In 1914, Lucky (voiced by Lukas Haas) is born aboard a tempest-tossed German supply steamer transporting his mother and other workhorses to a mining town in Africa. Torn from her side shortly after arrival and left to fend for himself in an alien environment, the vulnerable foal is adopted by Richard (Chase Moore), an orphaned stable boy. When the townspeople must flee due to encroaching war, Lucky is abandoned, bereft of his young companion and caretaker. With no alternative but to venture into the untamed desert, Lucky befriends other wildlife, as well as a young Bushman girl, who teach him how to survive.