Safe at Last?

The little horse galloped and galloped down the trail. But in the desert, a little horse can only gallop so far before he must slow down and catch his breath. He had not brought any water with him or food. He now realized that that was not a very smart thing to do in so harsh an environment, beautiful though it was. He carefully looked behind him. He glanced to both sides. He did not see any lizards following him, so he slowed to a walk, but he did not dare to leave the middle of the trail, where he could see all around him. That meant he was walking in hot sunshine. He could hear occasional slithering sounds. He caught glimpses of tails disappearing behind rocks. It made his coat shiver and he flicked his little tail. He could not stop walking to rest in the shade. The desert was too full of things his size or bigger, all alive, all slithering.