Cotton Candy Sally Finds a Home is a delightful short tale for middle grade readers.  The reader is first introduced to Sally in her lovely country home.  She is kept in a stable overnight, fed and turned out on a regular basis.  She is able to enjoy open pastures and socialising with other horses.

But as the story starts, Sally knows there is a change to her routine; something isn’t right.  In time, she finds herself loaded up on a horse trailer and travelling many hours.  In time she is unloaded, far from her usual home.

Sally and a couple of her companions have been taken to a horse sale.  Sally is quickly re-homed and finds herself in a drastically different environment.  In a stable in New York she doesn’t have access to ample pastures.  She has lost her companions and is surrounded by busyness, noise and traffic.

Reacting to these negative changes Sally moves from her once cooperative, well performing self to a difficult to handle mare.  In time the students at the riding school where she is housed give up on her.  They claim she is bitter and mean.  Until one rider takes a shine to her.

Having lost her father, her family farm and her own horses, young Kara feels a pull towards Sally.  She ignores the pinned ears and sour looks and starts to shower affection on the mare.  In time the two bond and Kara is rapt to be able to ride such a capable mount.  Yet, Kara is devastated to learn that the riding school owner intends to sell Sally.  It is obvious that the busy riding school environment is not what is best for Sally.

Can Kara find a way to keep Sally?  And how is it possible when she has no place to keep her, her mum is struggling with finances and Sally is worth a decent sum?  Cotton Candy Sally is a delightful story for young readers about perseverance and paying it forward.

Author – Karen Belove
Fiction – middle grade
In my library – as an eBook
Want it? Get it now on Amazon.

Late last year I was given a copy of Man & Horse: the Long Ride Across America by John Egenes to read and review.  This story tells a unique tale of a young man in his mid twenties.  He sets out across the North American continent on his four year old Quarter Horse.  In 1974, he spends 7 months travelling from California to Virginia on horseback.

Man & Horse is a non fiction book, recounting a tale from more than forty years ago.  It’s interesting to read the book that was written after the event.  John is able to recount what he went through with his young mount named Gizmo.  Obvious issues of feeding himself and his horse are common throughout the 7 months of travel.

John first enlightens the reader to his lifestyle as a child and growing up as a teen.  Having lost a father figure at a young age, John acknowledges that his mother had to work hard to raise himself and his siblings.  They were often in want, but learned to be happy on little.  This trait was one that perhaps allowed John to travel with his horse across the continent.  He had little more than $100 in his pocket.

The tale of their travels enlightens the reader to particular needs for horses.  These include regular shoeing, feed, safe types of horse feed and the opportunity to rest between bouts of being ridden.  Gizmo sounds like he was a hardy, fit young horse but the trip wasn’t without its tolls.  Mosquito and Deer Fly bites, concerns of colic, run ins with snakes as well as daily issues with finding water and grazing.

Told through John’s eyes, the reader is taken back to a time when it truly was possible to be alone on the trail.  John had no phone, the internet wasn’t known back then and his camera did little work along the trail.

John battled bad weather, incredible storms, many hours alone with his horse as well as a black widow spider bite.  He encountered some incredible characters, many generous enough to offer stabling, food and a bed for the night along his trails.  And he even encountered some not so nice characters who seemed bent on bothering him and his horse.

Man & Horse is an enlightening tale that shows the US in a time where things have drastically changed in the 21^st century.  For those who are interested in long horse rides and US geography with some history thrown in, this book is worth a look.  It’s also a great book to inspire those who have a dream that they just need to get up and pursue.

Author – John Egenes
Non Fiction – auto biography / history
In my library – as an eBook
Want it? Get it now on Amazon.

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I recently downloaded this first book in the Timeless series for free on Kindle.  Time Will Tell has some unique features in it that drew me to want to read the story.  Firstly, there’s a thoroughbred stud farm.  It is being used to help rehabilitate kids who have been through a rough patch in life.  Maybe they’ve lost a loved one and found life to be all too much – this was the case for the female protagonist Libby Edwards.

