Horse Nation: True Stories About Horses and People
Teresa tsimmu Martino
I met my first horse when I could barely walk. Stumbling into a pasture with a young stallion, I gripped his legs and pulled myself upright. My parents found me later, and it was no surprise to them that my life turned into a career with the four-legged spirits that grace the grass.
Horse Nation is about horses and humans—the equine heroes and the fallen, the defiant ones, and the teachers & healers. There was Casey, the blood bay, who jumped a teenage girl over her mother’s sports car as a rite of passage; Icy, a deep black mare, strong and independent, embodied the circle of life; and The Corinthian, a gray gelding defined what it is to be a champion. Martino also writes of the horse people—riders, grooms, coaches, and students—who have walked and breathed the equine path like acolytes.
This book is reminiscent of The Black Stallion, Misty of Chincoteague, and James Herriot’s books, yet written with the wisdom of a Native American storyteller, and the humor of Coyote the trickster. Martino’s characters, their adventures, and the slices of equine life are as engaging as a good story around a campfire. Library Journal describes Martino’s stories as “work reminiscent of Joy Adamson’s ‘Born Free,’ Martino is a poet and short story writer.”
Praise
Martino’s luminous account of her life-long love affair with horses is a moving, fiercely lyrical, spiritual autobiography[Symbol]Her tales of healing, survival and love indicate that we have much to learn from our equine friends.
Teresa Martino’s lively and compelling celebration of the human-horse bond is at once keenly observed, sharp-witted, and deeply moving. Horse Nation is not just a story of a woman and horses, it is a primer on the survival skills and fine art of any true partnership.
This is a page-turner, true stories that read as well and are as exciting as a good novel. The characters are truly characters—driven, humorous, flesh, blood, strong and determined. As Teresa says, it is as if for some people the love for horses is in the DNA. These are stories everyone will care for, told passionately at times, and at other times, told with tenderness.
If you have ever loved to bend over the strong back of a horse and feel the ground race beneath you at a gallop, while the wind whips your hair into a raging tangle, and your soul sings in your throat—or if you have just loved the idea of such a ride—you will find a kindred wild sister in Martino.
Teresa Martino speaks eloquently of her own experiences as a human being in a world so alienated from nature, and as one who cannot do other than care deeply for those in her care. Martino’s books are highly recommended for everyone who appreciates and honors animals.
Ms. Martino’s prose is poetry, her poetry is magic, her art is native, simplistic, yet simplicity is the most difficult to achieve in communications. She speaks of ancestors, spirits, of heaven and earth, emotions and feelings, not easy revelations.
A must read for horse lovers. In simple, compelling language, T. Martino tells tales of her thirty-five-year love affair with horses.
About The Author
Teresa tsimmu Martino lives on an island in the Pacific Northwest where she writes, creates art, trains horses, and oversees Wolftown, a nonprofit organization dedicated to wolf and horse rescue. Her other books include The Wolf, the Woman, the Wilderness: A True Story of Returning Home, a memoir, Dancer on the Grass, a book of poetry, Learning from Eagle, Living with Coyote, and Coyote Physics.
