Lucky Pebbles Come on, Salty!" Amy called as she shook the oats inside the plastic bucket.

"Let's get a little exercise." The black appaloosa pricked up his ears at the rattling of the oats and promptly started toward Amy. With his nose buried in the bucket, Amy easily slid the halter on the horse. She tied the lead securely to the fence and proceeded to brush Salty's dark coat until it shone. Salty fot his name from the "blanket" of white across his rump that made him look as though salt was sprinkled on the back end of an otherwise black horse. Amy's brush now turned its attention to Salty's mane and tail, which like most appaloosa, was thin and short. "I swear that horse smiles when you are here!" Uncle Ken teased. "Going for a ride around the place?" Amy grimaced at her favorite uncle. She loved the time she spent here at his farm each summer and the chance to ride Salty. But Amy had grown tired of directing Salty around the same old familiar ground. "Uncle Ken, I'm too old for that baby-stuff, riding in circles all around the farm! I'm almost thirteen already! You know I'm a good rider, and I promise not to go too far! Please, please, P-L-E-A-S-E let me take Salty for a ride down the road!" Amy pleaded. "I know your a good rider, Amy. It's just that it is safest for you to ride where we can see you, Uncle Ken explained. Amy tried to make them even more sad. "Pretty please, Uncle Ken?" Uncle Ken looked at Amy and then at Salty. "Well...," he said as he removed his hat and scratched his head, "I guess you've never had any trouble with ol' Salty yet. I suppose a short jaunt down the road wouldn't hurt. But you must be careful, wear your helmet and stay alert! Promise me?" "Oh, I promise!" squealed Amy. She quickly hoisted the saddle into place and replaced the horse's halter with a bridle. Amy checked her carryall pack around her waist for her watch. "I won't be longer than twenty minutes! Thank you Uncle Ken!" Amy reined Salty through the gate that uncle Ken was holding open for her, and with a final wave eagerly trotted off to see what she could see. Horse and rider were quickly out of sight of the farm. It seemed an invitation to explore whispered from every direction, and Amy regretted she didn't have more time. She decided on a faint path that appeared to lead downhill to the small clearing below. The incline forced Amy to lean back in the saddle to maintain her balance. She imagined herself a pioneer scouting the hills, and taking both reins in one hand while shielding her eyes with the other, she began to scan the landscape. "Beep, B-E-E-P! Beep, B-E-E-P!" shrieked the alarm on Amy's watch from inside her pack. Frightened, Salty bolted so fast that Amy seemed to hang in mid-air before landing bottom-first on the ground. Instinctively, she sprang to her feet and checked to see if everything still worked. It did, but that was little comfort to Amy as she watched Salty galloping away with his sparse tail flagging behind him. "Salty! Salty, come back!" Amy yelled after the sprinting horse. She started running after him, calling his name between gulps of air. Her heart and lungs began to pound. What was she going to do now? Salty wasn't responding at

all to his name, and she didn't have a bucket of oats to tempt him. Amy felt like collapsing into a pile of tears. Exhausted, she dropped to the ground and watched Salty zigzag all over the clearing. "Stupid watch! If only I had remembered to shut off that dumb alarm!" Amy thought as she angrily fished it out of her pack and threw it the ground. Realizing her foolishness, she bent to pick it up and noticed the small stones near where the watch had landed. Wasting no time, Amy emptied the rest of her pack and refilled it with the pebbles. Undoing the pack from her waist, she straightened up and set off after the still-trotting Salty. "I sure hope this works," she said to herself. Salty didn't flinch when Amy called his name again, but stopped dead in his tracks when she started shaking her pack. "Come on, boy! I have some nice oats for you!" Amy shouted as she rattled the pebbles louder. Salty didn't move. Then to Amy's enormous relief, he started walking toward her! As soon as he was within reach, Amy grabbed the reins and held them tightly. She led him to the spot where the contents of her pack had been dumped. As she took the pebbles out and put her things back, her breathing returned to normal. She picked up one of the pebbles again and slipped it into her pocket. Salty seemed to know that his burst of freedom was now over and he stood very sill as Amy climbed back into the saddle. Back on the roadside, Amy turned Salty's head for home. She had both hands on the reins and her feet firmly in the stirrups. Rounding the bend just before the farm Amy saw Uncle Ken coming down the road in his pick-up truck. "I was just coming to look for you! I was starting to get worried." Uncle Ken winked at her. "Time just ran away from you, did it? Amy could feel the lump the pebble in her pocket made. "Uncle Ken, you don't know the half of it!" she exclaimed. I'll tell you all about it, but only after we close the gate behind us !!!"

