Helpful Score: 18
Life is short, do what matters. In this noteworthy memoir, Susan Richardson tells of her life with Lay Me Down, a remarkable Bay who has been abused by her previous owner and who comes to Susan's ranch as a rescued animal. Susan who had been neglected and abandoned as a child and Lay Me Down who had been abused in her racing and broodmare years teach eachother to trust and to live again, and in turn gaining hope and faith in the other. As each venture out into their new worlds, Lay Me Down into a new herd and Susan into the dating world, they each get banged up a bit, but learn that maybe there is a future for each of them. Maybe you do get a second chance, maybe somebody does want you. Combining both laughter and tears, Susan Richards brings a memoir that will be remembered for years. 1/20/08
Helpful Score: 16
I thought that this was a good book about a horse changing someones life. I could relate to it so much and i cried so hard in the end because i have had to do the same things (as the writer did) for some of my equine family. Have a big tissue box.
Helpful Score: 14
Keep a box of tissues close by while you are reading this book.
Helpful Score: 11
LOVED it!!! This is especially for horse lovers; the author knows the personalities and behaviors of mares and geldings. If you truly know the love you can have for one of God's most beautiful animals, this is the book you need to read!
Helpful Score: 8
I really enjoyed this book. I don't have horses but I think they are amazing. This book is for anyone, even if you don't know about horses, she explains what you need to know. It's such a good read, I recomend it!
Helpful Score: 7
Chosen by a Horse is an extraordinary memoir about a woman's intimate relationships with her horses. It is well written and taught me a lot about horses. I'd have to put this one on my top ten memoir list!
Helpful Score: 5
Great read especially if you love animals.
Helpful Score: 4
This is a good book, especially if you have horses of your own. I bought this when we got
our first pony.
our first pony.
Helpful Score: 2
I read this book in 3 days. I don't usually cry while reading books but i was sobbing into wads of kleenex by the end of this book!! Definitely 2 thumbs up, if you loved Marley & Me i think you will enjoy this book too.
Helpful Score: 1
This wonderful book is part tragedy and part love story with a message of hope. A maltreated horse literally chooses the author, Susan, one rainy day at the S.P.C.A. This gentle and trusting creature surprisingly ends up being the one who rescues the author. The only thing I wasn't prepared for is the unbearably sad part at the end, which had me in floods of tears while I was reading it, and then again when I was relaying the story to my daughters at a public restaurant! Though I was still a little sad when I finished the book, I was moved and inspired at the same time. Superbly told story.
Helpful Score: 1
Awesome book! Definitely a kleenex kind of book. Very emotional, yet very heartwarming.
Helpful Score: 1
An interesting book. More about Susan though than the horse and Susan's past problems. I would have liked to of known more about the horse and how the horse really taught Susan how to change her life instead of Susan just going..I watched the horse in the pasture and she looked pretty. But still a good read.
Helpful Score: 1
This book is so well written it pulled me in immediately. The story of the love between a woman and a rescued horse. I cried or should say sobbed. Anyone wo loves animals will enjoy this book but be warned, tissues needed.
Helpful Score: 1
Wonderful book for any animal lover...keep the tissues close!
Helpful Score: 1
Absolutely one of the best books I have EVER read! Shows the true love between us humans and animals. My situation is similar in that I just adopted an abused horse from our local shelter! She is turning out to be very special! I will keep this book forever and re-read it often!
Great story, well written and heartfelt. Her obvious horse knowledge makes it an easy enjoyable read for those of us in the horse world, though I don't think being a horse person is necessary to enjoy this book.
Wonderful story of how a horse can bring love to a person's life. Very touching! This story makes you feel close to the write like she is a personal friend. A quick read.
Great book. Great story. Great read.
Wow I read this in 1 day. Could not put it down.
Touching. A Wonderful story about the purity of an animal's love and how they can affect our lives.
If you are a horse lover at heart you will will the journey this horse takes the woman on. Very heart touching.
Beautifully written, poignant memoir about a woman who takes in a rescued horse who in turn changes her life. Even for people not familiar with horses, the author does a great job explaining the work involved in caring for them, medical issues as well as the unique personalities of her horses. She learns to have a new point of view about life and relationships thanks to this sweet, loving creature. Emotionally gut-wrenching at the end, I needed my box of tissues as I pushed through that last several pages - if you've ever had to make that same decision about your pet, this book will touch you to the core.
