The brilliant sunshine beat down on the idyllic green pastures about

Blue as he slowly munched on a large tuft of luscious green, cool and tasty as

he ate mouthful after mouthful. The hot sun falling upon his glistening grey

coat made it feel like it was on fire - Blue made for a large tree in the corner

of the field. Besides, Blue could feel an itch brewing on his rump which he

would never be able to reach. He took long, slow strides toward his favourite

spot in the field, as the looming tree spread shade across Blue he could almost

feel the heat dissipating from his back. Now that the heat was gone there was

only the on-coming itch.. He immediately pushed his big rump toward the tree and

felt instant relief as the rough, protruding bark scraped along his bum,

satisfying the uncomfortable itch.

He stood, contemplating the good life he enjoyed when along came his

owner - well, he liked to call her his 'partner' but when it came down to it she

was in charge. After all, she was the one who kept bringing him his grub when

the grass was scarce in the cold months and the treats he loved in the Summer.

But most of all, she was kind - and gentle. She looked after him like he were a

brother, grooming him regularly and taking him out of his field (nice as it

was, it got pretty boring sometimes). Her apparent name was 'Debs', since

that's what all the other people called her - and his affection for her was absolute.

She had walked across the field to join Blue in the cool shade of the

tree, Blue turned to face her.

'Hello there - and what have you been up to?', she said in a low and

soothing voice. Of course, Blue couldn't understand a word she said but he could

tell from the tone in her voice that she was in a good mood. He blinked slowly

and swished his tail, ridding himself of the flies that had taken to joining him

under the tree. She held out a hand. 'Goodies!', immediately popped into Blue's

head, so he lowered his mouth to her hand and begun picking at her hand with his

lips. Nothing. Not a sausage. 'Oh well..', Blue thought to himself.

'You're always hungry!', Debs chuckled to herself. Blue seemed unmoved

by her remark and leant down for another mouthful of grass that grew beneath the

tree. It seemed to be longer and more succulent here than anywhere else in the

field. He had always been curious as to why Debs had never eaten this lovely

grass - mind you, he supposed that since she had those nice treats she didn't

need to eat much grass.

Debs slid her hand up the ridge of his nose, gently passed his eye and

cupped it around his ear. She stopped and scratched it. Blue closed his eyes

with contentedly. Debs continued onto his neck, starting at the top she felt

down the thick crest of his neck, beneath his golden mane. It was slightly

matted but it still felt nice brushing against her skin, the short hair of his

skin slipping through her fingers. His beautiful grey coat was dull in patches

where he had been rolling in the dust - Debs rubbed the patches and clouds of

dust flew in the air as it was shaken from his hair.

*******************************************************

The dream slowly began to break up, the idyllic pastures which had

surrounded him began to re-shape into the reality, the thick mud which was now

his 'grazing'. Not that there was any grass for him to eat. The tree which had

once given him shade was now gone - the field he was in now was not even the

same. The edges were made up of in-hospitable brambles with very little foliage

and bearing berries which tasted foul and made him feel ill. His once glistening

grey coat was now a patchy - mangy - mud covered mass of clotted hair. His mane

hung feebly down his neck - thick with grit and mud, a brush hadn't passed

through it in as long as he could remember. No longer the cool shade from the

brilliant sunlight - replaced by a cold, biting rain falling on his back. No

shade, no rug, nothing.

Blue's once perfect hooves were now a crumbling mess which hurt him so

much to walk that he hadn't moved in some time, his legs were covered with

festering scabs, sore and weeping. And his sheath had since become sore and

inflamed so that he could no longer urinate properly. His urine simply pouring

out the painful hole left and dribbling down his legs into the sores, making

them hurt all the more.

His previously beautiful coat was now a covering of patchy hair - holes

left by the open and 'healed' sores that covered his body. Caused by the rain,

mud and the howling wind which whipped his side.

He was indeed a sorry sight. Now his dreams took him to the day when everything had changed - the last day he had ever seen Debs. They had been in the middle of a ride, a slow

walk across the moors. He loved their trips across the moors, the crispness of

the clean air that rose up from the soft green moss covering the paths and the

dancing mist that swirled above the more marshy parts. Debs knew well the paths

and almost every ride was different - one time passing through the small

forests, its floor covered with the leaves and dead branches of many autumns and

winters gone, and the next crossing the tiny river that flowed through the moor.

The water from this river was especially nice, it didn't taste like the funny

water Debs gave him. Although he didn't mind it, it tasted strange - not quite

natural. But the water from the river was clear and gave an especially satisfying cooling

sensation when he snatched some (much to the annoyance of Debs).

This day they had been going around the edge of the woods, with the tall

evergreens one side and the never-ending moors on the other. Debs was not really

dictating where they were going but merely letting Blue pick his own footing. He

remember the time vividly. They had been walking past a large mound near to the

forest when a fox had shot out in front of the pair.

Pure fear filled Blues head, his natural instincts cut in and reared up,

firstly unseating Debs, then he bolted off in the first direction that entered

his head. Debs fell back, hit her head on Blues veritably soft behind then did a

full back somersault onto the floor. Her head met with the ground with a heavy

thud - she landed on the top of her spine with her neck bent forward. Her head

crashed down just after, bouncing off a small rock, leaving her lying awkwardly

with her head lying facing to the right.

