Dark Horses and Black Beauties: Animals, Women, a Passion

by Melissa Holbrook Pierson

"Thought-provoking…A lovely testament to horses and women from all walks of life." ― Chicago Tribune In a phenomenon too prevalent to be mere chance, little girls all over the Western world wake one day to find themselves completely taken over by the love of all things equine. Melissa Holbrook Pierson was one of those horse-crazy girls who later returned to riding with a new appreciation for the nature of horses. Melding memoir, sociology, history, anecdote, and a bit of prose poetry, Dark Horses and Black Beauties delves beneath the shallow hypotheses explaining women's connection to horses to look at how this communication with another animal opens us up to a new apprehension of the larger "natural" world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Horses, Animals

258 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2000

About the author

Melissa Holbrook Pierson is the author of the acclaimed Dark Horses and Black Beauties, The Perfect Vehicle, The Place You Love Is Gone, and her newest book, The Man Who Would Stop At Nothing was published in the fall of 2011.

Reviews

[Ashton · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not an easy book to read, for several reasons. I found the book to appear to lack focus, it jumped from topic to topic, lightly touching them and I found myself wondering what was her point? She also touched on some very disturbing issues of human cruelty toward horses and toward ‘animals’ in general.
I was perplexed by her choice of photos. They were all of women and horses taken at, what appeared to be, the early years of the 20th century - over 100 years old.
I’m not sure if it was because I was reading an ebook, but, except for the final chapter or two of the books, quotes, though attributed, were not surrounded by quote marks. Why would that be?
Despite all that, I stuck to the book. If nothing else, she made me once again question how horses are treated. I ride, I have friends who own horses, some who rescue horses, but I question how we treat them. This book didn’t start the questioning for me, Temple Grandin’s book: “Animals Make Us Human” started that process. This book added to it. Keeping them separated in stalls when they are herd animals, making them go round and round in circles with a rider on their backs, treating them as property so that we can ‘lease’ a horse (this latter situation she does not address) - all of that and more makes me question our humanity.

[Book Grocer · Rating 5 out of 5]

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This is a beautiful book for women who love horses...non-riders, new riders, experienced riders. Also addressed are the many of the major issues that are being dealt with in the equine world. A great book that I’d recommend for any horse lover.

Alicia - The Book Grocer

[Danice · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not care for this book. The book jacket and Library of Congress information gave me the expectation that was not met. A combination of animal rights, advocacy against carriage horses in NYC and the ethics of horsemanship dominated the middle of the book. While those issues are an important part of the modern equestrian culture, I feel like they were not on theme with the culturally significant connection between women and horses after WWII. The book is labelled as being a psychologically themed work, therefore I found the author's strong reliance on her memoirs overshadowed the demographic. This book would be more correctly considered a psychologically based exploration of gender and the equestrian tradition post WWII, focusing on the evolution of attitudes towards animal rights and welfare, in modern times.

The best part of this book were the photographs.

[Caren · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have no words... just awful. The author turned a book about women and their passion for horses into a monolog to PETA. I didn't need to read about dog's being nailed down and cut open, slaughter houses, etc. Not everyone who is involved in horses, abuses them like this author suggests. Some of us provide amazing lives for these creatures, spending all our time and money to make sure they have good food, pasture, companionship, vet/chiropractor/acupuncture/dentist/farrier/massages and love. All their lives.

The summary on the dust jacket did not say the grisly turn the book would take and I feel tricked.

[Janelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a fan of this book.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A must read.

[Lisa Mcbroom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling psychological study of why some adoloscent young girls obsess over horses.

[Sarah - Exploring All Genres · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars