Everything I Know About Life I Learned From My Horse

by Gwen Petersen

Overview

Gwen Petersen earlier enlightened us on the joys of shoveling manure. Now, in this delightful new collection of pithy and hilarious essays, she explains how her philosophy of life comes with a good dose of horse sense.  Here’s advice on how to fall off a horse with style, dressing to avoid embarrassing your equine friend, 1,001 uses for bag balm, perfecting the care and feeding of veterinarians and farriers, cattle drives and brandings, and falling in love all over again (with a horse, that is). Petersen’s words are as amusing as they are instructive, and  whether you’re a horse lover or simply someone in need of a down-to-earth laugh, this is a book you won’t want to miss.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781616731526
Publisher:	Voyageur Press
Publication date:	11/10/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

For Gwen Petersen, the seeds of country living were planted during youthful summertime visits to her grandparents’ Illinois farm and hours helping her mother raise chickens in their city backyard. When Gwen married a rancher, her background as an occupational therapist for the bothered and bewildered helped her some in figuring out how to cope with country life. After thirty-five years of muddling through--and living with an assortment of cattle, pigs, sheep, chickens, cats, dogs, horses, and a gaggle of particularly nasty-tempered geese--she’s starting to catch on. Today Gwen lives on a small place in Montana where she raises miniature horses and works on her attitude. Her humorous writings on barnyard foibles include magazine columns, cowboy and -girl poetry, and her book The Greenhorn’s Guide to the Woolly West.

For Gwen Petersen, the seeds of country living were planted during youthful summertime visits to her grandparents’ Illinois farm and hours helping her mother raise chickens in their city backyard. When Gwen married a rancher, her background as an occupational therapist for the bothered and bewildered helped her some in figuring out how to cope with country life. After thirty-five years of muddling through--and living with an assortment of cattle, pigs, sheep, chickens, cats, dogs, horses, and a gaggle of particularly nasty-tempered geese--she’s starting to catch on. Today Gwen lives on a small place in Montana where she raises miniature horses and works on her attitude. Her humorous writings on barnyard foibles include magazine columns, cowboy and -girl poetry, and her book The Greenhorn’s Guide to the Woolly West.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS

PREFACE

PART ONE: HOOKED ON HAYBURNERS

Be advised that loving horses is a surefire way to let the world know you’re slightly bonkers. Once hooked on horses, you’ll give your beloved steeds more love and attention than you do your spouse, children, or parents. Dating couples have been known to go separate ways when he or she prefers four-footed equines to a hot date.

Horsing Around One: Acquiring a Steed

Wherein you learn that you know more about moon travel than you know about purchasing a horse.

Horsing Around Two: Rules of Horsemanship: # 1: Get Mounted. #2: Stay Mounted.

Wherein you learn about Out West hayburners, and wherein you also learn what “saddle sore” means.

Horsing Around Three: Kid Horses

Wherein you learn that some horses are better babysitters than television, ice cream, or a pet baboon.

Horsing Around Four: Coping with Pro-Tem Equines and Oddball Horses

Wherein you become a short-term owner of a variety of steeds. And wherein you learn that some horses have BBs for brains.

PART TWO: RIDIN’, RIDIN’, RIDIN’

Once you’ve found and purchased the mount you know you’ll love forever, you’ll spend great wads of time, money, and effort on riding anywhere, anytime, for any reason.

Horsing Around Five: Buying the Horse of Your Dreams

Wherein you ride up a cloudy draw in pursuit of your dream horse—Smokey, a prince among horses.

Horsing AroundSix: Horseback Games

Wherein you learn how to whoop it up in gymkhanas. And wherein Smokey is a steed with attitude and pizzazz.

Horsing Around Seven: Rodeo and Other Ways to Hurt Yourself

Wherein you learn to ride a shovel, and that it’s best to keep a goodly supply of Band-Aids near.

PART THREE: THROWING THE HOULIHAN

Watching an afternoon of team roping is a little like watching paint dry—unless you’re a participant. In which case, you and your horse are keen competitors.

Horsing Around Eight: History of the Sport of Ranch Roping

Wherein you learn that while Will Rogers was called the “Roping Fool,” you’re pretty sure you’re merely a roping dunce.

Horsing Around Nine: Ropes, Lariats, Lassos, Riatas

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Everything I Know About Life I Learned From My Horse is a memorable book for its equine and human characters: a wandering, social butterfly of a horse who thinks he is a king; a ranch owner’s wife who collects “flamingo art, flamingo ceramics, and flamingo doodads” and a narrator who is consistently above-board with what’s on her mind…To read this book is to join Petersen around a campfire, slapping knees together at the adventuresome blessing that is the horse life…At once a humorous memoir and legitimate guidebook, this book is an up-close-and-personal introduction to the cowgirl’s days and the charm of the horses that fill them.

Foreword September/October 2009

Editorial Reviews

Everything I Know About Life I Learned From My Horse is a memorable book for its equine and human characters: a wandering, social butterfly of a horse who thinks he is a king; a ranch owner’s wife who collects “flamingo art, flamingo ceramics, and flamingo doodads” and a narrator who is consistently above-board with what’s on her mind…To read this book is to join Petersen around a campfire, slapping knees together at the adventuresome blessing that is the horse life…At once a humorous memoir and legitimate guidebook, this book is an up-close-and-personal introduction to the cowgirl’s days and the charm of the horses that fill them.

Foreword September/October 2009

From the Publisher