Brumbies in the Snow

by Paula Boer

  Louise took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, she told herself to relax. Swinging her leg over the mare’s rump, she lowered herself into the saddle.

  Nothing happened.

  Sitting as still as she could, Louise grinned at Ben. “I’m on her! I’m sitting on Honey.”

  “Yeh, but unless you want to stay there forever, you’d better ask her to move.” Ben’s grin was almost as big as Louise’s.

  Shortening her reins, Louise asked Honey to walk on with both her legs and voice. The mare took a tentative step, and another, before walking off around the yard as if she had carried a rider for years.

  “That’s great. Try turning her and changing rein.” Ben followed Louise around the outside of the yard. “She’s really listening to you. Try a sharper turn. How about a halt? Can you back her up?”

  Louise performed all the instructions that Ben gave. As she settled to Honey’s stride, she started to relax.

  Graeme and Simon had joined Ben without Louise noticing. Graeme put his arm on Ben’s shoulder. “Your friend is pretty good, huh? That’s a nice mare, too. Seems like losing that first herd we mustered ended up being a good thing. You wouldn’t have Brandy either if someone hadn’t let those brumbies out at the old homestead.”

  Ben agreed. “Yeh, it’s a pity you and John didn’t get horses though.”

  Louise had been continuing to circle, halt and change direction with Honey while Ben told Simon all about the muster in the summer, and how he and Louise had finally caught Honey and Brandy. Hearing him tell the story really brought home for Louise what she had achieved in six months.

  She had caught a wild horse, tamed it, and was now riding it. “Do you think I should try a trot?”

  “Yeh, there’s three of us here to pick up all the pieces when you come off.” Ben laughed then ducked as his uncle swiped at his head. “Hey! I didn’t mean it.”

  With butterflies in her stomach, Louise squeezed her calves against Honey’s side. “Trot on.”

  The mare sprung forward, almost unseating Louise. She had expected a hesitant shuffle; Honey was so used to working in the round yard, she acted as if Louise wasn’t on her back. Striding out, she circled past the watching men as Louise rose in the saddle.

  Louise rode Honey for another ten minutes before deciding the mare had done enough. She dismounted, taking care to let the mare know what she was going to do so as not to spook her. Once back on the ground, she rubbed Honey’s ears. “That was so cool.”

  Ben opened the gate. “She looked great.”

  “She felt it. I love her! Let’s hope Brandy is as well behaved.”

  Chapter 16

  Clouds gathered in the sky making everything look grey. Ben realised the thought of trying to back Brandy made him nervous. He’d never felt like this before. The dull afternoon added to his sinister thoughts. What if he fell off? It had been bad enough with Louise there; with Uncle Graeme and his friend Simon too, he was even more self-conscious. Although he’d never worried about breaking in a horse before, this stallion meant so much to him.

  Brandy whinnied and tossed his head as Ben approached his stable. The morning’s outing had left a crust of sweat around the brumby’s girth area. It had been too cold to wash the horse down earlier, so Ben scrubbed at the grime with the rubber curry comb and scratched at the sticky spots with his fingernails. “You ready to let me ride you today, Brandy? Let’s show them what we can do.”

  A head with a tatty woollen beanie leant over the door. “I’ve told Louise to turn that mare of hers out. You should consider gelding this horse. He’s too much trouble entire.”

  Ben gritted his teeth. “Dad, you know I want to build my own herd and use Brandy as the stud. He’s too good to cut.”

  Mr Naylor snorted, sounding like one of his prize bulls. “You say so. He’s not that big, and who knows what throwbacks he’d produce. I’d geld him if I were you and save us all a lot of trouble. He could run with the other horses and free up that good paddock near the house.”

  Kneeling down to check under Brandy’s chest for any dirt he may have missed, Ben tried to dispel the thoughts from his head. He knew his father was right; a gelding was much easier to manage. But he had his heart set on using him as a stallion.

