A Horse Called Trouble


C.K. Volnek - 2011
    At thirteen she finds herself skeptic and suspicious, with no family, no friends, and forced to participate in horse therapy. Horse therapy “will teach trust, perseverance, respect and the value of teamwork,” or so says the program’s instructor. Tara is unconvinced. Trust only got her heart broken, perseverance only gets her put down, and no one respects or wants to team up with the misfit foster kid. At the stable, Tara meets Trouble, an angry horse bent on destroying everything and everyone around him. When Tara realizes he’s just as misunderstood and untrusting as she is, she pushes aside her fear and a special relationship is formed. Trouble trusts Tara, and Tara in turn finds hope and acceptance as well as the will to love and trust again herself. But Tara’s confidence is shaken as a great challenge looms ahead. Trouble’s manipulative owner is determined to have him destroyed because of his ‘dangerous’ nature. Tara must overcome her own limitations and fight to save the horse that has freed her heart and given her life value and meaning.

Amber's Donkey: The heart-warming tale of how a donkey and a little girl healed the scars of each other’s troubled pasts


Julian Austwick - 2016
    It was as if they understood each other’s pain. Like two broken beings, helping each other.’ When Shocks the donkey was left for dead on a farm in Ireland, no one ever thought he would make a full recovery.When Amber and her twin sister Hope were born 26 weeks premature, it was Amber who was separated from her family and rushed into theatre for an emergency tracheostomy. Her parents were given the devastating news that she had Cerebral Palsy and would be unlikely to walk or talk.Then Amber met Shocks at the Donkey Sanctuary and their lives were changed for good.This is their touching story of recovery through friendship.

Saving Izzy: The Abandoned Dog Who Stole My Heart


Jon Katz - 2010
    Having found his human, Izzy wants to go with Jon wherever he may be, and jumps fences and chews through locks to do so. Jon has been through this before with his dog Orson, and isn't sure he can cope with the responsibility and potential heartache again. But Jon's motley collection of animals - from Jesus the baby donkey to Elvis the surprisingly sociable steer, as well of course as farm manager and Border collie Rose - form an ideal refuge for Izzy. And as Jon and Izzy decide they are perfect companions, Jon realises just how much life on the farm has taught him about patience, perseverance and love.Please note, Saving Izzy is the UK title for the book published in the US as Dog Days.

Marguerite Henry's All about Horses


Marguerite Henry - 1962
    

Lady Joe


Mark Saha - 2015
    “This book touched my heart." - GoodreadsSomebody left Lee Estes in charge of the Walker place while the trainers are on the road and he manages to lose a champion cutting horse scheduled to be picked up by a buyer. The unsophisticated buyer only wants Lady Joe as a trophy horse to impress clients at a prestigious law firm, so Lee buys a cheap no-talent blue roan lookalike. When the buyer tells Lee to enter the animal in a weekend cutting for photographs, he must scramble to find a blue roan cutter to substitute for the bogus horse. By chance, the only blue roan cutter around belongs to Jim Harrison’s wife, who has no use for Lee and is about to divorce Jim. Lee persuades his best friend since high school days that there is opportunity here for Jim to save his marriage. Things go haywire from there in this humorous misadventure that takes an affectionate glimpse at the sport of cutting and becomes a trenchant comment on the future of the horse in a world where it is no longer essential to everyday life.

Alan The Christmas Donkey: The little donkey who made a big difference


Tracy Garton - 2016
    But after a devastatingly difficult winter, with sky high bills, she didn't know if she could afford to carry on - or if she had the physical strength to keep going. Then, in the first week of January, the phone rang. A donkey had been abandoned 130 miles away. Rushing to his rescue Tracy found Alan - forlorn, balding and shivering - tethered up tightly in a supermarket car park. Barely able to walk on his painfully overgrown hooves, he had been left to die. Tracy ran her hands gently over Alan's protruding ribs, and whispered in his ear: 'Don't worry boy, I won't give up on you.' Over the next twelve months, as Tracy grappled with attacks from vandals and perilous flash floods and desperately tried to raise money, Alan gradually recovered - turning into a loveable rogue. As Christmas rolled around, Tracy was too worried about the future to enjoy the festive season. She had no idea that the shy skinny animal she'd rescued was going to give her the greatest gift of all . . . For animal lovers everywhere, Alan The Christmas Donkey is a funny, warm and inspiring read.

Fly-Fishing the 41st: Around the World on the 41st Parallel


James Prosek - 2003
    . . . he has taken us on an unforgettable journey.” — Thomas McGuane, author of The Cadence of Grass and The Longest Silence: A Life in FishingThe New York Times has called James Prosek "the Audubon of the fishing world," and in Fly-Fishing the 41st, he uses his talent for descriptive writing to illuminate an astonishing adventure. Beginning in his hometown of Easton, Connecticut, Prosek circumnavigates the globe along the 41st parallel, traveling through Spain, Greece, Turkey, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, China, and Japan. Along the way he shares some of the best fishing in the world with a host of wonderfully eccentric and memorable characters.

