Book Review: A Horse to Remember by Juliana Hutchings

 I was recently approached by author Juliana Hutchings to write a review on her novel, A Horse to Remember. The story follows a girl named Hilary, a city girl who moves from a big town in Delaware to a small town in Tennessee. Shortly after arriving, she beings working at a nearby stable, where she finds a wild black mustang stallion, named Satan for his aggressiveness, that even experienced horse people where afraid to work with. Hilary notices that the mustang has something in common with herself: he is lonely and out of place, so she soon begins to secretly train the horse. However, she has to keep the training a secret since the horse doesn't belong to her.

 I really enjoyed reading this book! From the moment I started reading, I could hardly put it down. It is a lovely story about the bond that exists between a horse and his rider and the ambitions of a young rider. It has a touching ending.  Amazingly the author was my age when she started writing the book, which is very cool. It was written for someone about my age(early teens), and I would recommend it to others about my age.

Nokota

History
 The Lakota Indian tribe, who once lived in the rugged southwestern North Dakota, used to have hundreds of horses. These horses were tough with a lot of stamina. Tey had to be, because southwestern North Dakota was barren with the little vegetation it did have being rough prairie grass.

 In 1881, the Lakota's leader, Sitting Bull, had to surrender both his land and his horses to the U.S. Army, who later sold the 250 of the latter to French aristocrat Marquis de Mores. Marquis de Mores released the herd onto his land near the town of Medora, hoping to breed the horses. His plans were cut short, though, when he died in 1896, and many of his horses were rounded up and sold.

Nokota mares credit

 Some of the horses had not been gathered, leaving herds in North Dakota. When the Theodore Roosevelt National Park was founded there in the 1950s, it was decided that wild or feral equines remaining would not be allowed to stay, so the horses were removed and slaughtered. By the '80s, many of the original horses had been slaughtered, and other breeds were added to the area: Arabians, Quarter Horses, mustangs, and a part-Shire horse.

  To prevent the horses from becoming extinct due to crossbreeding or slaughter, Leo and Frank Kuntz, residents of Linton, North Dakota, purchased as many of the horses as possible and began building support for the breed, which they thought to be related to Spanish mustangs.They dubbed the breed Nokota and decided not to release them back into the wild because the remaining horses in the park were all cross-breeds.

Nokotas can even do dressage. credit

Breed Description and Uses
 Nokotas are large-boned horses, standing only 14.2 to 15 hands high, and have tough hooves, strong legs, prominant withers, and sloping shoulders and croups. They have medium-sized heads, often with slightly concave profiles. Usually, the Nokota's coat is some kind of roan, such as blue roan, strawberry roan, bay roan, or black roan.

 Nokotas are used for both English and western riding, including dressage and ranch work.

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After nearly a year of consistantly blogging 5-6 days a week, I have now reached 300 posts. Yay!

Kiger Mustang

 History

During the 1500s, the Spanish explored the New World, bringing large groups of horses with them. Many of these horses escaped, forming large herds throughout the western United States. Because so many different breeds escaped, the appearance of horses in different areas can vary slightly. Some herds, called Colonial Spanish Horses, resemble the horses the Spanish brought over, while others, known as Mustangs, are hardier.

 In the foothills of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon, herds of dun horses with black manes and tails roam. A herd of these horses were found in the '70s by E. Ron Harding, who was gathering Mustangs at Kiger Gorge in the Steen Mountains. Since this herd seemed special and was thought to be of Spanish descent, the Bureau of Land Management decided to relocate the herd to southeastern Oregon rather putting them for adoption. The separated the herd into two groups, with twenty going to an area near Diamond, Oregon, and seven going to Riddle Mountain Herd Management Area.

Kiger Mustang
credit

 Every few years, the herds in these areas are rounded up and inspected. Those with desired qualities are returned to the wild. The rest are auctioned off.

 Today, some domesticated Kigers are bred as trail and endurance horses. Since they are now domesticated and not considered Mustangs, they are called Kiger Horses instead. They can be registered under the Kiger Horse Association and Registry.

Breed Description and Uses

 Kiger Mustangs, named for the area in which they were found, are small horses, standing only 13.2 to 15.2 hands high on average. They are compact with slanted shoulders and strong hooves. Traveling the foothills of large mountains has made then very sure-footed, thus making them excellent trail horses. They have a small, refined head with hooked ears.

 All Kigers are some shade of dun, whether that be grulla, red dun, buckskin, or any other variation.