A/N: This is just a little shorter version of the previous chapter. After I actually got some sleep I realized I had forgotten a few things, so along with those I'll be adding a few additional things such as what colic is and the gestation period/after birth for mares and foals! Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own none of the recognizable characters, Disney/Pixar owns them.

As said before, horses are easy creatures to understand if you know what your looking for. This is the second part to the previous chapter, and we are continuing to explore the signals horses give and what they mean!

As previously mentioned, horses give us a lot of body language cues to help us figure out what they mean. For a start, we will look at different 'explosive' things they do and what they mean.

First, there is bucking. This is when the horse comes off his forelegs and proceeds to throw his hind legs up. The horse can put so much force into this move that he could go vertical (though this is a rare occurence). There are also variations of bucks. The slightest being a slight hop of the hindquarters, some people call this a 'crow hop'. This hardly ever completely off-seats riders, but I can for the less experienced. The next is when the horse comes off his front and arch's his back, kicking only lightly with his hind legs. This can through off some riders, but experienced or intermediate riders can most times recover. Finally, there is the harsh buck. They come completely off their forelegs and push off their hind legs, arching their backs and kicking out strongly with their hind legs. Experienced riders can ride these bucks out, but sometimes, especially when unexpected, riders are thrown. Bucking is caused mostly by fear and to much pressure - as horses learn from the release of pressure, when they buck and the rider falls there is no more pressure. So they learn it is good to buck - but can also be caused by pain, lack of manners, or excitement. The smokejumpers are all prone to excited bucks.

Rearing is a dangerous thing. Rearing is when horses come just off their forelegs. They can just barely bounce of their forelegs or go straight up - which can be extremely scary. They rear when they fight or when they dislike something. Riders can sit this is they have experience, beginners and some intermediate riders may fall. Do not use the bit as leverage when they do this, as it can scare them even more and they can fall backwards, landing on and crushing you in the process. Use the horn (if it's western), their neck to hold onto, or try standing in the saddle to help balance you and your horse.

Biting and nipping is a form of communication mostly through horses, but can defintiley be a form of communication horses to people. When they nip, it is barely using the teeth. It's more a pinch, but still hurts. This is likely a warning, accompanied sometimes by pinned ears. Do not let them get away with nipping you, it could lead to biting. Biting, on the other hand, hurts a lot more. Horses have the bit force to bite clean through fingers. If they try biting, yell and through something at them, but try not to hit their faces or the horse at all. They may become head shy. Biting is how horses say 'Hey! Watch it!' Or 'You pushed too far! I'm going to bite!'. Again do not let the horse get away with biting.

Striking is with the foreleg, mainly one but could be both forelegs, and this is when the horse literally strikes. It's meaning is to back off or a warning of what may happen if you don't. Striking could also be the beginning of a fight among horses. Mostly, if they do it to humans, it's from fear or too much pressure on the ground. Or just bad manners. Again make sure they know it's not ok when they do it to humans.

Kicking is similar to striking in that they pretty much only do it with one leg. They can go out pretty far, and that's why everybody says stay at least eight feet behind a horse. So if they kick, they miss you. Kicking can also cause serious wounds to other horses, but it is a warning. Among stallions, mares, or both, care for the wound and separate the horses if possible. If they're feral or not within captivity, please let them be. The Air Attack team is considered wild, even though humans do live among them, so if fighting breaks out let them figure it out.

Now that you know common body language, it's time to move onto the one illness that is very likely to kill your horses: colic.

Colic is an intestinal problem. Horses cannot through up not can they burp, so if they eat anything bad (moldy hay, for example, is a common cause) or too much of something, all that stays in the stomach. This causes the bad food to slowly eat away at the interior of the stomach. It is fixable, but costs a lot if surgery is required. Sometimes all you have to do is walk the horse and give them plenty of water, but most times it could require surgery. Sometimes, the horse even dies. Blade has had a bad bout of colic, and Maru almost lost him twice during the process, but obviously the chief survived. Signs of colic include constant rolling, sweating, not eating and trying to nip at the stomach, stretching and pawing.

And finally to wrap this chapter up, gestation period and the time-after birth! The gestation period is around 11 months, and mares birth their foals in spring. Mares will often leave to find a quiet, secluded spot away from other mares and stallions to have their baby. This is very important, for the mare to have quality time with their baby so both baby and mother can get to know each other. During this time the baby - or foal - must also gain strength.

Within half an hour after birth, the foal must learn to stand and walk. Within an hour to two hours, the foal must learn to run. This is key to avoiding predators. If they can't run away, they'll die. Even though the mare will definitely try to protect her foal, first time moms might not as they can be skittish and a bit unsure. Patch has fostered a foal, and according to the team, was quite good at it.

Foals gain confidence and muscle throughout their time with their mother. Mare and foal will usually stay by themselves for one to three days, some have even stayed away for a week depending on how strong the foal is. Experienced mares may stay away longer depending on how much time they think their foal needs, while inexperienced mares will likely want to get back to their family herd.

Once the mare deems it fit to bring her foal back to their family, they leave. Most times they are fairly close to them, so they can call for help if needed and the foal doesn't have to travel far. Once they reach the rest of their family they are surrounded and the mare usually does one of two things - pin her ears and strike or kick, or let the horses surround them. Newer mothers tend to lean towards the former while more experienced mares usually let the others surround them.

The sire will usually nudge the foal multiple times to see if he or she is strong. If not the herd will usually help take care of it and give it extra attention, but every once in a while the stallion will try to injure (or kill it). This is an extremely, extremely, rare case. Although everyone on base says Cad would likely do it, everyone knows he probably wouldn't. Most stallions don't have the guts to anyway.

Before we end completely with this chapter, I'd like to mention some of the little quirks some of the team has.

Dusty in particular, when confused, will tilt his head to the side. Maru and Cabbie find it amusing while Blade thinks it's cute (though he won't admit it out loud). The more confused he is, the more his head tilts. When he's anxious and confused his head will tilt to one side then tilt to the other side and go back again. His ears will drop to the side as well, and he usually looks pretty funny when he does this.

Drip and Blackout both tend to stick out their tongues a bit. Unintentionally of course, and it's usually when they're in a playful mood. Dynamite teases them about it, Pinecone giggles whenever they do it and Avalanche sticks his tongue out at them when one of them do it.

Blade does similar to Dusty, he'll tilt his head a bit. When he doesn't understand something or is trying to figure something out, his head will tilt mostly to the right. His ears will flick as well, and he will 'lick and chew' (it could be a sign of contentment or stress depending on context). Maru teases him about it sometimes, and Cabbie will also tilt his head whenever Blade is doing it until Blade notices. In return, Blade usually pins his ears at the old war horse and snorts.

This wraps up this chapter! Next time we will talk anatomy!

A/N: A tiny bit of that isn't actually true, or not 100% true. I'm not completely sure how long mares stay away from their herds, I only know it's for at least a day. As for the stallions killing their foals, I have actually seen a horse do that. However the foal could not stand and would've starved to death - so the stallion was doing it a favor in a way. Still sad either way.