  He also thought that he had more chance of success in another of his dreams if Brandy remained entire. Winning the tough High Country Race where men and their horses pitched themselves against each other as well as the rugged terrain had long been one of his fantasies. He knew he couldn’t enter until he was sixteen and Brandy would need a few years of work before he was ready to compete in such an arduous competition, so he hadn’t even shared that vision with Louise despite the many talks they had on their rides about what they wanted to do with their horses.

  He ran his hands down Brandy’s legs to check there was no heat or swelling from working through the deep snow. Finding them cool and tight, he nodded, satisfied. “Guess I’d better saddle you up.”

  By the time Ben led Brandy to the round yard, an audience had settled against the rails; his father, Uncle Graeme, Simon and Louise stood chatting.

  Louise seemed to be getting on well with Simon, waving her arms as she told a story with a look of excitement on her face. As she saw Ben with Brandy, she stopped and sprang to open the gate. “Good luck, Ben. He looks nice and relaxed.”

  “Yeh. For how long?” Ben gave her a wry smile and tried to walk nonchalantly beside his horse as his stomach churned. He could feel his skin tingling as sweat broke out on his back.

  The three men quietened as Ben started to work Brandy in circles. The horse obeyed every command, changing direction, pace and tempo with a smooth rhythm. His liver chestnut coat shone despite the lack of sunshine. His thick mane and tail flowed and bounced as he moved. Flicking out his toes, he looked the epitome of health and vigour.

  Ben worked his horse through all the exercises that Louise had performed with Honey. The young stallion followed every instruction, lowering his head and chewing when Ben persisted in getting exactly what he wanted. Even though the stirrups hung loose and banged against the horse’s sides, nothing fazed the brumby.

  “Can you guys make a noise or something? He seems too calm.” Ben worried that Brandy waited for an opportunity to explode. He’d never worked so well before.

  “I’ll get my whip and give that a few cracks if you like.” Mr Naylor sauntered over to his old ute and did as he had suggested. Still Brandy remained calm.

  Graeme grabbed a handful of plastic bags from the feed shed and entered the round yard. He rustled them in the air as Ben continued to work Brandy in circles. “Come on, Ben, he’s ready. Let’s see you on him.”

  Realising that the time had come, Ben set the metal bucket up and rattled it a few times. Brandy didn’t move. Climbing onto the bucket, he lay across his horse’s back and wiggled around. After a few more mock attempts, he swung his leg across the stallion and sat up in the saddle.

  Other than raising his head and hollowing his back, Brandy didn’t move.

  “Good boy.” Ben stroked the horse’s neck and slipped his right foot into the offside stirrup. Shortening the reins, he asked Brandy to walk on.

  It seemed as if Brandy was going to be as good as Honey. Starting to relax, Ben asked him to trot.

  The stallion ducked his head to the ground and kicked his heels in the air, leaping forward with all four legs off the ground. His back rounded as he bucked and landed with stilted legs, bucking again.

  “Hold on, Ben! Push him up.” Graeme encouraged Ben as he ran to get out of the way.

  Simon cheered and yelled from the rails. “Yee-haa! Ride him! Ride him!”

  Ben grimaced and dug his left heel into Brandy’s side at the same time as turning his head round to his knee. The horse swung his quarters out as he spun and stopped bucking. Ben held the brumby’s head close to as
he stood in the middle of the arena, glad he had stayed on, not sure what he should do next.

  “Let me get out of here before you try that again. I don’t think you need these plastic bags now.” Graeme chuckled as he ducked through the gate.

  Ben flexed Brandy’s head to the right and held it against his leg for a minute before flexing it back to the left. After doing this several times, he walked forward. As he asked Brandy to trot, he held the reins ready to spin the brumby around if he attempted to buck again.

  Brandy broke into a sideways jog and tried to get his head down again. Finding the reins too short, he lashed out with one hind leg and started to rear. Ben spun the stallion around and brought him back to the ground, repeating the neck flexing and walking exercises.

