When she's given an orphaned colt, the narrator of Mud Pony is ecstatic--she's always wanted to raise the perfect equine partner. But this horse is flighty, traumatized, and sometimes dangerous. An adventurous city girl and high school teacher, the narrator seeks help from a neighborly team of Guadalajaran vaqueros, a rodeo clown turned horse whisperer, a young, female horse trainer, and a rehabilitated thoroughbred. Driven by a fascination for what a cowboy from the Salinas Valley (the late Tom Dorrance) called "feel," or an ability to communicate with the horse as a willing partner, the narrator chronicles her seemingly unsuccessful attempt to tame a horse that is more wild animal than domesticated pet. In the process, Mud Pony reveals how humans can shift their perspective on human-animal relationships when they recognize and accept what remains incontrovertibly wild. A personal and literary memoir, Mud Pony weaves descriptions of Bay Area coastal ranch life with scenes from San Francisco's Mission District.
When she's given an orphaned colt, the narrator of Mud Pony is ecstatic--she's always wanted to raise the perfect equine partner. But this horse is flighty, traumatized, and sometimes dangerous. An adventurous city girl and high school teacher, the narrator seeks help from a neighborly team of Guadalajaran vaqueros, a rodeo clown turned horse whisperer, a young, female horse trainer, and a rehabilitated thoroughbred. Driven by a fascination for what a cowboy from the Salinas Valley (the late Tom Dorrance) called "feel," or an ability to communicate with the horse as a willing partner, the narrator chronicles her seemingly unsuccessful attempt to tame a horse that is more wild animal than domesticated pet. In the process, Mud Pony reveals how humans can shift their perspective on human-animal relationships when they recognize and accept what remains incontrovertibly wild. A personal and literary memoir, Mud Pony weaves descriptions of Bay Area coastal ranch life with scenes from San Francisco's Mission District.