Carole, Lisa and Stevie have been offered an incredible opportunity in Pack Trip, book 18 of the Saddle Club series. Their friend Kate Devine has called with a request for them to join her and Christine on a pack trip in the mountains.

The first obstacle is to determine how they will afford the trip. When they are able to find a solution to this problem, it is then a question of Stevie convincing her parents that she can go – and that she’ll get on top of her homework before the end of the trip.

There are three other riders who will be going on the trip also and it seems that they’re each matched to the Saddle Club! Stevie has found a fellow trickster in Amy, whilst Lisa is drawn to Amy’s brother, Seth. Carole is rapt to be able to consistently talk horses with John.

As the trip progresses, Amy gets more impulsive.  This then causes the others to question if she is fun or just plain dangerous. Seth is desperate to protect his sister and Lisa finds herself drawn into their drama as she works to help Seth. Stevie recognises the issue before anyone else and calls a Saddle Club meeting – it’s time to intervene! But can the other girls convince Lisa to see reason – and before Amy does something that puts them all in danger?

Pack Trip is an action packed novel by Bonnie Bryant that is full of adventure and horses, of course. It’s nice to find Kate and Christine in the picture again and the trip is well described. An interesting and also entertaining read.

Author: Bonnie Bryant
Fiction – pre and early teenage years.
In My Library? Yes, along with many others.
Want it? Get it now on Amazon.

The first book in the Sonrise Stable series, Rosie and Scamper was downloaded for free from the Sonrise Stable website. This series focuses on horses and the Christian faith.  It is aimed at pre-teens.

Rosie and Scamper takes a journey over a couple of years. The reader is first introduced to young Rosie and her adventures with her grandmother who owns and loves horses. Rosie loves her grandmother’s pony Jet and is excited at the prospect of Jet having a foal. When Scamper comes along however, the situation is far from pleasant.

Rosie learns to work with Scamper whilst he is young, improving his ground manners and training. A couple of years later she is even able to get on his back and learn right along with him. During this journey, Rosie becomes acquainted with the neighbours’ foster daughter, Carrie.

Although they have a rocky start, the two become firm friends and Carrie learns to ride and love horses, too. Rosie and Scamper looks at horse ownership and care and the Christian faith. Rosie’s grandmother has many bible verses and stories to help explain things in life. She is a very loving and knowledgeable character.

Carrie learns in time how wonderful Rosie’s parents, cousins and aunts and uncles are, too. As she comes to love Rosie’s family, Carrie is delighted by a request of theirs at the end of the story. Rosie and Scamper is a beautiful tale for young readers with a lot of horse information, plenty of bible verses and much adventure. The book is concluded with an interview with a horse trainer and details about horse hair jewellery that was referenced in the story for readers to learn about.

Author – Vicki Watson
Fiction – children
In my library – On Kindle it is.
Want it? Get it now on Amazon.

This is a non fiction horse book that I recently downloaded for free on Kindle. Finding Your Equine Soul Mate: A Guide to Buying Your First Horse is an easy to read guide for first time horse buyers. It is broken up into the areas of getting started, finding a horse trainer, determining your budget and what you want in a horse. After this, the reader learns about horse shopping, the purchase process, bringing the horse home, horse auctions and some final thoughts.

I believe this book to be of value particularly because it is written by someone who is in the know. Michele has a background with horses – owning, competing, training and instructing others. She is therefore able to guide first time buyers about what to look out for when purchasing their dream horse.

Interspersed through the chapters are stories from other people about purchasing experiences. Some of these are incredible and scary – there are some not nice characters in the horse selling world!

When looking at what the buyer would like in a horse, different disciplines are explained. For those who want to know more, various books and websites are provided as reference points for the reader. This was a nice added bit of value.

The book seemed to me to have a particularly American focus, when I feel the topic is relevant to anyone around the world. It didn’t however detract from the information in the book; there were just some terms or assumptions that indicated buying a horse in the United States. Finding Your Equine Soul Mate by Michele Cook is an easy to understand book with valuable information for those looking to invest in their first horse.

Author – Michele Cook
Non Fiction – adult
In my library – On Kindle it is.
Want it? Get it now on Amazon.

It seems to be a time for non fiction horse books for me! I recently finished reading The Infinite Magic of Horses by Candida Baker. This was a book I was gifted back in 2009 but have only now taken the time to sit down and read!  I love the cover – it’s gorgeous.

Perhaps half of the chapters within the book are written by Candida herself. The chapters may be as short as a couple of pages, or half a dozen or so pages long. Each chapter is a separate story about horses and how they have impacted someone’s life for the better. The lessons learned from each contributor in the book work together to provide a great collection of short stories for the horse enthusiast.

In between the stories, a collection of beautiful photos can be found on the pages. Many of these horse photos are also accompanied by a horse quote on the following page. This is a nice touch and breaks up the book really well.

The Infinite Magic of Horses by Candida Baker

Some of the stories are by well known horse people or trainers – such as Frank Bell – and others by humble horse owners.  The Infinite Magic of Horses book is a really interesting read with some truly touching stories. Each story explores different breeds and disciplines that can be found with horses. It even shows how the equine species has lifted people up out of depression and other threatening situations.

This was a great gift from a friend.  It is also one I am sure would be a blessing to anyone else it is purchased for.

Author – Candida Baker
Non Fiction – adult
In my library – That it is!  As a paperback.
Want it? Get it now on Amazon.

I was recently given the opportunity to read another horse book in time for it’s release. This one is another non fiction book – Spike by Alyssa knee. It focuses around a warmblood gelding named Spike. His owner Alyssa Knee details in the book how she came to own Spike and her challenges with managing his condition.

Spike suffers from lordosis, a congenital condition that affects the horse’s spine. Because of his condition, he has an extreme sway back. Consequently, fitting saddles is extremely difficult, which can greatly affect his comfort whilst being ridden.

Alyssa explains in her book Spike what challenges she has encountered as an owner of a lordotic horse. She explores too the misconceptions about the condition as well as the various professionals she has engaged to ensure the wellbeing of her horse.

Prior to reading Spike, I had heard of lordosis.  However, I wasn’t actually familiar with what it is or how it affects the horse – and the horse’s owner! This book is a good start to opening people’s eyes about a condition that greatly affects horses that have it. Alyssa is able to show how affected horses can have a normal life, in spite of needing to be managed specially with regards to fitting tack.

Alyssa highlights the research she undertook to learn about Spike’s condition, the best type of saddle to fit to him and other things she could do to help him live a normal life and ensure his welfare. She even mentions a Facebook group that has been set up for owners of lordotic horses.

I found all of these points interesting to read about.  However, I was disappointed to not have any reference points to check them out myself! This book was an insightful read that could be further improved by having a list of references for further reading at the end. The story of Spike is concluded with a list of questions and answers and some photos over the years. For those interested in reading about a horse with lordosis from the point of view of the owner, Spike is your go to book.

Author – Alyssa Knee
Non Fiction – adult
In my library – as an eBook it is.
Want it? Get it now on Amazon.