Micah felt Engel slow down and could feel him prancing under him. He waited until he heard the other two horses pass them before he released his hold on the stallion's mane, sliding from his back and landing on the ground with a thud. He laid on his back as he tried to catch his breath. He was excited that Engel had won the race, but he was reminded why he never competed in horse races. He had taken his fair share of falls, but when he had fallen from a young Thoroughbred filly he had been training to race and had been run over by the horse behind her. It not only left him temporarily paralyzed it also left him with a fear of falling in races.

Engel snorted, and nickered in alarm. He stuck his muzzle in Micah's face, sticking out his tongue and swiping it across the boy's face. He nickered again, and nuzzled him gently. He could sense Micahs' fear, and it confused him immensely. The stallion grunted soothingly, and continued to nuzzle his boy lightly as he tried to catch his breath. Engel was worried, and he was scared. What was wrong with /Micah?

Micah brought his hand up to gently push Engel's muzzle away. One of the standby medics had come from the side of the track to check on him. The man checked him over carefully, while someone else came to lead the grey stallion away.

Engel backed up as Micah pushed him away. He was slightly confused at first, but he realized quickly that he needed space, and the man needed to check on him. H elifted his head once he saw a man coming towards him, and suddenly realized that the stranger was trying to take him away. He whinnied loudly, and lifted himself into the air. He pawed at the air, and and when he landed, he snorted fiercley. He splayed his legs slightly, and stared hard at the human. No one was going to take him away from his boy.

The man that had been sent after the stallion jumped back at the aggressive display. The doctor quickly finished checking Micah over. Other than being in shock he didn't have anything else wrong with him. He called over two men who came and lifted the boy. They took Micah and laid him down in a shady spot off of the track. The man called for assistance in getting the stallion.

Engel panicked as they took Micah away, and placed him outside the track. He whinnied, and reared. WHy had they taken his boy away? He cantered in a circle, and then stopped to rear again. Once he landed back on his front hooves, he eyed the man warily. He backed away from him, snorting in warning. He glanced at the fence. Should he jump it?

Another man carefully came onto the track and started to approach the stallion. He was older than the first man and had worked on the race track for several years. "Easy there boy. Let's get you to the barn so the doc can make sure your rider is alright." he told the stallion in a quiet, gruff voice.

Engel did a little half rear as he saw another man towards him. He looked older, and more experienced. His voice was gentle, but it didn't fool the large stallion. The man was trying to take him away from Micah, and that wasn't going to happen. He whinnied lowly, and backed away from them. He bobbed his head nervously, and stared at them, the whites of his eyes clearly visible.

The older man crouched down so that he wasn't any taller than the stallion, holding out a hand. "Shh...You don't want your rider to worry about you while he's trying to recover do you? Let me get a hold of that lead and I'll take you over to him." he told the large mustang.

Engel pranced in place, lifting his hooves fearfully. When the man spoke again, he stopped moving, and stood still. The man would take him to his boy? He nickered excitedly, and walked slowly to the man, keeping a wary eye on him.

The man stayed still until the stallion was close enough and then reached forward to grab the lead. "Come along big guy. I'll take you to your rider, but then you need to go to the racing barn until he's completely recovered." he told the horse.

Engel pulled back his head a bit as the man grabbed the lead rope. He looked at the man, trying to decide if he coukd be trusted or not. He didn't hear most of what he was saying, as he was too excited to be taken to his boy.

The man pulled on the lead. He headed towards the gate Micah had been taken through.

Engel followed, nickering eagerly. He was anxious to see if Micah was okay. He suddenly realized something. Was it his fault? What of his boy was hurt badly? He felt guilty, and stared at the spot Micah was in with sad eyes.

The man looked back at the horse and noticed the look in his eyes. He gently reached up and softly patted him on the neck. "It'll be fine. Your rider is just in shock. I've seen many former jockeys go through the same thing." he told the stallion.

Engel squealed, and pulled away at the man's touch. If horses could death glare, the man would've been laying in a pile of ashes at his hooves. He snorted as he listened to the man's explanation, and felt slightly better.

The older man quickly returned his hand to the lead and shook his head with a chuckle at the stallion's reaction. It was obvious the mustang only trusted the boy. He led the horse over to where Micah had been laid on a blanket with another one wrapped around him. His breathing had evened out, but the medic wanted to make sure he was completely fine before letting him get up.

Engel approached calmly, as he realized he needed to be careful around the boy. He nickered softly, and lowered his head to sniff sniff at Micah without touching him. He nickered again, and stared at him with a worried gleam in his eye.

Micah's eyes blinked open slightly at the sound of the familiar nicker. He smiled softly at the sight of Engel. "Hey big guy." he mumbled, reaching up to pat his muzzle with a slightly shaky hand.

Engel struggled to contain his joy as Micah spoke to him. Instead, he calmly touched his nose to his boy's hand, snorting lightly when he noticed it was shaking. He nickered once again, and ran his tongue softly over the boy's fingers.

Micah laughed softly at Engel's behavior. "Don't worry boy. I'll find you a good jockey and we'll get you out on that racetrack again." he told the stallion.

Engel pulled his head back at the word 'jockey' He didn't want someone else to ride him. If it meant Micah would be okay, he wouldn't race ever again. He wanted only his boy to ever sit upon his back. He snorted, and gazed at him with a slightly hurt expression.

Micah looked up in concern when Engel pulled back. He tried to sit up, but a sharp order from the medic had him laying back with an aggravated sigh. "It's alright boy. I'll make sure you get to race again somehow." he muttered.

Engel raised his head, and if he could glare, he'd be attempting to cause the medic to spontaneously combust. He snorted, and lowered his head again, looking worried. He nosed Micah gently, and attempted to lay next to him.

The older man noticed what the stallion was about to do and quickly pulled on the lead. "Come on boy, let's get you back to the stables." he told the horse.