Ghosts of Horses Past in Salem Part 2

Part 1

But the long and short of this is DOT arranged for a tow truck to come and haul my truck, trailer and Arabian horses to a repair station on Swan Island. Because my truck was a diesel, this station that serviced the big rigs was equipped to deal with me. Luckily for me, this place was open 24-7 for the truckers.

Those guys at the station were great. It took them a while to get the parts for my truck but they brought water to my horse and made sure I got some food. They also made sure I got a chance to call my husband and let him know that I was ok. It was after 1 am before my truck was up and running again and I was headed down the road to Salem and the horse show.

By the time I reached the fairgrounds most of the lights were out. There wasn't a soul around that I could see. I found the stabling chart tacked up in the main arena building. Then I went to locate my actual stalls to be sure they were ready to house a horse. Thankfully in those days the stalls were nearly bedded ahead of time. (There was a bale of straw waiting to be opened.)

It wasn't until I unloaded my horse and put him into the stall that I heard the screaming. At first I didn't know for sure what I heard. Just some part of me went "What was that?" But when I listened again, I knew a horse was in trouble. I had to do something........but what?

My eyes aren't great but my ears make up for that fact. I targeted pretty easily what direction the sound was coming from and raced to that location to see what was happening. I was one aisle off but instantly became aware of my mistake when I heard another scream and crashing sounds. Making my way to the next aisle, I wasn't prepared for what I saw.

There in the portable stalls made of steel framework and plywood partitions, a stallion had demolished an inner wall and was attacking a mare. The fallen plywood partitions were flat on the floor in the churned up bedding. It was clear this had been going on for a while.

The two horses were crashing around inside this small area with a ferocity you can't even imagine. The stallion's eyes were bulging, his nostrils extended and all the veins on his neck stood out as hard as rocks. He had the look of a horse possessed.

The mare's eyes were filled with terror. There were bleeding bite marks various places on her neck and body. Hair from her mane sticking out oddly like it was being pulled out by the roots.

The stallion was clearly trying to kill the mare for rejecting him or some other sin that only he knew. The stallion was screaming battle cries and the mare was screaming in pain. It was almost more than I could take in.

The stalls were set up on asphalt and with the horses moving around like that all the bedding was pushed up to the sides. The horses were slipping on the asphalt and the plywood partitions like they were on ice further complicating things. The mare was trying to flee for her life with nowhere to go.

Instantly I concluded I had to do something to separate these horses. If I didn't, I knew that one if not both of them would die but this was more than I could handle by myself. I knew there must be a night watchman somewhere so I went searching him out. It hadn't occurred to me that this person might not be a horseman, all I knew was that I needed help.

To be continued........

Part 3

This is Scandalous Echo.

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