excerpt
…by now the cougar was likely well-fed and high-tailing it for
safer territory, but nobody wanted to take the risk. Eventually,
the mares and foals settled down with the exception of the one
lone bay mare that continued to call for her foal. Long, shrill,
haunting, unanswered whinnies.
As the sun broke on the horizon, Joel and Harry carefully walked
in the direction that the herd had raced from. Tanya sat safely in the
cab, keeping the herd company. The bay mare followed the men at a
distance. Walking the coulees and searching the country from the
hilltops, Harry finally saw what they were looking for. “Over here!”
he called. Back in the bushes at the base of a shallow coulee laid the
bloody mutilated body of a bay colt.
While Harry surveyed the scene to determine the direction of
the cougar, Joel quietly approached the bay mare that was now
standing at the top of the hill. Reaching for the belt around his
Wranglers, he removed it, gently placed it around her neck, and
slowly, solemnly, led her back to the herd that was still congregated
around the safety of the old Ford half-ton. As Joel led the
bay mare away from the body of the mutilated colt, he shed a few
tears. At that very moment, Joel knew that he had to find this
murderous and vicious cat and revenge the death of the colt for
the mare.
Harry eventually returned to the truck after several hours had
passed. He gave the pasture the “all clear,” for the time being.
Once a crazed cat determined where supper was, it was certain to
return for its next feast.
Back inside the ranch house, Buddy whimpered. In the rush to
get to the pasture, Joel had decided that it would be best to leave
him at home. The last thing he wanted was for Buddy to become
cougar bait.
Over multiple cups of coffee, the rescue party decided that it
would be best to bring the mares and foals, in fact, all of the
horses, into the yard for a few nights. The remainder of the day
was spent bringing all of the horses to the ranch yard. That evening,
Harry and Joel took a shovel in the old half-ton back up into…
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