Like minds, like people.

By Terri Rocovich 

The last couple of weeks for me have been insanely busy with deadlines relating to my new position as the the Chairman of the USPC National Testing Committee (Yes I need to have my head examined for saying yes to this), getting material prepared for the USPC Annual Meeting plus getting Uiver ready for his first show of the new year. As a result I have not had much time to peruse the blogs on EInk in the last week so I spent some time this morning catching up and I have to say I was equally entertained, educated and inspired.

Laura, I cannot wait to read Slickrock. I too am a fan of Thoreau and have often fancied the chance to become a hermit, even if for a little while, but I have never carried through with it like you did. And I loved your post on Dressage. I did not see it until it was too late to comment but I agreed with everything you said. To me, reining is to Western what dressage is to English and no matter your style of riding or your aspirations, it is all about time in the saddle.

Alison I never knew that horses had once been extinct in America and I am so impressed by the depth of your knowledge and your painstaking research. Francesca I laughed and loved your post about the snooty red head at your hair salon. That is what got me thinking about how so very similar we all are. The writers and readers of this blog, even though only a few of us have met in person we are all so amazingly alike in how we view the world and how we cherish our relationships with our horses.

People like the idiot woman (yes I am interjecting my opinion) that Francesca wrote about are all to common in the "show horse" world no matter your discipline - western or english. Laura and I have both blogged many times in the past about the ills and evils that persist when humans, horses and competitions combine. But it seems to me so many of us who are into horses for the right reasons seem to be drawn to this blog. And even though some of us, like Linda, are less active in the day to day comittment of owning horses, our hearts will never change.

People very impressed by their own wealth and self proclaimed status will always be a part of the horse shows just like flies drawn to you know what. But luckily in my opinion they are outnumbered by those of us who value every minute spent in the company of a horse and cherish those special moments, both in the show ring and out, where we feel at one with them and we are of like mind. I for one, don't think that you cannot develop a truly symbiotic relationship with a horse under saddle unless you also spend the time to develop one on the ground.

At my show this past weekend, I took Uiver on a hand walk after our Friday morning class. I do this several times a day when we are at shows because at home he is not used to being in a box stall all day. On our walk I stopped to watch a friend school a clients horse and as I stood there Uiver decided to rest his chin on my shoulder. We stood there for several minutes, with his chin on my shoulder and him making little nuzzling movements with his muzzle until, of course, something else caught his attention. For me those quiet moments are golden and more important than all the ribbons in the world. On Sunday morning, while waiting for our ride time, I had paused our warm-up to give Uiver a chance to catch his breath. David commented, "man he looks happy" referring to Uiver calming standing there on a cold morning watching other horses being fractious in their warm-up. My reponse was "well that is all that matters, isn't it."

After that Uiver and I went into the ring and rode our best test to date, earning a score of 71.18 at Intermediare 1. Think Uiver heard me??

Although my schedule keeps me from participating on this blog as much as I would like, it is great to know that there is always a place I can go to find people of like minds.

Horses and History

In my last post, I raptured poetic on beginnings. (Okay, raptured is not even close, but I am trying to be creative here at 10:00 at night.) This post I am going to talk about horses and history. I am cheating and using an article I wrote several years ago because I have a book due Monday for American Girls. I am very deadline-conscious. I have always honored my deadlines unless there were circumstances out of my control. That means  getting this blog done as well as making sure my AG book is in my editor's email inbox on time.

Writing about horses and history is a no-brainer for me. I have been horse crazy since my first Steiff pony and Billy and Blaze picture book by C.W. Anderson.  Decades later, my passion is still with me: I ride my Quarter Horse, Relish, read horse books and write about horses.  

Under my real name Alice Leonhardt and my pen name Alison Hart, I have written over fifty books about horses. Many are contemporary including Shadow Horse, an Edgar nominated mystery, and its sequel Whirlwind (Random House).  I also have combined horses and history to create suspense-filled historical fiction for Peachtree Publishers. The two meld perfectly because human and horses have been intertwined as early as 3500 BC when horses were raised for milk and meat in Kazakhstan. (see the fascinating March 2009 article in National Geographic http://new.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/03/090305-first-horse-domestication.html)

Horses have been used (and exploited) by humans in all parts of the world. In America, horses became extinct about 10,000 years ago and were then reintroduced by 16^th century Spanish Explorers.  That gives me centuries of history to write about. My Racing to Freedom trilogy (Gabriel’s Horses, Gabriel’s Triumph and Gabriel’s Journey) focuses on the 1800’s when horses were necessary for transportation, farming, commerce—and war.

