Customer Reviews

Who Ever Heard Of A Horse In The House

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

JACQUELINE TRESL CAPTURES THE LOVING BOND ALL TRUE ANIMAL LOVERS FEEL FOR THEIR PETS AND OTHER CREATURES. HER WRITING EMBRACES THE TRUE DEFINITION OF THE BONDING OF THE SPIRTS OF ANIMALS AND THEIR HUMANS. HER STORY PERSONIFIES HOW WE PUT OURSELVES ASIDE FOR THE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE WE ARE SO PRIVLEDGED TO RECIEVE FROM A PET. THIS BOOK MAKES ONE LAUGH AND CRY. IT BRINGS INTO FOCUS SO MANY MEMORIES THOSE OF US EXPERIENCED ON A DAILY BASIS WITH OUR PETS IN THE PAST AND PRESENT. IT IS ALSO A LOVE STORY BETWEEN A MAN AND WOMAN WHO RESPECT AND UNDERSTAND THE NEEDS OF ONE ANOTHER NO MATTER HOW STRANGE THEY MAY SEEM TO OUTSIDERS. ONLY THE EVENTS IN THEIR OWN HOME ARE IMPORTANT TO THEM. SHE HAS BEEN GIVEN A GREAT GIFT AND HAS BEEN GRACIOUS ENOUGH TO SHARE IT WITH US. MISHA,THE STAR AND PRECIOUS HORSE IN THE STORY HAS CHOSEN JACQUELINE TO CARE FOR AND NUTURE HER. WITH TOTAL DEVOTION AND LOVE SHE THRIVES FROM BEING A SICKLY FOAL INTO AN OVERLY DEPENDENT PLAYFUL ADULT HORSE, WITH THE HELP OF HOME BAKED COOKIES AND SPAGHETTI AS STRANGE AS THAT MAY SEEM. THROUGHOUT THE BOOK WE ENJOY THE ANTICS AND STRUGGLES OF BOTH MISHA AND JACQUELINE WITH EVEN MORE LOVE AND DEVOTION ADDED BY HER HUSBAND MARK. ALTHOUGH SMALL, THEIR HOUSE IS BURSTING (AND AT TIMES NEEDS AN ADDITION) WITH LOVE THAT KNOWS NO BOUNDARIES. MISHAS HEART AND SPIRIT SEEM TO BE ONE WITH JACQUELINES AND THIS WONDERFUL CREATURE RETURNS HER LOVE AND DEVOTION IN A WAY ONLY UNDERSTOOD BY THOSE OF US SO LUCKY TO EXPERIENCE A SIMILAR BOND WITH A PET OF OUR OWN. THIS BOOK DESERVES FIVE CARROTS (STARS)

Definitely a page-turner -- not so much in the same sense as a mystery or a bodice-ripping romance novel, but in the way that a well-written story keeps you reading, page after page. This book is filled with humorous anecdotes about what life in Ohio is like when you have more than 1,300 pounds of Quarter Horse in your house, year-round! I would recommend this to any animal lover with a sense of humor. (Before giving it to horse-crazy little girls, first consider the amount of begging for a house-horse you will have to put up with!)

That said, I would not recommend that readers rely solely on this book for information about horse behavior or horsekeeping in general; it is a case-study only. For example, given the amount of sweets and pastries that the author said she repeatedly feeds the horse, I kept fearing that the next page would include an anecdote about Misha contracting laminitis!* Second-cutting hay notwithstanding, it sounds like Misha has an "iron constitution" that many other horses might not enjoy. (I'm not advocating any warning labels here, either, but I feel this needed to be said. I also am not trying to say that the author had anything but the best interests of her horse in mind -- oh, that I should have such a close relationship with my own chestnut mare!)

* Laminitis is a condition where the tissues in the hoof become inflamed, cutting off blood flow to the area and often resulting in founder, or the death of the tissue and the separation of the inner hoof from the hoof wall. All very painful for the horse.

I am very disappointed in this book and had a hard time finishing it. I read it expecting to hear a great story about how a woman lived with her horse in the house. Instead this is a book about a woman being extremely obsessed over her horse to the point where I felt the horse was put in dangerous situations at times.

Horses are herd animals and given the number of books she claims to have read she definitely should have understood this. By bringing her foal into the house and initially sleeping with her, in actuality she raised a horse that didn't know how to handle being in proximity with other horses and a very severe level of separation anxiety which is not healthy for anyone, pet or human. She should have gotten a goat or small pony for companionship on Day 2.

