Hoof Prints: More Stories from Proud Spirit

This is a perfect compliment to Horses of Proud Spirit. Horse Lover or not, this will have a place in your heart!Wow......the stories of these horses and donkeys are amazing! Kuddos to Proud Spirit Rescue and dedicating your life to giving horses a respectful retirement and being there with them to the end.

A look at the inhumane treatment of our horses, and the wonderful soul of a rescuer. Stories that will tug at your heartstrings, make you laugh and make you cry. This is a look into the hearts of the horses and the rescuers. A must read for all! One of my favorite books. I couldn't put it down. God bless Melanie.

WOW!!! Another fantastic book from Melanie Sue Bowles, and another emotional rollercoaster for me!! Once again, Melanie Bowles has proven herself to be a wonderful writer who completely envelopes you in every story. After reading some chapters, I cried nonstop for several minutes, and after reading other parts, I couldn't stop laughing. I'm half-way in to the final chapter, and am already starting to get upset because the book is almost over! If it were up to me, I'd have Melanie sitting at her typewriter spitting out book after book just so we'd have another to move on to when we've finished the one we're reading! Her books, writing style, and the real-life stories of these rescued horses (like only Melanie can tell them) absolutely make you want MORE!! Melanie and Jim Bowles are ANGELS, and I thank God that Proud Spirit Sanctuary is available to the horses that need it the most. Of course I can't do it, but right now, I feel the overwhelming need to go to Arkansas to hug Melanie and Jim and kiss all the noses of all the horses even if it means chasing them down all 160 acres! PLEASE BUY THIS BOOK for everyone you know, not only for a great read, but to help the horses at Proud Spirit. Thank you Melanie...now sit back down at that typewriter!!

Melanie, Melanie, your new book, Hoof Prints, is a wonderfully, sympathic journey for all animal lovers. Thank you, thank you, not only for beautiful prose but for the dedication you and Jim are giving. And thanks to all of the wonderful friends who let these horses be who God made them to be: free and happy. Your words have expanded my awareness, broadened my knowledge, and enlarged my compassion for those sweet creatures. Your books have turned my fear of horses into heartfult compassion; now I just want to hug and kiss them! And that's saying alot for this grandma who has kept a distance from any animal bigger than a German Shepherd for many years! Your writing style is easy and a delight to read because it comes straight from your heart - keep it up, gal; only with the next book, please include a box of tissues - for laughter as well as tears.

Guatama Buddha said . . . "You cannot travel the path until you have become the path itself." Fifteen years or so have passed since a special horse named Cody ambled into the life of Melanie Sue Bowles. Cody was the inspiration for her to take the first few fumbling steps of a new journey; to forge a new path known at the time only to the deep inner recesses of her being and the will to give something back to the world for the life given her. Melanie has since BECOME that path . . . the path on which a hundred plus abandoned, abused, or otherwise doomed horses have been given a second chance at a life every living creature deserves; merely the chance to truly be what they are. HOOF PRINTS is a continuation of the compelling stories that rended our hearts, mixed tears of pain with tears of joy, in her first book, THE HORSES OF PROUD SPIRIT. Mel relates the stories of these majestic animals and her interaction with them with such passion, warmth, occasional humor, and honesty that any person whose ever loved an animal simply cannot get enough. The gauntlet of feelings are literally wrung out of you during the reading. Melanie brings the often ugly world of animal abuse, abandonment, and in some cases just plain ignornance, out of the shadows into the light where it can be examined and dealt with in a way that serves all species, wild or domestic. If you buy only two books this year, Melanie's two books revealing the 'proud spirit' of a horse would be your best investment, and your best reward. I guarantee you'll never think of a horse in the same way again. Or any animal for that matter, and you'll be a better person for it. Susan Haley, Author RAINY DAY PEOPLE FIBERS IN THE WEB