Blue ran for a good minute before he came to his senses. He slowed down

to a gentle trot then stopped. Something was wrong - he didn't feel right, he

couldn't place it. He turned his head to see if there was anything following him

- nothing. Then it hit him, where was his 'partner'? She was no longer on his

back. He pushed he head forward, testing to see if she resisted to him pulling

on the reins. She did not pull. She WAS gone. This was not right - she had

never 'disappeared' like this before, he began to feel afraid again, he was not

used to this. He began to go back the way he had come - looking for his dear

Debs. Where had she gone??

It was about five minutes before he spotted her lying on the floor. He

was relieved - she was there, he wasn't alone. He walked up along side her.

Blue looked closely at her, she looked strange. Her eyes were vacant,

non-responsive to his movements. She did not move - she did not make those funny

noises she liked to make toward him. In fact, she did nothing at all. She just

lay there. He nudged her face, snorting heavily. She did nothing to stop him,

her head just rolled from one side the other. He was scared again - he had never

seen her like this.

*******************************************************

What happened after that he did not recall. All he could remember was

that a long time after it had happened some men had come and taken him back to

his field and left him there.

Debs never came back. She never came to his field to groom him, she did

not come to feed him his hay or treats, she didn't even come to take him for a

ride. Had she forgotten him? Why was she ignoring him? He didn't understand. The

taller person, 'Mum', had come down daily to give him his food but that was all

- he just wandered around his field aimlessly, wondering what had happened to

Debs. This 'Mum' person seemed upset, her noises didn't sound the same as Debs,

she very much more quiet and she had deeper tones in her voice. Blue didn't care

for them - they sounded almost like she was angry at him.

It was about a month later - Blue was beginning to lose condition, all

this standing around in his field had left him with a lot of muscle wastage. He

had grown fat and had become very depressed, his life was sad. He no longer had

his Debs, he no longer left his field, what had he done wrong?? Why did she hate

him so, to not come and see him?

The field waved back into focus, the rain was beating down, his hooves

sunk into the hostile mud that pulled at his feet. The rain ran off his eyes. He

did not feel well, not well at all. His insides hurt, his tongue burnt and his

rectum had become very sore. His faeces didn't look right, it was a strange

colour and was very watery, he was becoming scared again. But it was dwarfed by

his enormous feeling of depression, why had his life changed so much?

He felt his insides push and he raised his tail, his excrement squirted

out, splashing his tail and running down his legs. It slowly formed a pool at

his feet, becoming just another addition to the disgusting mess on the floor.

His insides ached, he yearned for the pain to go away. He could not escape it,

it followed him, even in his sleep. He felt so weak, so very, very weak. His

head lowered, eyes half closed, covered with weeping sores and his own waste, he

had very little to live for.

*******************************************************

About two months after the last time he had seen Debs. The day, he had

decided, was the day he had done something so very wrong - he knew not what it

was though. Mum came down and gave him a larger than normal bundle of hay. She

chattered away to him, her noises were breaking up, and rain came from her eyes.

She had hugged his huge neck and then wandered off. A few hours later two men

had come and taken him from his field, he was bundled into a trailer and driven

away. Perhaps he was going to see Debs again? He perked up.

A while later the trailer opened and he was led out, into a new field.

This field did not look nice - it had no tree for him to hide under or use as a

scratching post, the edges were covered with a nasty looking hedge. He was

pulled into the field and then left there. 

Still no sign of Debs, she must really hate him for what she was doing

to him. A new 'partner' had appeared. A much shorter person, she was the same

sex as Debs but she had a horrible voice. It was not soothing nor was it

comforting. This 'Vicky' was not very nice at all, when she took him on rides

she did not go anywhere nice, the same route over and over. The thing she sat in

hurt his back and pinched at him, he had tried to protest it but she then took

to hitting him with the black stick she held in her hand. He was not standing

for this, and he had thrown her from his back. She had shouted at him and hit

him in the face with the stick, he reared at her, what else could he do?

A man had some and dragged him back to his field, he yanked on the

reins, the bit cutting into his mouth.

Once again Blue found himself in his field all alone, but this time he

cared not where the Vicky was. He still pined for Debs.

It was two days before Blue realised that no-one was coming to him, he

was no longer getting food of any sort apart from the little grass he found in

this hell-hole of a field. Try as he might he could not find enough food to

sustain him - he was constantly hungry. All he could think about was the

memories of Debs, she cared for him....HAD cared for him.

*******************************************************

The pains in his stomach rose and he winced with the intensity of the

pain. His legs wobbled. He felt so very tired. He could hardly stand up.

Suddenly, something happened, the pain stopped and faeces poured from his

rectum, urine from his sheath. This time it was different, it was red.

He could no longer hold on, his weak legs crumpled beneath him and he

collapsed in the pool of defecation on the floor. It splashed up his sides as he

rolled onto his side, he felt something snap and his breathing became harder and

harder. He gasped for breath as his internal organs gave up the fight and his

mind became clouded. His head sunk into the soft mud and it creeped up his face.

He no longer cared, the outside world had disappeared. He was in complete

darkness, completely alone, he was scared. He was extremely scared. His mind

slowed as he began to lose consciousness, all he could think was.

'What did I do that was so terrible, what did I do, what did I do?'

His chest ground to a halt as he drew his last breath.