            During the Civil War, both the Confederate and Union armies depended heavily upon horses. The animals were needed to pull wagons, cannons, and ambulances to and from battlegrounds. The horses also carried cavalry soldiers and officers into battle. About 1.5 million horses and mules died during the Civil War. 

            From “The History behind Gabriel’s Journey” by Alison Hart.

Writing historical fiction means I have to know the facts. The Racing to Freedom trilogy took over two years to research. I have notebooks and file folders of notes and photos from visits to Lexington and Camp Nelson, Kentucky, and Saratoga, New York; magazine articles, old maps, and scrawled notes from over two hundred books and online sources. I love this photo from the Civil War. The horse is gorgeous--shiny, alert, handsome and well-fed. But the journals and statistics on horses during the war detail starvation and death.

In a chapter from Gabriel’s Journey-- which is about an African American cavalry unit that fought at the Battle of Saltville, Virginia-- I create a 'scene' around the number of dead horses:

            I lead Sassy and Hero up onto the road. In front of us, a bulky mound lies in the center of the lane. The horse that was shot is dead. Blood oozes from its neck and shoulder. Already someone has stripped it of bridle, saddle, and gear. Soldiers lead their mounts around it or step over it. No one but me pays it any mind.

            I remember Jackson’s words when we first visited Camp Nelson and saw the broken-down remounts: Horses don’t choose to fight, and they sure don’t get no enlistment fee.

            And no glory neither, I see now. The body will be left for vultures and varmints.

            My eyes blur. I lead Sassy and Hero around the fallen horse and say a silent prayer.

Whether it’s a pony on the prairie during the Blizzard of 1888 (Anna’s Blizzard) or a slave finding freedom in 1865 (Gabriel’s Horses), each novel I write must be filled with vivid scenes that not only convey our history, but bring it to life for readers. 

How do you use research in your own writing? What problems stump you? Let me know!

The Highlight of the Day

By Francesca Prescott

 

While doing my highlights the other day, my hairdresser enquired politely, as always, about my horse. I’ve know from the first time I went to this salon that his enquiry is simply a ruse to launch me into equestrian autobabble, enabling him to mentally switch off and make appreciative noises every so often. Which is fine. I’m happy to sit back and enthuse over how wonderfully Qrac is working, knowing full well the gorgeous man painting me beautiful hasn’t a clue what I’m talking about. Doesn’t matter; I always come out with great hair.

However, last week, while I was equestrially enthusing, I noticed a heavily label-clad redhead sitting beside me, fresh from the hair-washing area of the salon, waiting for my hairdresser to do work his magic on her. She looked up from Vogue and announced that she had horses too. Many, actually. Stallions mostly. Akhal Teke and Hannoverians. So, what breed was my horse? What level did I ride? Where was he stabled and with whom did I train?

Happy to have someone to chat horse with, I gave her the lowdown on Qrac. “Well, you see, he’s an eight-year-old Lusitano, I’ve owned him just over a year and a half, and he came to me with very limited training, and rushed a lot in the beginning. I’ve recently had him gelded, oh and  I train with so-and-so, and so-and-so, and so-and-so. We’ve only competed once, last summer, at a very modest level and not particularly successfully (to say the least!), but we’re making amazing progress, he’s really starting to sit, and he’s such a brilliant tryer, and I’m hoping to show more regularly during the coming season. “  I probably said a lot more, but you probably get the giddy, lovestruck drift.

“Ah bon,” she said, attempting to haul up a Botoxed eyebrow. She muttered something about riding at a far higher level, and went back to Vogue.

Somewhat crestfallen, I settled back into my chair, impressively Lady Gaga-ish under my mountain of cling-filmed hair.  Soon, my hairdresser moved on to the redhead, leaving me to chemically infuse while they discussed what new do she might fancy. “Chéri, I want a change,” she bellowed, waving her hands around, making sure everyone saw how many rocks she was wearing. “Give me a long fringe, mon chéri. It will be amusant, n’est-ce pas?”

“Mais quelle bonne idée!” beamed the hairdresser. Waving his scissors dashingly, he dove in for the chop.

I grabbed a copy of Elle and immersed myself in it, waiting for my highlights to cook. Once they were done, another hairdresser ushered me to the hair-washing area and settled me in, fussing over over me. Was I comfortable? Was the water temperature too hot, too cold, just right?

Meanwhile, over in the chopping area, the redhead was now loudly voicing her opinions on the architectural suitability of the real estate market for people of a certain age in the high-income bracket. She had it all sorted, had designed the perfect penthouse with the mandatory back-entrance for “le personnel de maison”, and was braying away to the hairdresser, punctuating the end of every sentence with a “you know what I mean?”.  Once certain he’d got the astronomically expensive picture, she moved on to discussing the merits of having staff to prepare your “nags” (she used the French equivalent to that word, “canasson”. If I hadn’t warmed to her before, I certainly wasn’t oozing admiration now) for you to ride, because, frankly, having to groom and saddle-up is far too boring, especially when one has have far more pressing things to attend to, you know what I mean?

I looked up and caught the eye of the man washing my hair. Our expressions said it all, yet I couldn’t resist telling him that one of my favourite moments of the time I spend daily with Qrac is when I show up at his stable door, say “hello, you beautiful, clever boy”, and offer him a carrot. I told him that I love to lead him to the grooming area where I start by taking off his blanket. I explained how I love to groom him, to brush his mane and tail until it flows silky smooth, how I enjoy matching his saddle-cloth and bandages, how I love kissing his nose and telling him what a good boy he is. I told him how, once we’ve had our daily workout, be it an outside ride, a lunge session or dressage, I love un-tacking him while telling him how clever he’s been, brushing off his sweat, showering his legs, showering him with love. I tell him how I’m certain my horse enjoys being fussed over, standing calmly, even dozing off while I groom him. He’ll wake up and paw at the ground for a carrot once in a while, then munch away happily when I indulge him, which – surprise, surprise - I usually do.

I left the salon happy with my hair, but feeling sorry for the many horses owned by that redheaded lady. Because even if they probably live in the lap of luxury in a fabulous stable, I don’t think they’re the highlight of her day. I just hope they all have a special “domestique” fussing over them while they’re being prepared to accommodate Madame’s designer-breeched behind.  Sheesh!

I know, I know, I’m totally overly coochy-coo with my horse (and my dogs, too), and I’m sure some people think I could tone it down a little. I mean, there’s probably a happy medium, especially when it comes to buying bags of carrots. But some people just make you crazy, don’t you think?! That redhead certainly did!

Happy New Year! Wishing you healthy, happy horses. And everything else, of course!

Get "Slickrock" For Free!

                                                by Laura Crum 

            Starting today, Weds Jan 9^th and going through Sunday, Jan 13^th, you can get the Kindle edition of my fifth novel, Slickrock, for free. Slickrock was the winner of my contest for a free book, getting the most votes, with Hoofprints in second place. For those who wanted Hoofprints (the second book in my series), that book is currently on special offer for 99 cents, making it almost as good as free. Here is the link to get Hoofprints. And here is the link to get Slickrock for free. Also, if you want to start with the first book in the series, that book, Cutter, is also on special offer for 99 cents. Here is the link.

            If you haven’t tried my mystery series yet, Slickrock has always been the overall reader favorite of my twelve novels featuring equine veterinarian Gail McCarthy. The series as a whole is set in Santa Cruz County, California, where I live, but Slickrock takes place on a horse-packing trip in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and the whole mystery occurs in that context. It’s essentially a “vacation mystery”. Sort of the vacation from hell.

            In brief: Gail embarks on a solitary pack trip in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, with just her two horses and her dog for company. Seeking peace and tranquility, she stumbles upon a soon-to-be-dead man, and is drawn into the whirlwind of events that precipitated the tragedy. It will take all of Gail’s strength and ingenuity to survive this trip, and all of her intelligence to figure out who is stalking her through the mountains. Lots of horse action—all of it based on things that have actually happened.

