In this prequel to the Orange Slipknot, author Jan Young again introduces the reader to 12 year old Ben Lucas and his adventures on a large cattle ranch.
Since an accident with his father’s boss Fred that resulted in Ben needing to take the older man to hospital, the pair have developed an unexpected friendship. Although still gruff and seemingly angry all the time, Fred invites Ben to learn how to start a horse under saddle the old fashioned way.
Ben jumps at the opportunity and is amazed to find that his father’s way of ‘bucking out’ a horse isn’t the only way – and perhaps not the best. For Ben it is the temptation of getting to be the first rider on Soapsuds, his young colt that he had to forego to Fred, which helps him to keep his cool and stay patient for an opportunity to ride the colt.
Ben assumes the first day that they start work that he’ll be hopping on Soapsuds’ back. Fred has other ideas.
As Ben learns what Fred is teaching him, he realises that he must choose between two very different ways of starting horses under saddle. This becomes a particularly difficult issue for him, as his father indicates he’d like Ben to ‘buck out’ some young horses.
Starting the Colt is a great follow on from the Orange Slipknot, and a book that I enjoyed even more than the first. The characters are authentic and the horse knowledge of the author is obvious.
The book is an enjoyable read with a lot of great information. Like the Orange Slipknot, it contains a glossary of terms at the end of the novel to help enlighten those who may not be familiar with cowboy terms.
Author: Jan Young
http://www.janyoungauthor.com/
Fiction – youth
In my library? Indeed. A great and fitting follow on from the first Ben Lucas story by Jan Young.
Want it? Get it now on Amazon.
“What the colt learns in youth he continues in old age.” – French Proverb
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