Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • FA L L 2 0 1 7 30 though in her days as a cutting horse, she could astonish with her bursts of speed and hard, sliding stops. She mourned for six weeks when a friend of hers, a cat, went to another ranch to mouse, So, her stoniness toward me at this late hour of her confinement was disquieting. One morning, I made my accustomed feint toward the place of work and irony, and went to the corrals. e geldings were asleep in the pasture, except for the most avuncular of them, Lucky Bot- tom 79. LuLu no longer consorted with the mares who already had their colts. Instead, she stood in the shade of the caragana bushes without any movement. She was thinner all right, but she looked alone. I went to her with a chill of fear; the speed of birth in horses is such things go wrong very quickly. But when I was a few paces away, a small head popped up and regarded me; the foal was almost invisible against the ground and LuLu nickered to me. e afterbirth was on the ground a couple of yards away. I lifted it up and inspected it for completeness. Glistening, startlingly heavy, and still warm, the afterbirth was shaped like the bottom of a pair of long underwear with one leg shorter than the other. Any dog worthy of the name, like my three, considers this a windfall of immaculate protein. When I knelt by the foal, an exquisite sorrel filly, her head nodded up and down and she made several attempts to stand. Her tiny black hooves were just beginning to harden. LuLu buried her nostrils in my hair to reconfirm my identity and let me examine the little horse, who presently heaved herself onto sprawled legs wobbling and erect. Arms around her torso, her coat warm and dry, eyes big as a deer's, the beat of her heart coming through her rib cage as she yearned toward LuLu's udder, I steadied her until the connec- tion was made and I saw the pumping movement in her throat. A new horse. is essay was published in Some Horses published by e Lyons Press. TO SUBSCRIBE, GO TO: DISTINCTLYMONTANAGIFTS.COM ONE YEAR • QUARTERLY SUBSCRIPTION • $34.95 Since 1958, the force behind every protected wilderness in Montana. Join the movement. Photo: Camas Kakuk Tom McGuane, "Does Fishing Mean Anything?" www.distinctlymontana.com/fishing174 DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL TOM MCGUANE has authored 10 novels, numerous short stories, film scripts, and three works of nonfiction devoted to his life outdoors. One of Montana's (and the country's) most popular authors, he is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, The National Cutting Horse Asso- ciation Hall of Fame, and The Flyfishing Hall of Fame. Recently he won the 2017 Los Angeles Times Book Prize and Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement. He lives on a ranch in Sweetwater County with his family. S U B S C R I P T I O N S T O D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A K E G R E AT G I F T S ! You can also send a check for $34.95 to 1425 W. Main Suite 101, Bozeman, MT 59715 www.distinctlymontana.com $6.95 DISPLAY UNTIL JUNE 15, 2017 Spring I S S U E O U R 2 0 1 7 U R S U S H O R R I B I L I S : M O N TA NA' S G R I Z Z L I E S O U R M Y S T E RY W R I T E R S " T H E B O B ' S " W I L D E R N E S S L O D G E S H O T ! I N M O N TA NA M O N TA NA I N 3 0 Y E A R S : P U B L I C L A N D S 15 th YEAR C E L E B R AT I N G O U R O F P U B L I C AT I O N M O N T A N A ' S L E A D I N G L I F E S T Y L E M A G A Z I N E M O N T A N A ' S L E A D I N G L I F E S T Y L E M A G A Z I N E Quality Fiction DISTINCTLY MONTANA WELCOMES PLEASE E-MAIL VALERIE HARMS, EDITOR valerie@distinctlymontana.com FOR DETAILS

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