Broken Toy
written by: Sandra Jewell
The old white mare stands in her stall, her head down. She holds up her right fore leg. It is swollen and painful. The pretty little blond-haired girl doesn’t come around anymore. Her toy is broken, it’s no fun any longer. The mare is still alive. She needs care. People told the girl about bits, spurs, and whips, all the ways to make the horse do what she wanted. No one told her about caring for the horse. Her mother can’t get a veterinarian out this week, she says she can’t afford it, because she has a hair and nail appointment. So the old mare just stands in her stall. She endured severe bits jerked in her mouth so hard that her front hooves jumped up off the ground. She was whipped if she stopped, she was whipped if she ran. She was taken to shows where the girl rode her, her mother rode her, and friends rode her. She won ribbons for them all. Then they brought her home, they put her in her stall and left. Never giving her a kind word or a carrot. The mare endured it all, she never once bucked the girl off. Then the girl and a friend together ran her on the gravel driveway and across plowed fields. Something happened to her leg. They rode her two more days, she limped along as best she could. Finally, someone told the girl to stop riding and put her away. Now she’s left alone. At least the torment has stopped, if only for a while. They say her leg will heal, then she can be “used” again. No one seems to know, or care, that the old white mare feels pain and fear, just like you and I.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
I have had the pleasure of knowing horses for many years, trail riding and showing. But I have seen many people just use them like a tennis racket, then throw them away when no longer wanted.
- Broken Toy - October 18, 2024
- Left Field People - May 2, 2024
- Gentle Winter Ride - January 21, 2023
