Horses Never Lie about Love: The Heartwarming Story of a Remarkable Horse Who Changed the World Around Her [Hardcover]

Jana Harris (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 1, 2011

When Jana Harris moved with her husband to Washington State for a teaching job, she realized that she could also fulfill her lifelong dream of having a horse farm. And Harris knew the horse on whom she could build her dreams the minute she saw her on a ranch in the Eastern Mountains where a herd had been corralled to be sold: a beautiful, deep dark red–colored mare known as a blood bay, standing about sixteen hands, with a pretty head with a white star and a narrow stripe that slid down her face to two black nostrils. Something about the way the mare guarded her handsome foal, a black two-month-old 200-pound colt, spoke to Harris. The mare was named True Colors.

But when True Colors was delivered to Harris’s ranch three months later, she was unrecognizable. She had gone feral, run away, and been recaptured. Terrified of people, she was head-shy from the infected sores on her face and her lungs were damaged by smoke-induced pneumonia. She sensed demons hiding in everything from the scent of fabric softener on clothes to a gate in a fence. Her will to escape was enormous. This injured, traumatized horse existed between two worlds—wild and domesticated—and belonged to neither. But there were glimmers of hope: The other horses fell in love with her on sight, just as Harris had. And true to her name and herself, True Colors would never pretend to be something she was not; with her wise, intuitive nature, she would end up changing the lives of everyone she encountered, animal and human.

Horses Never Lie About Love is the story of this remarkable horse and the revelations about life and love that she gave Harris over the course of their decades together. Now thirty-three years old, this complex, magnetic animal retains the outsize personality that transforms everyone around her, both human and equine. True Colors has grown to become the heart of the range and the farm, her quiet wisdom transmitting a strength of character that transcends the thin line between animals and the humans they love. There is a famous horseman’s saying: A horse never lies about its pain. But maybe we should also consider: A horse never lies about love.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A romantic exploration of horse ownership. [A] tense psychological dance between owner and horse, as Harris tried to solve the mystery of healing and training this massive animal. In engrossing detail, Harris describes the physical challenges of horse raising." --Kirkus

Review

“A tender book, often a funny book; sad, heartrending, uplifting, exuberant and suffused with hope.”
       —Joyce Carol Oates (Joyce Carol Oates) --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books; Book Club edition (November 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1451605846
• ISBN-13: 978-1451605846
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #254,443 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #86 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Animals > Horses

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Horses Never Lie About Love November 3, 2011

By Brenda Casto

Format:Hardcover

I have always loved horses so I was anxious to read this book. In this touching book the author shares the story of True Colors a Thoroughbred horse whom she purchased from The Rocking D Ranch in May 1986. The situation was less than ideal on the ranch, the horses were allowed to run on the range and had never really been handled and were afraid of people. There was one mare that stood out for Jana Harris because of the way the horse guarded her foal. That mare turned out to be a beautiful horse named True Colors. Ms. Harris purchases True Colors and her foal along with another foal that was yet to be born, to be delivered to her farm later. While the foals were delivered on time, the breeders kept putting her off regarding the delivery of True Colors. When True Colors was finally delivered to the farm, she didn't look like the same horse. Her face had been burned and she had a persistent cough because she had gotten to close to wildfires that were going on near the Rocking D ranch.

The story the author shares in her book"Horses Never Lie About Love" is a touching story of how the author thru loving care and patience finally gained the trust of True Colors and how True Colors touched everyone around her. I really loved reading not only about True Colors but also the other horses on the Harris ranch. There was the two foals that she purchased named BeDazzeled which she nicknamed Miss Piggy and Abercrombie which she nicknamed Kermit as well as two older horses who were already on the ranch.

Reading this story I couldn't help but fall in love with the horses on Ms. Harris' ranch. She easily allows the reader to see the individual personalities of her horses and takes us along while she gains their trust.... The pictures that she includes really allowed me to connect with the horses. A heart touching, wonderfully well written memoir that I am certain that I will pick up and reread. Recommended Read more ›

30 of 35 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing and hypocritical January 11, 2012

By Barbara

Format:Hardcover

I was very disappointed in this book. From what I heard, I expected it to be an in-depth story about a particular horse and how she and the author bonded. Instead, this book was all about the author, and it never appeared that True Colors particularly bonded with her owners. To me this book never "gelled" into a story - it read more like a diary of the passing years and months and what hardships the author and her husband had to put up with in order to fullfil the "dream" of a horse farm. I kept waiting for the "heartwarming" part as the book was advertised - now we'll see some stories about how much the horses loved and interacted with their owners! But that never came across. It seemed rather prideful to me that someone would, in order to create her dream, cause countless animals to be bred, bring horses together into a herd, and then sell them for indiscriminate reasons while commenting that the horses seemed to miss each other, and while claiming to feel sad to see them go. This seems to be how the horse world is, but to me you can't have it both ways - you can't rhapsodize about the horses' connections and how much they mean to you, and then sell them because they eat too much or are getting lame or don't do the kind of trotting you like (all of which are reasons various horses go during this book). I don't mean to be harsh but by the time I made it 3/4 through the book, which took awhile because I kept putting it down, I honestly was rather sickened and could only skim the remainder. I would NOT recommend this book.

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Scary bad! January 13, 2012

By Ceecee

Format:Hardcover

I've always followed the rule that you can learn something from anyone, even if what not to do. This book is a blueprint for how NOT to work with horses. The author has superior holier-than-thou, snobbery abounds attitude. The characters in the book are described in a gossipy, innuendo laden manner. I can find nothing remotely connected with "love" in the half of this book I read (just couldn't stomach any more of it). Nor any willingness to learn. Totally disregarding the thousands of unwanted and abused "papered" horses that are sent to slaughter every year, the author repeatedly and randomly breeds and discards animals. I can only say I wouldn't want this woman around any of my horses. Save your time, money and disgust and look for something by Susan Richard, Joe Camp, or Mark Rashid. Try the Eighty Dollar Champion, the story of Snowman or Beyond the Backstretch for a compassionate knowledgeable read.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars A read I tried to love January 6, 2012

By deedledeeds

Format:Hardcover

Jana Harris is an entertaining writer and I did enjoy her book, but she's most definitely not cut out for horses. Jana's writing was charming, funny and creative. For example describing a particular horse with "the mind of a Jaguar and the body of a Mack truck." I liked her reference to using "one syllable words." And no end to the graphicly descriptive words, all of which enhanced the visual and audio of the scene. I finally got used to her referring to her horses as Mom, True Colors, T.C. or Kells, K., Kellikins, Kelly, Mr. K, etc.

Unfortunately, Jana annoyed me, in fact I disliked her. That she's a drama junkie, an uppity snob, hasn't the confidence, patience and know-how to handle young or untrained horses, is an accomplished people user, and is generally distrustful and suspicious of horses, got in the way of my liking the book more than I did. And her remark about Pit Bull dogs irked me. She was also openly critical of people she felt beneath her. But she's a great writer!

Might I suggest she try raising and showing Miniture Poodles.