Chosen by a Horse
A Memoir
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4.7 • 18 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
“Two kindred spirits find each other in this beautifully written memoir about the human-animal bond” (Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation).
When Susan Richards agreed to take on the care of one of the abused horses just rescued by the local SPCA, she didn’t know it was about to open a new chapter in her life. Things had not always been easy for Susan—she had lost her mother at the age of five and was raised by uncaring relatives, married unhappily and divorced, and suffered from alcoholism.
But while Susan is trying to capture the horse assigned to her, a skeletal mare named Lay Me Down walks into her trailer of her own volition. Susan already owns one mare and two geldings—the diva-like Georgia, boyish Tempo, and hopelessly romantic Hotshot—but it is with Lay Me Down that she forges a special, healing relationship that alters her life.
Poignant and evocative, Chosen by a Horse is a book for anyone who has ever loved a horse, and for everyone who has ever lost a loved one.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The horse was Lay Me Down, a tall, scrawny, sick (with pneumonia), abused standardbred mare, with a hostile foal at her heels and a wheezing sigh. The human was middle-aged, also abused (both as a child and in a bad marriage), an AA veteran and the owner of three Morgan horses in upstate New York. The Morgan mare, Georgia, was furious about the new intruder, although, Richards writes, "I blamed myself for creating a monster, a monster named Georgia. All these years of spoiling her, of never allowing anyone else to ride her, of letting her boss me around...." Richards's first book is an engaging, honest and low-key memoir of her love affair with the sweet-natured Lay Me Down and her almost love affair with a fellow named Hank, with many digressions into horse lore as well as life lore. Charming and sensitive descriptions of fiery Georgia; the gallant, lovable old gelding, Hotshot; loyal friend and "horsewoman extraordinaire" Allie; and daily life with animals intersperse with the trials of dating and buying underwear. The end of neither affair is happy, but this is a bracing and likable book, highly recommended for backyard horsewomen and their admirers.
Customer Reviews
Great Book!
This is my second book by this author and they are fantastic! I highly recommend reading.