A Horse Novel
By ILIYANA S. MCDALLAS
Excerpt republished with permission from author.
Clover is a black stallion with a heart of gold. When he finds himself lost from his home and his human, Georgia, he does everything he possibly can to get back to what he loves the most.
Clover seems to get farther and farther away from his home, however, and starts to lose hope of ever seeing his family again. Will Clover ever be able to find his true home and family again, or will his adventures lead him away from what he loves?
Mother and the Tall Creature
The wind howled like a lone wolf. It whistled around my ears and sent shudders deep in my bones. My long, thin legs grew stiff from the early spring cold. It almost felt like a warning or a bad omen.
The rolling hills of Colorado usually looked gracious and welcoming, but today, the grass was thrown around and shadows laid waiting in every corner. There was grass as far as I could see, and at the edge of the meadows, I knew from memory that there was a barbed wire fence that ran along the pasture. There was a farmer that fed us now and then, but we mostly lived on grass. At least, that’s what the other horses told me.
A plump bay mare stood grazing nearby. Her long, thick mane and tail were as black as the night sky, and she had a large white star on her forehead that reminded me of the moon when it was full. Her dark brown coat that usually glistened in the light now was fluffy and thick due to the change of weather. It made her look less dangerous, the other horses would say. But in my eyes, she never looked scary. She was just protecting her foal like any other mare would.
I didn’t look like Mother; I was a black. A small, jagged scar ran down my white line and went down into my hoof. It wasn’t a huge deal, and it didn’t really hurt, but nobody knew where it came from. The weirdest part was white hair surrounded the scar. So, technically, I wasn’t all black. I wish the scar and the white mark were never there.
She reached her neck out to touch her nose to mine. I snorted softly into her velvety nostrils, a welcoming hello for horses. Her eyes blinked softly and slowly. Rise, fall. Rise, fall. It was one of the things I truly loved about her. Sometimes I would watch her eyes when I needed comfort. She was never afraid.
Mother lifted her head and perked her ears. I followed her gaze but didn’t see anything unusual.
Mother started at a trot toward the noise. She went toward the fence, near the strange building that was said to hold a couple people inside. There was a small barn next to the building, but I’ve never been inside.
Mother and I reached the white, wooden fence and stopped. I looked up at her curiously, wondering what we were doing here.
A tall creature walking on two legs came blundering toward us. I backed up a few steps and waited for Mother to run. She didn’t, though. She just stood there, let the creature reach out, and stroke her nose.
“Hey, girl,” the monster croaked. “Been a while, hasn’t it?” It had white hair on its face, and its voice made it seem old.
Mother snorted softly and looked down at me.
“What do you have here, Lucky?” he asked. “A little stallion about six months old? Huh, it’s taken a while for you to come say hi to me.”
It reached out its hoof toward me. It was pink and looked like the shell of a walnut. I snorted indignantly and swished my little tail.
“Ah, he’ll come around,” he spoke to my mother. “Hey, Lucky, I have a grandchild that’s come to live with me. I think you’d like her. She’s about your age, ten. Sad story, actually, her parents passed not too long ago.”
Lucky stretched her neck out above the fence and ran her upper lip along his arm.
“Ah, I know what you’re after,” he chuckled and pulled out a delicious smelling rock-looking thing. Lucky lipped it out of his hoof and chewed slowly.
“Good, ain’t it? Made ‘em myself.”
Lucky shook her mane and backed a few steps.
“I understand, you have to go,” the creature sighed.
Georgia
“Lucky!” Another smaller creature shot out from one of the buildings and came running toward the fence.
I flinched and trotted around to the other side of Mother.
“Easy, Georgia. These horses aren’t like your pony, Antarctica.”
“I know, Grandpa,” the second, smaller creature named Georgia replied. “Do they bite?” She put out her hand and offered a treat.
Mother encouraged me to take the treat. I whinnied softly and stepped closer to the fence. I reached my short neck out as long as it would go and took the treat from Georgia’s hand.
“Aw, he’s so cute!” Georgia reached out to pet my muzzle. I jumped and took a few steps back.
“He ain’t quite used to people yet,” the bigger creature called Grandpa said. “I have to work with him a bit more. I think he’ll be good at pulling the carriage.
“But that’s Lucky’s job,” Georgia exclaimed.
“Right now, Harley’s pullin’ the carriage since Lucky’s with her foal,” Grandpa replied. “He can’t keep up. Besides, it will take some of the weight off Lucky’s shoulders to have someone else pull it.”
“I guess,” Georgia leaned her chin on the fence rail. “Does he have a name?”
“No, you can do the honors.” Grandpa turned and left to go back to the barn.
“I can’t wait to ride you, Clover,” Georgia smiled from the rail.
More information and access to this debut novel from 16-year-old young author Iliyana S. McDallas can be found here.
