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Some Horses: Essays Paperback – November 14, 2000

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Thomas McGuane (Author)
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Thomas McGuane (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars 24 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (November 14, 2000)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0375724524
  • ISBN-13: 978-0375724527
  • Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.5 x 8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #523,194 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsSome Horses by Thomas McGuane
By Cathy Hampshire Sewall on November 24, 1999
Format: Hardcover
What a wonderful book for all horse lovers! I enjoyed every page, and am looking forward to reading more by the author on this subject. This is not another piece written on "horse whispering" in order to cash in on the latest craze. McGuane reveals himself as a true horse person with just the right amounts of humor, insight and truth. Great Christmas gift for your horse lover friends, whether they are into cutting, dressage, or just being around horses.
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5.0 out of 5 starsNot just for horse lovers
By Ronald Scheer on August 3, 2002
Format: Paperback
I greatly enjoyed this well-written and amusing book of essays by novelist Thomas McGuane. Although I have ridden a horse and get out to the occasional rodeo, it's mostly my interest in Western literature that got me to read "Some Horses." And it turned out to be an entertaining journey into the complex relationship that can exist between human and equine intelligence.
One essay is about rodeo calf-roping and another about mountain trail riding and camping in snow, but most of the essays are about McGuane's experience with cutting horses. Developed as a specialized skill of horse and rider on open rangeland, cutting is the exacting art (and now sport) of separating out a single cow or calf from a herd of cattle. Given the strong herd instinct of cows, this is no mean feat, and it takes a fine horse, superior training, and a competent rider to do it well and consistently. In these essays, each devoted to individual horses, McGuane invites the reader into this world of nonverbal communication between horse, rider, and cow.
In the hands of another writer, this subject could easily be arcane, technical, vague, or dry as corral dust. But McGuane makes literature of it. The opening essay owes its rambling form and spirit to Montaigne, and all of them are rich with sharply observed details, nuances of emotion, and fascinating character sketches of both people and horses. The only thing dry is McGuane's wry sense of humor. In the essay about a winter road trip with his wife and four horses from Southern California to Montana, I was laughing out loud.
You don't have to be a horse lover for this one. All that's required is a curiosity about animal psychology and the place where it comes in contact with the psychology of humans.
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5.0 out of 5 starsFrom the Library of Literary Oddities
By ealovitt HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWER on April 26, 2006
Format: Paperback
Some books are hard to classify, in spite of their seemingly simple titles. Among them are "Rats, Lice, and History" by Hans Zinsser, most of John McPhee's natural history books, and "Some Horses" by Thomas McGuane. One could call them philosophy as focused through Nature--the very opposite of religion as focused through the tribal mind.

I've been on enough horses to know that you don't tell them what to do. You ask them, and if the horse trusts you, he'll respond favorably if he knows what you want. The author discusses the equine-human relationship in depth, focusing on the art of cutting cattle from a herd. I suppose if McGuane had been more mellow Californian and less Wyoming rancher, he would have called this book, 'The Zen of Cutting Horses.'

Writer, rancher, horseman, and conservationist Thomas McGuane is the author of nine novels, a collection of short stories, several collections of essays on sport and horse, and he also wrote the screen play for "Missouri Breaks."

The latter just goes to show that an author can be an expert on his subject and still end up as a grease mark on the Hollywood Wall of Shame.

My favorite essay in "Some Horses" concerns Chink's Benjibaby, a black cutting mare, who worked cattle with an intensity that verged on loco. She went through many owners, including the author, until she found her rider. The author asks, "How did you train the mare?"

'"I didn't," says [Chink's new owner]. "I never won a fight."'

The black mare had a glint of what McGuane calls 'unlost wildness.' She knew she was special and demanded respect.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsSome Horses-Some Book
By Dave Duffus on January 12, 2000
Format: Hardcover
Some Horses is an honest work by someone with a mastery of saying just what they mean. The prose is spare enough to stay out of your way, but descriptive enough to carry you deep into the story. They key to how good I think the book is comes from my response, I am not a "horse person" yet nowhere feel snubbed by the fact that the horse world is really a pretty tight sphere of people, horses, situations, and landscapes. McGuane opens the window to the world he experiences with insight and humour and lets you know something of the fabric of traveling to cuttings, training intractable animals, and ending up pretty close to ground level. I put the book down feeling right at home with the author's western writing style(Abbey to Stegner I guess, an appreciation of his deep feeling for western life and horses, and I think I'll pick it up again when I feel the need for a dose of fine prairie dust and open space....maybe it will serve you the same way
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5.0 out of 5 starsWhat a pleasure...
By A Customer on January 6, 2001
Format: Hardcover
As a horseman - - McGuane knows and loves his horses, and conveys that well.
As an author - - his work is a great pleasure to read... he does have fine a way with words.
The best comment that I can make is that after reading Some Horses we're back on line to buy a bunch more of McGuane's books.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Wonderful writer, really knows horses as well.

Published 3 months ago by kathleen mccarthy
4.0 out of 5 starsGreat writing and interesting topic

Great writing and interesting topic. The stories of rodeo competition are as expected and confirm the comments by friends in the business.

Published 14 months ago by D. MADRIGAL
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

An outstanding collection of incisive essays about the equine-human connection.

Published 15 months ago by Anonymous
5.0 out of 5 starsgood book good delivery

am reading now. good book good delivery.

Published 19 months ago by Bernalou Rosebrook
5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent Book

I've never done more than admire reining horses, but this book is more about personalities than it is about the particular sport. Well written, and some funny moments!

Published on January 16, 2014 by Litewriter
5.0 out of 5 starsQuite Enjoyable

This is a lovely book containing short stories about horses. It is possible to enjoy this book without knowing anything about horses as he explains and describes beautifully. Read more

Published on December 31, 2013 by Daphne
4.0 out of 5 starsRelaxed and smooth -- like a fine bourbon

Thomas McGuane is noted for his novels of life in the West, primarily Montana. He knows well that about which he writes: he has a ranch in Montana and he is a horseman. Read more

Published on December 1, 2012 by R. M. Peterson
5.0 out of 5 starsHorses I liked

This is the first McGuane book that I have had the pleasure to read and I enjoyed it very much. Sent it on to my cousin in Nebraska who raises and trains cutting horses. Read more

Published on April 10, 2011 by Mustang
5.0 out of 5 starsFunny, wise and just charming as hell

I hadn't read a Tom McGuane book for well over thirty years when I picked this book up, which I did simply because I've been mostly absorbed by all the Montana books/authors I've... Read more

Published on June 25, 2009 by Timothy J. Bazzett
5.0 out of 5 starsLean, elegant prose about the American West

Some books are hard to classify, in spite of their seemingly simple titles. Among them are "Rats, Lice, and History" by Hans Zinsser, most of John McPhee's natural history books,... Read more

Published on June 4, 2009 by ealovitt

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