Libby finds true enjoyment in working on the farm where she was able to heal after her mother’s death.  It also helps her to forget about her disappointed father and controlling fiancé.  Twin Oaks is a place where she feels she truly belongs and is making a difference.

Secondly, the book has the added element of time travel.  What I found really unique about the story was Libby’s ability to go back in time to the same stud farm.  This is when it was just starting to flourish as a thoroughbred breeding and racing facility.

This time back in the 1800s is when the Kentucky Derby idea was first birthed and a local racetrack was being formed.  Through Libby, the reader is able to learn about this big race in the US in the 21st century.  Plus, they get to read about the men that brought the grand horse race to fruition in the first place.

Thirdly, throw in a good looking stud farm owner, undeniable chemistry and a charming love story and you have the great makings for a novel.  Time Will Tell had many horse facts.  There was a focus on my favourite industry – thoroughbreds, racing and breeding – and a great love story.  It was also a unique way to enlighten readers about the origins of the Kentucky Derby.  An enjoyable read.  The only qualm I had was that a mare named Pride in the future was referred to as a stallion for a bit of the story and then went back to being a mare.

Author – Sandy Loyd
Fiction – adult
In my library – as an eBook
Want it? Get it now on Amazon.

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The Pegasus Shortcut is a delightful short read for young and older readers alike.  Set in a time when horses are the source of transport for messengers, it focuses on an illness in a local village.  The young son of a messenger spends his time preparing horses for his father who needs to get magical crystals to help cure those who haven’t yet died from a mysterious illness.

The son is dismayed to find after his father has left that one of the crystals was left behind.  Without it, the others won’t work and the trip will have been wasted.  Worse yet, his father will have exposed himself to the illness and could potentially meet the same fate of many who have died from it.

It is obvious he must try to catch up to his father.  And yet his father is on the fastest horse there is.  Still, the young boy decides on a pony that is sure footed and fast.  He knows he is racing against time to get to his father before he reaches the village.

The Pegasus Shortcut

There is a shortcut that would allow him to achieve his goal – beat his father to the town gate.  But it is unsafe and was banned many years earlier.  He soon decides to take the risk – people’s lives are at stake.  He takes a stubborn pony and heads out over the treacherous mountain as quickly as he can.

The trip is difficult but the boy is sure he is making time.  His mount presses on steadily and when they do the inevitable and beat his father to town, he realises a little magic may have been involved – and not from the crystals.  His mount seems to have the ability to fly.

Author – Pamela Love
Fiction – children
In my library – as an eBook
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The Wild One is a horse story for young readers.  It is focused on an eleven year old boy who doesn’t seem to fit into his surroundings.  Horses feature heavily in this children’s story, but there is also a delightful tale of the Cheyenne people and their way of life.  Unfortunately for Snow Deer, although he feels at home as a Cheyenne, his tribe doesn’t agree that he belongs.

Snow Deer’s father was a white man.  The young boy inherited his father’s looks – including blonde hair – and his love for painting.  Neither seems to fit into the world of hunting for food and fading into the background of nature.  Snow Deer finds himself a victim of bullying from the other Cheyenne boys.  The young boy wonders how he can convince them he is staying.

A chance meeting with a white horse has Snow Deer finding something else that doesn’t fit in.  In time the stallion is caught but the Cheyenne conclude he’ll be no good with his pale colouring that will show up easily in the day and night.

Wanting to prove himself, Snow Deer vows to break in the white stallion.  A wild ride results in the two having the chance to change the history of the Cheyenne people for good.  The Wild One is an interesting and realistic read with a lovely horse focus.  Young readers are sure to enjoy the story.

Author – Eve Bunting
Fiction – children
In my library – that it is 🙂
Want it? Get it now on Amazon.

“A horse loves freedom, and the weariest old work horse will roll on the ground or break into a lumbering gallop when he is turned loose into the open.” ― Gerald Raftery