            The beginnings of Slickrock are buried in my distant past—the summer I was twenty-two and spent three months living by myself in a tent at a Sierra lake, with just my six month old dog for company. I wasn’t there to write a novel—no, I was after something much bigger than that. I’d fallen in love with the book, Walden, by Henry David Thoreau, and I was trying a grand experiment in solitary living, to prove or disprove the claims of that book. I meant to write something, of course. My senior project, as an English major, was a paper to be written about my time of living by myself at Burgson Lake in the mountains, and how it compared to Thoreau’s sojourn at Walden Pond.

            To that end, I kept journals while I lived at the lake, meaning to weave them into something cohesive later. I did present the paper, but have long ago lost it, but the journals, with their descriptions of my solitary life in a tent at Burgson Lake, stayed with me. Those journals were the beginning of Slickrock.

            Here I am with Joey, my six-month-old Queensland heeler, at Burgson Lake, thirty-three years ago. The photo was taken by my friend, Shery, when she drove up to spend a weekend at the lake with me.

            It wasn’t until I was thirty that I conceived the idea of writing mystery novels—more or less inspired by Dick Francis. I came up with the concept of a female equine veterinarian as a protagonist, and began by writing about cutting horses (my first novel, Cutter), as I had spent my late twenties training and showing cutting horses. By my thirties I was involved with team roping horses (which play a large part in my third and fourth novels, Roughstock and Roped). I was also taking many horseback pack trips into the Sierra Nevada Mountains on our own horses. On the longer trips, we crossed the spine of these mountains many times, going over several different passes, and camping at dozens of high Sierra lakes. The longest trips lasted two weeks or so. I kept journals on these trips, too. And gradually the concept of a pack trip mystery began to assume form.

            I wanted to write about the pack station that I had worked at, and the lakes and passes I knew. The trails and the steep, rocky terrain were big in my mind. And, of course, every wreck and near-wreck that had come our way, as well as some described to me by friends, would make their way into this pack trip story. But…I needed a plot.

            Well, as I often do, I borrowed from life. I had heard a tale of real life villainy involving horses that interested me (can’t tell you—it would spoil the story). And I had, myself, stumbled upon a very dramatic crime scene that I thought would make a good opener for the book. And then there were all my Sierra journals, written while I was up in the mountains, for background. And so Slickrock was born (and named for the infamous “slickrock”, which also plays a part in the story).

            I tried to incorporate all my real life pack trip adventures into this book, as well as my favorite places. The picture below shows me riding across Kerrick Meadows, high in the eastern Sierras, and the scene of a fairly thrilling horseback chase in Slickrock.

            The horse Gail rides in the novel is Gunner, but most of my pack trips adventures were on Flanigan, and it is his stalwart nature that is the bottom line in both the story and my real life travels. Here I am on Flanigan at Wood Lake, a lovely Sierra Lake which appears in Slickrock.

            Slickrock has always been the reader favorite of my novels—I can’t say exactly why. For me, the parts drawn from my journals that describe what it is like to be alone in these mountains are the really interesting part of the book. And I think that perhaps some readers agree. For those of you, like me, who admire Funder’s writing and blog (“It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time,” listed on the sidebar), here is Funder’s comment on Slickrock:

“And her place descriptions are amazing! Having read Slickrock I desperately want to learn to pack. She really captures the beautiful, remote, terrifying, captivating reality of the mountains. (I could do without all the calamities that befell Gail!)”

            So there you go. If that doesn’t make you want to read the book, I don’t know what will. Except the fact that it free right now on Kindle—only until the end of this week. So now is the time, if you’re interested at all. I honestly think that if you enjoy my writing on the blog, you will enjoy this novel.

            Here is the link to the Kindle editions of my books. If you do give Slickrock a try, I’d love to know what you think of it. And if you would post a review on Amazon, I’d be really grateful.

