Young boy tries to engage 12-old girl of your old girl in play activities; he looks longingly at her, perhaps a future buddy romance.

A horse is whipped by his handler repeatedly on several different occasions. Later, he is seen to have been injured by the horse which kicked him in the leg, causing only a bruise. The protagonist hitches a ride on the back of a back of a carriage horse drawn carriage. When the driver realizes this, he tries to whip her to make her get off, causing several lash marks on her arm.

The horse handler threatens several times to kill the horse. The protagonist overhears this and is worried for the horse.