveling at its soft, silky feel. “Then I can help save horses like she does.”

  “My dad put that foster mare and her foal into the pen next to Moon Shadow this morning to see if the mare showed any interest,” Justin said. He let Moon Shadow go, chuckling as she ambled away on unsteady legs. “But the mare just kept pinning her ears at her and kicking the fence every time she got close. We’ve got another mare that lost her foal and still has milk. We’re hoping she’ll want to take on Moon Shadow in place of her own foal. We ran her into that corral a couple of pens away just before you got here.”

  Callie stared over the fence at the plain brown mare. Her mane was tangled and her tail almost touched the ground. She didn’t look like much, but she represented hope for Moon Shadow.

  “My dad rubbed some fresh mint into the mare’s nostrils,” Justin said.

  “Why’d he do that?” Callie asked. She’d never heard of such a thing.

  “Mares recognize the scent of their foal,” he explained. “If it smells different, they reject the baby. Putting the mint in her nostrils might help block the smell. Hopefully, she’ll accept Moon Shadow.” Justin furrowed his brow. “Orphans do a lot better on fresh mare’s milk than they do on the powdered stuff you buy in the store. With Moon Shadow being so weak and all, we really need this other mare to take her on.”

  Callie heard the worry in Justin’s voice. She tried not to panic, but another look at the struggling mustang foal told her that everything he said was true. “But what about the tube feeding she got through the night?” Callie asked. “Didn’t that help?”

  Justin nodded. “It gave her a good start. She needed to get that first milk down her. That’s what helps her build the antibodies she’ll need to survive. But tube-feeding is no way for this filly to grow up. My dad says it should only be used for medical emergencies. She needs to nurse from a mare. That’s her best shot. If that doesn’t work, then she’ll have to learn to drink store-bought powdered foal milk from a bottle, or maybe you can find a milk goat.”

  “I can bottle-feed her,” Callie was quick to volunteer.

  Justin studied her from beneath the broad brim of his Stetson. “You ever bottle-fed a foal before?”

  Callie hung her head, giving a brief shake to show that she had no such experience.

  “Well, it’s no picnic,” Justin cautioned. “I’ve done it before and it’s a lot of work. You have to feed around the clock every couple of hours for the first few weeks. And since it won’t be her momma’s milk, the milk substitute will cause problems of its own. You’ll have to watch that she doesn’t get the scours, or colic. Either of those could kill her. Are you sure you want to handle all of that?”

  Callie crossed her arms. “Of course I do. I’d do anything to help Moon Shadow!”

  Justin cocked his head, giving her a funny look. “Yeah? Why would you go to all that trouble? It’s not like it’s your horse or anything. You’ll do all of that work, and if she lives, then somebody else will adopt her.”

  “Well, she could be mine,” Callie said stubbornly. “If my mom and dad will let me adopt her.”

  Justin shook his head. “My dad says it costs the same to feed a mustang as it does a registered horse. In fact, this filly will probably cost you more, bec
ause she’s going to need a lot of vet work to keep her healthy. And after you pour all that money into her, she’ll still be just a mutt horse.”

  Callie scowled. How could she have ever thought she might be friends with this boy? “Moon Shadow’s not just a mutt horse!” she said hotly. “A mustang can do anything your fancy registered horse can do! They’re tough. Not like some of those prissy show horses,” she added.

  Justin held up his hands to ward off Callie’s attack. “Hey, hold on just a second. I didn’t say she was worthless. I just mean that she’s going to take a lot of work. If she lives. Horses that are sickly early in their lives sometimes have problems later. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, but it could.”

  Justin turned his head at the sound of metal clanging on metal. “That’s Dr. Susan and my dad.” He pointed to the front gate where Sam and the vet were stepping through. “Let’s go make sure the foster mare is ready.”

  Callie followed Justin over to the surrogate mare’s pen. This mare was Moon Shadow’s best bet for a healthy life. She crossed her fingers, hoping that their plan would work.

