Brumbies in the Snow

By Paula Boer

Taming a wild horse is no easy task, as Ben and Louise soon discover. Their progress is slowed by a runaway horse and a desperate search through the park for two lost hikers. Concern for an injured brumby adds to the complications. Follow the wild twists and turns of the Best Selling sequel Brumbies adventure, as Ben and Louise explore the High Country of Australia in winter and learn what it means to break in a brumby.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IFWG Publishing International
• Release date: Jul 15, 2018
• ISBN: 9781925759327

Paula Boer

Paula Boer has been a horse-lover since she learned to ride at age nine. She competed in many equestrian disciplines including endurance, eventing and show jumping as well as working on remote outback cattle stations. Forced to give up riding due to ill health, Paula turned her passion to writing. Many of the adventures experienced by Paula's characters come from her own experiences. Paula is a regular contributor of articles to magazines and blogs on horse management and her life with horses as well as the author of the Amazon-best-selling Brumbies series. Paula's love of nature is also expressed in her other publications including The Okapi Promise (adult travel adventure), Impounded (a tale of a barramundi fish), Of Emus and Seahorses (an anthology of stories from the perspective of a few of Australia’s strange and wonderful animals), plus many short stories published by Indigo Dreams Press (UK).

Book preview

Books in this Series

Brumbies

Brumbies in the Snow

Brumbies in the Mist

Brumbies in the Outback

Brumbies in the Mountains

Book 2 of

the Brumbies Series

Brumbies in the Snow

by

Paula Boer

This is a work of fiction. The events and characters portrayed herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places, events or living persons. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the publisher.

Brumbies in the Snow

Book 2 of the Brumbies Series

All Rights Reserved

ISBN-13: 978-1-925759-32-7

Copyright ©2018 Paula Boer

All maps in this book were designed by

Paula Boer and rendered by Rowena Evans

Second Edition

This ebook may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

IFWG Publishing International

Melbourne

www.ifwgpublishing.com

In memory of Midnight Velvet,

a black brumby colt

A glossary of horse-related terms

can be found at page 127

Chapter 1

The buckskin mare’s hooves thud, thud, thudded on the frozen ground as she trotted in ever decreasing circles. Her nostrils flared pink as she snorted, wisps of breath visible in the crisp morning air as she closed in on Louise in the centre of the round yard.

That’s a girl, now back out again. Louise let the lunge rein loosen to spiral the brumby back out to the rubber lined rails. The young mare tossed her head and swished her tail as she covered the ground with long rhythmic strides.

She’s looking great. Ben leant on the gate and zipped up his fleece jacket. No-one would know that she was running wild only six months ago and had never been touched by a human.

The two friends had spent their summer holidays trying to save brumbies from being sent to market as pet food. They had only managed to save Honey, Louise’s mare, and Brandy, Ben’s young stallion, and even that had proved a challenge. Without the help of Old Harry, the hermit who lived rough in the park, they would never have succeeded.

Whoa girl. Stand still. Louise rubbed Honey on the face before leading her across to where Ben waited. Do you really think we’ll be able to back her tomorrow? I can’t wait to sit on her.

Ben nodded. His horsemanship had developed from years of living on a farm and working cattle. He had broken in Snip, his thoroughbred cross stockhorse last year. Don’t see why not. Let’s pony them out today and wear them out a bit.

What do you mean? Louise had only moved to the country at the end of last year. Her lessons at the riding school in town had not taught her the bush skills that Ben took for granted.

Ben loved sharing his knowledge. We’ll ride Snip and Ned, and lead Brandy and Honey from them. If we stick to the old road we should avoid the deep snow.

Cool! Will I tie Honey to Ned’s neck like I did when I brought her home from the valley? Ben and Louise had captured the brumbies in a corral they made in a hidden ravine and spent days gentling them before leading them home.

No. We’ve handled them enough. They should lead without needing to do that. Opening the gate for Louise to walk Honey out of the yard, Ben thrust his hands deep in his pockets. Why don’t you put her in the stable while we saddle up the others?

Without waiting for an answer, Ben whistled for his blue heeler, Snifter, and headed for the paddock. Although Snifter only had three legs due to an accident with a tractor, he eagerly rounded up the horses and brought them in.

Louise closed the stable door behind her and gave Honey a brush. The mare’s thick winter coat had flattened down with sweat from the exertion of working in the round yard. She nibbled at Louise’s sleeve.

Hey, stop that. You’re not getting any treats until we’ve been out.

At thirteen, Louise couldn’t believe that her dream of catching and breaking in a wild horse was really coming true. She tickled the horse’s upper lip, teasing her with gentle fingertips. The mare nodded her head and snorted. Louise stood near the double door and admired Honey’s strong back and clean legs.

Tomorrow we can go for our first ride.

Although old enough to be backed at three years old, Louise had no intention of rushing Honey. She wouldn’t start serious ridden work for another year. Although the mare had become accustomed to wearing a saddle and bridle, this morning Louise had exercised her in a rope halter.

