Published: Feb. 05, 2012
Words: 11,105 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781466198906

Short description

This Prelude to "Don't Call Me Love" is an introduction to a filly that goes toe to toe with the big boys. Love is a fighter as bold as she is beautiful. She was born to a dam who was at the top of the pecking order. Though the youngest of the herd at her new home, Love has no intention of being demoted to a lower status. Her aggressive nature leads to many adventures, and a new name!

Extended description

Each Chapter of Backyard Horse Tales 3 "Don't Call Me Love" is a short tale unto its self. This prelude covers the first two years of her life, and the first four chapters of the complete tale.
Here is an excerpt from chapter 4.

My first horse show was in May of my two-year-old year. Lou would always wrap my legs when she put me in the trailer. She had used the long wraps that wound around my legs and fastened with strings or some sticky strips of cloth that she called “Velcro.” The wraps padded my legs from just below my knees to my ankles. Frosty and Millie went on that first horse show trip with me.
It was the longest ride I had been on up till then. We bounced and swayed down the road for only two hours, according to Lou, but to me it seemed like forever. I kept asking. “Are we there yet?” (Read more) Each Chapter of Backyard Horse Tales 3 "Don't Call Me Love" is a short tale unto its self. This prelude covers the first two years of her life, and the first four chapters of the complete tale.
Here is an excerpt from chapter 4.

My first horse show was in May of my two-year-old year. Lou would always wrap my legs when she put me in the trailer. She had used the long wraps that wound around my legs and fastened with strings or some sticky strips of cloth that she called “Velcro.” The wraps padded my legs from just below my knees to my ankles. Frosty and Millie went on that first horse show trip with me.
It was the longest ride I had been on up till then. We bounced and swayed down the road for only two hours, according to Lou, but to me it seemed like forever. I kept asking. “Are we there yet?”
Frosty groaned like he was in pain, when I asked the same question five or six more times. Finally, he lowered himself to answer me.
“You will know when we get to the show. There will be more horse trailers, and a lot of other horses.”
I filed that away. It sounded exciting! I waited for what seemed like an eternity before I asked again “Are we there yet?”
This time in addition to my brother’s disgusted sigh, Millie hollered at me. “SHUT UP! Just eat your hay.”
She was riding in the front of the four-horse trailer next to Frosty, who had the left hand stall. I really could not see them from my position behind Frosty, maybe just a glimpse of a wrapped hind leg. Large doors closed them in, separating the front and back stalls. I was just about to risk asking again when the trailer slowed down, and we all braced as the trailer made a big turn. I peeked out the side window and saw more trailers than I could count. A virtual rainbow of colors filled the whole parking area in front of two long barns.
When we were unloaded I went first. As I stepped out of the trailer I saw a lot of spots on other horses. Excited, I called out. “Hello! I am Chelsea Love. Is there anyone out there that I know?” I perked my ears up when Sugar answered my call. It surprised me to hear a colt answer me.
“Hey, Love its me, Patch, your brother!” His voice sounded older, but still familiar. I tried to remember what his registered name was. It wasn’t until the next morning when they announced the winner of the yearling stallion class that it came back to me. My little brother’s name was Chelsea’s Patch O Snow. Not only did he win his age class, but he also won the junior stallion champion at halter.
As it turned out, Sugar and I were in the same class. Sugar won, and I came in second in the two year old filly class. Lou also decided to enter me in the most colorful class. That is where I won my first blue ribbon and trophy.
After the halter classes were over, I went into the first of the large barns to rest while Frosty and Millie showed in riding classes. Whatever those were.
I did so well on my first outing that Lou bought me a bright red pair of shipping boots and a matching red halter. The shipping boots took some getting used to. Opened they looked like a big square of red nylon on one side, with fuzzy black padding on the other. When they wrapped around my legs, with the soft fuzzy material next to my skin, the new boots covered my legs all the way down to my hooves, and closed with four Velcro strips. The Velcro fasteners on each of the wraps made them fit snugly. They felt strange, and I tried to kick them off of my back legs, but they held fast. I was lunged in them for several days until I got used to them.
Frosty joked, “You should wear those red traveling boots in the next most colorful class competition; you would be a sure winner.”
For once in my life, I was speechless. I had never heard him make a wisecrack. In fact, I didn’t even think he had a sense of humor.
(Less)

Tags

horse stories horse tales horse lovers horse humor animal stories

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Reviews

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Review by: mirrani on May 31, 2012 :
I read the preview copy for review and have only the first few chapters to base my experience on.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and found myself caught up in Love's story. Told from the horse's point of view, it is much more modern than Black Beauty and that threw me a little at first, hearing modern talk come from horses, but I adjusted well enough by the end of my sample. Some of the horse interactions were typed so very well that you could actually see what was going on and picture the group together or the single horse calling out in the excitement of the show grounds.

