I’ve read the first in the Timber Ridge Riders series and really enjoyed it. This prequel was a great way to find out a little bit more about Kate and how it was that she came to lose her interest in horses and riding.

Told from each girl’s point of view, the reader is introduced to first Kate and her dedication to being a working student in order to ride the animals that she loves. Kate is hard working, focused and a good rider.

It seems that she is going to go far in the equestrian world, already performing well at the age of fourteen. A freak accident at the riding school in which she works changes all of this suddenly and Kate finds herself away from home and not wanting to go near horses.

Holly is desperate to return to her life of riding horses and competing, but finds one thing in her way; she can’t use her legs. An accident leaves her wheelchair bound and Holly comes to realise how fickle people are because of her sudden disability.

In the search for a helper for her daughter, Holly’s mum places an advert searching for a mature caregiver who has the time to keep an eye on her daughter and get her to the barn safely. After a few unsuccessful interviews, Holly questions if the young girl her age may just be the person they are looking for. Kate and Holly is a great introduction to the series and the two main characters.

Author: Maggie Dana
http://www.maggiedana.com/
Fiction – teen
In My Library? As an ebook copy, it is!
Want it?  Get this book now at Amazon.

“Some are slaves on the ground but are free on a horse.”

Dru Tagger is the eldest of three and in some shocking circumstances, suddenly finds herself with her brothers and no other living relatives. As young adults, the three are left in charge of the family’s ranch.

Fast forward twenty years and Dru receives an unusual call to their equine operation – The Stables. When a recently widowed woman voices concern over her unattended farm and a seemingly irrelevant delivery of hay, Dru agrees to drive down to the farm to see if there are any animals that shouldn’t be there.

Taking nieces and nephews with her, the car full of people are amazed to find a stable full of horses that have been left alone after their purchaser dies. Weeks of not having been fed or watered show in the struggling skeletons and Dru and her charges work hard to free them from the mud and muck they have been living in.

As things progress, Dru and the children find themselves in charge of a dozen horses in desperate need of some tender loving care. The mystery of how they came to be this way slowly surfaces, taking the children and their parents on a journey of discovery. The biggest lesson they learn is the importance of relationships, caring for each other and the animals in their lives.

The Tagger Herd is a great look at rehabilitating horses from neglect and not judging those who are inadvertently involved in horses becoming neglected. In spite of some grammatical errors, it is a well written story that is realistic.

Author: Gini Roberge
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8244400.Gini_Roberge
Fiction – adult
In My Library? As an ebook, it is!
Want it? Get this book now at Amazon.

“A man of kindness to his horse, is kind
But brutal actions show a brutal mind.
He was designed thy servant, not thy drudge.
Remember his creator is thy judge.” – Author unknown