Wait there while I go and get Ned. You like him, don’t you?

Louise walked across to the yards where Ben had the riding horses waiting. Ned, a stocky Appaloosa, whinnied as he saw her approach. Do you want to go out, boy? Or are you after the carrots in my pocket? She rubbed his ears as he leant in to her hand and gave him a scratch.

Come on, we’d better get going before the weather changes. Ben always watched the early morning weather report and kept an eye on the sky, ever since they had been caught in a storm while out riding and Louise had become very sick. We’ll be warmer once we get going.

Ben’s family farm lay on the outskirts of Mirraburra, a small village on the edge of the park. An old dirt track wound through the hills close to Tumbledown Creek, blocked to traffic during winter. Slushy snow covered the gravel surface. Wallaby tracks criss-crossed the track and scratchings on the verge revealed nibbled tufts of brown grass.

Louise settled into Ned’s easy trot as he followed Snip. Honey ponied along beside without tugging on her head collar. Massive gum trees on either side of the road made a tunnel, their heavy boughs bent down with thick layers of snow. Sunlight twinkled off the frosty coverings. Often the weight became too much, causing the snow to slip in a whoosh to the ground. Louise liked watching the flash of shards as ice shattered and flew in all directions.

Up ahead, Snifter chased the icicles, snapping to catch the crystals, looking puzzled when they melted on his tongue. Louise laughed at his antics though Ben didn’t seem to notice the dog at play. How’s Brandy going?

Ben held the stallion on a tight rope. He turned to call over his shoulder. He’s a bit of a handful. Maybe you should go in front?

Okay. Louise urged Ned on. Giving Snip and the brumby stallion a wide berth, she passed on their right hand side. Shout if you want me to stop.

Pleased with how well her young mare behaved, she let Ned stretch out. Honey extended her stride to match.

Louise’s breath exhaled in clouds from the freezing air, her nose dripped, and she couldn’t feel the tips of her fingers. She didn’t care. It had been several weeks since Louise and Ben had ridden out in the park, as they had spent every weekend doing groundwork with the brumbies. The short winter days were too dark after school for Louise to cycle out to Tumbleford Farm.

Although happy to be back in the saddle again, Louise thought the snow covered landscape seemed eerily quiet. Few birds remained in the high country through the severe weather and the snow muffled sounds of those animals that hadn’t taken to warm burrows to wait out the harsh conditions. She imagined the wombats, echidnas and lizards all snuggled up in their tunnels, or under fallen logs, wrapped in leaf litter and moss.

Hang on! You’re going too fast.

Ben’s cry startled Louise out of her thoughts. She halted Ned and waited for Ben to catch up. She could see Brandy fighting the lead rope, throwing his head in the air and spinning his hindquarters away from Snip.

Sorry. How about we try and ride side by side. It’s wide enough here.

Ben’s flushed face showed the effort of hanging on to the stallion. Good idea. Keep it slow. Snifter, get out of the way.

The dog obediently ran to the side of the road. Struggling to lumber through the deeper snow, he dropped behind.

Once the four horses settled into an easy trot abreast the road, Ben loosened the lead rein. That’s better. He’s relaxing now. This makes it easier to talk, too.

Normally the two friends rode side by side, chattering about horses and other animals. Louise envied Ben’s life on the farm and hoped to go to agricultural college when she finished school. She knew Ben wanted to work with horses like his Uncle Graeme, and had hopes of building a breeding herd with the liver chestnut brumby.

Did I tell you Adam Cartwright, the ranger, rang the other day? Dad says that the police are taking Robert Smythe-Waters to court about starting that fire we saw when we were fixing the yards at the old homestead.

Louise tightened Ned’s reins without thinking as he shied at a branch that fell nearby. That’s great news. Will we have to give evidence? After all, it was us that found the fuel can. You know Harry won’t go in to town and tell that he saw Robert putting all that bark and stuff around the fence posts.

Leaves rattled in the branches as the wind picked up. Brandy’s ears twisted forward and backward as he tossed his head. Ben shortened the lead rein. No, Dad says the police found finger prints, and when they confronted Smythe-Waters, he just about confessed. Everyone knows he wanted to have his cattle back on the former leasehold land and that’s why he burnt down the fence.

I hope he gets thrown in prison. I’m sure he let the brumbies out of the yards when we caught that big herd at the start of the summer holidays. What a shame we lost them, especially for your Uncle Graeme and your brother John who had come all that way to help. Louise became very angry when she remembered how they had turned up with the horse truck to select which brumbies to take home, instead finding only hoof prints and distinctive tyre tracks.

Crack! A sound like a rifle shot rang out behind Louise. She turned and looked to see who might be shooting, at the same time feeling her left arm almost pulled out of its socket. Honey reared and pawed the air, dropped her head and started to buck. Ned danced sideways, trying to keep away from her flying hooves, while Louise