A Good Horse

When eighth grader Abby Lovitt looks out at those pure-gold rolling hills, she knows there’s no place she’d rather be than her family’s ranch—even with all the hard work of tending to nine horses. But some chores are no work at all, like grooming young Jack. At eight months, his rough foal coat has shed out, leaving a smooth, rich silk, like chocolate. As for Black George, such a good horse, it turns out he’s a natural jumper. When he and Abby clear four feet easy as pie, heads start to turn at the ring—buyers’ heads—and Abby knows Daddy won’t turn down a good offer. Then a letter arrives from a private investigator, and suddenly Abby stands to lose not one horse but two. The letter states that Jack’s mare may have been sold to the Lovitts as stolen goods. A mystery unfolds, more surprising than Abby could ever expect. Will she lose her beloved Jack to his rightful owners? Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley raises horses of her own, and her affection and expertise shine through in this inviting horse novel for young readers, set in 1960s California horse country and featuring characters from The Georges and the Jewels.

In A Good Horse Is Never a Bad Color, Mark Rashid continues to share his talent for training horses through communication rather than force. Rashid uses humorous, feel-good stories to relate his techniques of teaching horses by examining their view of the world. This book is a must-have for compassionate horse trainers and owners. Tales of Arabs, appaloosas, and paints—mistrusted and mistreated because of their breed—will give readers a new perspective on these breeds and others. This new edition features added introductory notes for each chapter that contribute to a better understanding of Rashid’s philosophy and methods.

After several visits to study Icelandic sagas, Nancy Brown returns to Iceland to search for the perfect Icelandic horse, one she can bring back to her Pennsylvania farm and make her own. To do so, she must become part of the country's tightly knit horse-breeding community, which can be wary of outsiders and extremely protective of the world-famous breed. In this clear-eyed, evocative account set against Iceland's austere and majestic landscape, she describes what makes Icelandic horses and their owners so distinctive. She also discovers her limitations as a horsewoman and learns much about what she is looking for-in a horse and in her life.

Hidden atop Montana¿s Pryor Mountain, the last of the purebred Spanish mustangs still roam free. They are the direct descendants of Cortez¿s noble jennets and a rare breed. For over two hundred years they have lived in an isolated Garden of Eden, safe from the outside world and the most feared predator of all ¿ man. But in 1919, when a band of cowboys discover their whereabouts, all tranquility ends. The taking of free mustangs on Federal land becomes a lucrative but tainted business. Over the next twenty years the cowboys systematically slaughter thirty thousand horses and ship the carcasses to cannery plants hungry for cheap feed. By the summer of 1939, less than one thousand jennets remain alive. Enter seventeen-year-old Billy Bartell. Desperate to flee a macabre life as a mortician, Billy all-too eagerly takes up company among the last of the old West drovers. It seems Billy has the requisite skills to both hunt down the horses and prep the creatures¿ carcasses for the iced-down boxcars. Yet, the pact he makes with the camp boss, Captain Belial, may not have been his wisest decision. Getting out of a pact with the devil never is. Now, Billy is faced with another monumental decision: continue eradicating the herds or save the last of the good horses from extinction.

Since moving west over a decade ago, Tom Groneberg has worked with horses as a trail guide, as a ranch hand, and as the manager of his own ranch in Montana, but he has never owned a really good horse. Until, on an autumn night, in a warm barn under a blanket of snow, Blue is born. Soon, he will belong to Tom Groneberg. "If I had a good horse," writes Tom, "I could give it my life. I could ride it for years. We could grow old together." So begins this unique American love story about a man and his horse. In straightforward, poetic prose, Tom Groneberg chronicles the early successes and failures of trying to train Blue, earning the animal's trust, and saddling him for the first time. The experience is challenging, but ultimately rewarding for Tom. Through his relationship with the animal, he develops a deeper understanding of the land and his community, and of himself -- as a man, and as a husband and father. In a world in which horses are fast becoming nothing more than warm-blooded lawn ornaments, Tom still believes these animals are important in human lives. At its heart, One Good Horse is about the power of hope, the simple story of a horse and the way people connect with nature and with each other across the generations.

Documents the life story of a record-breaking champion horse whose disabilities nearly caused his euthanasia at birth, in an account that also describes the contributions of his shopkeeper owner and alcoholic driver. 50,000 first printing.

The war horse Bucephalus recounts his adventures from 344-323 B.C. with Alexander the Great and his relationship with a groom who has prophetic dreams.

With an elegant sweetness and a pitch-perfect sense of western life reminiscent of Annie Dillard, Glosss breakout novel is a remarkable story about the connections between people and animals and how they touch one another in the most unexpected and profound ways.