A story for another day #6: The Day Red was Horsenapped

One spring evening mum dropped me off at the top gate of the pony club. I was looking forward to riding that night. It was slightly cool, the sun had painted its glory across the skies and I was just happy to be outside after spending all day in a office.

I walked down to the staircase paddock to get Red. First I just stood at the gate calling his name hoping he would come running. But alas it wasn't to be. So off I went to look for him. It was obvious he wasn't with any of the other horses standing around in the open so I went searching for him in the out of view nook and crannys of the paddock. But he wasn't anywhere to be found. I went back to the herd and took a closer look at the horses. Usually I can pick him right out by looking at his cover, but once I spent ages walking around his paddock when my Auntie Sue had changed his cover from a bright blue winter cover to a bright green spring one (she had told me, I had just forgotten). He definitely wasn't there.

Thinking he may have jumped the fence into the next paddock that held the ponies I went over and searched that paddock. But he wasn't there either. Now I was starting to get worried. I had visions of him lying in one of the Staircase paddock ditches with a broken leg and in lots of pain. I went straight back to the staircase paddock and did an extensive search. Nothing turned up.

Then I heard it. Laughing and jeering. I just knew what was happening. Someone had gotten Red out of his paddock and was torturing my poor horse. I grabbed a stick and sprinted towards the noise, ready to risk my life for my horse who had always given me his everything. When I got to the paddock fence I saw what was happening. Some kids were playing tiggy in the backyard of a house next door, and my horse wasn't with them. I dropped the stick and went sheepishly away.

Suddenly I realised EXACTLY what had happened. Red had been horsenapped! Someone must have broken the chain on the gate, caught the first horse they could see (which happened to be Red) and taken him away. The rational side of my brain did wonder how they got him on a float but that thought was soon pushed away with thoughts of the pain and fear he must be suffering at the hands of the horsenappers. I sprinted towards the clubrooms, glad that I had my Horse Information File in the car so I could show the Police what he looked like.

As I got closer to the clubrooms I saw a horse standing in the Plum Tree Paddock. "Hmm must be a loose horse" I thought. Then I saw another horse, and another one and then a few more. I sped up trying to figure out who these horses were. I'm short sighted so it took a while until I realised that THE HACKS HAD BEEN MOVED INTO THE PLUM TREE PADDOCK. I soon spotted Red and I threw my arms around him. My feelings flew from euphoria that he hadn't been stolen, to disbelief that I had been so stupid. Then I just put my head on his neck and laughed. I haltered him and took him to the clubrooms where mum was waiting. I told her the whole story about The Day Red was Horsenapped.