Small Comforts I was 21 at the time and had recently bought an Arabian mare named 'Sierra Donde'. She was a beautiful chestnut and very young, only 4. But she was very smart. She always knew when dinner time was, and she would walk into the tack room, pick up her feed tub, and bring it to me! I lived in upstate New York at the time and worked for the fire department as a dispatcher. As sometimes happens, I was laid off because of budget problems. Needless to say, I was very bummed out. Believing in what Will Rogers once said, "The best thing for the inside of a man is the outside of a horse," I went home and saddled up Sierra. We rode to one of our favorite spots, down near the river. I turned Sierra loose and she went off to graze. I sat down by the river bank and laid my head on my knees, wondering what I was going to do, and hoping I could manage to keep Sierra. I had been thinking for about 10 minutes, when all of a sudden I felt something drop on my head. I looked up and there was Sierra standing over me. She had dropped a mouthful of grass right on me! She seemed to be saying, "Eating grass comforts me and makes me feel better, you should try it too!" It did make me feel better (even though I didn't eat it!) and we rode back home in much better spirits. I soon got a new job, and I was able to keep Sierra. Horses really are a noble and compassionate animal!

Katie's Story CHAPTER 1 It was the worst day of my life. No one should ever have to lose a friend the way I did. Knowing it was all your fault and knowing you can't do anything about it. It was the day I lost Duke, my long time partner in mischief and excitement, and I'll never forget it. How could I? School had just started and I was bummed that me and Duke hadn't been able to go riding together like we had been doing in the summer. So everyday after school I'd hurry to the farm he was boarded at so incredibly fast to make up for the hours of school we were apart. He was the most beautiful horse in my eyes. Duke was a well built Quarter Horse gelding with a chestnut body and a big heart. His mane matched the gentle color of his eyes, and the color of my hair. He had the most gorgeous face. It was a very big head with a large white blaze that matched his four white socks. I groomed him so well everyday that there was not one hair out of place, and not one tangle in his tail. He was absolutely gorgeous, and he was all mine. He was a small horse of about 15hh which was perfect for my short 5'1'' body. We had competed and won championships in shows together, and he had such a personality. He always came over to me when I called him from the pasture and greeted me at his stall door in the barn. He liked to butt me with his head like a donkey to tease me, and take playful nips at my pants. Sometimes I'd just hold his giant head in my arms like a baby and he'd fall asleep. In return he'd let me bury my nose in his coat and I'd rest leaning on him, just smelling him. We treated each other good, and I loved him very much. Our happiness together lasted seven years. I got him when he was six and I was in third grade. Our happiness together lasted until yesterday. Only yesterday, but I call it that day. I'm trying to get over it. It's impossible though. I just keep calling it that day. Duke had been out with the other horses all morning, eating hay and playing halter games with his friends. I thought about how much fun he was having while I was stuck in algebra class. As soon as that 2:10 bell rang I jetted out of school like the human cannon ball from the circus. Jake, my boyfriend, picked me up at the corner in front of the school. We had been going together since the day we met at his barn during the summer. He was a rider also, and a very good one. His father was a vet and his mother a breeder so he had been around horses all his life and knew a great deal about them. His horse's name was Ebony, a completely black quarter horse mare. She was absolutely beautiful. Our horses looked great together and so did we. I hopped in the car with him like I always did. We went to two different schools but his gets out earlier then mine and he always spent the extra ten minutes to drive over to pick me up. I got in the car like I always did, we talked and stuff like we always did, and we drove to my barn like we always did. We sped down the street and talked about the summer, riding, racing, anything to do with horses. We were kids who complained about school, teachers, principals and that's exactly what was on our minds that day, well, yesterday. We didn't know that we would have much more to worry about in the hours ahead. But nobody can predict the future.

Katie's Story CHAPTER 2 Jake asked me if I wanted to try out a new trail. I was surprised that there was even a new direction we hadn't gone in this summer past. Of course I said yes, I am a very daring and courageous person. Although I do not feel so courageous right now. So Jake explained to me about this old bridge that his friend has discovered going dirt biking through all the paths. It sounded interesting and I agreed to meet Jake somewhere between his barn and mine. We finally got to my barn and I hopped out grabbing my backpack. I shut the door and waved bye. He took off in the direction of his barn and I raced past the pastures like I always did to go see Duke. I reached the huge barn and went inside. I heard neighing and snorting and the sound of hay being munched on like I always did. I put my backpack down in the locker room. I opened my combination lock and grabbed my boots and riding pants and put them on. I ran to the stall area and down the aisle past all the other beautiful animals and reached Duke's comfy box stall near the end. He had his head down munching away on some hay like the others. He looked so beautiful, I stopped and just stared at him like a mother would do to a newborn during his first night home. I clucked to him and he nickered. I talked to him and gave him a pat. I gave him a big hug and led him to the cross ties. I brushed and saddled him slowly and carefully. I led him outside and I said hi to all the barn helpers, volunteers, and boarders. We walked along slowly, me leading him by his bridle, down the aisle between the two large outdoor rings. I didn't notice how nice it was outside. Fall weather hadn't set in yet, the sun was out shining. I swung up on Duke and gave him a pat. We walked to the edge of the woods and waved to all the people working that I was friends with. I was smiling so much. I loved this horse so much. It's the best feeling when your with someone you love way more than anything else in the world, and that's how I felt when I was with Duke.

