Tall Ears and Short Tales: Observations from the Barn (Paperback)

~ Carol M Chapman (Author) "When I came down here to Texas from up North, I brought a dream with me..." (more)
Key Phrases: bay quarter horse mare, quarter horse colt, quarter horse filly, Mud Season, Drug Mules, The Golden One (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

When Carol Chapman sold her home in Connecticut, she soon found herself on one of those roads less traveled and that has made all the difference. Arriving in Texas, she bought a ranch and created The Last Refuge, a sanctuary for unwanted dogs, cats, goats, and, most of all, for horses, mules, and donkeys that were destined for the slaughterhouse.Meet Chipper, a chocolate Lab who not only participates in nursing horses back to health, but has also raised cats, lambs, and baby chicks. Learn how goats secretly yearn for the mountains of their ancestors and happily leap onto the hood of a car to illustrate that point. Follow Chapman around for a day and discover that it's hard to get out of shape when caring for horses-if lugging what has to go in one end (massive buckets of water, sixty-pound bales of hay, and fifty-pound bags of grain) doesn't keep a waistline trim, shoveling up piles of what comes out the other end will.Grab a cup of coffee, pull up a hay bale, and enjoy Chapman's unconventional collection of earthy, hilarious, but always heart-warming and timeless reminiscences.

From the Inside Flap

With humor and a deep sense of wonder, the stories in this book introduce the depths of interaction between an eclectic cast of animals and the woman who cares so deeply about them.

Tall Ears and Short Tales invites the reader to pull up a bale of hay, grab a cookie, pour a cup of coffee, sit and relax to stories framed as barn chats. In her stories, Chapman focuses on the bond between humans and animals, gently stressing that animals are not objects over which humans have dominion, but are kindred souls on a mutual passage through our life experiences. She invites readers to watch donkeys playing hide and seek, dogs stealing carrots, and an elderly horse caring for a blind horse. Chapman vividly enables us to feel the emotions that animals share with us and to recognize the beauty within all animals that can change our own lives. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: IUniverse (October 13, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595289355
• ISBN-13: 978-0595289356
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #619,285 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tall Ears Gently Waving, November 4, 2003

By A Customer

The back of the book says "With humor and a deep sense of wonder, the stories in this book introduce the depths of interaction between an eclectic cast of animals and the woman who cares so deeply about them". That does not begin to touch on everything this book is. It draws the reader in, and there is a gamut of feelings shared with the reader in gentle, clearly worded images.

I felt as if I knew the author and her "babies" personally before I was half through the book. Some of the stories are sad, some so funny that I actually laughed out loud. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever loved an animal or had to put up with someone who stares at golf courses and says "What a waste of good grass!"

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Must Read" for Animal Lovers!, December 22, 2003

By	"mcspangus" (Highland Lakes, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This book is a "must read" for all animal lovers, and especially horse lovers. The author's warm style and insight into the minds of animals will draw you in and never let you go! "Horsey" people (of which I count myself one, according to the author's definition) will truly identify with the connection one feels with horses, and non-"horsey" people will get a wonderful taste of our side of the horse world.

The author's natural, relaxed attitude toward animals is further reflected in her general philosophy toward family, relationships, and life in general. She makes you want to come and visit The Last Refuge and have a chat over coffee and perhaps muck a stall or two...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tall Ears, Short Tales, April 7, 2004

By	Connie J. Carmichael (Texas) - See all my reviews

This book is written with love, warmth and humor. I sometimes laughed, sometimes cried, but always realized the author's love of horses and her dedication to end horse slaughter. May God bless her for the work she's doing for all equine!