Misty Star

Kayla Perlino stepped outside of the house and shivered. She had to go and check on the horses, as it was very chilly and snowy, and some mares were expecting foals. She skipped out to the pasture and barns. All of the mares were in the barn, and as was a mare named Star Dust and her new filly, Starry. Starry had been born three days ago, and Kayla's father had kept Star Dust and Starry in the barn. It was to chilly outside to let Starry out.

Kayla stepped out of the barn. All the mares were fine; none had had their foals yet. As she was walking to the house, she stopped abruptly. Her brow wrinkled, and she said to herself, “I thought I just heard a foal whinny. And it wasn't Starry.” Kayla stood there for a few moments, and heard the whinny again. So Kayla turned and ran toward the sound. She heard the whinny again. It was very close. So she ran to the sound. There, laying shivering on the snow was a little filly. It had palomino color and little splash white marks and a star on her forehead. “Oh no!” Kayla murmured. By the looks of the filly, she was recently born. But the mother was nowhere to be found.

Kayla was a strong girl. She lifted up the filly and walked to the barn. Once inside the building, Kayla took the filly to a unused stall. It was lined with a thick bed of fresh hay, so Kayla laid the filly there. Then she went to get the electric foal blanket that they sometimes used when winter was really bad and there was little foals. Kayla put the blanket on the filly and turned it to warm, then ran to the house to get her dad.

CONTINUED IN NEXT WEEK

Kayla rushed into the house. “Dad! Dad! Come quick!” Her father started and said, “Kayla, what is wrong?”

“Oh, dad!” Kayla replied. “I found a motherless filly by the fence just now! Her mum wasn't nowhere near by!” Kayla's dad threw on his coat and followed her to the barn. Kayla took her dad to the empty stall where the filly was. Kayla's dad looked at the filly and said, “She needs to eat. See if she'll drink from Star Dust.” Kayla brought Star Dust and they picked up the filly to see if Star Dust would accept her. Star Dust smelled the filly, and got restless. When they tried to get the filly to drink from Star Dust, she reared up and backed away.

“That won't work! Take Star Dust away.” Kayla's dad said. Kayla took Star Dust to her own stall with her foal. Then Kayla had an idea. She ran to the house, grabbed an old baby bottle, and ran back to Star Dust. “Okay girl.” She murmured. Kayla began milking Star Dust. The mare looked a little nervous, but she let Kayla milk her. Kayla filled the baby bottle and took it to the foal. Then she held it to see if the foal would drink. The foal snuffled the bottle, and then began drinking. It had worked! The foal was drinking! Kayla looked long and hard at the foal. “I think I am going to name you...... Misty Star.” Kayla said.

CONTINUED NEXT WEEK

Kayla asked her father, “May I please keep Misty Star as my very own horse?” Her father thought on this. “It's a hard job, honey. You sure you want to?”

“Oh, yes, Dad! I would love to have a foal of my very own!”

“Honey,” her dad said. “You know all the horses are as good as yours. You can care for them and ride them and things like that.”

“Yes, Daddy. I know that! I just want a foal of my very own to train and care for! So I can say it's my very own!”

“Okay, honey. Keep that filly. What did you name her?”

“Misty Star. She has a white star on her forehead and her tail looked like mist. I thought that was a fitting name.”

THREE YEARS LATER

Kayla was in the ring with Misty Star, now a beautiful adult. She round-penned her and then began to tack up. Misty was now full-grown and as gentle as a lamb. Kayla took her to several shows, and won blue or red ribbons at all of them. But Kayla wanted more. She decided to teach Misty how to barrel race. She set up three old pickle barrels painted blue in a triangle, and now was riding Misty towards the open gate. Misty pricked her ears forward, alert, yet calm. Kayla walked her horse around the barrels in a cloverleaf pattern several times.

After Misty had gotten the hang of walking around them, Kayla jogged, then trotted her around them. Once Misty was doing well with that, Kayla tried a slow canter, then a fast one. “Wow, girl!” Kayla exclaimed. “You seem to be picking this up quickly!” So Kayla went around at a gallop. She had a stopwatch on her watch, so she timed herself. “Twenty three seconds...” she said. “We'll need to be faster but it's good for first try.” So Kayla untacked and cooled off Misty Star, and let her into the pasture. They would practice every day.

CONTINUED IN A FEW DAYS