My early home and the first place I can remember well was a large pleasant meadow with trees and a pond of clear water in it I lived with my mother who was named Duchess In the daytime I ran by her side and at night I lay down close to her There were some young horses that lived in the meadow too but my mother said they were cart horses You are well bred she said I want you to grow to be gentle and not kick or bite I never forgot my mother’s advice for she was a wise old horse
Time passed in that happy place and I grew to be handsome My coat was soft and glossy black I had one white foot and a pretty white star on my forehead Then when I was four years old my master said I was to be broken in
Breaking in meant that I had to learn to wear a saddle and bridle and to carry a man woman or child on my back I was to be taught to have a carriage fixed behind me and always to obey my master’s will without the freedom of my early life
