The Horses of Proud Spirit (Hardcover)

by Melanie Sue Bowles (Author) "I've been thinking about getting a horse..." (more)
Key Phrases: dominant horse, aisle way, little mare, Proud Spirit, Miz Percy, Bob Haines (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
There are approximately seven million horses in America. Each year, over seventy thousand are abused, abandoned, and fated to slaughter by callous and irresponsible owners. With a heart as big as a pasture, author Melanie Bowles takes some of these horses into her sanctuary called Proud Spirit. Here, horses that arrive listless and broken find a home where they finally know safety.

The bond between horse and caretaker does not happen overnight. It hangs by a fine thread of trust that the author earns with endless patience and a full commitment to the well-being of the horses in her care. The horses, some of which have suffered severe abuse, astound her time and again with their ability to trust, return the love they are given, and enjoy the companionship of other horses.

You will meet a whole stableful of remarkable horses:

Dusty, a Thoroughbred who recovered from severe injuries to reveal a rambunctious personality and a knack for stealing hats;

Maddy, an old mare, and Dancer, a gallant Appaloosa, both of whom had been isolated for years but whose ecstatic first acquaintance at Proud Spirit was, mysteriously, like the reunion of two soul mates;

Annie, a little sorrel mare who will break your heart with her weary kindness and who found peace and compassion, at last, under an old oak tree in a pasture at Proud Spirit;

Wrangler, a Miniature whose premature separation from his dam turned him into a tiny tormentor. His rowdy innocence helped Marshal, a huge Palomino gelding with neurological trauma, become playful and engaged as he educated Wrangler in horsy manners. Horses of Proud Spirit is an homage to the spirit of these alluring creatures and a moving memoir of lessons learned in compassion, strength, and loss.

About the Author
Melanie Bowles was born and raised in Michigan and moved to Florida in her early twenties. After acquiring her first horse in 1992 and learning of the mistreatment endured by many horses, she set out to create what would become Proud Spirit Horse Sanctuary, a fifty-acre facility in Myakka City, Florida, where she and husband Jim have provided peace and shelter to about seventy horses. For over seventeen years, Ms. Bowles has worked alongside her husband as a firefighter/EMT. The Horses of Proud Spirit is her first book.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Pineapple Press (FL); 1 edition (October 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561642851
• ISBN-13: 978-1561642854
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #52,734 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #13 in	Books > Outdoors & Nature > Fauna > Horses
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Writer of Proud Spirit, July 1, 2004

By	Jodip8 (Tampa, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This book is definitely NOT just for horse lovers. It's for anyone who appreciates life, and is saddened by abuse of any of God's Creatures. Melanie Bowles has done a masterful job of putting in just the right amount of description, not too wordy (verbose), not too sparse. I was extremely touched by her recounting her father's passing, as I was the only one with my father when he passed. This book will tug at your heart strings and touch you deeply. Some of her tales are sweet, some are funny, and a few are painfully sad. I feel a bond with this remarkable writer, simply from reading her book. Hope she writes a sequel!

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, June 30, 2004

By	Jim (Myakka City, Fl. USA) - See all my reviews

As Melanie's husband, I just want to say this is one of the best books I have ever read. I am an avid reader and this is not my particular choice of genre. Having lived every chapter in the book, and knowing each story, I was still unable to put the book down. The book brought back a flood of memories with every chapter I read. It shows the love and dedication Melanie has to these magnificent animals, and the trust that they put in her. A must read for any animal lover. Thanks for writing this.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Be sure you have a box of Kleenex handy. Maybe two..., December 16, 2005

By	J. Coughlin (Panama City, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

...because this book will make you cry with both sorrow and joy. Sometimes the sadness is almost too much to bear but then a happy story will follow. Such is real life with horses, none of them live forever. If not for people like the author and her many friends and helpers and the countless other private rescue people out there the number of horses suffering without any chance for rescue would boggle the mind. I think this book should be mandatory reading for everyone, animal lover or not, so their eyes will be open to the signs of abuse and they will report it early enough to make a difference.