  Eight

  “Good morning, Callie.” Sam Rosser tipped his hat and smiled. “You’re here awfully early after the late night we had last night.”

  “She’s moonin’ over that sad little mustang filly,” Justin teased, pushing his hat back with his thumb.

  Callie wanted to sock him a good one. Justin seemed almost as bad as Luke. Why did boys always like to tease?

  “Now, don’t be knocking those mustangs, son,” Sam advised as he opened the gate to let Susan into the brown mare’s pen. “Some of the cowboys here are riding former wild horses, and they’re pretty good mounts.” He winked at Callie. “Those mustangs off the Elko range have a lot of good blood in them from the times when ranchers turned out their registered mounts to help improve the herds.”

  Callie smiled gratefully at Sam. “The mustang is my favorite kind of horse,” she admitted. “Someday I’m going to own one.” She jammed her hands into the pockets of her jeans and scuffed the dirt with the toe of her boot.

  Sam looked over his shoulder at Callie. “Are you maybe thinking that yellow filly with the black points might be the one for you?”

  Callie nodded. “If I can talk my parents into it.”

  Justin’s dad ran his fingers over his salt-and-pepper mustache. “Then I guess we’d better make sure she survives this ordeal. Let’s go get her and see if our experiment is going to work.”

  Callie felt the grin spread across her face. At least somebody was on her side. She took big steps, trying to match the older cowboy’s long-legged stride as they went to get Moon Shadow.

  Justin held the gate while his father cornered the filly. Moon Shadow was so small that Sam picked her up in his arms and carried her over to the pen next to the brown mare.

  Susan herded Moon Shadow into the upper corner of the enclosure. “We’ll introduce them first with a fence between them,” she explained. “If the mare seems accepting of her, we’ll put them together in the same pen. If she shows aggressive behavior, then we’re all out of options for a natural upbringing of this filly.”

  Sam stared thoughtfully at the small brown horse that they hoped would play nursemaid to the new orphan. “Her bag is heavy with milk, but there was no evidence of a colt at her side when she came in,” he said. “I’m hoping she misses her own baby so much that she’s willing to take on this one. I figure we’ve got the next twenty-four hours to turn this filly around. If Moon Shadow isn’t nursing on her own or bottle-feeding by tomorrow morning, I don’t think we can save her.”

  Callie’s breath caught in her throat. She knew Sam had done this enough times to know what he was talking about. And he had just made the same prediction that Susan had made the night before. “If this doesn’t work, I’ll bottle-feed her,” Callie said.

  Justin propped a booted foot on the fence. “I already warned her how much trouble that’ll be,” he told his father. “But I can tell by the stubborn look on her face, she’ll do it.”

  Sam turned to Callie. “You’ve lived around here for a long time. Why this particular mustang?” he asked. “You must’ve seen thousands of them come through this facility.”

  Callie blinked back the tears, thinking about Moon Shadow’s dam. She locked eyes with the older cowboy, then looked away, afraid that he might see the fear in her face. “I used to follow Moon Shadow’s mother,” Callie admitted. “She roamed the hills behind my house for years. I always dreamed that one day I might ride her.” She stared off at the distant hills and took several steadying breaths. “Now she’s dead, and Moon Shadow doesn’t have anyone but me to care about her.”

  Sam put a large callused hand on Callie’s shoulder. “I’m going to do everything I can to save that filly for you, young lady.”

  Callie smiled at him gratefully.

  “Me, too.” Justin reassured her. “I’m sorry I teased you, Callie, but I didn’t mean any harm. If that mustang’s so important to you, my pa and I will do what we can to save her.”

  Susan nudged Moon Shadow out of the corner. “Well, if everyone’s ready, let’s see what happens.”

  Callie held her breath as they introduced the bay mare and Moon Shadow through the fence.

  The bay nickered to the filly and poked her nose through the fence, sniffing curiously. Moon Shadow shuffled forward on spindly legs and made sucking noises to the older horse.

  Callie jumped when the mustang mare suddenly squealed and struck out with a foreleg, and then extended her nose through the fence once more to nuzzle the foal. “What was that?” she asked as she watched Moon Shadow maneuver toward the mare’s flank.