Before You Get Your Puppy


Ian Dunbar - 2011
    "BEFORE You Get Your Puppy" covers the first three developmental deadlines covering the period of puppy selection until your puppy's first week at home. 1st Developmental Deadline: Your Education About Puppy Education - Before you search for a puppy you need to complete your education about puppy education. You need to know how to select a good puppy and how puppies work. Selecting a puppy is similar to selecting a car: Do lots of research beforehand and "test drive" a wide variety. But first, you need to learn how to drive. 2nd Developmental Deadline: Evaluating Your Prospective Puppy's Progress - Before you choose your puppy, you need to know how to assess your prospective puppy's current socialization and educational status. Regardless of breed or breeding, if socialization, housetraining, and basic manners are not well underway by eight weeks of age, the puppy is already developmentally retarded. 3rd Developmental Deadline: Errorless Housetraining & Chewtoy-Training Make certain that an errorless housetraining and chewtoy-training program is instituted from the very first day your puppy comes home.

Eclair Goes to Stella's


M. Weidenbenner - 2014
    She does a wonderful job of developing the characters and deals with difficult issues in a kid-friendly way. Readers will be quickly drawn into this story and want to keep reading. There are so many dimensions to this story--it is filled with humor, action, and emotion--a great read!” --Award-winning children's book author, Crystal Bowman.When Eclair's mother leaves home, Eclair and her little sister must go live on a farm with Stella, their eccentric grandma.“More and more, grandparents today are assuming the role of part-time or even full-time caregivers for their grandkids. In Eclair Goes to Stella's, we see how one grandmother bravely and creatively steps into this role to help her family through a difficult situation. I'm certain that children everywhere will be able to relate to the range of emotions that little Éclair faces as she struggles to adjust to her new living arrangements then begins to welcome the love and care her grandmother offers.” ~ Renee Gray-Wilburn, co-author of Grandparenting Through Obstacles: Overcoming Family Challenges to Reach Your Grandchildren for Christ (Pix-N-Pens, 2012).There is a growing trend in America—grandparents raising grandchildren. According to the AARP’s Grandfacts, “Across the United States, almost 7.8 million children are living in homes where grandparents or other relatives are the householders, with more than 5.8 million children living in grandparents’ homes and nearly 2 million children living in other relatives’ homes. These families are often called grandfamilies.”

The Found Dogs: The Fates and Fortunes of Michael Vick's Pitbulls, 10 Years After Their Heroic Rescue


Jim Gorant - 2017
    Scarred and scared and initially bound to be euthanized, the dogs were saved by a fearless team of advocates who fought for their rights and futures. Now, on the tenth anniversary of the bust, The Lost Dogs author Jim Gorant picks up their stories where he left off, tracking the striving and thriving, trials and triumphs, and happiness and heartbreaks that have characterized their lives. The Found Dogs brings the story of The Lost Dogs full circle.

Mary King: The Autobiography


Mary King - 2009
    In her two Caveliers—Call Again Cavalier and Imperial Cavalier—she has two of the very best event horses in the world. Mary Kings's success in the world of eventing has been hard won. She does not come from a privileged background. Her first pony was the ancient "cast off" from the local vicar's children—and success with this pony gave her an iron will to succeed. To support herself in the early days she had a variety of unglamorous jobs—including butcher delivery rounds and cleaning out toilets in the local campsite. Her talent was apparent from very early on and she first competed at Badminton in 1985, had her first win there on King William in 1992, and had her second on Star Appeal in 2000. Just when everything seemed to be going well she suffered a terrible fall in 2001 and broke her neck but she was back competing at the very top level the following year. Mary King's story is fascinating and inspiring for anyone with an interest in equestrian sports.

The Garden in the Clouds: From Derelict Smallholding to Mountain Paradise


Antony Woodward - 2010
    This is a warm, witty memoir of one man's unlikely quest to create out of a mountainous Welsh landscape a garden fit for inclusion in the prestigious Yellow Book - the 'Gardens of England and Wales Open for Charity' guide - in just one year.

The Barf Diet: For Dogs and Cats: Using Evolutionary Principles


Ian Billinghurst - 2001
    Ian Billinghurst was written to help pet owners either understand or expand their knowledge of evolutionary diets for both dogs and cats. It contains important background research from his first two books together with lots of new information. Experienced "BARFers" will benefit from a number of new suggested recipes and practical information to assist in the home production of BARF diets - now everyone can do the BARF diet for their pets!

Center of Attention: A True Crime Memoir


Jami D. Brown Martin - 2020
    The photo looks completely out of place on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list where it’s been since December, 8, 2007. For eight of those years, Jason appeared directly beside Osama Bin Laden. Bin Laden is long gone, but Jason is still wanted for armed robbery and murder.For years, his sister, Jami D. Brown Martin has watched the true crime programs and read the amateur investigative blogs devoted to Jason, his crime, and the efforts to apprehend him knowing the story wasn’t as simple, nor was it just Jason’s. To be the sister, brother, or relative of one of the world’s most wanted men is to live every day with the horrible truth and many consequences of his brutal act.CENTER OF ATTENTION is the story of a former Mormon missionary turned murderer. It is also a riveting look behind the facade of the genetically blessed, seemingly prominent and pious Brown family of Laguna Beach, California. It is a tale of the family patriarch, John Brown, who disappeared without a trace ten years before his son. More important, it is the gripping and ultimately hopeful story of the sister of one of the world’s most wanted fugitives and her journey to accept that despite being a product of the same crazy environment as her brother, her life and path are her own.

Zen Mind, Zen Horse: The Science and Spirituality of Working with Horses


Allan J. Hamilton - 2011
    They use this energy, called chi, to communicate with their herd, express dominance, and sense predators. Hamilton shares safe, simple techniques to make you more receptive to your animal’s chi, so you can develop a calm and effective training style that will not only help your horse follow commands, but strengthen the spiritual bond between horse and rider.