A Good Horse Has No Color [Hardcover]

Nancy Marie Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2001

After several visits to study the medieval Icelandic sagas, Nancy Marie Brown returns to Iceland to search for the perfect horse, one she can bring back to her Pennsylvania farm and make her own. She arrives shaken by tragedy, uncertain of the language, lacking confidence in her riding skills, but determined to make her search a success. She finds inspiration in the country’s austere and majestic landscape, which is alive with the ghosts of an adventure-filled past. In the glacier-carved hinterland, she rides a variety of Icelandic horses—some spirited, willful, even heroic; others docile, trusting, or tame. She also meets an assortment of horse owners, who can be as independent and stubborn as the animals they breed. Little by little, visiting legendary horse farms, watching skillful riders, taking sea-splashed treks with opinionated experts, she opens herself up to the strange and wonderful world she’s entered. She discovers what makes Icelandic horses unique—why they are celebrated in glorious sagas and protected by national law. She also learns much about herself as a horsewoman and, more importantly, discovers what she is really looking for, in a horse and in her life. Evocative, clear-headed, and richly described, this book is for anyone who has at some time in their life searched for something perfect.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books (July 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811707040
• ISBN-13: 978-0811707046
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,553,431 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #81 in Books > Travel > Europe > Iceland

More About the Author

I like extremes: Science and sagas. Science and faith. History and fantasy. The Dark Ages and modern times. Fire and ice. My books combine extremes. They ask, What have we overlooked? What have we forgotten? What knowledge must not be lost? For 21 years, I worked as a science writer at a university. Now I write from a farm in northern Vermont, where the days are quiet and cool. Four Icelandic horses graze outside my office window. Every few years I take an adventure--and write a book about it.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Horses from the Land of Fire and Ice, August 6, 2001

By 

Sandra L. Newkirk (Shenandoah Junction, WV USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Good Horse Has No Color (Hardcover)

This wonderfully written, beautiful book is the perfect guide for the U.S. horse enthusiast who has discovered the magic of the Icelandic horse. While every Icelandic has a magic to it embued by 1,000 years of culture and its direct ties to the Viking times and spirit, not every Icelandic horse will fit the riding style and dreams of every U.S. rider. These horses are loved because they are different from what we know: they are self-assured, friendly, beautiful, and comfortable--but they are different, and building a successful, "joyful" partnership with an Icelandic horse requires these differences to be understood and respected. Nancy's chronicle of her own search for the perfect Icelandic horse--at times hilarious--at times deeply moving--always insightful-- relays a practical wisdom regarding the Icelandic horse that only comes from knowledge, personal experience and astute reflection. It is a tremendous boon, not only to the interest of the book, but also to Nancy's understanding of the horse, that she long has been a student of Icelandic language and culture.

Nancy's search is almost archytypal for many US riders: middle aged, novice riders looking for more of a personal experience than they can get from a weary school horse; and--looking for the almost mythically beautiful, brave and smooth-gaited horse that will carry them safely through the most rugged of landscapes. As Nancy discovers, finding the perfect Icelandic, is not a search for external qualities,like color or flash, but for qualities of mind and soul. Nancy's insights are not confined just to the Icelandic horse, but show us clear pictures of the Icelandic people who live with this horse and who share its geography and its culture on the most elemental level. Practical and astutue, this is a MUST READ for any American interested in buying an Icelandic horse. Articulate, romantic, culturally intruguing, this is a MUST READ for anyone who loves good travel writing.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars satisfied my fantasy, November 5, 2006

By 

D. Greenspace (PA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Good Horse Has No Color (Hardcover)

I saw this book in Iceland and couldn't afford it so I ordered it from amazon.com as soon as I got home. After a two hour tear around the countryside on an Icelandic horse I craved more. The author is a more experienced rider than I but not so experienced as she thought she was at first and her detailed descriptions of her rides on different horses and the differences between riding in the US and in Iceland were fascinating to me. I don't know if I will ever get the chance to return to Iceland and do a real horse trek but this book was the next best thing.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, April 5, 2009

By 

Alicia "Viking girl" (Woodstown, NJ) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Good Horse Has No Color (Hardcover)

I really enjoy Nancy Marie Brown's work. Her combination of research, saga, memoir and just great writing make this a book a good read. If you like Icelandic culture, want to learn about Icelandic horses, like sagas or want to explore Iceland from an arm chair this is a nice book. I recommend having a map of Iceland nearby so that you can see where the towns, farms and geographic and historic features are located. There are tiny maps at the beginning of the book-- I found them too small. I kept reading a chapter, finding more research, reading a chapter, googling a topic, reading a chapter, then looking up a saga, asking questions or friends, family and the author-- the circle continues. When completed two others will borrow my book. Enjoy.