Product Description

"All I can say is that there was something - right from the first. She was not a My Little Pony sort of a horse, not a dolly-girl, not winsome and winning, not even terribly pretty.

"A stubby little mare, bright bay with remarkably large ears. A white star in her forehead shaped like Madagascar. A huge arse; which is good, not bad, because that's where the power comes from. Not a horse that would turn heads, no, just a very horse-like horse. She stood, quiet, docile, as I approached her. I was a bit disappointed not to be offered something more lively. Ha. I placed a foot in the iron and swung on board...

"It was as if I had turned a key: all the lights came on. In that single instant, the horse came alive. She started buzzing. To tell the truth, I was a little alarmed: a little intimidated. This was definitely rather more horse than I was expecting..."

This is the story of an extraordinary relationship - and an extraordinary horse. When Barnes buys Dolly Dolores VII on a hunch, he knows he has got something special. She is feisty, restless, mysterious - unpredictable to the point of craziness. But she is also, to her owner's delight, a jumper of mesmerising poise and skill; she canters like a ballerina, gallops like a wild thing. And somehow, they just get on.

Then, one day, Dolly does something so startling, so inexplicable that she brings her owner to breaking point. Barnes is faced with a terrible decision...

The Horsey Life is about a friendship pushed to its limits. But it's also a book filled with larks and joy, which takes you right to the heart of the world of horses and those that love them.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #54803 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-17
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

About the Author
Simon Barnes is the multi-award-winning chief sportswriter for the Times. He is also a novelist, nature writer and horseman, and the author of a dozen books, including How to be a Bad Birdwatcher and The Meaning of Sport. He lives in Suffolk with his family.