The "Marley & Me" of the horse world....you do not have to own and/or love horses to read this book. It is truly an amazing story of how a unwanted, neglected horse changes the author's entire outlook and perspective on life. Any animal or person for that matter can do this, if you allow them to. I do not normally read memoirs, but was drawn in from the cover & first few sentences. Reading this book actually made me think & changed my life. It is not often you can say that about a book! A must read for anyone!!!!
A really good book!
Very easy and quick read, well-written book. Tissues required
Amazing way for a person to learn thru a horse... I loved it.
This is a very good read. It's a bit of a tear jerker.
This is an amazing story of how generosity of spirit is it's own reward. A woman hesitantly opens her home and stables to take in a random horse, one of many removed from the original owner's care because of neglect. She originally chose another horse, but ended up taking Lay Me Down home and telling their story, she tells her own. Very good book, I loved it start to finish.
If you love horses, you will love this book.
Wonderful book - a very fast read because I couldn't put it down. So sad but so uplifting.
I enjoyed this book as a horse breeder have seen this
special bond many times, it is for the horse lover, and
shows you never lose when you love.
special bond many times, it is for the horse lover, and
shows you never lose when you love.
I really enjoyed this book, I was broken by the mistreatment that Lay Me Down suffered in the racing industry. That was an eye opener. Susan is to be commended for the commitment she made to this beautiful horse, financially and emotionally. Her story of abandonment as a child and never feeling that she had a place to belong spoke to my heart.
I would recommend this book to anyone who's heart has been broken. In his book Susan reveals how healing can be found in the simple lessons of life. DH
I would recommend this book to anyone who's heart has been broken. In his book Susan reveals how healing can be found in the simple lessons of life. DH
A tale of a women and her rescued horse. IMO a little sappy but a good read never-the-less.
This book has laughter and sorrow, reminders of the joys of life and it's loss.
This book was given to me by a friend as we are both horse lovers. She did not know that in March of 1993 I had to make the same decision and went through almost the same steps,as was written by the author at the end of the book. He was my buddy and still cry over him. I very much love a book that allows me to cry, laugh, feel other emotions and immerse myself in another world for a short time. Definitely keep the hankies handy. Yes I would recommend this book to all who love horses, owners or not.
This is a book about horses and you don't have to be a horse lover to love this book.
Really good book - but a little bit of a tear jerker. Worth the read, lots of life lessons in here - and as a 40-something horselover, lots I could relate to.
This was a quick read and was very interesting. Would recommend it to everyone - not just horse lovers. By the end - even after shedding a few tears - you'll be happy that you picked it up.
Wonderful book, great read.....highly recommend. Important lessons about hope, courage and grief.
This is much more than the story of the bond that developed between a woman and the abused horse she fostered after an SPCA rescue. It's the story of learning to love again, and how to let go, and how to go on afterward.
I loved this book if you love horses....it was a very emotional, about the bond between and woman and a horse and how the horse taught her to love and how to face death which she hadn't been able to do as she lost her mom when she was a very young girl....to me it was such a great book to read that I just wanted to not put down. Again, this to me was just a wonderful book.
I enjoyed reading this book about a horse's love healing a broken woman. Sure, Susan may have thought she was doing the rescuing, but in the end, she and Lay Me Down rescued each other. How on Earth Lay Me Down stayed so sweet and nice after the neglect she suffered is beyond me. Hotshot, Lay Me Down's horse buddy, made me wish for my friends, all living far way now, who have stuck so close in good times and in bad ones. Any animal lover will enjoy reading this endearing memoir.
I enjoyed reading this book because I could relate to her love and passion for her horses. It was very touching to read how this horse helped her personal growth.
This was not a book I would have chosen on my own but read it because it was a Book Club selection. It is a wonderful story about relationships, both animal and personal. It is definitely a book you don't want to put down after you start reading.
Very good book about a lonely woman and desperate horse and colt. The ending very bittersweet.
This was an excellent book. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Very enjoyable. I laughed. I cried. It made me think about myself and my life. ... nice ...
