Missing! A Horse

One collar left dangling. One bay gelding gone.

John Emery Phillips knows the difference between a horse that slips its tether and a horse that has been taken. The unbuckled collar says it all. But when he tries to raise the alarm, the adults around him have another word for it: strayed.

Then a second horse goes missing. Then comes the news that changes everything: knacker yards are paying good prices for horses, no questions asked. Animals are being stolen and sold for pet food and fertilise...