  Once again he asked Brandy to trot. This time the horse leaped forward as stiff as a lump of wood. Ben brought him back to a walk.

  “Keep going, Ben. You’re doing fine.” Ben couldn’t hear what other comments Graeme and Simon swapped.

  Determined not to let the horse beat him, Ben kept transitioning to trot, back to walk and balk to trot until Brandy softened and trotted in a relaxed frame. He crossed the middle of the yard and changed the rein, did a few circles in the other direction and changed back again.

  “Let’s see you canter him.” Simon climbed onto the bottom rail of the yard and leant over the top. “Want me to gee him up for you?”

  “No way!” Ben barely had the breath to answer. He had been about to stop. Realising that the experienced breaker from the outback expected more, and not wanting to look afraid, Ben tightened his reins, sat deep and applied pressure with his inside leg.

  Brandy surged forward, running faster without breaking into a canter. Ben steadied him back and tried again. Keeping the pressure on his leg, he pushed with his seat. Brandy broke into a canter for two strides before falling back to a smart trot. “Whoa, fella. No need to rush.”

  Ben persevered with his canter transitions until Brandy broke as soon as asked onto the correct lead in both directions. Exhausted from his efforts, Ben glowed red. He halted the stallion in the centre of the yard then dismounted.

  “Awesome, Ben! He looked great. How did he feel?” Louise swung the gate open.

  Ben patted Brandy and led him back towards the stables. “A bit of a handful, but okay. He’s so powerful. Not like breaking in Snip. I thought he was strong. This boy is something else.” As he passed his uncle, he couldn’t help but be proud of his achievement.

  Simon grinned at him. “Looks like Graeme and I have competition in the horse breaking business.”

  “Yeh, you’d better watch out.” Now he’d backed Brandy, Ben knew it was only a matter of time before he became a good riding horse. He expected he’d always have to watch out for the occasional buck or rear, though now he’d ridden his horse through both, he no longer felt nervous.

  After rubbing Brandy down and giving him a feed, Ben and Louise joined the others in the kitchen. Mr Naylor sat propped on the corner of the table, drinking a mug of tea.

  “That was a good job, Ben.” Graeme took a swig from a bottle of beer. “I’ve been talking to your dad about that horse.”

  Ben paused as he grabbed a slice of fruit cake from the plate on the table. “What about?”

  Graeme rested his hand on Ben’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. I don’t agree about cutting that stallion. I’ve been making a suggestion.”

  Looking at his father, Ben held his breath. He knew his dad listened to Graeme where horses were concerned, even if they didn’t agree about cattle at times. “Yeh, what’s that then?”

  Mr Naylor set down his mug on the table. “Graeme thinks I should let Brandy serve old Shadow. She isn’t doing anything in her retirement. She was a good stockhorse in her day. Let’s see what sort of foal she has. If it’s no good, you’ll have to geld the horse. What do you say?”

  Ben knew that Shadow wouldn’t be able to be served until spring, and then there’d be another eleven months until the foal was born. That gave him another year to change his father’s mind. “Who would own the foal?”

  Graeme laughed and smacked Ben on the back. “Get the thing on the ground first. Wait until you see if there are vet bills to be paid before you worry about that.”

  “And there’s the extra feed for a pregnant mare. Do you want to accept Graeme’s suggestion or should I get the vet to come and geld that brumby tomorrow?”

  “Okay, Dad. It sounds like a good deal. Thanks.” He stuffed cake into his mouth and tried not to look at the smiling faces around him.

  Glossary

  Aid: A signal used by a rider to convey instructions to their horse, for example by using their body, hands, legs or voice.

  Akubra: A brand of Australian felt hat favoured by stockmen.

  Appaloosa: A breed of horse, also a colour, where the loins and hips are white with dark round or oval spots. Sometimes spotting occurs all over the body.

  Arabian: A hot-blooded breed of horse with a distinctive high head and tail carriage and wedged-shape face with graceful paces.

