EXT. RIDING PADDOCK, NIGHT

It is a cold, DARK winter evening. The sky is clear and full of stars. A heavy frost covers the ground.

The camera is by a riding paddock, and in the darkness we can make out the shape of two horses.

The first is a 14.3 palomino mare, wrapped in mauve turnout rug. This is THE PONY. Also in the padddock is a 15.3 piebald Irish Cob. This is MONSTER.

Both are playing in the cold. THE PONY seems to specialise in handstands and turns on the haunches. MONSTER just runs around like an idiot, bronking and bucking.

The camera PANS ROUND and we can see GROOM approaching. He unclips two ropes from the gate and enters the paddock. The horses stop playing and approach the gate.

GROOM clips a rope onto the headcollar of each horse and turns to the gate. The horses are quieter now, breathing deep and snorting from their earlier playing.

GROOM holds both horses in one hand and opens the gate. The horses stay calm. Groom leads the horses through the gate. SUDDENLY THE PONY tries to swap sides and starts to rear. MONSTER puts her head down and starts to CANTER back to the stables.

GROOM holds onto both lead ropes as long as he can before he FALLS to the ground --

The camera POV bcomes that of GROOM and we look up to see PONY high above us. GROOM curls into a ball and covers his head with his arms as PONY runs over us.

It is SILENT. Slowly GROOM rises from the ground and dust himself off. He raises his hands to his mouth so that his voice will carry --

GROOM (shouting):
Loose Horse.

The CAMERA stays put as GROOM walks off towards the light of the stables and we fade to black...