Sanctuary

The air swelled suddenly and the dark sky above them was split with a jagged line of lightning, followed by a peal of loud rolling thunder. The sound startled the youngster, who grazed a few yards from his herd. He yanked his head up and lurched towards the lead mare, a grey veteran with soft eyes. He started galloping through the tall grass as his mane flowed in the wind that was picking up speed along with his strides.

The mare looked at him as he slowed down and relaxed his muscles to come to a stop right next to her. As they lazily moved to the fresh patch of grass, another thunder broke the silence of the afternoon and a howl of wind hit the herd from the side.

This time the lead mare lunged herself to the front and bucked with her powerful back legs, flinging a clump of grass that flew over the heads of her herd like a brown-green projectile, sprinkling the lumps of soil into their manes before disappearing in the grass. She then broke into a gallop, quickly glancing behind to see if the herd was moving with her.

They ran. A compounded ball of multicoloured coats, tails and legs, pushing towards the line of trees in a mad rush to find shelter between the oaks, firmly grounded against the wind swaying their branches. Despite the speed with which they moved, they remained as graceful and majestic as usual. Their free-flowing manes brushed and shaken by the wind, danced with the hellish speed, jumping around anxiously. Their legs kept stretching in the wild run, hitting the ground with a rhythmical thud as the grass swayed in all directions, pushed and pulled by the gusts of pre-storm breeze.

The horses reached the patch of green surrounded by trees, where the wind was more bearable. They stopped to huddle together, making room for the youngster, who shyly squeezed himself between the grey mare and a chestnut older stallion, for the circle only to be completed by a younger alpha bachelor bay, who placed himself right behind the little one protectively.

Suddenly, the rain came. Slow at first. Drop after drop. But then it picked up the pace along with the wind, which started lashing hot bodies tired with gallop cooling them down instantly. The herd tightly surrounded the youngster, protecting him from the rainstorm, which started soaking them with the heavy precipitation. The world around them was unkind, maliciously whispering through leaves and angrily threatening with the whips of wind-animated branches. The gusts made the world spin in their heads. Loose leaves furiously flew right by them to silently land on the grass at their feet as the rain pelleted their backs unforgivingly whilst they stood together in anxious anticipation. The sharp sways of tall grass tickled their knees, and fetlocks gathered closely together like dancers in the winds performing a chaotic freestyle under the unpredictable baton of wind, their director and conductor. Their manes, untamed and heavy with rain, wanted to accompany the blades of green in the dance of elements. Instead, they heavily rested on their necks, solid and unmovable. Offended almost, sulking in stillness.

The youngster snorted and shook his whole body a couple of times, spraying the herd with water. Already wet, the horses didn't notice the microscopic droplets covering them with a fine mist of the springtime freshness. They needed to protect him and the entire formation screamed "we've got you, little man". The rain slowed down as the blue shyly peered through the steel heaviness of clouds.

The herd stilled. They shivered, awaiting sun.