The amount of garbage food the author feeds her horse is insane. I wouldn't let my children eat junk food as often as she feeds her horse - a dozen donuts in one sitting? Daily?? That is neglectful of her horse's health. As the author is in the medical field, there is no excuse for this treatment.

Given the fact that her husband is put on the back burner more often than not, I cannot understand why he stayed married to her, let alone catered to her every whim where the horse is concerned.

The only positive at all is the level of intelligence this horse possesses. Misha definitely shows that she is an expert in manipulating her owner and getting her own way. But then again, just how "smart" would any pet be if a person spent 24/7 with them?

Don't buy the book unless you have nothing better to read. Many horse owners would be appalled to find this in print. Too bad this isn't fiction.

If this were a work of pure fiction, it would be disturbing enough. Unfortunately, it is a true memoir. As far as readers go, non-horse people will possibly find this book amusing, & intriguing. Folks who are serious about horse husbandry, and who know that the proper care of horses involves much more than love, will probably find this book horrifying. The author asserts she read at least 100 books about horses & their care. Yet, she chose to put her horse on a diet that was extreme poor judgement at best, outright cruelty at worst. Many passages describe how she treated her husband's advice & wishes with complete disregard as she insisted on making a house pet of her horse. The resulting labor, most of it otherwise unecessary, and monetary expense, he had to endure to satisfy her childish whims is just painful to read about. I guess all those books she claimed to have read made no mention building an adequate outdoor shelter, & finding a suitable companion like a small pony or a dehorned goat for her filly's herd instinct. It seems the author needed the horse in the house, not the other way around.

This is an interesting read about a woman who's obviously totally devoted to her animals. Any little girl would adore this book, and would probably try to use it to coerce her parents into letting her keep a horse in the backyard. Fortunately, I think most parents are sensible enough to know that this is a pretty outlandish proposition. And yes, I've known at least one person who's raised a sick foal in her house, but as the foal got stronger it immediately went out in the pasture with the other horses so it was properly socialized with its own kind.

I would feel more comfortable reading this book if it were fiction, but it's not. It's scary to me that someone would think that inducing (and even encouraging) separation anxiety in animals is an appropriate way of showing love. Horses are herd (prey) animals and they shouldn't be taught that being with other horses is a bad thing. Horses also shouldn't be fed the junk food (donuts, jelly rolls, etc.) that Misha's routinely given because it can cause serious damage and death. It's not good for *humans* to eat that kind of food regularly, but at least we humans make a conscious decision to eat junk food knowing the risks. Horses have such delicate digestive systems and most would not do well with the kind of diet Misha lives on. My concern is that inexperienced little girls may read this book and decide to start feeding their ponies donuts all the time, and ponies are even more susceptible to laminitis/founder.

I don't know if this book requires a warning statement, but I sure hope no one who reads it assumes that it outlines proper horse care. Instead, this book shows some very good examples of how NOT to care for horses. I'm very surprised there haven't been any reviews of this book written by equine behaviorists -- they could have a field day with this one.

This is an excellent book, that I could not put down. I think that Ms. Tresl has opened up many areas of possibilities as far as the care and management of horses, as well as their need and capacity for intellectual stimulation and affection. Without Ms. Tresl's incredibly committed and devoted indulgence of her animals (not just the horse!), not to mention her husband's patience and carpentry skills, such a wonderful book would not exist, and the world would be a sadder place. Brava!

I love horses (though as of yet I haven't been lucky enough to actually own one), so I really loved this book when I first started reading it. I thought it was a lovely story of the powerful bond that can exist between a person and animal, and would be an interesting read about the unusual situation of a horse living in a house. However, the further the book wore on, the more and more annoyed and upset I got with the author. Clearly Mrs. Tresl didn't read the fine print in the hundreds of books about horses and other animals she claims to have read, because I highly doubt any of them would encourage feeding your animal massive quantities of junk food (jelly rolls, jelly doughnuts, Easter candy, jellybeans, frosted cakes and cupcakes, pies, cookies, candy corn), denying your animal's innate animal nature and need for its own kind, refusing to discipline an animal when needed because you don't have the heart to yell at it or put it outside, enabling obscene levels of separation anxiety, treating an animal like a spoilt child (she says she puts her horse's needs before her own, as one of her books told her, but many of Misha's "needs" were the result of her having been treated like a human her whole life!), or giving up your whole life to cater to your animal's every whim. It got even worse when she got her dog Rodent and also encouraged her separation anxiety and neediness instead of stepping up to be her pack leader, as Cesar Millan would tell her. (I'm sure he'd have a field day with her, both for how she treats her dog and her horse!) A lot of times the author seemed so shocked and clueless to find out that she can't always get her way, like how it's unprofessional for a journalist to take her dog around when interviewing people, how she can't take a horse into the mall, and how a small-town country vet isn't able to put a cast on a bird's wing.

