The Outside of a Horse
Grade 6-9 Hannah, 13, has always loved watching horse races on television with her father, but when she begins to help out at a local riding stable, she discovers how much more she enjoys working with real animals, especially those who have suffered abuse. She particularly loves a filly named Rega, the offspring of a Premarin mare (a pregnant horse from which urine is collected to make pharmaceuticals). When her dad returns from Iraq as an amputee suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, Hannah's work at the stable not only helps her cope with the problems at home, but also leads her to equine-assisted psychotherapy and riding therapy for her troubled father. Things improve, but Hannah will need all her strength to make a difficult decision when Rega suffers a terrible injury. Like Rorby'sHurt Go Happy(Tor, 2006), this book is laden with so many issues the problems of returning vets, various and horrifying types of abuse of horses, humane Parelli horse training methods that they nearly overwhelm the story, and the horse/human amputee metaphor becomes heavy-handed. However, this novel really shines in showing how horses can help troubled humans heal their physical and emotional wounds. There's plenty of fodder here for spirited book discussions.Kathleen E. Gruver, Burlington County Library, Westampton, NJCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.