Perspectives of a Horse who could not understand words, only feelings
A Horse with No Name — Part 2
Story of a horse who found his freedom
Prologue
This is the second part of the fiction, A Horse with No Name. If you haven't read the first part yet, please have a read from below.
— — — — — — — — — —
The farmer tightly clenched his eyes, unable to witness Sunny's pain, and screamed to stop hurting Sunny.
The frowny guest, his face emotionless, pretended to console him,
“This is not a whip, this is fear, and fear is a universal language.
Horses only understand one thing — fear. That’s why I train them to obey and win.”
— — — — — — — — — — —
Chapter 4: The Race Begins!
The first whip froze Sunny with fear. After that, he moved wherever the rope pulled, driven by the instinct to avoid pain.
The frowny guest swished the whip against the ground, its loud thuds echoing around Sunny. Each sound made his legs fumble and his heart race. The memory of the pain clawed its way back into his mind, leaving him frozen and fully controlled by the rope.
The frowny guest led Sunny to the training centre.
Sunny looked around in fear. The floors were warm and strongly built, enclosed within tall brick walls. The air carried the scent of freshly cut grass piled in large heaps nearby.
He saw other horses running around a large sandy circle, surrounded by frowny men shouting commands.
The horses wore fancy outfits and ran at great speed, competing against each other with determination in their eyes.
They had strong muscles and thick skin, moulded by the bruises of frequent whipping.
Sunny was relieved to see other horses with courage in their eyes.
He was scared and anxious about where the frowny guest was taking him, and he had no idea what they wanted. He longed for the warm touch and soothing voice of the farmer. Here, all he felt was the cold sting of fear.
Two other frowny men came near Sunny and started talking to the frowny guest.
That’s a fine horse! He’s got potential — let’s see him in action!
The frowny guest pulled Sunny to the race track, looked Sunny straight in the eyes and said
This is your moment. Prove your worth — run!
Sunny shivered from the sudden sting of the whip. When the ropes released, his body instinctively bolted forward.
He ran as fast as he could, splashing the white sands of the race track, his hooves pounding against the track, his heart racing.
After a few seconds of panic, a strange wave of calm washed over him as the wind rushed against his face, and the soft sand cushioned his hooves.
For a moment, Sunny forgot his fear.
He embraced the wind, the sand, the motion — everything. He felt free, if only for a second.
He heard the frowny men cheering and calling him to come around the circle. He completed a full round and reached back where he started.
The frowny guest's eyes softened for the first time, a glimmer of satisfaction replacing his usual cold stare.
He gave Sunny a new kind of fodder.
The fodder was unlike anything Sunny had tasted before — sweet and rich, a flavour that danced on his tongue and made him forget, for a moment, the sting of the whip.
Sunny finally got that nod of approval from the frowny guest!
“I can make the frowny guest happy by running, and he will give me this tasty fodder again!!!”
“If I get better, He might even stop hurting me”
“If I keep running, I might stay safe long enough to find my way back to the farm”
Sunny temporarily forgot how much he missed the farm and the farmer, the pain the frowny guest had caused, and the uncertainty of his situation. He got a plan to survive, which was all that mattered for now.
The frowny guest watched Sunny with pragmatic calculation, a smirk barely touching his lips. He thought to himself,
“I think he understands the system now! Fear and fodder can move mountains!”
Chapter 5: The Frowny Guest
It was 4 AM, and the frowny guest awoke from his light and restless sleep as usual.
He lived with his family in a small hut near the stadium, its walls worn and weathered by time. He slept on a weary old rug and a squashed pillow outside the house, like a guarding dog, his body attuned to the first signs of dawn.
An old radio crackled softly in the corner, playing a folk song about the woes of a worker — a tune he had grown used to, though its words still tugged at something deep within him.
A smell of accumulated sweat mixed with the scent of earth prevailed as the first light of dawn began to creep over the horizon. He stared at the dim sky momentarily, his mind stirring with the weight of the day ahead.
