Verbal Doodle - "The horse came back alone."

The horse came back alone. At what point it became alone was completely unclear. But the well-worn saddle and blanket laid across its back seemed to indicate that it once had a faithful companion. The hooves were muddy. Too muddy. And that same off-red dirt could be seen in dried out flecks of mud along the torso, indicating that there was some recent velocity involved. But here it stands in the clearing, looking me dead in the eye. What did it see, I wonder? What did it hear? And what did it lose?