Gift Horse

Winnie the Horse Gentler #6

by Dandi Daley Mackall

Twelve-year-old Winnie Willis has a way with horses. Along with her dad and sister, Lizzy, Winnie is learning how to live without her mom--who was also a natural horse gentler. As Winnie teaches her horses about unconditional love and blind trust, God shows Winnie that he can be trusted as well. Readers will be hooked on the series' vivid characters, whose quirky personalities fill Winnie's life with friendship and adventure.Gift When a mysterious horse, soon discovered to be sick and with foal, appears in Winnie's pasture, she's suddenly faced with life and death. Just as Christmas arrives, Winnie learns an unforgettable lesson about sacrificial love and God's Christmas gift to the world.

Genres: Horses, Contemporary, Christian Fiction, Fiction, Christian, Middle Grade, Childrens

224 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2003

About the author

A professional writer for over 20 years, Dandi Daley Mackall has written dozens of articles for popular magazines and published around 500 books for children and adults alike, with sales of over 4 million.

A frequent guest on radio and television talk shows, she lives in rural Ohio with her husband, three children, horses, dogs, & cats. Awards include the Edgar Award for Best YA Mystery, the Helen Keating Ott Award for Contributions to Children's Literature; Distinguished Alumni Award from Mizzou; ALA Best Book; Christian Children's Book of the Year, Amelia Bloom, Mom's Choice Awards. Her YA novel, My Boyfriends' Dogs, is now a Hallmark movie.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the sadest, and suspencfull book in the series. Be prepared to cry. lol

[Bcs (Sarah. B) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gift Horse Dandi Daley Mackall
Five Stars

Her Christmas shopping interrupted Winnie rushes to her home to find a mysterious horse by her barn.

Overview:

Profanity/language: None

romance/sex: None

Adventure/Action: Light

Faith: Strong

Other: There is mention of a birth... nothing overly described.

Winnie is given an old, sick horse from a mysterious person. She and her friends do all they can to help the horse, especially after they learn something surprising. Winnie also must learn of the sacrifice of God’s love through the horse’s action.

The story was very, very good. I really like the idea of a mysterious horse who is near death, showing up, and the person you least expect is the one who saved the horse... This is my favourite in this series, though perhaps that is because M gets a stronger appearance in 
it. I did not see any inconsistencies or holes in the story, and it had no points where it dragged.
I truly find Winnie hard to believe sometimes, as she seems to be part horse but… I liked how she continues to grow throughout the series. I 
like Catman, Lizzy, M, Barker… and the rest, though Catman’s parents are a tad creepy to me...

Thoughts/Favourites:

My favourite part(s) is when M is with Mason... it is just so cool how they connect.

Favourite quote (without too many spoilers) is this:

“It’s not so bad being an orphan,” M said quietly. “Not when great people adopt you.”

Favourite Character: M… I know, I know I may be going on and on about him but still.   He is very interesting. And the sad thing is I know that I 
will not get to know more about him...

Feeling going away from it: Contented... I really liked this book.

Five-star book perfect for middle school age and up. Going on my favourites shelf.

[Emory Ivie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Winifred Willis is a young teen, and she has a gift - she can communicate with horses. After her mom passed away, Winnie uses everything she learned to help horses in need, and not by breaking them - but by gentling them. In this exciting, 8-book series, Winnie gets to help all kinds of different horses with all kinds of different problems, and through her struggle to make friends and convincing her dad not to move again, she will finally discover her true place in this world.

I loved this Christian-based series. Through the author's descriptive writing, she places you right in Winnie's shoes. This page-turner is perfect for girls ages 9 to 13, and not only is the storyline entertaining, but Mackall teaches the reader all about horses and good training techniques. Learn how to communicate with your own horse (or a neighboring farm's horse if you don't have one) in this great read!

[Becca Avila · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read all 8 Winnie books and think that they a great.

This 6th book I loved, I loved that it was set around Christmas time. Grace was the perfect name for the horse.

I love the idea of the help pet line, I wish there was one. If you do know of one please contact me. If there isn’t one I might just make one myself. I’ll post on my profile on Goodreads if I do end up making a help pet line.

-Becca (ba758369@gmail.com)

[Gracie Schlabach · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most endearing horse stories of the entire series, I always read this one straight through without stopping, always rooting for Gracie to get better, unfortunately such is the way of life, she did not. A great lesson for me when I first read this series at age 10, some stories do not end happy, and the way they were able to get through the loss and rally for her foal was heartwarming.

[AnneDrawsArt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth,
I love reading this series, its so cool.
Amelia.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would recommend this book-and the rest of the series-to ALL horse lovers... and I mean ALL. The whole series is just a great one in general. (Have a box of tissues near the end).

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

See the first book in the series for a full review.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m almost crying because of
what Gracie did for her foal😥

[Elivia Kanatiquelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing Grace: amazing life! Love the picture of a mother's love/sacrifice compared to Jesus'!

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these books when I was younger, and when I went back and re-read them, enjoyed them just as much. I appreciate how much Winnie grows in each book, yet that no one grows too unbelievably much.

Thank you Dandi Daley Mackall for eight great books!

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked that in this book Winnie had to figure out how to talk to someone about Jesus who did not know much about Him. I also liked that she had to learn not to be ashamed that her family did not have much money.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Go, Run to your pasture,Now!" The words set Winnie the Horse Gentler of
on a mysetry.Winnie finds an old,pregnant mare in her pasture.

[Anna Ritzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really great book!!

[Wangũi Ng'ang'a · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an okay book. :) A little too horsey, but readable nevertheless.

[Trinity · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that this was an adorable book!