Name: Chosen by a Horse
ISBN: 9780156031172

Susan Richards

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 the ramp and into Susan's life. This gentle creature--malnourished, plagued by pneumonia and an eye infection--had endured a rough road, but somehow her heart was still open an 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.

A Memoir

Chosen by a Horse

By the end of the book I can say I enjoyed it. I'm still annoyed about the random jumps in narration and the sometimes overly indulgent and random descriptions. Considering I didn't realize that this was a memoir until she talked about buying Georgia in upstate New York, I can say that I feel less disappointed in her character and the characterizations of the horses. I thought the references to Ithaca were pretty hilarious, and the reverence for Cornell's veterinary institute was well deserved. In fact, the only other part that made me close to tearing up besides the end was the worker telling her that if something were wrong with her own horse, Cornell would be the first place she sent him.

My main problem with the book is her mentioning of Natural Horsemanship, and then turning to show Georgia as an insane mare brought up on that idea. The only thing that saved it was her realizing that the mare's behavior is insane, but she never actually does anything about it. In fact, all she ever really does in the book is try to save Lay Me Down.

I would have liked to see the story of Georgia more than the story of Lay Me Down, as I don't really see how Lay Me Down changed her. I see the events leading up to where she is at the end, and I understand them. I realize that Lay Me Down did change her lifestyle, but her personality basically remained static.

In fact, I would say her relationship with Hank is basically the catalyst for her emotional change and discovery of self worth, which is totally unrelated to Lay Me Down. Hank is a jerk, and I don't blame the woman for wanting a relationship for the idea of feeling wanted, because she basically never had that feeling sober. She needed it to be able to realize that she was actually worthwhile when the men around her weren't drunk, and that she could also be social when not drunk. As bad of a person she probably seems, Hank shouldn't have done that to her. Good for her to sit down and confront him and not let him convince her it was OK because it wasn't. You're supposed to end a relationship before starting a new one- period. Although she should have known that a man who would start dating before being divorced from his wife wouldn't care about ending one relationship before getting a newer, younger replacement. He probably said the same thing to his poor ex-wife about her when they went on that "not a date."

I'm not sure if I would recommend this book, though. It's a hodgepodge of a pity party and an attempt to rescue a mare that ultimately fails (of course, it's a horse book). There are some interesting moments, but they aren't very gripping and don't last long. It was more of a story about the woman with sprinklings of the horses and musings about their behavior that made them all too human.

Chosen by a Horse A Memoir

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