I pressed my chin against my chest and thrust my hands into my jacket pockets as I stepped into the frosty fall air. The grass and leaves crunched against my boots and my breath floated away from me in wispy strands. I headed to the white washed picket fence to gaze upon the beauty of my stable. It was a truly modest establishment, being five years old and not having grown an outstanding amount since its inception. Yet, its beauty was unmistakable. The rolling pastures gave my equine athletes plenty of space to roam and graze. The creek that meandered through the soft hills trickled softly, not yet frozen by the bitter cold. This creek was a favorite among my horses, particularly the broodmares.
I had three separate pastures that divided my land. The farthest pasture contained mares and fillies whose career was still on the racetrack. Closest to me was the pasture for the boys; the colts, geldings, stallions, and my stud. In between these two pastures was the space for my lovely broodmares. In between each pasture was a strip of land, wide enough to ride a couple of horses through side by side. The purpose of this was to keep the boys away from the ladies, and vice versa.
I reached the fence where the boys were and leaned against the cold railing. I gazed out at the geldings, who grazed nonchalantly. I never had all of my boys out at once, or they would undoubtedly rip each other apart. Right now, my stud and the geldings were enjoying some time outside. My eyes fell on him, as they always did: Unabridged. He was the pride of my stable. He was unmistakable in the pasture with the geldings. Though he was retired from racing, he never lost his love for running, continually pounding and tearing around the field. He would constantly bother the geldings to race him, who would lay their ears back and trot away in disgust.
Suddenly, Unabridged noticed me leaning against the white fence. He whinnied loudly and galloped in my direction. I smiled. I was his favorite mare. He broke to a stop near the fence and whirled around, showing off his muscles to me.
