DailyLit: Horses Books

The Faraway Horses

by Buck Brannaman

Description

Nearly every week of the year, Buck Brannaman is on the road, conducting horsemanship clinics in which he teaches horse owners how to better understand and work with their animals, creating a relationship based on trust and respect rather than force. Buck's skills have become legendary in fact, the main character in Robert Redford's film The Horse Whisperer was based largely on him, and he served as the director's technical adviser during the shoot. "These principles are really about life - about living your life so you're not at war with the horse, or with other people," Buck writes. At heart, this rich and rewarding autobiography is ultimately a prescription for living a harmonious existence - whether it involves horses or not.

Please note that the photographs from the book are not included in this electronic edition.

Extended Copyright Information

Originally published by The Lyons Press
An imprint of the Globe Pequot Press.

Sample Installment

Believe

by Buck Brannaman

Description

In his best-selling The Faraway Horses, Buck Brannaman, extraordinary trainer and acknowledged inspiration for The Horse Whisperer, described how he found his calling and honed his art and craft. Following the book's widespread acclaim, the universal application of Brannaman's approach to interpersonal relationships has struck a responsive chord in the equestrian community and with the public at large.

Believe continues to chronicle the man's efforts as catalyst and mentor as we meet thirteen people with whom he has worked. Through their words and through Brannaman's perceptive introductions to each essay, we experience first-hand the hope and confidence that he has instilled in them and their horses.

You will discover through these stories how many untapped dreams and abilities you, too, possess, and how you can bring them to fruition. So journey with Buck Brannaman, learn from him, and profit from the voyage.

Please note that the photographs from the book are not included in this electronic edition.

Quotes

"Others have falsely claimed to be the inspiration for Tom Booker in The Horse Whisperer. The one who truly inspired me was Buck Brannaman. His skill, understanding and his gentle, loving heart have parted the clouds for countless troubled creatures. Buck is the Zen master of the horse world."
— Nicholas Evans, author of The Horse Whisperer

"Buck Brannaman is a remarkable person. Remarkable in that he can communicate on a variety of levels - with people as well as horses - all with one desire, to help free the spirit in everyone involved."
— Jill Rappaport, Entertainment correspondent on NBC's "Today Show" and co-author "People We Know, Horses They Love."

Extended Copyright Information

Originally published by First Lyons Press
an imprint of Globe Pequot Press

Sample Installment

Conversations With A Prince

by Helen Husher

Description

In Helen Husher's warm, often funny account of returning to riding after many years away, the gravitational pull of the horse barn finds expression in the unlikely alliance between the fifty-something author and a lesson horse named Prince. Wayward and charming, Prince reopens doors that allow Husher to explore and share the essential grammar of horses - what we do with them, what we want from them, and what we hope for when we approach them - and proves that riding is a form of interspecies poetry.

Weaving together the past, the present, and classic texts like National Velvet and Black Beauty, Husher peels away the instructive and redemptive layers of our view of horses. The hard truths underneath can be painful, but also full of a mute, strange, and complicated beauty.

Written for riders and nonriders alike, Conversations with a Prince, brings to life a world of gestures, sensation, intuition, negotiation, and close observation, but the primary target is human passion. "Horse craziness," says Husher, "has certain magical, reiterative properties - good evidence that riding really does approach allegory. But riding also brings with it grief, love, work, and endless correction. These things are the opposite of allegory, and hold their magic because they refuse to turn into blurry abstractions."

Conversations with a Prince will not teach its readers how to ride, but to understand why riding matters by placing it into the larger context of a moral and engaged life, and a life vastly improved by having horses in it.

Quotes

"A convincing chronicle of the mysterious and ineffable ties that bind us to our horses and to each other."
— Matthew Mackay-Smith, DVM, Medical Editor, EQUUS and lifelong horseman

"Anybody who likes horses and motorcycles is very special in my eyes, but in writing about her relationship with 'Prince,' Helen Husher will touch the hearts of many readers who love horses and want to get to know them better."
— Michael Korda, author of Horse People

"Helen Husher has written an entertaining story about her journey with these amazing creatures that will strike a familiar chord with horse lovers as well as captivate the non-horsey set. I couldn't put it down!"
— Jane Savoie, reserve rider for the 1992 Olympic Team and author of That Winning Feeling!; It's Not Just About the Ribbons; ; and More Cross-Training

"A graceful and leisurely memoir of the author's midlife return to horseback riding after a seven-year hiatus. Husher is extraordinarily perceptive, and her observations about horses in general, and Prince in particular, are nuanced and thoughtful without drifting into sentimentality. A finely written chronicle that should charm equestrians and non-horsey types alike."
— Kirkus

Extended Copyright Information

Originally published by The Lyons Press
An imprint of The Globe Pequot Press

Sample Installment