My Horse, Pepper

3 years ago, my mom and I went down to Maryland for a horse auction. When we got there, I said I would go to the horse corral, see which horses I liked. Well, there was this one horse who was so adorable! I found my mom going to get us a ticket for the auction. I said, “Hey, mom, I found a horse that’s special, unlike all the other horses! Please, please, please can I get HER!?” “ We’ll see, honey. We’ll see” “ But mom!!!’’ “No buts!!!’’

Oh I’m so sorry, I didn’t tell you my name! My Name Is Violet Stealers. I live in New Jersey. In November, I’m turning 13. And getting a horse was my birthday present, from my Mom. My parents are divorced. Some say parents never split, but I know that’s not true. People can split. No one knows where my Dad is. He left about a month after they split.

When it was time for the auction, my mom called me over. “Honey, which horse was it?” “That one over there.” I was pointing at a grey and white Appaloosa Mare. “Are you sure that’s the horse you want? “Of course she’s the horse I want, Mom”My mom bet 10,000 dollars, all she had. After the auction, the auctioneer of the horse I wanted came up to us. “ Congratulations, you’ve just won the grey and white Appaloosa Mare you’ve bet $10,000 for!!!!!” I was soooo excited!!!!!!!!!!!! “ Mom!!!! Yippeeeee!!!!”

I couldn’t sleep that night. We got to take home my horse the next day. “Honey, did you get any sleep last night?” “I’m so sorry, mom. I was so excited to take Pepper home!!!!” “Pepper!?” “Yeah! That’s what I decided to name her!”

When we got home the next day, I couldn’t wait to take Pepper to her stall. “ Mom, can I take Pepper to her stall?” “Yes. Oh! When you get back, please remind me to take you to get her tack. I think I have enough money…..” “Mom!!!!” “ I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Geeeeeez!!” “I love you, Mom!” “I love you, too. Oh yeah! Go get your brother, tell him we’re back, and get ‘Pepper’ food and water.” “Why do I have to get Luke, though! Make Mikayla do it! I want to go get Pepper in her stall!”

Oh, yeah. I have twin siblings(not mine),Mikayla and Luke . They are both very, very, very annoying! I’m the geek of the family. I care for our two cats, Buttercup and Scooter. They’re brother and sister. I also care for our dog, Tweety. And now I have to care for Pepper, which isn’t anything to complain about!

When we got to T.S.C.(Tractor Supply Company!), I got a really nice Western Saddle and Bridle combo. And then I found an awesome grooming set. My mom got me some horse food. I also told her to get a hay barrel. When we checked out, the cashier asked me what kind of horse I had. “I have an Appaloosa mare. We think she’s pregnant, but we’re not sure.” “Really! I have an Appaloosa, too!” “ Alright, that is way too weird!”

When we got home, I noticed that Luke and Mikayla weren’t in the house. “ Where are they!?” “ I think I have an idea” My mom pointed to the barn. “ OH NO!!!!!!”

When I went up in the barn, Luke and Mikayla were tormenting Pepper. “Stop it right now!!!!!” They stopped in their tracks. “ WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!!!!!” “ We’re soooooooo sorry! We didn’t mean any harm. We just wanted to play with her.” Luke and Mikayla said together. “ Just stay away from her from now on, OK!?” “ Fine!!!!!!!!!”

When I woke up the next morning, I came to figure out that Luke and Mikayla did what I told them not to. They were up at the barn trying to put the saddle on Pepper. “ What did I tell you!” “ We’re sorry!”

I don’t know what I’m going to do with them. I told my mom, and she has grounded them for three months. “ Mom, what happens if they do it again?” “What are you talking about?” “ I mean, what happens that, after they aren’t grounded any more, that they get into more mischief and hurt Pepper!” “ I’ll make sure they don’t do it again.” “ That’s what you always say!” “ I know, hunny, but this time I really mean it.”

It turns out, that Pepper really was pregnant. Six months, to be exact. “Pepper’s gonna have a baby! Pepper’s gonna have a baby!”, Mikayla kept chanting while Pepper had her ultrasound. “ What’s It gonna be, mom?” Mikayla, (she’s the same age as Luke, 11, but she acts like a four year old), kept asking my mom the WHOLE ENTIRE TIME!!! It was really annoying, but I didn’t say anything, because I was already in enough trouble, from my tattling on Luke and Mikayla a few months earlier. “ Hey, Ms. Keaton, your horse is done. We gave her all her shots, cleaned her hooves, groomed her, and wormed her. We also checked her for colic, and , thank goodness, she’s a colic free mama! This is very rare in horses, and I was surprised when I heard this from her vet, but she will give birth to twins, a boy and a girl. If you would like us to help with the birth in three months, we’d be glad to do that, too. You can also breed in between the brother and his sister. There will be nothing wrong with their baby, assuming they have one. But there is a slight chance that Pepper will not make it through the birth. Like a human mother, it will be hard for her to give birth to twins. It might take her a little over three days to complete the labor.” This made me stop and think. A world without my horse is like no world at all. I want her to be happy and feel the warmth of her babies, but I wanted to feel her underneath me as we go riding, her mane blowing my face. She might be old, but man, can she run! “ She will most likely be able to make it, but just remember, don’t feel discouraged if she doesn’t.”, said the man, and he walked back to the secretary’s desk.

