Leslie Scott never dreamed the journey her life would take after she first set eyes on a pair of brumbies rumoured to have been dumped at Mount Beckworth, near Clunes.
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It was four months after the rumours first surfaced that she finally saw them in August 2020, which began a long slow process to rescue them and get them to safety.
But that was just the start of the process to get the brumbies - now named Lucy and Milo - settled in to a life-long loving home.
Ms Scott has chronicled the journey of her life with the two brumbies, including the surprise addition of foal Quincy born on October 24 last year, in a new book Once Were Wild which will be officially launched on Saturday.
"I class myself as an accidental author as I never would have imagined I would be sitting down putting my story in to words," she said. "I have come out of one journey (rescuing the brumbies) then have spiralled down the rabbit hole of another journey of writing a book."
After Ms Scott first saw the brumbies in a remote part of Mount Beckworth she visited them almost every day for eight months, spending hours sitting near them and bringing them food and treats so she was accepted as part of their herd.
She knew the pair had to be moved from the state park for their own safety, and had the support of Parks Victoria for her project to get them out safely - which she did once the horses started venturing to a nearby farm for water and Ms Scott was able to get them used to being in a yard before closing the gate.
"When I think back to all of those times, every day I was going up the mountain, all the high and low emotions, it's overwhelming," she said.
"Even though it was an enormous task and quite challenging, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey for two reasons - one I was out in nature in the middle of COVID, spending hours out there with the horses which was soothing, and two the remarkable journey in getting to know these two little horses and the progress we have made. I don't think many people can say that they befriended two wild horses and managed to bring them home."
After they spent some time with the Victorian Brumby Association Lucy and Milo came back to Ms Scott's property where she suspected Lucy was pregnant.
"I had a feeling that Lucy may have been in foal but because she is so timid and flighty, she's not like a normal horse you can take to vet and get a scan, we didn't know for sure but looking at her body changing ever so slightly and getting bigger and bigger and the fact she is a mare and Milo was a colt, we put two and two together," she said.
Her suspicions were correct, and Quincy was born late last year.
"He's the spitting image of Milo in looks and personality and ... I might be biased but he's the most incredible little foal, so willing to learn, eager, curious and wants to be with people which is fantastic."
While Ms Scott initially suspected Lucy and Milo were mother and son, DNA testing has revealed they are not related.
But it hasn't all been plain sailing in taming the brumbies and getting them used to domestic life.
When I think back to all of those times, every day I was going up the mountain, all the high and low emotions, it's overwhelming
- Leslie Scott
Slowly, after many days, weeks and months Ms Scott has worked with Lucy to build her confidence. She can now have a halter put on, be led around, and comply when asked to stand on a tyre or obstacle.
"I do those sort of things not for the fact she can stand on a tyre, but for her becoming a willing partner, to listen to me and respect me and that feeling is mutual," she said.
But Lucy is still not comfortable around people other than Ms Scott, and never will be, unlike Milo who is much younger and loves people.
Last month Lucy lost an eye after a "scuffle" in the paddock with another horse, but it was an eye that already had little vision after suffering damage before Ms Scott met her.
"When she was on the mount I did notice when taking photos of her that she had an eye that looked like it had had some sort of trauma, and when I could get closer to her I noticed it had a blue patch on it. After getting close to her I realised she only had a very small percentage of vision out of that eye," she said.
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"Unfortunately she had a little scuffle with one of my dominant horses in the paddock here who happened to knock that eye and it literally exploded and had to be removed. The vet said it had so much damage that if it didn't happen now it would have happened sooner or later."
She has recovered well from the surgery, which was completed in her home paddock.
Milo is now being started under saddle and is "very curious, not scared of anything and really in to everyone" though being a three-year-old he is also cheeky and everything goes in to his mouth.
Ms Scott still can't understand why anyone would dump two brumbies in to the state park at Mount Beckworth but knows one thing - they will never feel abandoned again.
"They will be with me forever," she said.
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