  Bachelor: A young male horse that does not have mares of his own.

  Back a horse: To sit on the horse’s back for the first time, that is, to ride it. See also Break in.

  Bay: A dark-skinned horse with a reddish to dark brown coat with black mane and tail. The legs also usually have dark markings.

  Billy: A metal container used to heat water over an open fire.

  Blowing: When a horse breathes heavily from exertion or stress, usually with head lowered and nostrils flared.

  Blue heeler: A breed of Australian cattle dog.

  Brand: An identifying mark burnt into an animal’s skin by either a hot iron or dry-ice.

  Break in a horse: To teach the horse to walk, trot, canter, halt and change directions either under saddle (ridden) or in harness (driven).

  Brumby: The wild horse of Australia, descended from released or escaped domesticated horses.

  Buck: When a horse leaps in the air with back arched, coming down with stiff forelegs and head low.

  Buckskin: Also know as dun, a horse colour with black skin and yellow pigment in the hair, with a black mane and tail.

  Cavesson: A well-padded headcollar where the noseband is made of metal or other stiff material, used on horses during breeding or training. The nose-piece has three metal rings for attaching a lunge or lead rein on either side or on the nose.

  Chestnut: A horse colouring with a gold to dark reddish brown coat and a matching or slightly darker mane and tail.

  Cold blood: A heavy horse, or draught horse, such as a Clydesdale or Percheron.

  Colt: A young male horse.

  Crest: The ridge along the back of the horse’s neck from which the mane grows.

  Curry comb: A rubber or metal scraper for cleaning horse brushes or for removing mud and hair from a horse.

  Dam: A body of water formed by building a wall, usually in a gully or depression in the ground.

  Doggers: Slang term for a slaughterhouse that uses meat for pet food.

  Draft: To selectively separate out one or more animals.

  Drafting gate: A gate that swings to open into one of several exit points while blocking off the other outlets.

  Feral: A wild animal that is not native to the environment; an introduced species.

  Filly: A young female horse.

  Fire trail: A track made specifically to providing access for firefighting.

  Flaxen: A pale gold or cream colour, such as the mane and tail of palominos or pale chestnuts.

  Float: A trailer for transporting horses.

  Forehand: The front legs and shoulders of the horse.

  Frog: The triangular elastic pad of horn occupying the space between the bars in the under-surface of a horse’s hoof.

  Gag: A metal devi
ce with ratchets used by veterinarians or horse dentists to keep the horse’s mouth open.

  Gelding: A de-sexed male horse.

  Goose-neck: A style of horse float (also called a horse trailer or horse box) that has living quarters in the front for people to use. It is attached to the tray of a ute (pickup truck) with a trailer ball coupling.

  Green: A horse that has been broken-in but is still inexperienced.

  Greenies: A slang term for people with a passion for the environment.

  Grey: A dark-skinned horse with black and white hairs in its coat and mane and tail. With each successive change of coat the proportion of white hairs increases so that as the horse gets older its coat lightens until it is completely white.

  Ground-tied: Where the reins touch the ground, instructing the horse to stand still.

  Half-pass: A dressage movement where the horse’s body remains parallel to the side of the arena while moving away from it at an angle of 50 degrees.

  Hanoverian: A Warmblood of German origin that has been bred for strength so the horse can be used for agricultural work as well as driving and riding.

  Headcollar: A bitless headpiece for leading or tying up a horse. Also known as a halter (though different countries can attribute varying meanings to these two terms).

  Herd: A group of horses that has a definite social structure with a hierarchy.

  Hindquarters: The rear end of the horse above the hind legs.

  Hobbles: Leather straps that join a horse’s forelegs together to restrict movement.

  Hog: To cut off the mane close to the neck, usually done with electric clippers.

  Hot blood: A fast, light horse, such as a Thoroughbred or an Arabian.

  Hydro scheme: A large complex of artificial lakes created to power hydroelectric turbines to generate electricity.