Dark Horses by Cecily von Ziegesar

First let me say, I am an animal lover and equestrian. I have ridden all my life and I adore most any story about or centered around horses. Therefore, I was so looking forward to reading Dark Horses and crossing my fingers that the author got the horse stuff right. I can honestly report that she most definitely did.

The story is written from two points of view, Merritt a troubled teenager and an off the track Thoroughbred, named Red, with issues of his own. They both have ended up at Good Fences an equine-assisted therapy program in New England. The program pairs Merritt and Red together and they have an instant connection. Once it is discovered that Merritt is a very talented rider and together her and Red make a great hunter/jumper team, they are shipped off to Florida to train and prepare for the show circuit.

Regrettably, Merritt spent such a short amount of time at Good Fences that she never really had time to work through all her issues. The issues all come roaring back with tragedy strikes at a show.

The healing bond with animals is incredible and the story did justice to that. My only grip is with Red’s character. His character is too human. Does a horse really know what a text is? Come on…. For this reason I could not rate the book higher than a four.