He remembered his father’s rough and unyielding voice—a man who had worked all his life taming horses but remained trapped in the infinite pool of poverty.
“Be strong, Gopal. You must be strong to survive.”
“The horses are meant to be tamed. If you didn't train them, someone else will do”
“Kindness is a luxury only the rich can afford.“
His father’s words jolted him awake like a switch flipped in his mind.
“I must show no weakness!”
He chanted as he rose from the rug.
“Weakness won’t tame a horse. Weakness won’t feed my family!”
With a deep breath, he tightened his resolve. He silenced the haunting cries of horses that echoed in his mind, the ones that kept him awake at night.
The day had begun, and the show must go on.
Chapter 6: Training
The training process kickstarted for Sunny. Sunny was made to run every day from early morning until dusk. The frowny guest added new obstacles or changed the terrain daily, forcing Sunny to adapt to different situations.
Loud horns blared to accustom Sunny to external disturbances, ensuring he wouldn’t panic and could maintain his speed.
Sunny quickly learned to anticipate what the frowny guest wanted by observing his expressions, tone, and the ever-present whip.
The gruelling lessons left Sunny with aching muscles, bruised legs, and a mind too exhausted to think beyond the day’s end.
As the days passed, Sunny’s memories of his old master and the farm grew vaguer, like a fading dream. His sole goal was to avoid the worst of the beatings, meet the frowny guest’s expectations, and earn his fodder by the day’s end.
The days were long and tiring, but Sunny felt an internal sense of control.
The routine of pain and reward felt easier than dwelling on his losses or the uncertainty of the future.
Sunny also began to learn from the other horses. He noticed how they used their thigh muscles to gain speed and found their rhythm to maintain balance. Mimicking their movements and adding his own techniques, he grew stronger, faster, and more resilient each day.
From them, he also learned how to avoid pain. He saw weaker horses falter, beaten brutally until they stopped trying altogether.
One day, during a practice session, the terrain was changed from soft sand to rubble — sharp, slippery rocks that made running treacherous. Sunny watched as one of the horses stumbled, falling hard onto the jagged ground.
The fallen horse groaned in pain, his leg bleeding, eyes wide with panic. His eyes met Sunny’s, silently pleading for help.
Sunny froze as the frowny men stormed toward the fallen horse, their faces twisted in anger and disappointment. Yelling, they dragged the injured horse away.
Sunny never saw him again.
As the injured horse disappeared from view, a cold wave of dread swept over Sunny, a stark reminder of what failure meant.
At that moment, he truly realized why he had seen only determination in the eyes of the other horses when he first arrived.
It wasn’t courage or strength — it was pure survival instinct, a mask worn to hide the terrifying fear!
Only the strong survive here, the weak will be discarded!
One morning after practice, the frowny guest came with a colorful outfit and dressed Sunny attentively.
The outfit’s silky texture and warmth comforted Sunny slightly, and the frowny guest, though stern, displayed a faint trace of affection as he dressed him.
It was like a butcher carefully sharpening his knife before getting to work. He pulled Sunny’s rope to look very close to his face and said intensely
“Your time has come, Sunny. Prove yourself. Run like your life depends on it — because it does!”
When Sunny locked eyes with the frowny guest, an icy dread coursed through him. Trapped and powerless, fear gripped him like never before.
End of part 2
What lies ahead for Sunny in the race?
Will he escape this relentless cycle of fear?
Can he ever find happiness again?
Coming in the next part!
— UPDATE: Part3 is out now!
A Horse with No Name Part 3
Whew! Gotta say, when I started writing the story, I thought It would be a piece of cake to complete the whole story, but boy, was I wrong! :P
Thanks for spending your valuable time reading Sunny the Horse’s adventures! I’m also looking forward to seeing how the story unravels as I write it.
Please let me know your valuable suggestions and feedback at sreekiranar@gmail.com or LinkedIn.
