Homesick Horse


 
 
 
 
 
 
 Winnie: The Early Years Series
 Horse Gentler in Training
 A Horse’s Best Friend
 Lucky for Winnie
 Homesick Horse
 Winnie the Horse Gentler Series
 Wild Thing
 Eager Star
 Bold Beauty
 Midnight Mystery
 Unhappy Appy
 Gift Horse
 Friendly Foal
 Buckskin Bandit
 
 
 
 Visit Tyndale’s website for kids at tyndale.com/kids.
 Visit Dandi Daley Mackall online at dandibooks.com.
 Tyndale is a registered trademark of Tyndale House Ministries. The Tyndale Kids logo is a trademark of Tyndale House Ministries.
 Homesick Horse
 Copyright © 2023 by Dandi A. Mackall. All rights reserved.
 Illustrations by Phyllis Harris. Copyright © Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
 Designed by Lindsey Bergsma
 Edited by Deborah King
 Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
 Homesick Horse is a work of fiction. Where real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales appear, they are used fictitiously. All other elements of the novel are drawn from the author’s imagination.
 For manufacturing information regarding this product, please call 1-855-277-9400.
 For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Tyndale House Publishers at [email protected], or call 1-855-277-9400.
 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
 A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
 ISBN 978-1-4964-6151-3
 
 
 Build: 2023-03-07 09:20:57 EPUB 3.0
 
 For my granddaughter Harper, who is a twirling joy
 
 
 
 Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.
 JOHN 14:1-3
 
 
 
 
 Contents
 
 
 
 Cover
 
 
 Title Page
 
 
 Copyright
 
 
 Dedication
 
 
 Epigraph
 
 
 Chapter 1: The One Horse
 
 
 Chapter 2: Bucking on the Inside
 
 
 Chapter 3: If Aunt Betty Were a Horse
 
 
 Chapter 4: Dominant Mares
 
 
 Chapter 5: Like Mother, Like Daughter
 
 
 Chapter 6: Sunday, Sun Day
 
 
 Chapter 7: Betty and Buck
 
 
 Chapter 8: Good Luck with Buck
 
 
 Chapter 9: No Winner, Just Dinner
 
 
 Chapter 10: Horse Wars
 
 
 Chapter 11: Pride Comes before a Fall
 
 
 Chapter 12: How to Grow a Friend
 
 
 Chapter 13: The Secret of Home
 
 
 My True Horse Story
 
 
 Horse Terms
 
 
 Horse Gentling
 
 
 Positive Reinforcement
 
 
 Building Trust
 
 
 Thinking Like a Horse
 
 
 Parts of the Horse
 
 
 About the Author
 
 
 
 Landmarks
 
 Cover
 Title Page
 Promo 1
 Copyright
 Dedication
 My True Horse Story
 About the Author
 
 
 
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 Shivering, I stomp my boots on the frozen ground and wonder how Mom and my little sister, Lizzy, can look so calm. “Shouldn’t Dad be back by now?”
 Mom smiles. Her patience makes her the best horse gentler in all of Wyoming and maybe the whole world. “Winnie, everything in its own time. Aunt Betty refused to fly, so your dad had to fly to California and drive all the way back to Wyoming. Since Uncle Will died, she hasn’t been able to keep up with the farm, so she’s leaving her house and the farm for good. That can’t be easy.”
 “Aww, poor Aunt Betty,” Lizzy says.
 My sister is a year younger and an inch taller than me. We both have brown hair, but Lizzy’s always looks curly cute, even under her llama hat. We both got Mom’s green eyes, but Lizzy dodged the freckles.
 Lizzy’s eyes fill with tears. “If Aunt Betty doesn’t have a home, can we keep her?” My sister is always bringing home strays—lizards and bugs mostly.
 Mom tugs at one of the yarn braids on Lizzy’s llama hat. “She’s welcome to stay as long as she needs us. I think she’s planning to move into an assisted living home next month, though.”
 Until this week, I’d never heard much about Aunt Betty. Mom fixed up my room for her, even though Dad says it’s too horsey. But Lizzy keeps part of her bug collection and her favorite lizards in her room, and Mom wasn’t sure how Aunt Betty feels about creeping creatures.
 “He’s coming!” Lizzy shouts. “They’re here!”
 I spot the nose of Dad’s car poking over the hill. Lizzy and I take off running up the lane. But a minute later, I stop in my tracks. Dad’s car is pulling a black one-horse trailer.
 Lizzy reaches the car, then jogs beside it as car and trailer inch up the lane. When they pass me, all I can do is stare.
 In that one-horse trailer . . . is one horse. Lizzy grabs my hand, and I fall in step with her. I can’t believe