A Horse Named Dog by Theresa Oliver
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Release Date: October 21, 2015
Buy Links:
Amazon ♥ B & N
Book Description:
Sam is a typical twelve-year-old boy who works on his parent’s farm, but is not as interested in horses as his horse-training family.
However, he does his best to help out until an incident when he is riding with his mother. After saving her from becoming nearly trampled, his viewpoint changes … until a strange horse comes to their farm with quirks, earning him the name Dog.
Dog likes Sam right away, but Sam wants nothing to do with him, as he is the son of Trumpeter, the horse that nearly maimed his mother for life. Sam has a hard time dealing with not only the memory of the accident, but the extra chores and responsibilities suddenly thrust upon him, one of which is training Dog.
Because his mother is out of work and people are canceling orders, money is scarce. With the Indiana Classic coming up—a local horse race with a huge purse—will Sam be able to befriend Dog and save their farm, or will Dog go back to his present owner, never to be seen again?
His father slid the reins once again on either side of Dog’s neck and then held them on the saddle horn. Once again, he stood with one foot in the stirrup and Dog paced around the corral, but soon came to a stop. “Good boy!” Frank cooed, rubbing his back just behind the saddle with his other hand in a soothing gesture. “Now, let’s try this again.”
He quickly swung himself into the saddle and got his foot into the stirrup just as Dog started bucking wildly. He held on to the saddle as he started giving him voice commands, trying to settle him down, but Dog wanted no part of it. A moment later, Frank was lying face down in the dirt again.
Dog ran toward the other side of the corral, whinnying loudly as he paced nervously along the fence row, the reins dragging along the ground behind him. Then, he looked over at Sam and looked at him as if telling him what the humans were trying to do to him.
Without thinking about it, Sam jumped down off the fence and started toward him with his hands extended.
“Son, no!” Frank yelled, getting quickly to his feet.
But Carlos held him back. “Shush,” he said, holding up a hand. “He has a connection with the animal. Let’s see what happens.”
Sam ignored them, focusing only on Dog as he looked into his eyes, seeing into his soul. “I know, boy, but you have to let them ride you,” Sam cooed, understanding what Dog was thinking. “We have to break you, which means that you have to let us ride you.” Dog shook his head back and forth nervously.
“Shush, boy. It’s okay. You’re going to be a famous racehorse one day, but we need to be able to ride you first. Shush.” Sam stepped up in front of Dog and rubbed the soft white patch of fur between his eyes. “That’s it, boy.” Then, he reached out and took the reins, and leaned his forehead against Dog’s. The horse immediately calmed. Sam looked up into his eyes. “Are you going to let me ride you, boy?” Dog shook his head back and forth.
Author Bio:
Theresa Oliver grew up in southern Indiana, across from Louisville, Kentucky, in Clarksville, Indiana. In her childhood, she fell in love with the power of the written word, a love affair that has continued her whole life. She moved to Florida, where she has lived much of her adult life.
She attended the University of Tennessee at Martin, Martin, Tenn., and earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communications degree, News Editorial sequence. She also earned a Master of Arts in Teaching degree, Early Childhood Education sequence, from Armstrong Atlantic State University, Savannah, Ga.
She is currently a writer, a full-time teacher, and the owner of Write More Publications and TNT Author Services. However, her greatest adventure is as a mother of three beautiful boys. Oliver currently resides in Kissimmee, Florida, with her husband and children.
Theresa Oliver is a new author to me. One of the reason I follow this blog is to find new authors and books. I look forward to reading Horse Named Dog.
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