Katie's Story CHAPTER 3 This is where the bad stuff started happening. I met Jake and Ebony at the clearing and we headed out a jog to the paths. Jake led the way to the bridge which was quite a ways away. We talked and had fun. It took us a while to get to the old bridge but we made it before it was dark. Jake went over the bridge first. I remember him muttering something to himself when Ebony refused to go over it the first time. He led her up to it nicely, she's a calm horse, but she refused to touch it. He tried again a couple of times then finally Ebony agreed to cross it. I didn't think much of it. Sometimes horses spook at running water or maybe low hanging branches. No big deal. That's where I was wrong. Ebony was a quarter horse, yes, but not a built one. She was much lighter than Duke and lighter on her feet too. The boards beneath her hooves moaned. She opened her eyes wide and looked down. The water was moving pretty swiftly. It was a very deep pool of running water, and the bridge was high above, a good twenty feet. Ebony and Jake made it across about halfway. I followed behind him because there was no room to travel abreast. I heard the boards moaning and I told Jake to hurry up. He picked up the pace and we tried to jog across the remainder of the bridge. I heard something snap and break. It was the boards beneath me. Duke slipped and almost fell. Ebony, hearing the noise, stopped dead in her tracks. I had no where to go, but down. The boards beneath me began to break and snap more and more one at a time. I screamed and tried to urge Duke forward. Jake hurried across the bridge with Ebony and hopped off. Duke was neighing loudly and his eyes were wide. The water below us was tearing up the rocks below us. I looked down , it was so deep. Duke's hind leg was caught and bleeding, I jumped off him and grabbed his bridle hysterically crying. Jake ran across the bridge from the other side and grabbed the reins to. We wanted to pull him up without hurting his leg anymore. Pulling and crying, I begged Duke not to leave me. His front left leg fell through and splintered. He cried out in pain, I screamed. The water was even louder now that it was controlling everything. Everything was racing through my mind. The rocks below, the water. Why wasn't there a sign to warn us? Please hold on I kept pleading to Duke. But the boards broke beneath him and he fell. I couldn't look so I couldn't give you details even if I wished. Jake just held me. The bridge beneath him had completely given way and we jumped back. We ran to Ebony and tried to keep her from hurting herself. I was crying so hard and so was Jake. We could not believe anything. I kept seeing Duke's beautiful face pleading to me not to let go. His panicked look as he saw the water below him. My life was over. Nothing could get me over this. Nothing. I pushed Jake away and tried to get down closer to the water. It was steep but I made it. I felt nothing, not the twigs below me, not the thorn bushes that bit my skin and made me bleed. I went downstream where it was calmer. I saw Duke's body there. He was cut up terribly from the rocks and was stuck on the shoreline of bushes. I started to shake and I fell to the ground. My sight was blurry and I was screaming Duke's name. He didn't look up like he always did when he was eating hay and I called him. He didn't try to butt me with his

head like a donkey, like he always did. He just laid there, on his side, underneath me. I hugged him and cried. He didn't move. Those smooth gates of jog and canter ran through my mind. I saw him running through the pasture when I closed my eyes. I saw him in the mud rolling which always made me laugh. I thought I heard someone call my name but I didn't care. My best friend was dead. I'd never get to see him alive and happy again. This was the worst day of my life, yesterday. May 18 will always be a horrible day to remember for me.

