Free Serenity Valley by Rocky Bills Page B

bedroll and
returned. Demon was already snoring, and Mildred had one rear hoof
up, fast asleep. I rolled out my bed as far from the horses as
possible and followed their example. After a short nap, I felt hot
breath in my ear, and I reached up and rubbed Demon’s nose, then
tucked my arm back under my covers. I heard him flop down next to
me and begin to snore immediately.
    Demon finally let me sleep through the
night. I was very grateful when I woke up rested and renewed. I
rolled up the bedroll and put it back in storage, turned to leave,
and found Lady Bella standing right in front of me. I gasped for
breath. I couldn’t get used to her sudden appearances. I said,
“Good morning, my lady, you look very stunning in your
outfit.”
    The lady had her long black hair in a
ponytail, and she was wearing a loose-fitted brown tunic belted by
a purple sash over white linen britches. Completing the outfit were
lightweight boots. She really did look great, different than
normal, but great. Bella said, “I was just on a morning run and
thought I would pop in and see how you were. I learned that you had
a bit of trouble in the dorm last night.”
    “Oh, no trouble, my lady. I just need
to stay close to Demon. He wants me near at night, so he came and
found me.”
    The lady smiled. “Gamel, is there
anything I can do to make things more comfortable for you and
Demon?”
    “Nothing, my lady. We have everything
we need, thanks.”
    “Okay then, but if you ever need
anything, just let me know.”
    “Thank you, my lady.”
    “Well, I must be off on my run. I will
see you after lunch, at the main house turnout. Your charges can
busy themselves with the grass while we work on your
lessons.”
    “Thank you, my lady. I will be
there.”
    I walked to the front of the stable
with her as she took off in a slow run. I watched her form while
running. She ran gracefully, keeping her head level at all times.
There was no pounding of feet. Her hands were relaxed in front of
her, and her arms moved slowly in a continuous stroke that matched
her stride. I had never seen anyone run so effortlessly.
    Just then, Fulk showed up and saw to
the mare’s feed and water while I mucked out the stall. By the time
morning chores were finished, Basilea appeared with food to break
our fast. I thanked Basilea for my fine, new shirt, and was
rewarded by a kiss on the cheek, and a, “You’re welcome.” We sat at
our old worktable enjoying hot porridge, fresh biscuits with honey,
bacon strips, and mugs of hot tea. After the morning meal, I
decided to take Demon on another training walk to work on ground
handling. Fulk was helping with the mares being brought in by the
range riders to foal.
    It was mid-spring, and the stable
would soon fill up with bulging horses. Lord Goodwin preferred to
have the horses stabled when they birthed in case there were any
problems with mare or foal. It was possible to let the mares foal
in pasture naturally, but he found having them in close provided a
better percentage of success. A good example would be Demon, who
would have perished along with his mother if left to pasture. New
foals and their dam were kept in large stalls for a week or two for
observation. After initial observation, foals and dams were turned
out on the lake pasture, where they could socialize into herd life.
After records were reviewed and proper pairing of traits was
completed, mares and their foals were relocated to individual
pastures for selected studs. Unless it was a rest year for a
broodmare, she was bred again while still nursing a foal. When
foals were almost a year old, they were separated from their dam,
who was usually grateful to be rid of them, and placed in one of
the intermediate pastures. There, they got used to human handling
and aged for training. At two years they were brought in to the
training center during summer and taught basic training. Then they
were released back to an intermediate pasture to continue maturing
and to allow their