New Book- Horse Tales: True Stories From an Idaho Ranch
Heather Smith-Thomas and her brother Rocky riding Possum at the family cabin in 1954. Photo courtesy of Heather Smith-Thomas
“My dad paid $50 for Possum; I chipped in my life savings, $5.55. Dad bought a bridle at the saddle shop, adjusted the headstall to fit Possum, and I rode him out of the pasture and along the road, with my parents and brother following slowly in our car. I rode Possum two miles around the outskirts of town to Mr. Kohl’s pasture, Possum’s new home.”
OCT 22, 2014 – Idaho author Heather Smith Thomas’s latest book, Horse Tales: True Stories from an Idaho Ranch, launched this month. The book, published by the Colorado media venture The Frontier Project Inc., is a collection of 22 non-fiction stories about the horses that helped define Thomas’s life in the ranch country outside Salmon, Idaho.
“This book is about the horses in my life,” Thomas writes in the preface to Horse Tales. “They all had very different personalities and each one taught me a lot – not just about horses and riding, but about life and responsibility, patience, respect and trust, consistency and perseverance.”
Thomas is the author of 20 books and countless articles on horsemanship, stockmanship and animal health care. Each story in Horse Tales centers on the author’s experiences with a specific animal, and is infused with lessons on life, family and stockmanship. Together, the stories comprise a beautiful memoir about a remarkable life with horses, and offer a unique glimpse into ranch life in rural Idaho.
The 282-page book, priced at $24.95, will be available at Amazon.com, BarnesAndNoble.com, Powells.com and other online retailers.
Inquiries regarding excerpts or review copies can be directed to the book’s publisher, The Frontier Project Inc., headed by Ranch & Reata magazine editor A.J. Mangum; (719) 237-0243, thefrontierproject@gmail.com. Learn more about the book at www.ajmangum.com.