End of an Era

by Linda Benson

Our barnyard seems so quiet. In fact, it is. Other than a couple of barn cats and a few remaining mice, nothing stirs there anymore. After 45 years of owning horses, and several more owning donkeys (I had to have something equine) I made preparations to find a great home for my last remaining animals, anticipating a move in our future.

I started this process early, because I didn't want to be in a hurry about it. As it is, I found them a wonderful home, with very knowledgeable donkey owners who will keep these two boys together as a pair. They are, after all, best friends.

We decided to deliver them, because we wanted to see where they were going to live. So we hitched up the trailer,

and got the boys ready to go. They obviously knew something was up.

Where are we going, Mom?

To your new home. You'll be fine.

Looks like a pretty nice place!

And in no time at all, they were all settled in. It made my heart glad to find such a good home for them.

But I have to admit, long after my donkeys were gone, years of long habit kept me glancing out to our own pastures and barn, over and over during the day, making sure they were okay. It's a horse person's instinct, to check on their animals' well being constantly. My husband parked his tractor inside the big stall they had shared, and every single time I glanced out the window, I thought I saw them in the barn. No, I had to remind myself, it's the tractor.

I wrote a post some time ago about being a horsewoman for life: http://equestrianink.blogspot.com/2011/08/on-being-horsewoman.html and many of you reassured me that I was. (Thank you.) But my husband and I are down-sizing: smaller acreage, smaller house, and less animals, so this feels like the end of an era for me. A very long era of owning equines.

But you want to know the very best part? Right next door to our new place, there's a nice barn with several horses, who stick their noses over the fence to be petted. Guess where I'll be every day??

I Tackle Dressage

                                    by Laura Crum

            No, not in real life. Just as a subject. And right up front, I know nothing about dressage, and I am hoping those who do will correct all my misperceptions. So this post is just to show you what comes to me when I read posts by other folks about dressage. It will reveal how ignorant I am (gasp). Feel free to make fun of me and/or show me where I am wrong. Seriously.

            So the other day I read a post about dressage that really rang a bell for me. I’m not going to name the author because I’m afraid I may be misinterpreting what she said. And I certainly don’t mean to insult her. I believe her to be fairly accomplished at dressage. Anyway, her post was about the timing of cues.

            I read this post and both laughed and nodded my head in agreement. The gist of it was that many people make very heavy weather about knowing exactly where a horse’s feet are at all times. Certain cues MUST be given when a certain foot is in the air or on the ground or beginning to rise or…you get the idea. And people go round and round trying to describe how you learn to feel the footfalls.

            Well…yes, I have never had anything to do with dressage. But yes, also, those of us who have ridden reining patterns must cue for a specific lead departure in one stride, and a flying change, and a solid, balanced stop from the high lope, and a spin (would you dressage folks call that a pirouette?). And we, too, got a lot of input (much of it conflicting) on how exactly to cue these things. And yeah, lots of it had to do with cuing when the feet were in a certain place.

            Its not that this is untrue, mind you. It’s just very hard for most of us to do. And as the author of the blog post I read pointed out, you will NOT learn to do it by sitting on your couch gathering advice from your internet horse buddies. You won’t learn to do it by listening to your trainer expound, either. The only way you will learn to do it is by many, many hours in the saddle. And for a lot of us, me included, you still won’t be able to say, “Oh, now Fluffy’s left front foot is rising and so I will cue him.” Uhmm, no.

            What actually happened for me, and I believe this to be true of a few others, is that after many years of cuing many horses for, let us say, a left lead departure, I learned, mostly through the process of trial and error, to feel when the horse could easily take the left lead. And I would cue at that point. Basically I learned this by cuing at the wrong time and getting the wrong results, and then cuing at the right time and getting the right results. I did not learn it by making up a theory about it or studying the footfalls. A more astute student can (and perhaps will) tell me that what I learned was to feel when a particular foot was rising or planted or what have you. And perhaps I did. But I never thought of it that way. To be perfectly honest, in my opinion, thinking gets in the way of feel—and feel is what counts.

            So after a lot of years in the saddle I could cue for a lead departure or a flying change or a spin, and my horse would execute the thing I asked. I might be able to tell you a little story about how I did it, but the truth is it was mostly about feel. And I got the feel by lots of hours on that horse. After doing it wrong over and over again, I finally knew the feel of when to cue. I knew both how and when to push the right buttons.

