Chosen by a Horse: How a Broken Horse Fixed a Broken Heart

by Susan Richards

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▾LibraryThing recommendations

The Man Who Listens to Horses by Monty Roberts (1991)
Chosen Forever by Susan Richards (2008)
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Riding Lessons by Sara Gruen (2004)
Same series: Flying Changes (Annemarie Zimmer)
The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss (2007)

Wild About Horses: Our Timeless Passion for the Horse by Lawrence Scanlan (1998)
Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper (2009)
From Baghdad, With Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava by Jay Kopelman (2006)
Wesley the Owl by Stacey O'Brien (2008)
Horse People: Scenes from the Riding Life by Michael Korda (2003)

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Showing 1-5 of 32 (next | show all)

What a wonderful heart warming story. If you have ever loved a pet this is a story to read. (

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lyn369 | Sep 22, 2012 |

I really loved this book! I can so relate to the rescue of a horse as well as healing from caring for and interacting with a horse. I laughed and cried right along with Susan on her journey. A really great read! (

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hitchcockbe44 | Jun 6, 2012 |

This is a memoir of a woman in her fifties who owns several horses but takes in an abused horse. I liked learning about the trials of owning a horse, horse personalities and behavior. The book also had much about the author's thoughts on her life and difficulties, some of which I could relate to. Overall, I thought it was well-written and found the author and her horses very likeable. (

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gaylebutz | Aug 8, 2011 |

I can't say this is great literature, but I sure enjoyed it. If you love horses, and especially if you're a woman of a certain age, you will love this book. There were times when I was crying so hard I could barely see, but there were many times I "smiled out loud". Know that this can be a tear jerker, but it's quite true to life. And the equestrian details are mostly spot on (it really bugs me when they get those wrong).

lindyfoster | Jun 23, 2011 |

This is a surprisingly wonderful, honest memoir about how one reluctant rescuer was chosen a horse who saved her life - not the other way around, like it was supposed to be. That said, Richards DID foster, and then adopt, "Lay me Down" after the horse's life of misery at the hands of a breeder/hoarder (then acquisition by the SPCA); and she spoiled that horse with the love and care she never had. The wonder of this book is what the author learns from this gentle soul of a horse and how she grows, so I do not want to say much and "spoil" the beauty of that unfolding. While a sad book, it is also a hopeful one. I believe anyone (but particularly women) who has had a rough past/childhood/marriage/relationship and loves animals will get a lot out of this parallel lives story. It's also a quiet one about the wisdom of choosing sobriety and facing the problems of life, through love and hope, and not escape, despite how hard that might be. Highly recommended. (

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CarolynSchroeder | May 22, 2011 |

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Chosen by a Horse: How a Broken Horse Fixed a Broken Heart

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Epigraph

Dedication

This book is dedicated with love to Allie Dorion, and to my niece and nephews. Marguerite, Nate, and Evan Richards, because they fill my heart with joy.

First words

It was a cold March day and the horse paddock at the SPCA was full of mud.

Quotations

Whatever sanity I had was thanks to writers, to books that either helped me forget my troubles or helped me understand them. I was one of those people who thought the answer to everything was in a book. To me, the phone book was a book. I could hardly believe we got it free.

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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0156031175, Paperback)

The horse Susan Richards chose for rescue wouldn’t be corralled into her waiting trailer. Instead Lay Me Down, a former racehorse with a foal close on her heels, walked right up that ramp and into Susan’s life. This gentle creaturemalnourished, plagued by pneumonia and an eye infectionhad endured a rough road, but somehow her heart was still open and generous. It seemed fated that she would come into Susan’s paddock and teach her how to embrace the joys of life despite the dangers of living.

An elegant and often heartbreaking tale filled with animal characters as complicated and lively as their human counterparts, this is an inspiring story of courage and hope and the ways in which all loveeven an animal’shas the power to heal.

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 03 Jan 2013 22:54:41 -0500)

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"A new chapter opens for Susan Richards when she agrees to care for an abused horse rescued by the local SPCA." "Her life has been difficult: her mother died when she was five and she was sent to live with unsympathetic and abusive relatives; she married unhappily and was divorced; she'd been an alcoholic. Now, at the age of forty-three, she lives with three horses who keep her company: diva-like Georgia, a Morgan mare, and Tempo and Hotshot, both quarter horse geldings." "At the SPCA Susan finds twenty sick, exhausted mares, together with their foals, milling about the muddy paddock. The horse she selected by name is impossible to find among the panicked herd. So, when an emaciated bay mare stumbles up the ramp to the trailer, followed by her foal, Susan agrees to take her. The mare's name is Lay Me Down, and with her arrival, Susan finds that she has acquired more than a horse: she has found a friend whose unstinting love makes it possible for Susan, in turn, to heal from the wounds that she has suffered, and respond to love."--BOOK JACKET.… (more)