Katie's Story CHAPTER 4 My eyes hurt so bad because of all the tears. Someone draped a blanket on my shoulders. It was dark now. I was bawling on Duke's once smooth neck. Petting him and telling him to wake up. Someone tried to pull me away from him, my best friend Duke. I screamed and fought. He needed me. I grabbed his mane and cried. I shook his shoulder but he still wouldn't move. I stood up and pulled his bridle, he wouldn't move. I screamed his name, calling for him to stand up. Please, I yelled, don't leave me Duke, I love you! I fell down to his shoulders. I love you Duke I whispered to him. My voice was shaking. I love you more than anything, Duke, good bye, I'll miss you and I promise I'll see you again, my good boy, you are such a good boy. I held his head in my arms like I always used to. His eyes were shut. He fell asleep in my arms again, but this was the last time. I kissed his forehead and his muzzle. I was crying softly now, I was telling him over and over how much I loved him. I rubbed his head where he was always itchy, where he used to lean into me because it felt so good, and gave him one last hug. I let someone, I don't remember who it was, carry me away. I cried on this person's shoulder, this stranger I didn't know. There was a group of adults and some little kids around. They were crying and hugging, but they didn't know. How could they be upset when they didn't lose anything. I had lost everything. I buried my head in the stranger's chest and cried softly to myself. I love you Duke, I whispered. That was the last time I saw my friend. THE END

Nag "That foal should've been beautiful." said the elderly farmer. "Instead I've got this long legged, big eared, long necked, thing that looks as though it's part mule. What the 'ell happened too the breeding you set up for me, huh?" "Well Mr. Huan the foals dam was the most beautiful and gentle mare our stable had, and well the foals sire, is the best jumper, in Canada, and perhaps the whole world, is considered one of the most beautiful horses of the century, and is by far the best-" "The highest studding fee you mean." "The stud fee is very fair." "It would've been fair if I'd gotten something worthwhile, Ms. Harrier, but obviously I didn't. I don't want that ugly foal, you can give it too a slaughter house for all I care." and with that Mr. Huan was gone, leaving his foal in a pasture with his mother. Ms. Harrier sold the foal as soon as she could. For once she agreed with the farmer, the foal was ugly. She had expected the foal to get prettier; it's black, brown, and chestnut coat with a flaxen mane and tail to turn black due to the black circle around his eyes but the coat didn't change. The first person who came to look at the foal, a young lady hoping to open up a small riding stable bought the foal, due too it's low price, of only $100.00, which really was a bargain for a foal with such good breeding. The young lady, Ms. Uorse gave the foal what it needed, nothing more nothing less, so she didn't really care for the foal. That winter, the foals coat started to change, but everyone was too busy with the stable and getting customers that they didn't notice. The multicolored coat slowly changed bright, shinning chestnut, with tiny bits of flaxen on the mane and tail. The foal got a tiny stripe down his forehead, and four white socks. The foal was indeed very beautiful, but no one noticed, because quite often the foal wasn't even groomed. When the foal became a yearling, people began to work the foal. The people that worked the foal were tough, but fair. They trained the foal well but didn't mind leaving the yearling with a few bloody cuts, and sores. Eventually the foal became a gelding. It was then when riders were plopped on and off his back not really caring about the welfare of the gelding as long as he'd allow them to ride, and do whatever the students said. The gelding should've gotten a hard mouth, and a broken spirit but luckily for some reason the people but on the gelding where sympathetic and kind riders. One day when the gelding was about four a mean spiteful rider was assigned too the gelding. He rode with a crop, and spurs. His legs where very strong due too his many years of construction work. He gave the gelding no rein, which gave the gelding a bloody mouth. The teacher was going to protest but the man was a very high payer. In the end he bought the gelding. The gelding spent one year of pure torcher before he was rescued, when he through the man off his back, giving the man a concussion. The man sold the gelding for a very cheap price, too a very good rider. In was there when the geldings life became good. The rider loved the gelding, and trained the gelding very nicely, to jump over jumps. The rider cared for the gelding and saw his beauty. One day the rider checked over the geldings papers. She learned that he had

excellent breeding. And that he was indeed as he suspected a Hanoverian purebred. His father a famous jumper, his mother a well known dressage, gold medal winner. The rider was very impressed that is until she learned his true name. "Nag." She tried to change it, not wanting to show the gelding until he got a worthwhile name. She only learned that she could add letters to the geldings name. She changed it. Over the years the rider and the gelding won many things. Once they mastered jumping they moved on too dressage, and, mastered that too. After a while of rest, the rider and the gelding, won a 5,00 mile endurance race, one day ahead of all the other riders. The rider then went on to three day eventing, which they also finished first, in one of the largest competitions. The rider went on to the Olympics, all the equestrian events, and won pure golds. The name became one of the best known names ever. Many considered the name very spirit lifting. On the geldings retirement tour the rider was very proud of the horses name. In fact she read a whole speech, which began, "When I learned the horse's previous name, I was shocked. But then I realized that at one time people considered this wonderful horse a nag. So I changed the name from "Nag" to a name that I felt would suit him most, and so he is now known as, "Once A Nag." The End