If I Had a Horse: How Different Life Would Be,   ISBN:9781572238848

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I bought 2 copies of this book to give as gifts and then had to buy one for myself! Not only are the photographs exquisite, but the words will touch the heart of anyone with a passion for horses, especially women -

Customer Rating: 

I purchased this book for my daughter - and avid horsewoman. We loved the video and the beautiful photography. The text and the quotes inside are an added bonus to this wonderful book.

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Most likely the best book on horses I own. It is not a horsemanship guide on the "how to's" of owning a horse, but an insirational, moving, motivating book with exceptional photo's and beautiful written words describing why women have the dream of owning a horse and that it is ok do dream this dream especially as an adult.

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Quote from the book:
"One of the earliest religious disappointments in a young girl's life devolves upon her unanswered prayer for a horse" (Phyllis Theroux)

Indeed.

The author doesn't quite capture the essence of life long yearning to be with horses; to always dream of owning your own horse and to have that dream just out of your grasp. The above quote from the book comes close to those feelings - and overall the book comes close, but doesn't quite hit the mark.

The title is a bit misleading, or perhaps my expectations got the better of me; the author already lives with horses, has horses of her own, and is in daily contact with horses. Thus, I couldn't quite make the bridge between "If I had a horse" and "how different life would be" within the pages of this book. The text and quotes are more zen like in approach and philosophy, rather than describing life-altering changes.

Nevertheless, this is a BEAUTIFUL book. The text is honest, thoughtful, spiritual and philosophical. The photographs in this book are equally beautiful, and truly compliment the text superbly. The photographer has done a wonderful job capturing the essence, heart and soul of equus.

This is a slim book, less than 1/2" thick, and only 128 pages, but printed in hardcover, and bound on heavy semi-gloss paper. Every single page features full-colour photographs of horses, with the author's insightful text and selection of quotes from various sources.

My only complaint (and it perhaps is a minor one) is that the stars and inspirati of this book - the horses themselves - go unmentioned. The author goes to the trouble to name her sources for the various quotations used, in a bibliography at the back of the book, but there is no mention of who the horses are, their names, what breed, where they're from, etc.

This book also came with a DVD titled "The Beauty of Horses", featuring a generous 21- minutes of live film footage of various horse breeds, from Arabians to Gypsy Vanners, Friesians, Appaloosa's and other horses. The music is a little annoying - but not overly so. How much better it would have been to let the horses speak for themselves in this DVD: the galloping of hooves, nostrils flaring and blowing, the clip-clop of hooves along a beach, horses neighing and snorting, tails swishing, etc. Instead the filmmaker opted to overdub with music and voiceover. This is perhaps a minor complaint, as the DVD production values are really well done, and the horses captured are beautiful to look at and inspiring.

All in all, this is a wonderful addition to add to anyone's equine library, and I am sure horselover's young and old will enjoy looking at this book.

~appaloosa
11/03/2006

Customer Rating: 

If you know a horse crazy kid, buy them this book and they'll cherish it forever. The cover image is absolutely stunning, and just a taste of what is inside. Beautiful photography, moving writing and inspiring quotes. It's not for little kids, but a horse crazy girl about 9 or 10 will devour it just as much as that horse crazy 40 something. Even if you horses aren't a big part of your life, animal lovers will enjoy it just the same. The included DVD is just icing on the cake. When I was a horse obsessed 10 year old, I would cut pictures of horses out of magazines, newspapers, or anything I could get my hands on. This is the book I wish I had back then.