            But every horse is a little different. So I would have to get used to the feel of a new one, and learn his buttons. The more horses I rode, the easier that was. And since I spent my youth riding a wide variety of horses, it was reasonably easy for me to adapt to a new mount. However, I want to stress that it still took some of that same trial and error—a willingness to experiment with what worked (and what didn’t work) for that particular horse. It wasn’t as if I had some kind of theory that I applied to all horses. In fact, I think theories are vastly overrated.

            I’m not sure that this concept of mine about feel versus theory will apply at the higher levels of dressage—perhaps someone will tell me. I do know that if, for instance, I want my horse to shoulder in and sidepass so he is in the exact position I need to reach the handle of a tricky gate, I don’t think about what cues to use. It’s all about the feel. I cue as I sense the horse can/will respond appropriately. Does this mean I intuitively know where his feet are? Could be. I darn sure don’t know consciously.

            So what I took from that dressage blog was this message. You can study theories till the cows come home—it won’t help you that much. Wet saddle blankets and a willingness to experiment are what will teach you how to cue effectively. And once you learn how to do this, it will be more about recognizing a “feel” than anything else. And this was exactly the way I learned to cue a horse effectively, in my own, much humbler, disciplines.

            And yes, pity the poor horse that you experiment on. Well, yes and no. In my own case, my primary “victim” was Gunner, a horse I bought when he was three years old. I trained him and competed on him in first cowhorse, then cutting, then team roping. And yeah, lots and lots of wrong cues in that process, believe me. But Gunner still learned how to be an effective competitor in all three of those events. And from this kind, willing, talented horse, I learned how to give effective cues.

            (Gunner turns thirty-three this year. I have owned him for thirty years. He was my competition horse until he was fourteen, I used him for light riding until he was twenty, he was turned out to pasture from twenty until he was thirty–one, and since then he has been home with me, being fed all he will eat and generally being spoiled.  is still with me and still doing well, after a setback just before Xmas where he got cast. I spend time with him every day, hand grazing him, and he seems happy. I know I’m happy to have him with me and don’t begrudge one bit of the time, effort or money I’ve spent on him over the years. Maybe we don’t always have to pity the horse we learn with. For Gunner, I think, his partnership with me has paid off well—for both of us.)

             

            So that’s my dressage theory for you—lots of hours in the saddle and a willingness to experiment with what works. Its all about intuitive feel rather than theories. And feel free to rip me apart. My riding today looks mostly like this. Not exactly dressage.

            And, please do vote on my free book contest (my previous blog post—here is the link). Even if you are a dressage queen who considers all western horse events uncouth, and even if you don’t read on Kindle and don’t like mysteries. Just vote for the title that sounds even a little interesting to you. I would really like to get your input. If you have time, please leave a comment—either on this blog or on facebook—I will link to this post there. Thank you!

Contest For a FREE Book

by Laura Crum

           

OK, in honor of all those who got a Kindle for Xmas, we’re going to run a contest for a free book (Kindle edition). Most of you know that I have written twelve mystery novels in a series featuring equine veterinarian Gail McCarthy. Some of you are even reading this series. In fact, some of you have written to tell me that you’re really enjoying my stories. This gave me an idea. So here’s the contest.

            If you would like to have a free Kindle edition of a specific book in my series (exceptions will follow), just leave a comment naming that book. The book that gets the most votes (by next Weds, the 13^th) will be offered for free for five days. All of you who are interested will be able to get this title for free during the five days.

            Here is a great chance to get the next book for free, if you’re currently reading the series, and if you haven’t yet tried my mysteries, it’s a chance to select the book you think you’d like the most and try it for free.

            Now for the exceptions. We offered the first book in the series, Cutter, for free a couple of months ago, and Amazon won’t let us repeat that offer for awhile. So no use choosing Cutter. But…Cutter is currently on special offer for 99 cents, so it’s almost as good as free. The last four books in the series, Moonblind, Chasing Cans, Going Gone, and Barnstorming can’t be offered for free either…yet. However, all four of these books were recently reduced in price from $10.99 to $2.99 (as Kindle editions). These four books are also currently available as paperback editions. So the choices for the free Kindle edition are limited to Hoofprints, Roughstock, Roped, Slickrock, Breakaway, Hayburner and Forged.

