[00:01.00] Chapter seven.
[00:03.60] The bearing rain.
[00:06.90] Ginger and I were sold to Lord W, who lived at Earlshall Park.
[00:12.50] Our new home was much bigger than Bertwick Park, but it was nowhere near as nice.
[00:19.70] One of our first jobs was to take Lady W out in the carriage.
[00:24.90] Lady W was very smart, and she was horrified when she first saw Ginger and me.
[00:33.40] Why aren't those horses wearing bearing rains? she shouted.
[00:39.60] Get their heads higher right now.
[00:42.80] They're not fit to be seen.
[00:47.70] At that time, it was the fashion to drive a horse in a horrible thing called a bearing rain.
[00:55.80] The rain pulled a horse's head right up and held it there.
[01:01.50] It might have looked good, but it was extremely uncomfortable for the horse and made his job much harder.
[01:09.90] How could you pull a carriage properly with your head stuck up in the air?
[01:16.30] It put strain on a horse's windpipe and ruined many a good horse.
[01:24.60] Politely, Mr. York, the coachman, explained to Lady W that Ginger and I were not used to wearing a bearing rain.
[01:35.00] They need time to get used to it before their heads are pulled up.
[01:39.50] Rubbish! said Lady W. And she made Mr. York pull our heads higher.
[01:51.60] Those first trips out were very uncomfortable.
[01:56.50] My neck, back, and legs ached badly after each outing.
[02:02.90] But worse was to come.
[02:06.80] A few days later, Lady W was going to visit the Duchess.
[02:13.50] She was late and in a bad mood when the carriage was taken to her.
[02:19.40] I'm fed up with this, she said.
[02:25.20] Get those horse's heads up right now.
[02:32.90] Mr. York shortened my bearing rain, and although it was horribly uncomfortable, I stood quietly.
[02:46.40] Not Ginger.
[02:49.20] She remembered how badly she'd suffered in her old life before Bertwick Park, and she panicked.
[02:58.80] The terrified Ginger reared up, hitting Mr. York on the nose and almost knocking over the groom.
[03:09.30] Mr. York tried to calm her, but Ginger was too upset to calm down.
[03:17.30] She kicked and reared until finally she kicked her leg over the carriage pole and fell over.
[03:27.40] She caught me on my hind quarters as she went down, and I snorted with pain.
[03:35.50] Then Mr. York threw himself on Ginger's head, pinning her to the ground before she hurt anyone else.
[03:44.40] Untie the black horse, he ordered.
[03:48.30] Quick!
[03:53.30] I was very angry and felt like kicking and rearing, but I remembered my training and stood still.
[04:03.60] Ginger was led away by two grooms.
[04:08.00] Then Mr. York came to look at me.
[04:12.70] Blast those stupid bearing rains, he muttered crossly.
[04:24.70] My leg was swollen and painful, and Mr. York ordered a groom to bathe it in hot water and treat it with ointment.
[04:39.60] Ginger was never put in the carriage again.
[04:46.20] One of Lord W's sons took her as a riding horse.
[04:52.40] I wasn't so lucky.
[04:55.80] I still had to pull the carriage with my head tightly rained up.
[05:01.70] How I hated it.
[05:05.40] So did my new driving partner, a horse called Max.
[05:12.20] It will shorten our lives, he warned me.
[05:22.50] For long months, I suffered that bearing rain.
[05:27.80] My mouth was always sore, my windpipe painful, and it hurt to breathe.
[05:36.60] How I missed John and the squire.
[05:41.90] They had cared for me so kindly, and they had also been my friends.
[05:49.90] Here, I had no human friend at all.
[05:55.40] Each night after work, I returned to my stable feeling sore, worn out, and very depressed.