Chapter 12

Coming Home

BY NOW IT WAS THE START of winter, and everyone was desperate to get the ponies out of the yards and back home. A storm was on its way, and since the stockyards had no shelter from the worsening weather, and all three ponies were now able to be safely led, the family made a plan to bring the horses home so they could be turned out into the paddocks.

On Saturday morning, Vicki and Kelly rode Twinkle and Charlie over to keep Dandy company while Squizzy and Jude were led home across the farm, leaving the foal loose to follow. The girls had ridden over a number of times now to visit the horses in the stockyards, and Dandy no longer tried to attack the other ponies — in fact, they’d almost become friends.

That afternoon they returned to the yards, this time with Dad driving the horse truck. Dandy would be led over the farm like the others, but they needed the truck for all the blue drums, the mucking-out rakes and the wheelbarrow.

As Dandy had been out of the yards only twice, Vicki was anxious about having him out in the open — but she was still disappointed when her parents decided it was safer for Mum to lead him.

“If anything goes wrong, I’ll have a better chance of holding him,” she said. “Especially once we get to the road, where there will be no fences to contain him if he gets loose.”

“But he trusts me,” Vicki argued. “I’m the only one that’s worked with him.”

“If we had another week to train him, it would be different. But with a storm coming, it’d be awful for him to be left shivering in these yards.”

Vicki walked into Dandy’s yard and quietly haltered him. Once he was caught she waited for her mum to approach. Unsure about having a stranger so close, Dandy nervously swished his tail and backed up a step.

“It’s not going to work,” Vicki said adamantly.

“Give him time. He’s probably unsettled by having two people in his yard. You’ve always worked him alone. Why don’t you wait by the gate while I make friends with him?” Mum replied.

Sulking, Vicki walked off and watched as her mum held out a hand to Dandy. She was torn, half hoping that she had a special bond with Dandy and that he’d ignore her mum. The other half hoped he’d be perfect so they could get him home as quickly as possible.

When Dandy stepped forward and let her mum touch him, Vicki was proud of her pony. She’d spent hours developing his trust of people and it was rewarding seeing how good he was, although she still wished she could have been the one to lead him home.

As they made their way down the laneway, Mum kept a firm grip on the lead rope. Dandy pranced beside her, tugging on the lead, excited by all the new sights. When a rabbit darted out from the hedge he startled, leaping in the air before rearing and striking out. Talking to him quietly, they waited for him to calm down before they continued.

Vicki, who was leading Charlie in front, walked backwards so she could keep an eye on Dandy. She was relieved to see him walking calmly now, occasionally bending his head to snatch mouthfuls of grass.

They walked through paddock after paddock and finally they came to the last gate. Now all that lay ahead was an old wooden bridge before they had to make their way along the road, past some houses and down the long driveway to the paddocks.

When they got to the bridge, Dandy didn’t even hesitate, boldly stepping forward. Even the asphalt surface of the road didn’t seem to bother him.

Soon he was safely in the front paddock, which overlooked the vegetable garden and the aviary beside the house. Setting him free with Charlie for company, Vicki watched anxiously as the ponies circled the paddock at a canter. It was the first time Dandy had been able to move that fast since he’d been running free on the mountain.

“Do you think they’ll be all right together?” Vicki asked. “He won’t fight Charlie, like he used to fight the other ponies in the mountains?”

“We’ll watch and see,” her mum said. “Hopefully not. It will be good for him to have a friend.”

Soon the ponies settled down to eat, grazing side by side like old friends. It had been less than a month since Dandy had been caught, but already he looked so different. His once shiny coat was now hairy in preparation for a cold winter, and his halter, which they’d left on to make catching him easier, made him look far from wild.

“Do you think he’s enjoying his life with us?” Vicki asked.

“The scariest changes are already behind him, and he’s coped really well so far,” Mum said, giving her a smile. “Now leave him to settle. Go find your sisters and spend some time with all your other animals, which you’ve been neglecting ever since these ponies came into our lives!”