M A G N U S

MAGNUS was prepared for one of two options, that the mare would let him herd her without incident or that she would give him some resistance and he’d have to work a little harder to get her home. That is how it had always seemed to go when he had watched his sire herding new mares into the herd when he was a boy. Her fright, startled him however – or maybe that was the glance of her hoof against his skin. He gave a surprised squeal in response but before he could react further, she’d taken off!

THE spotted boy wasn’t far behind her, and beginning to realise that something was amiss, knew he would have execute each of his manoeuvres with perfect precision. ”Whoa, you’re headed straight for…” he trailed off. While he could back off and let her exhaust herself, he could see that, although she was headed for the ocean, her path was obstructed by a number of jagged rocks no sane horse would attempt to cross – no sane horse that could see them anyway.

POSITIONING himself on her left, he aimed to force her to the right and away from the rocks but still into the water. He wondered, fleetingly, if trying to make her swim towards the bay would backfire horribly and they’d both end up floundering in the middle of the ocean. He didn’t have much of a chance to rethink or calm her down though, because she was already in the water.

ONCE again he wondered if he should leave her be, but he’d come this far and he knew he couldn’t just leave her swimming aimlessly in the water. By some stroke of luck, and some impromptu planning, they finally emerge on the pebble filled shore of the bay. ”You can stop running now, it’s safe here” the bald faced boy told her, unsure if she would pay him any attention or just carry on running.

ONLY THE STRONG WILL SURVIVE