            For those who haven’t tried my books yet, these are pretty much classic mysteries, with a western horse theme. All the horse background is absolutely accurate and is drawn from my many years training, competing, ranching, horse packing, and trail riding. The horses are real horses and do not talk, solve crimes or defend their owner from the bad guy-- I promise. I honestly think that if you enjoy my writing on this blog, you will enjoy these books.

Below see a list of all the titles in the series, in order, with a brief description of the book. You can click on each title for a link to the Kindle edition, including more info about the book and reviews.

CUTTER: Veterinarian Gail McCarthy thought cutting horse trainer Casey Brooks was being paranoid with his stories of poisoned horses and sabotage, but when his blue roan mare returns riderless and Casey is found dead, she isn’t so sure.

            HOOFPRINTS: Gail McCarthy is a horse vet with a hectic schedule, not to mention a horse, a new boyfriend, and a house payment, and her life is more than a little disrupted when she finds two dead bodies in the course of a routine call to a well known reined cowhorse barn. When a sniper takes a shot at her on her next midnight emergency, Gail knows she must discover the culprit before she becomes the next victim.

            ROUGHSTOCK: While attending the annual Winter Equine Seminar at Lake Tahoe, Gail finds one of her fellow horse vets dead, and another accused of his murder. The trail leads back to Gail’s hometown, and through the twists and turns of the endurance and team roping worlds, plunging Gail into a confrontation with an unlikely killer.

            ROPED: A stalker haunting the ranch of an old friend creates a harrowing personal drama for Gail as she struggles to sort out a mystery involving animal rights and a bitter feud—and win a team roping event at the same time.

            SLICKROCK: Gail embarks on a solitary pack trip in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, with just her two horses and her dog for company. Seeking peace and tranquility, she stumbles upon a soon-to-be-dead man, and is drawn into the whirlwind of nefarious events that precipitated the tragedy.

            BREAKAWAY: Faced with a depression and some big life changes, Gail struggles to find the right path as she is confronted with the strangest mystery she has ever heard of.

            HAYBURNER: Gail is called out to treat injured horses when the biggest boarding stable in the county catches fire. When a second barn fire occurs nearby, Gail finds herself in the middle of the search to catch the arsonist—before any more horses or people die.

            FORGED: Gail’s horseshoer is shot in her barnyard, while shoeing her horse, embroiling Gail in a dangerous attempt to capture an elusive killer.

            MOONBLIND: Gail’s cousin Jenny, who runs a Thoroughbred lay-up farm, complains of mysterious villains who are out to destroy her business—and harm her horses. While trying to support Jenny, Gail discovers this threat is all too real.

            CHASING CANS: Legendary barrel racing trainer Lindee Stone is killed when a horse flips over backwards with her. The cops are calling it an accident, but Gail witnessed the wreck and thinks there is something fishy about it.

            GOING, GONE: While on a vacation in the Sierra foothills, Gail finds that her old boyfriend, Lonny Peterson, is accused of murdering a local auctioneer. In an attempt to save Lonny, Gail ends up in a harrowing horseback race with a ruthless killer.

-             BARNSTORMING: In which Gail, on a solitary trail ride, discovers a fellow equestrian shot through the heart, and embarks on an intense hunt to discover why violence is haunting her local trails.

All of these books stand alone really well. You don’t need to have read the previous books to enjoy any title. And for those who want to know which is “the best”, all I can say is that Slickrock has always been the overall reader favorite.

You have one week to leave a comment on this post choosing a free book. Next Weds the book that gets the most votes will be offered for free for five days.

And finally, please vote. Even if you don’t read on Kindle. And even if you’re not interested in mysteries. If you read this blog and have time to comment, pick a title. Just pick the book that sounds most interesting to you. If you’ve read the series, vote for your favorite book. I’m curious. Thank you!

PS—You can vote by commenting on facebook if you’d rather—I will link to this post there.