Sunlight shone down, glossing the Thoroughbred's coat with a summery glow. His tail bounced in rhythm with his steady trot.
The girl aboard his back smiled and urged him into a gentle canter. He willingly broke into the faster gait and ran smoothly around the paddock, easily jumping obstacles as he was ordered to.
Ten minutes passed. Dark clouds rolled across the sun. The young girl did not heed the signs of a coming storm and instead concentrated on the stallion's workout.
Fifteen minutes. A few drops fell from the sky, still unheeded by the girl. The horse was not uneasy because his rider was calm.
Twenty-five minutes. Rain began to fall steadily, like the gallop the girl had urged the horse into. She now realized the rain and pulled the horse into a stop. Her worry showed in her grip -- she pulled him in too sharply. He wobbled for a moment, slipping on the wet sand of the paddock. Then he toppled over slowly, thudding heavily on the soft, damp ground.
The girl uttered a single cry of alarm before she was pushed bodily into the ground, where she lay deathly still.
Excited, the Thoroughbred whinnied anxiously. The sight of people running haphazardly toward him scared the skittish stallion and he rose awkwardly, shaking the girls' feet from the stirrups. The girth, which had not been tightened sufficiently, slid down his belly into an uncomfortable position. The saddle was now resting on his rump.
He whinnied again in alarm and pawed his way quickly to the edge of the paddock, stumbling slightly. He cleared the fence with a high jump and raced into the field.
Behind him, people swarmed over the motionless girl. Some of them saw him and groaned in dismay, but the stallion was already only a speck in the distance. Fright urged him on. He had lost the only thing he knew and loved. He was alone.
lol
