The
Horses of Proud Spirit
by Melanie Sue Bowles
Book Review
by
Laurie Loveman
The Horses
of Proud Spirit is really three stories in one. First, it’s Melanie
Sue Bowles’ story as she tells us about her experiences with some of the
first horses who came to live at Proud Spirit. We follow Melanie’s
progress from pure novice to knowledgeable caregiver, and she tells of her
experiences just as if we were sitting on a porch, swapping horse stories
with friends who are nonjudgmental because at one time or another in the
course of our own learning process, we’ve been in Melanie’s shoes. Melanie
becomes our friend on the very first page of The Horses of Proud Spirit,
and that’s because she has the ability to make us feel her horror and disgust
at what humans do to horses, whether out of ignorance or pure malice.
In what I consider
the second story within the story, Melanie tells us the tale of each horse, unfolding
the sequence of events in her comfortable, down-to-earth manner, even when the
events are tragic. We rejoice with her when the outcome is good and weep
with her when a horse is lost.
The third story
is ours, the reader’s, because if we’ve been insulated from the terrible things
humans do to horses, Melanie opens our eyes to reality, so perhaps, if faced with
signs of abuse, we will be quicker to take action. For those of us having
cared for an abused horse (and hopefully, never as many as Mel and her husband,
Jim) we share our understanding of what she goes through with each horse.
Depending upon
whether you’re new to horses or an old-timer, you’ll either learn what’s right
when it comes to being responsible for the care of a horse, or, like what happened
with me, Melanie’s story brought back warm comforting memories of horses
I’ve known in my lifetime.
You will enjoy
The Horses of Proud Spirit and the way in which Melanie tells her story. You
will turn the last page and wish she would tell you more. You will also use
up one or more boxes of tissues by the time you close the back cover. And,
you will never again take your horses for granted.
The Horses of Proud Spirit
Melanie Sue Bowles
ISBN 1-56164-285-1 Hardcover
$18.95