A Cut Above

Once in a while, you read a book that even though it's set in the past, is perfectly in tune with present-day happenings. That was the case with one I just finished. The title of this down-to-earth, no-nonsense bit of realism is The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss (2007). I had the opportunity to read this while I was spending two weeks at my daughter's home in Northern New Mexico. My daughter has a contract with the Forest Service to gentle the mustangs that they capture on public lands. Her entire approach to these wild beauties is with positive reinforcement, and sometimes in as little as two or three weeks, the horses she works with are ready to be adopted into a new home and receive further training. This gentle and loving attitude is almost the same as the attitude displayed by the main character in Ms. Gloss's book. The period of time was in the early 1800's, and horse training at that time was more "breaking" than "gentling". The book is very well-written, and is not one of those that romanticize the animals or the people. Give it a try -- It's excellent!