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Readers were introduced to the caring and giving heart of Melanie Sue Bowles in her first book, The Horses of Proud Spirit. They learned how as an adult who knew nothing about horses, she acquired her first one, Cody, a troubled Thoroughbred mare who taught her how to communicate with horses. One horse led to another, each one in need of sanctuary from their previous lives of neglect or abuse. Thus began the Proud Spirit Horse Sanctuary.

In Hoof Prints: More Stories from Proud Spirit, we say goodbye to Cody just as the sanctuary is about to relocate. The move involves forty

horses in three 53-foot semi-trailers on a journey of over a thousand miles from southwest Florida to the hills of west Arkansas. . In the new location, the Proud Spirit horses run free on 4320 acres of rolling hills, living the life every horse deserves.

In this book you will meet some cruel people who have no idea how to treat horses and some wonderful, kindhearted people who open their lives to the beauty of these creatures with so much to teach us. You will meet Cosmina, a Romanian orphan who finds a kinship with these horses, who have also been abandoned. You will, of course, meet the horses ---and two donkeys, one of whom can fly! ---each one bearing a different scar, recovering at Proud Spirit in the warmth of the care offered there. Meet Sammy, the big beautiful bay Standardbred gelding, who comes and goes and comes again to his final sanctuary at Proud Spirit. Meet Jesse and her baby, Riley, the first of a whole barnful of babies! Learn how one dedicated trainer has found an alternative to the cruel practice of "soring" for Tennessee Walking Horses. Learn the ways of horse friendships: Meet big old Ranger, who eases Rosie from her mourning for Cracker, though it is finally Rebel and Gambler who invite Rosie to make a threesome of their twosome. Then there's Indigo, a very wild Mustang, who finally decides he can trust Melanie enough to greet her in the laundry room.

The PBS documentary "The Horses of Proud Spirit," based on the first book, won an Emmy and is currently airing nationwide.