The Nurse Mare's Tale

The Nurse Mare's Tale is in a way the prequel to Dinky:
The Nurse Mare's Foal, as it tells the story of Dinky's mother.
This lovely story is told from the viewpoint of two aging nurse
mares about to give birth, and the trials they go through. It tells
us of Sadie and her friend Nellie and is accompanied with
charming dialogue (both speaking and thinking). The plight of
these animals is described in empathetic detail.
After enduring years of breeding and loss, the older nurse mares
must face the auction with the promise of being slaughtered, as
they have become too old for breeding and thus unable to be
rented out as nurse mares to feed the foals of the high-dollar
mares.
Do they accept their fate, or will there be another ending for the
nurse mares that have given everything and received little in
return?
The ending may surprise you. It is a poignant story that will rip
your heart out and put you back together again.