As we were headed home, horse trailer hooked to the back of our Ford pickup truck, mom and I exchanged glances. “ Mom, do you think Pepper is going to make it?” “ Of course she will, Vi! Don’t be letting yourself think such things. I know you are deeply in love with that horse, but-” I cut her off. She didn’t even know what was coming. “That horse? THAT HORSE!!! Mom, Pepper isn’t just a horse, she’s my horse, and I’ll do anything to make it stay that way! You can’t be serious! After owning Pepper for all this time, you’ve never said that, but today you choose to? I don’t get it, Mom. I don’t get it.” After that big quarrel I got myself into was over, I decided to take Pepper up to the barn, all by myself, alone. I never got bothered by Mikayla or Luke. I’m guessing Mom told them to back off because of my mood. Anyways, I started to talk to Pepper about what a great Mom she was going to be. “ Pepper, you’re the gentlest horse I ever knew, and , aside from Relish, the funniest! You should have seen yourself when that coyote ran past the pasture you were in. You jumped a mile and all the way back again, and still landed on all fours! Man, you’re the sweetest, most gentle, most beautiful horse I ever known, and knowing all this might end in just a few months makes me realize what times we’ve had together. Pepper, I think it’s time for you to go to sleep, and for me to go to sleep, too. I’ll see you in the morning, bright and early!”

In the morning I decided to apologize to my mom for my attitude. She didn’t deserve it, even if I was mad. “Mom, I’m really sorry about yesterday. Pepper’s just the first mare I’ve ever had pregnant. I’m happy, sad, scared, and glad at the same time. Like a mom who’s just seeing her newborn baby. I was just scared, I guess.” “I forgive you, honey. I know how you felt. I felt the same way when you were born, and the same with the twins. Only it was kind of different with you because you are my first, and my oldest.” Afterwards I went and tried to think about what was going to happen next month.

It was the month of the birth, and my mom and I took Pepper in for another ultrasound. It came back good, and her twins were very healthy. Again the vet told us that Pepper might not make it. I think he has short term memory loss. This time I couldn’t help myself from bursting out in tears, and NOT tears of joy.

The day of the birth I was so scared as we dropped Pepper off at the labor area of the Equine hospital. She was so silent, it was like she knew everything that was going to happen, and it made me sad. I wouldn’t be able to see Pepper for three days, which made me feel kind of weird. She was my pride and joy, and I didn’t want to give her up. But I have faith in my Savior to keep her with me.

During the labor there were many difficulties. I was getting ready to go to bed the day before we were supposed to go get her, and I was excited because there was no calls from the vet saying she’d died. Just as I had finished that thought, my cell phone began to ring. The caller id was busted on my phone so I had to just go with my luckiness and hope it was my boyfriend. It wasn’t. “Hello. Is this Miss. Violet Stealers?” “Um, yes, this is.” “ You’re the owner of the Appaloosa mare, uh , Pepper, right?” “ Yes, I am” “ There were so many complications with her birth that I’m just gonna come out and say it. We had to put her down after the birth due to the disease called colic. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. Anyways, you can come get the filly and colt tomorrow. Goodbye.” I cried my eyes out, then I went down and told my mom.” I knew this was gonna happen. I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!”

The next day we went to get the foals. I stayed in the trailer with them so they felt that I was their mother. When we got home I took the twins(the horses) to the swings. I swung and they nibbled on grass, but they didn’t like it. I tied them up and went and made them bottles. I told them about Pepper and how I hoped they were just like her, in their own special ways. “ Pepper, I sure miss you. You were the best horse ever. The eight months I had with you were the best of my life. I love you, and I miss you. Remember that.” Those were the words I said at Pepper’s burial. I am now seventeen and enjoy riding Lullaby(Pepper’s filly), Dajavu(Pepper’s colt), and I will their colt, Bailey, in a couple of years. And remember, never take anything for granted, cuz you might just lose it.