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Horse Facts
Not yet published
Expected 1 Jan 99Binding Unknown, Date not stated
157 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 17, 2018
Great pictures and good info, but they ruined having a four star mark because they put in evolution info, huff!
April 10, 2016
Oh Horse Facts, I remember you.
Let me start this review with a tale, a tale about a little girl who loved horses, one who hadn't yet discovered the joy of riding.
It all started when a dusty book was pulled from a shelf, a book called Horse Facts, by a little girl. The girl had opened the book, turned to the very first page, and began to read. Magic happened that day, pure magic.
Afterward, this girl read this book on trips, in her room, on the sofa. Reading pages she'd already read, dreaming about one day having a horse of her own. She'd read every page, that girl. She'd imagined every horse breed that the book so vividly described, her eyes devoured the illustrations while her mind ate up the words. She loved them all, from Arabians to Quarter Horses, Shires to Appaloosas, the lesser-known horse breeds to the ones that are gone now but live on in the pages of that book. She adored each page, often going to a random page and immediately naming the breed.
This girl, who had never known what it was like to fly, she loved that book. She would pretend she was a horse expert in her room, talking about various breeds like she knew them by heart. And because of that book, she did. She knew all the different coat colors, blue roan, liver chestnut, dun, she knew them all! The different markings: star, stripe, snip! Stocking, sock, cornet!
She marveled that horses could be blue and gold, that Isabella horses could be so small and Shires so big! There seemed to be so many different types of horses, and she wanted to ride them all!
At this time the girl was taking lessons now, after years of yearning and begging her parents for them. It was a Christmas promise her mom had made, and it was finally coming true.
But she still didn't know. She didn't know what it was like to hear the music of galloping hooves, or to feel one-thousand pounds of power and grace beneath her, as one with her. The first time she loped, she yelped and stopped the horse immediately, as timid as a lamb.
As her lessons grew more challenging, the girl made frequent trips to the library, checking out every horse book there was. She spent many hours reading books that the other lesson girls would push away in disinterest. The girl was always so proud when her riding instructor would praise her for getting an answer correct.
Even when she'd read it so many times, she still kept her special book close.
Now that girl has grown. And she knows what it's like to fly. She knows power and grace. She knows the feeling when you know there's no other place you'd rather be than with your horse. Oh, yes, she knows. Everyday when she saddles her horse and flies, she remembers the time when she didn't know that feeling, she remembers the pure joy of riding a horse for the first time, she remembers how her mouth would stretch into a grin and stay that way for the rest of the ride.
The girl now doesn't yelp when her horse lopes, she urges her horse into a gallop, craving the speed and thrill. While other riders grip the saddle horn, she grips the reins with both hands, because you don't have enough control with just one.
The girl now doesn't shake fearfully on a trail ride, instead she points her horse to the steepest hill, knowing her horse can do it. The girl now doesn't quit when she falls off, she gets right back on. If she gets bucked off, dirt will fly.
And when the girl finds this book again, after all those years, even when she reads this book now, pointing out mistake after mistake, she still remembers. Even when she knows more now, she still becomes entranced by its pages, as if learning it all again.
And when the girl looks back, she smiles a bittersweet smile, because life goes by so fast, and things change so much. But there's still the memories, and there's still this book.
Let me start this review with a tale, a tale about a little girl who loved horses, one who hadn't yet discovered the joy of riding.
It all started when a dusty book was pulled from a shelf, a book called Horse Facts, by a little girl. The girl had opened the book, turned to the very first page, and began to read. Magic happened that day, pure magic.
Afterward, this girl read this book on trips, in her room, on the sofa. Reading pages she'd already read, dreaming about one day having a horse of her own. She'd read every page, that girl. She'd imagined every horse breed that the book so vividly described, her eyes devoured the illustrations while her mind ate up the words. She loved them all, from Arabians to Quarter Horses, Shires to Appaloosas, the lesser-known horse breeds to the ones that are gone now but live on in the pages of that book. She adored each page, often going to a random page and immediately naming the breed.
This girl, who had never known what it was like to fly, she loved that book. She would pretend she was a horse expert in her room, talking about various breeds like she knew them by heart. And because of that book, she did. She knew all the different coat colors, blue roan, liver chestnut, dun, she knew them all! The different markings: star, stripe, snip! Stocking, sock, cornet!
She marveled that horses could be blue and gold, that Isabella horses could be so small and Shires so big! There seemed to be so many different types of horses, and she wanted to ride them all!
At this time the girl was taking lessons now, after years of yearning and begging her parents for them. It was a Christmas promise her mom had made, and it was finally coming true.
But she still didn't know. She didn't know what it was like to hear the music of galloping hooves, or to feel one-thousand pounds of power and grace beneath her, as one with her. The first time she loped, she yelped and stopped the horse immediately, as timid as a lamb.
As her lessons grew more challenging, the girl made frequent trips to the library, checking out every horse book there was. She spent many hours reading books that the other lesson girls would push away in disinterest. The girl was always so proud when her riding instructor would praise her for getting an answer correct.
Even when she'd read it so many times, she still kept her special book close.
Now that girl has grown. And she knows what it's like to fly. She knows power and grace. She knows the feeling when you know there's no other place you'd rather be than with your horse. Oh, yes, she knows. Everyday when she saddles her horse and flies, she remembers the time when she didn't know that feeling, she remembers the pure joy of riding a horse for the first time, she remembers how her mouth would stretch into a grin and stay that way for the rest of the ride.
The girl now doesn't yelp when her horse lopes, she urges her horse into a gallop, craving the speed and thrill. While other riders grip the saddle horn, she grips the reins with both hands, because you don't have enough control with just one.
The girl now doesn't shake fearfully on a trail ride, instead she points her horse to the steepest hill, knowing her horse can do it. The girl now doesn't quit when she falls off, she gets right back on. If she gets bucked off, dirt will fly.
And when the girl finds this book again, after all those years, even when she reads this book now, pointing out mistake after mistake, she still remembers. Even when she knows more now, she still becomes entranced by its pages, as if learning it all again.
And when the girl looks back, she smiles a bittersweet smile, because life goes by so fast, and things change so much. But there's still the memories, and there's still this book.
August 30, 2012
This book fueled my horse obsession period.
January 28, 2018
Wonderful
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews