A Must Read for Horse Lovers!

Believing in Horses by Valerie Ormond is an inspirational story of a young girl with lofty goals, but who perseveres to attain them.

Horse lover, Sadie, is 12 and with her family's help, she chooses a perfect horse after choosing the perfect boarding stable. But the real challenge is her ambition to save ten horses that are scheduled to go to a horse auction.

With gumption and ingenuity, Sadie researches, makes presentations and secures homes for all of them. Now, she just has to be the highest bidder at the auction and stay within her budget.

The setting and characters are realistic, and the author has the reader spellbound with each scene, wondering what will happen next.

I found myself saying to Sadie, "You go, girl!"

 

Visit http://believinginhorses.com/

Sonrise Stable - Rosie and Scamper

Sonrise Stable - Rosie and Scamper is part of a series by Vicki Watson.

This adorable story is both educational and Christian-based.

Rosie loves to assist her grandmother at the stable. After a beloved mare dies shortly after giving birth, the young girl helps to train the orphan foal. They name him Scamper.

A neighbor takes in a foster girl named Carrie, and soon Rosie has a best friend and a riding pal.

The details of horse care and horsemanship at shows are realistic, as are the situations that the girls find themselves in. And Grandma is always there to teach them about how God is watching over them.

The only jolt was the two year jump forward from Scamper's birth to his mounted training. Maybe it would have been better to start on that first day of riding, with a reflection on how it came to be.

Or break up the book into two. An eight-year-old's emotions and reactions would be so different to a ten-year-old's perspective. I would have liked more about the younger Rosie learning groundwork with Scamper.

Blackjack - Dreaming of a Morgan

Blackjack - Dreaming of a Morgan by Ellen Feld is a delightful story for young horse lovers. The realistic stable and horse show settings makes it educational as well.

Heather is a teenager who dreams of saving a Morgan named Blackjack from a cruel owner. To her surprise, she meets a horse farm owner who owns a black Morgan stallion. When Heather is offered a job to work there in exchange for riding lessons, she bonds with the stallion named Gallant Image but she gives him the barn name of Blackjack.

As her riding improves, she works on Blackjack who has a problem cantering on the right lead. But their bond of trust overcomes his anxiety and they do well at their first show.

Although the ending was predictable for me, the author creates a tale that is sure to please young horse lovers. My only question is why did Blackjack have to be a stallion? The story would have been just as exciting with him being a gelding, and more suitable for a youth rider.

Learn more about the author at the publisher's site http://www.willowbendpublishing.com/author.htm

Communication with All Life

Communication with All Life by Joan Ranquet is an interesting read about the author's "sensing" what pets, horses, etc. need from their human owners or what is causing problems. Some are emotional and some are physical.

Joan explains in her short stories of animals she has helped what she found out from the pet and how she assisted both the animal and owner.

I found some of her "treatments" insightful, others typical if one knows animal instincts. I've been a professional horse trainer for more than 40 years and a pet groomer for five. I agreed with most of her conclusions, as I use body position, hand placement and calming techniques such as humming and singing to encourage an animal to cooperate with me. I don't, however, "talk" to animals or sense a problem by having a phone conversation and looking at the animal's photo.

There was one situation with a horse who had a behavior problem that a smiled when I read it. The treatment of moving the horse to another stable was for the right treatment but for the wrong reason, in my opinion. I've had horses that have acted out at another trainer's barn, and when I took the horse to mine, it was fine. At a new place, the herd instinct causes the horse to be at the bottom of the totem pole again, and he's more open to responding to training. Giving a routine and adding new "jobs" that the horse is capable of handing, will often solve the behavior issue.

If you want to learn helpful insights into animal behavior, this will be an interesting book for you.

Visit the author's site at http://joanranquet.com/