He remembered the freedom he had when he was less than a year old. He, along with all the other foals that had been born that year, were able to play or sleep at will. They could run into, under, over or through any other horses in the herd and almost never get reprimanded for it. They could drink when they wanted and where they wanted, they ate whenever they wanted and they could even dictate to their mothers when they would nurse, and the mare would almost never protest. If they wanted to go investigate something, they could just go do it, as long as it wasn’t so far from the herd that they couldn’t get back if danger arose.

But then, when he was about ten months old, everything changed. His mother weaned him in preparation for foaling the following year’s baby, and it seemed as though the very day that happened the herd took over and began giving him and the other foals born the same year very firm and very strict direction. He and the others learned how to become productive members of the herd, and as long as they adhered to the rules the herd set forth, everything was fine.

The colt hadn’t adhered to the rules of the herd, and as a result, he almost paid for it with his life. It was a lesson he would never forget, and it was for that reason that he tried so hard to understand, and then perform, anything and everything the humans showed him. He also realized within days of when the woman, Jessie, first starting to work with him that the calmer he stayed, the easier it was for him to learn. But, then, it was almost always easy to stay calm around Jessie. She exuded strength and confidence, and was always very clear about what she wanted the colt to do and how she wanted him to do it. She had the ability to send pictures to him, which helped him tremendously, and he very quickly gained assurance in whatever she asked.

But then the man, Henry, started working with him, and things were less clear. Still, as much as he could, the colt tried very hard to stay calm and pay attention. Henry didn’t send pictures at first, and early on when he did send them, the images were often of what the colt was already doing, not what he needed to do. That was somewhat confusing for the colt. Yet as time went on, something in Henry changed. His thoughts seemed to lighten and the pictures he sent sometimes became clear and helpful; never as clear and helpful as Jessie’s, but clear enough for the colt to realize that Henry, too, was trying.

While Jessie’s thoughts and intentions were always clear to the colt, it was Henry’s actions that brought with them his clarity. In their interactions, Henry was direct and to the point about what he was looking for from him, and while Jessie’s demeanor gave the colt comfort while he tried to learn from her, it was Henry’s deeds the colt understood clearly. It didn’t take long for the colt to understand that all humans were as different in the way they dealt with horses as they were different in the way they looked and smelled. Some, like Henry and Jessie, were trying to find ways to communicate with him, while others, like the dark presence that came to the ranch the night Jessie stopped coming around, were not.