  “What’s going on out here?” Old Harvey slowly made his way over to the fence. “Everyone’s having a party, and no one invited me?” he said with a wink at Callie. He pointed his cane toward the mustang mare. “That’s just mare talk, young’un. That’s what they do when they’re excited or displeased with something,” he explained. “Don’t let it bother you.”

  Callie frowned. “If she doesn’t like Moon Shadow, I don’t think we should put them in together.”

  Sam crossed to the gate that separated the two horses. “This mare doesn’t seem to want to hurt the filly none. She’s just making a lot of noise. That’s common with these mares and foals.” He motioned to his son. “Justin, why don’t you step in here with your rope while I let this mare into the pen? If there’s any trouble, make a lot of racket and rattle that rope. We’ll chase her back out again.” He nodded to Callie. “Once the mare’s in here, I want you to work the gate. We might have to move her out in a hurry. Can you do that?”

  Callie swallowed hard and nodded. She was terrified for Moon Shadow. Although the bay was a small horse, she was still ten times bigger than the foal. So many things could go wrong. But Callie reminded herself again that this wasn’t the first time the cowboys had done this. It had worked in the past. It could work for Moon Shadow, too. It was their best hope. They should at least give it a try.

  She quickly climbed the fence and went to her post. Justin stood ready while his father opened the gate. The mare immediately trotted into the pen, arching her neck as she approached the foal. She stopped several yards from Moon Shadow and stuck out her nose. The filly softly nickered and took several teetering steps toward the mare, but the mustang pinned her ears and snorted.

  “Easy,” Sam soothed. The older horse took another step toward Moon Shadow and blew through her lips while shaking her head.

  Everyone looked on in silence as the mare paused, her ears moving forward and back as if she were undecided what to do. After a moment, she took the last few steps that separated her from the filly and sniffed her from forelock to tail, nipping her on the haunches while the filly nuzzled her shoulder.

  Finally, Moon Shadow staggered to the mare’s flank, but as she stretched her neck to drink, the mustang mare shifted her hips in the opposite direction and squealed once more.

/>   Old Harvey placed his gnarled hands on the fence and spoke to the wild one. “Don’t be like that, sis,” he scolded. “This little filly needs your help.”

  “Give her some time,” Sam said.

  They watched for several more minutes while the mare continued to nuzzle the filly, but moved away every time Moon Shadow tried to nurse.

  “This could be why her own foal isn’t with her,” Harvey said. “Some new mommas are ticklish and they won’t let their foals nurse. It’s possible that’s how her foal died.”

  After several more minutes of shuffling around, Moon Shadow boldly reached under the mare’s belly. The mustang immediately squealed and kicked, sending the foal toppling into the dirt.

  “No!” Callie shouted. She threw open the gate for the mare to leave. “Get her out of there before Moon Shadow gets hurt!”

  Sam nodded and Justin sent the lasso flying toward the mare’s hindquarters, forcing her to move toward the gate. Moon Shadow scrambled to her feet and tried to follow, but Callie slammed the gate closed before she reached it.

  The filly gave a lonesome whinny. It sounded so forlorn that Callie felt as if someone had punched her right in the heart. She wanted to run to the little buckskin foal and scoop her up in her arms and tell her that everything was going to be all right.

  But everything wasn’t going to be all right. Moon Shadow’s mother was dead and the other horses didn’t want her. She was an outcast.

  Sam made his way over to where Callie stood, his spurs jingling as his boots hit the packed dirt of the pen. He leaned on the rail and stroked his thick mustache as he stared at Callie. “Well…” he drawled. “Bottle-feeding an orphaned foal is a lot of work and a big responsibility. Are you serious about this?”

  Callie nodded vigorously. At this moment, there was nothing she wanted more than to take care of Moon Shadow.

  The cowboy continued to study her, and Callie fidgeted under his gaze. Did he think she was too young to take on such a task? Or that she didn’t know enough about orphaned foals?