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About the Silver Brumby

	" A Silver Brumby is a very special horse, both to other horses and men. And it is men who always seek to catch him, for his beauty." - So begins the tale of Thowra, The Silver Brumby. Written in 1958 by Elyne Mitchell, 'The Silver Brumby' is a classic children's tale of the struggle to survive in the wilds of the Bindi High Country in Australia. Thowra is a very special brumby in that he will one day rule over all the other brumbies as their king. His story goes like this....
One dark and stormy night a creamy mare named Bel Bel made her way to a small hollow high upon the Ramshead mountain range. There she gave birth to Thowra. Named for the wind with the speed and courage to match, Thowra would be destined for greatness. Bel Bel knew that because of his cream coat and silver mane, he would be a prize to any of the stockmen roaming the range. He would live a hunted life.
	Bel Bel taught Thowra all her wisdom and knowledge that she had aquired over the years. She taught him how to recognise the scent of many of the bush creatures, and how to track them, she taught him how to tell which scent belonged to which individual or herd of Brumbies. Finally, she taught him to recognise the scent of man. This was a skill he would value indeed, as he was to have many a brush with man in his life.
The title of 'King of the cascade Brumbies' was never safe. It could be challenged for at any time by a rival stallion. Thowra's father, the mighty Yarraman was no longer a young stallion. This worked against him when The Brolga, a young stallion challenged him for the title. It was usual to fight for the title, but not for the victor to kill their defeated opponent. The Brolga was a mean horse however, and would not allow Yarraman to live.
	Thowra knew that if he was ever to take his place as 'King of the cascade Brumbies', he would have to face The Brolga in battle. He was also well aware that he was not yet ready to issue a challenge.
Thowra decided to bide his time until he was strong enough to challenge The Brolga and win. During this time, he put together a small herd of his own. Unfortunately, The Brolga was not his only trouble....
	Bel Bel's prediction had come true. One of the stockmen had taken a shine to Thowra, and now spent his days obsessing about ways to capture him. In his plans, he bought a golden filly from the stock sales, similar in colour to Thowra. He would use Golden, as she was called, to bait Thowra into hios hands.
But once again Thowra's cunning proved more than a match for The Man's, leading him to free Golden and take her back to his herd.
	Thowra knew tha the battle with The Brolga was not far off now. After all, he had grown from a gangly colt, into a strong, handsome young stallion. Time would tell the outcome....

For more information on the various tellings of 'The Silver Brumby', see:

The book - The Cartoon Series - The movie - Snowgrass Ridge

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