Gina and the Mustang “I don’t want to go.” Gina shuffled her feet
and hung her shoulders. Mom continued packing a bag. “We’re going to
Uncle Rich’s in Montana for summer vacation. He’s Dad’s brother, and
we go every year.” Gina stormed out of her mother’s room. “Nobody
ever thinks of me!” “That’s enough. We’re going,” replied Mom sternly.
Their August vacation came sooner than Gina wanted. Before she knew
it, she and the family were at Uncle Rich’s ranch. Uncle Rich grabbed
her dad and hugged him. “Good to see you,” said Uncle Rich. Gina’s
brother and sister were twins and two years younger, so they didn’t
realize what an inconvenience and bore being on a ranch was. They
raced to the barn to see the animals.
Gina grabbed her bag. “I’m going to my room,” she told her
parents. “Wait a minute, Gina,” said Uncle Rich. “I’ve got something to
show you.” Gina watched as Uncle Rich winked at her father. “You
come too,” he said to Gina’s parents. At the corral Gina saw the horse.
It was chestnut with large white patches on it. It had a wide white patch
that ran down the center of its face. Its tail and mane were white with
chestnut tips. Gina fell in love. “Wow! What a horse.” “He’s a mustang,”
said Uncle Rich. “Mustangs are free-roaming horses who live in the
wild. This one's colored like an Appaloosa. We found him stuck in the
mud down by the creek. Don’t know how he got there. My foreman
and I roped him and managed to get him out.” “What’s an Appaloosa?”
asked Gina. “They’re a spotted bread. Some of them look like
Dalmatians. This mustang is a beauty.” Gina kicked the dirt. “Can I help
care for him?” Uncle Rich laughed. “You bet. The more hands we have
the better.
Just don’t get too attached. Once we’re sure he’s okay, we’ll let
him loose. Mustangs went from over a million at the beginning of the
20th century to less than 17,000 in 1970. They were hunted for meat.”
Gina felt her stomach turn. “That’s terrible.”
“It’s better now,” said Uncle Rich. “The government came to the
rescue. There are around 50,000 now." Still holding her bag, Gina raced
to her room. She kicked off her sneakers and pulled on the boots that
Uncle Rich kept in the closet for her. She was back in a flash. She went
to the fence and stepped on the first rung. The mustang strolled over to
her. Gina put her hand on his forehead. The mustang wiggled his head
back then jetted off. At that moment, Gina knew she wanted to
become a large animal veterinarian . . . and she was now glad she came
to the ranch.