Horsepower: A Memoir

By Annette Israel

Book Overview

He was just an aged Belgian draft horse, left alone in a pasture to live out the remaining days of his twilight years. He spent his time drooling and swishing flies. But one day the old horse stepped... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1440102511
• ISBN13: 9781440102516
• Release Date: December 2008
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Great Story

What a GREAT story!!! My only complaint it was hard to put the book down!!

an enjoyable and tearful story

I enjoyed this book. Horse lovers and non-horsey types alike will enjoy this memoir.

More Thomas Merton than Anna Sewell

A quixotic woman rescues an old Belgian work horse, names him Ren after her deceased father, and brings him back to health. She learns the hard way that she shouldn't ride him because his arthritis makes him stumble, so she buys a cart and harness, and learns how to drive. Ren is twenty-five when the author rescues him, which is very old for a draft horse. The author and her readers know the old horse can't live much longer, but... Yes, this is a book about dying but it's also about a life well and truly lived. Annette Israel's memoir reminds me of Annie Dillard's autobiographical works, and I do not make this comparison lightly as Dillard is one of my favorite authors. Where Dillard hopes God has a sense of humor, this author knows He does. Where Dillard believes God does not intervene in the affairs of humanity, this author is sure that He has personally shaped her life. In fact, Annette Israel's life is a testament of obedience to God's special plan for her. After her parents died, she quit her job as a state trooper, found good homes for her beloved horses, gave away all of her belongings, and went to work in an adult foster care home for no pay but room and board: "I had nothing. I had to collect pop bottles to purchase one stamp; yet, every day I experienced miracles and I got to know God intimately and as a wise old friend with an incredible sense of humor." "Horsepower" is obviously not your usual feel-good horse story. Nor is it preachy. As a state trooper, the author interacted with the absolute dregs of humanity. Her faith that God listens to and answers her prayers is not naïve in the bad sense of the word, which equates naïvety to ignorance (or even worse, willful ignorance). She interviewed concentration camp survivors as part of Spielberg's Holocaust project, and still believes in an interventionist Deity. But, enough about religion. "Horsepower" is the story of Ren's last years and how he lived them (thanks to Annette Israel), joyfully and without complaint. To paraphrase Annie Dillard in Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters, we can learn from this old Belgian draft horse "...something of the purity of living in the physical senses and the dignity of living without bias or motive." I didn't just cry when Ren died; I cried myself to sleep--something I haven't done since Black Beauty's friend, Ginger was carted off to the knacker's. I hope you get a chance to read this luminous autobiography. It isn't just for horse lovers.

Heart Rendering

This book was really one you didn't want to put down. I have horses and it touched me so much to hear how this simple creature could affect so many in such a short time. His first owners probably never saw what he had to give, he just worked for them and did his best. The entire story changes you as a person to one who now looks for those special connections with your animals. Ms. Israel's unique way of telling her story made me laugh and cry sometimes at the same time. Truly a must read for the insightful person. I'd like to ready more of what she has written.

A Flat-Out Marvel

This memoir is about the unique, magical connection between certain humans and certain horses, but anyone who has ever loved any kind of animal will take great comfort and enjoyment from it. I've never owned a horse--I think I might have ridden twice in my life--and I am not by nature a "softie," but more than once Ms. Israel's beautiful prose and story had tears dripping off my chin and onto the pages. Don't get the wrong idea, by no means is this an overwhelmingly tragic tale--more often than not the tears I shed were of joy. Ms. Israel's insights into the emotional links between humans and animals are singular, and they will rock you. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this eloquent, exquisitely-written book has the power to open your heart and elevate your spirit. It is a flat-out marvel.