Her love for her animals is clear, and it's obvious that they have in turn bonded with her and with all of her other animals. However, part of loving your animals means treating them like animals and asserting your authority and rights as the human, as their pack leader. A horse isn't a pet like a snake or lizard--it's not meant to be raised all by itself, without any companionship from its own kind. Misha often copped an attitude when around other horses, because she'd never been properly socialized with them early on. I was glad the experiment with Rusty, one of the neighbors' horses, as Misha's companion didn't work out, because then there would have been two horses living in the house and gouging themselves on junk food. I lost count of how many times Misha broke the veranda, the floors, or the stove, and how after initially hemming and hawing, Mr. Tresl gave in as always and spent a lot of extra money and unneeded labor repairing the equipment or floor boards. By the end of the book, she had free run of the house, and at one point, the Tresls were living in their barn for a few months because Misha had broken the floors yet again. I was really upset when Mrs. Tresl actually quit her job (a well-paying job as a nurse with great benefits) because Misha had such great separation anxiety. She also forfeited the chance to do further journalistic work because Misha was too sad and anxious if she were left alone. So many of these things are clearly not normal behavior, and I can't believe any real animal lover would enable it instead of putting a stop to it. When your horse is blocking your door or car to prevent you from going to work, running around the field screaming if you leave her, and being toted around with you in the back of a huge bakery truck because she would go insane or commit horse suicide if left alone, that is not healthy behavior. The Tresls even gave up going to movies and restaurants because poor Misha didn't want them to leave, and even bodily prevented them from leaving. It's not unheard of to raise a sickly foal inside of the house, but as soon as it's strong and healthy, it should go back out into the barn, and have some companionship, even if it's not another horse but a pony or dehorned goat, as other reviewers have said. Misha became a master at emotionally manipulating her owners, like how she would quiver her lip when anyone dared to reprimand her for something like sticking her nose in paint and then putting her nose down their shirt. She was like a spoilt brat who always got her way, and who was so used to being treated like a human and having her every whim catered to that she probably forgot she was a horse. It is not normal to quit your job, put your marriage on the back burner, give up your social life, and constantly remodel your house because of a pet.

At least the Tresls don't have any children, because I'm sure if they did, they would either be spoilt enabled brats like Misha or ignored and neglected in favor of their mother's all-important horse. As a story of one person and her horse, it's a fascinating story, but on the reality level, it's horrifying. Although if Mrs. Tresl had taken Misha outside as soon as she had gotten bigger and healthier, and gotten her proper animal companionship instead of encouraging and enabling her off the charts levels of separation anxiety and clinginess, I suppose we wouldn't have this book.

If you really love animals you will definately relate to this story, which is a true story about a woman who lets her horse live in her house with her. It's not a manual for how to do it, just a great story of a woman who who dearly loves her horse. She describes the adaptations necessary to accommodate having a horse in her home, how she house-trained the horse, and how she adapted a vehicle to take her horse on outings. Dogs and cats get to come inside and share your life - when you have the same kind of bond with a horse and you have to say goodnight to them in the barn, it's hard. If you have ever felt this way about your horse, this book is a must read for you! The book also contains some great photos of the horse in the house, and stories of the author's other pets. It is clearly written with love - and while those more removed from the relationship may recognize that the horse has separation anxiety, for example, don't expect the author to make such judgments. This is easy to forgive, however - what mother sees the faults in her children as clearly as her neighbor?

The book was exactly what was advertised on Amazon and I received it in a timely fashion. Thanks!

I am a retired engineer. In my semi-retirement, I am a substitute teacher. I plan to use this book when I am teaching elementary school. I'll first tell them the story in general and then read excerpts to the children. As a substitute teacher, I would probably not have enough time to read the entire book unless I was covering for a teacher out an extended time..