SHE’S MISTRY TO US

Kate Lee, foster carer

Tuesday, 6 July 2010, started out like just another busy day at our home. I was rushing around doing household duties while the radio played in the background. As the announcer talked to the guest speaker, my ears pricked up when I heard the guest say that the Camden horse sales were on the next day and that Brumbies from Kosciuszko National Park would be offered for sale. The announcer then urged people to go and have a look at the wild ponies.

Just as the interview ended my husband Brett rang. ‘Were you listening?’ he asked. ‘Yes,’ I replied and we proceeded to discuss going for a look. So, the next day, Brett took the day off and together with two of our eight children we drove the two hours to Camden.

The yards were packed with horses and ponies of all sizes, colours and temperaments. As we made our way around, I noticed some yards were very dirty and the ponies looked a bit knocked about, with cuts over their eyes and bites and blood on their legs. A few yards over we noticed some foals huddling close together for comfort. These were the Brumbies we were here to see. The situation was not what we’d expected. Our hearts sunk with sadness as we looked at these lost souls, forced on display for the ogling crowd who for the most part seemed unaware that they’d been battered, bruised and torn away from their mothers and families.

As we entered the building that housed the sale ring we realised just how many people were there. We were forced to sit on the concrete floor, pushed up against the side of the ring. The sale started when domestic ponies and horses were brought into the roundyard and the auctioneer commenced the bidding. Towards the end of the sales the auctioneer yelled, ‘Get back from the ring! We have some untouched ponies coming in now.’

Due to the crowd Brett and I became separated, jiggled apart by two or three people. The Brumbies were being pushed through in small groups of three or four and were being sold quickly. Some strong-looking stallions and mares came through, then the foals. I looked over to Brett and he shook his head in a silent ‘no’.


Image 20: Best friends forever—Mistry and Janaya.

Then came three foals—two larger ones and a small chestnut filly. They were being pushed around the roundyard with a stick by the saleyard staff. I moved closer to the ring and placed my hand on the metal to balance myself. As I watched the Brumbies moving around the ring, the man next to me started bidding. The chestnut filly moved away from the others, came right over to where I was sitting and nuzzled my hand. I looked up at Brett and he gestured ‘no’ with his head again, as the other man continued to bid. The little filly ran past then came back and nuzzled my fingers again. I looked at Brett again, and he nodded a ‘yes’ and mouthed, ‘Start bidding.’ I started to bid against the big man next to me. The price for our filly rose higher and higher until the auctioneer’s hammer fell and he asked, ‘Which one do you want?’

‘The littlest chestnut,’ I replied.

‘Sold to the lady with the long curly hair!’

We were totally unprepared for buying a foal that day—we had no transport, head collars or leads—but that didn’t stop us. Once we saw her and felt her presence, we somehow knew she was coming home. So after the auction we hired a float and walked across the road to buy tack for the journey.

It was getting dark by the time we came back to the saleyards with the hired float to collect her. As I approached the yard that she had been in when we left, I could see it was empty and my heart sunk like never before. We went to the office where a lady looked over the paperwork and said that our Brumby should be there. We walked around the yards frantically looking for her. At the very end of the last row we saw all the Brumbies that had been sold for slaughter. There were fifteen of them milling around, all different sizes and colours. I was so relieved when I spotted our little filly in among them. But when I told the woman I was going in there to get her, she told me I couldn’t, it would be dangerous. I was determined to rescue our little filly so I asked Brett to stand near the gate and get ready to let the filly into the walkway when he could see her. I told our daughters Janaya and Jess to move away too as I slowly climbed over the metal rails, talking softly all the while. The Brumbies, all frightened, moved away but our girl walked to the gate. Brett opened it and she walked straight out. It was as if she understood what to do.

I was so relieved but felt sad for the others. I got the headstall onto the filly and we gently moved her to the float. She was so traumatised that she collapsed and Brett and I had to lift her into the float for the two-hour trip home.

Once at home we made a temporary yard for the night and then opened the float to let our girl off. She was even smaller than I’d thought. As I led her down she let out a nicker. Our other horses came to see the new addition and whinnied back at her. We made her comfy with some hay and water and sat with her for a while.

The next day all of our kids came to see her and we tossed around names. Eventually we came up with Mistry, as we wondered what part of the national park she had come from and where her mother was. Even how we came to get her was all a bit of a mystery, so the name just seemed to fit!

For the first weeks we kept her in the roundyard with our little black Shetland Jenayah for company. Mistry was covered in lice and became very sick. We had the vet out a few times and at one point she told me it was touch and go whether she would survive. Our daughter Janaya would go every day to sit and talk to Mistry and slowly but surely that little Brumby began to get healthier and started to put on weight.

Ever since then Janaya and Mistry have had an incredible bond and trust each other so much. The two of them are constantly learning from one another. Mistry has allowed Janaya to sit on her back once or twice and they are improving their ground skills together. Janaya is ten and Mistry is approximately two years old and we believe they will have a loving and caring relationship for a very long time.

Mistry also has a new equine friend named Dreamer, another rescued Brumby from Kosciuszko who is a bay roan. We hope that the legacy of one little chestnut Brumby will be the foundation for a bigger and better future for our children and our heritage horses and perhaps make a difference in both their lives.

And there’ll be no more domestic horses for us—after Mistry, it’s Brumbies or nothing!


Image 21: Kathryn and Diesal share some quiet time.