Original A/N: It had to be done, the story was screaming at me to upload it. Please let me know what you think of it. P.S. I was unsure if my summary was too long to be in the 'Summary' box, so I'm also posting it here. If it isn't, I'll take it out later. Also, there is no such thing as 'Hendried Syndrome' it's something I made up.
A/N: I made a few changes to this chapter, first off being I switched it to a first person view. I also added a few more details, and fixed the grammer and spelling errors.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in the story, they are the respectful property of Paramount, I just write stories about them.
Summary: Fourteen year old B'Elanna Torres is an aspiring equestrian, and has always enjoyed the ancient sport of Horse Racing. One day, B'Elanna gets the chance to be a part of the action when the Thoroughbred mare she's leasing has her first foal. But the foal has a rare genetic disorder, and his owner wants to put him down. Can B'Elanna save the foal, and does the foal have what it takes to be a champion racehorse?
I woke up just as the sun was rising above Kessik VI. I hopped out of bed, and quickly dressed. When I finished, I carefully walked past my sleeping mother's bedroom, and into the kitchen. I grabbed a quick breakfast- I really wasn't that hungry anyway- and entered the cool morning air. I walked briskly into the dimly lit barn behind the house, and was greeted by the whinnies of hungry horses. I breathed in deeply, filling my lungs with the scent of hay and leather.
I entered the feed room and began to measure out each horses' breakfast. "Ace needs two cups of oats." I said to myself as I poured the food into a bucket marked 'Ace'. When I finished, I brought two buckets at a time out into the aisle. "Here you go Bo," I said to my father's old Friesian/Quarter Horse gelding.
When I had finished, I went back outside. I went under the pasture fence, and walked back over to the barn. To save time, each stall had a door that led into the pasture. I unlocked everyone, then went back inside the house to get my homework before heading off to school.
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School didn't fly by as quickly as I had hoped. First I missed my second period, due to an un-foreseen obstacle; Daniel Byrd. He had decided that today was the day he would try to block me from getting to my locker; I punched him in the nose, sending him to the nurse's office, while I got a detention slip. Then as if that weren't enough, my English teacher bogged me down with more homework then I had gotten the day before from all of my teachers.
'School is torture.' I decided as I walked home.
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I decided to make a quick stop at a neighboring farm, to check on Phantom Lady, the mare I leased.
Phantom Lady, a.k.a Lady, was a lovely, chestnut, Thoroughbred mare. She used to race, but was retired when she was four, after suffering a minor injury on the track. After being retired, she was trained for eventing.
Her owner, Mister Leoni, had been teaching me how to ride since I was four. When he decided to lease Phantom Lady, I was the first person he asked. I had eagerly accepted, after being able to convince my mother to let me, which was hard to do. I had plenty of horses at home -I knew-, but they were not jumping at the level I was at.
Early that year, Phantom Lady was bred to a stallion named I'm a Bandit, and was now close to delivering her first foal.
As I reached the pasture that Phantom Lady was in, I could hear her whinnying, but it sounded like she was in distress. I ran as fast as I could, and finally reached the fence. I peeked over it, and could see Phantom Lady lying under a tree. Looking closer, I could see that she was in labor, and the foal was already half way out.
"Mister Leoni!" I called as I ran towards the main house.
"What's wrong?" Mister Leoni asked as he walked out of the house.
Mister Leoni was around my mother's age, early to mid forties; I couldn't tell since neither he, nor my mother, liked to disclose their age. He was prematurely grey -or so he says- in some spots. Where his hair wasn't grey, it was a light brown. His eyes were the same color as his hair, and his skin was a healthy tan around his semi-muscular, 6'1" frame.
"It's Lady, she's having her foal," I replied after a few seconds.
"Alright, you go back, I' going to get my foaling kit and I'll be right with you."
I nodded and ran off back towards the pasture. When I reached it, I was too late. Lady laid lifeless under the tree, in a heap next to her, was her newborn foal. Tears started to fill my eyes as I went over to the tree. I did my best to force them back, but it was proving to be too hard of a task.
I took the jacket I was wearing off, and wrapped it around the wet foal to protect it from the December air. Thankfully, the foal was alert. It looked up at me with pleading blue eyes. I had never seen blue eyes in a Thoroughbred, and they captivated me. I sat down next to the foal, and pulled it gently into my lap. I hugged the foal close to me, and cried into its coat.
Mister Leoni finally came back with his foaling kit. He stopped short when he saw his beloved mare. He mustered the strength to continue, and bent down under the fence. When he was directly behind me, he lowered to his knees to comfort me. I jolted when he placed his hand around my shoulder, but allowed the contact.
"Let's get that foal cleaned up," he whispered, unable to bring his voice higher.
I handed the foal to him. We both grabbed some towels out of the foaling kit, and began to rub the foal dry. "Boy or girl?" I asked, barely able to get my voice above a whisper.
"Boy."
"What's going to happen to him?"
"I'm going to have the vet check him tomorrow, but I don't think he'll live past then."
"Why not?"
"See those blue eyes of his? They're a warning sign of Hendried Syndrome."
"What's that?"
"It's a genetic mutation found in some Thoroughbreds. It causes them to grow bigger than they normally would; it also causes deformities in their legs."
"Can the deformities be treated?" From the sound of his voice, I could tell that, to Mister Leoni, the foal's future was bleak.
"Yes, but it's just not worth the effort. Those lucky few who have had their legs treated, never amounted to anything. Most owners don't have the time for a useless horse: so, when they have a foal with Hendried Syndrome, they just have it humanely put down."
"You wouldn't do that would you?" I said in disbelief.
"B'Elanna, it's better for the colt this way."
"Who says it is?" I screamed, my temper getting the best of me.
"Calm down."
"No! You're going to put down a helpless foal, who happens to be Lady's only offspring! You're not even going to give him a chance!"
"B'Elanna, I have worked with horses for over thirty years, and I have loved every single horse I have met. But in this business, you have to sometimes make tough decisions, but what matters is what's best for the horse," Mister Leoni scolded. His face was showing that this was just as hard for him as it was for me.
"Just give him a chance, please. You don't even have to take care of him, I will. I'll treat his legs, I'll clean his stall, I'll feed him through out the day."
"There is no way your mother is going to allow you to skip school to take care of a foal."
"Please, just give him a chance, please." I hated begging, but in the current situation, it was necessary.
Mister Leoni stood there in silence.
"Alright, but you're only allowed to be with him overnight on Friday and Saturday, holidays, Summer Vacation, or any other day you have school off for at least two days. You also have to have your mother's permission first."
"Thank you, thank you!" I screamed as I wrapped my arms around Mister Leoni.
"You're welcome. Now go home, I'll get him into a stall and when you come back, you can feed him."
A/N: For those of you who may not know horse lingo, here is a guide.
Stallion: A male horse of breeding age
Mare: A female horse of breeding age
Colt: A male horse under breeding age
Gelding: A male horse of any age that is rendered unable to breed.
Whinny: The sound that a horse makes, most may know it as 'neigh'.
