Hoof Prints: More Stories from Proud Spirit
The Horses of Proud Spirit   (2003) introduced readers to Bowles and her untiring devotion to abused, abandoned, and neglected horses. Hoof Prints, her latest book, describes in more detail her horse sanctuary, Proud Spirit. Operating on the philosophy that horses have an integral worth unrelated to serving humankind, Melanie and her husband, Jim, provide a haven for horses to live out the remainder of their lives in safety, without stalls, and among their own kind. Her stories are a delight to read as well as wake-up calls to all who love animals. One moment she charms her readers with a tale about how she and her niece seduced a recalcitrant burro into a trailer, and in the next, she educates us on the ghastly practice of soring a horse’s hooves to produce a gait called the big lick. Bowles writes beautifully, adding to the pleasure of this celebration of horses and eloquent plea to horse owners to treat these magnificent animals with kindness and respect. --Pamela Crossland