Several places seemed a little bit like a dictionary of horse terms, where one character had to interpret what the human terms meant for another character... somewhat creative in doing it that way, but it made the plot a little slower at times. This said, I think young readers will really enjoy sitting down with this book and the series as a whole, especially if they are true horse lovers, dreaming of having their own one day or even already showing their own horses in the ring.

The errors that stood out in the preview copy are simple to fix for the final draft when it gets published. There will be plenty of time to work the kinks out and plenty of reasons for some youngster who loves horses to pick up this book and then chase down the others in the series.

Note: Though this book was a free gift from the author, the content of my review was in no way influenced by the gifting. The book speaks for itself and my review would have been worded just this way even if I'd gone out and bought it. I also give bonus points for Text To Speech enabling on Kindle format.... but that also wasn't a factor in the above review.
(reviewed long after purchase)

Review by: booklovernm on April 03, 2012 :
I posted a review on LibraryThing. This is a good book for a young horse-lover, but if you are not familiar with horses, some of the terms would not be recognizable. Also, the copy I received had many grammatical and spelling mistakes. After awhile, I couldn't help but look for these. It took away from the story. The first-person POV was interesting, but definitley not in the same league as Black Beauty.
All in all, a good read for the young reader.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Susan Frances on April 02, 2012 :
In Jackie Anton’s Backyard Horse Tales series, she illustrates the conflicts that children face by transposing those problems into the lives of horses. Anton treats horses like humans showing that they confront the same situations humans do, and the right choices for humans on how to handle such situations are also correct for horses.

In the series’ third book, Don’t Call Me Love, Anton centers the story around a filly named Chelsea Love and chronicles her life from being a foal to becoming a yearling when she begins competing in equestrian shows and winning prizes in her classes which includes her breed as an Appaloosa. Though the book only covers the first two years of Love’s life, they are considered children’s formative years when they learn to identify themselves and their surroundings. Love discovers who are her parents, her siblings and relatives, what behavior is proper and what is wrong, and how to protect herself when being threatened. Like human children, Chelsea Love experiences these lessons and developments. Anton shows that children and horses can relate to each other in this way and share in common their fears, vulnerabilities and need to love and be loved.

Some issues which Anton has Love face is dealing with bullies on the farm where she is born, wrestling with feelings of adversity about her name and honing a reputation that will persuade others to call her by a tougher appellation, discriminating between a threat such as a feral wolf from a friendly dog, and dealing with siblings who show animosity towards her. Love and her brother Frosty must break through their defensive walls before they can feel safe to show they care about each other. The conflicts which Anton brings up in the story reach into some of children’s most concealed vulnerabilities and push these emotions up to the surface. Everything is not sunny and happy in Love’s life, but she trudges forward facing the conflicts that life puts in her path and goes through the pain rather than hiding from it.

Prelude to Backyard Horse Tales 3: Don’t Call Me Love won’t put children to sleep like a bedtime story would, but incite them to think about Love’s situation and their own. It is suitable for middle school curriculums as Love’s contrasting traits of being sweet one minute and rebellious the next depending on the circumstances she’s facing is identifiable to middle school aged children.

Anton leaves off Book 3 with a cliffhanger. Love discovers that she is actually a mixed breed of Appaloosa and Rangerbred or Colorado Ranger. It is a rare horse breed and one of historical significance which Anton alludes to Love discovering in the next installment of the series.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: trisha hackett on March 31, 2012 :
I read this book and liked the format. The writer used the growing up and learning situations that a child would face. Animals learn the same way. I will be looking forward to the rest of the book that should be coming out in the future.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Angie Lenkevich on March 31, 2012 :
Backyard tales is a sweet story told from the horse's point of view. Our story begins at Love's first home before she is sold to her new owners at a year old. Love learns to cope with growing up and not being afraid of new experiences. Love along with her pal Sugar learn many lessons of friendship and bullying. Love meets her half brother Frosty at her new home and tries to learn to accept her place. Frosty tries to teach Love about her new home and make friends with her. Will Love like her new home? Your answers await in Backyard Tales #3.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Deborah Goslin on March 30, 2012 :
able children's book for every budding horse enthusiast. Reading the story from the horse's point of view brought a new perspective to my knowledge of horses. The touch of comedy as well as the reality of the interactions of horses with their human companions was delightful and touching. There is a humanlike quality to the pecking order of the horses interactions. I am looking forward to reading the rest of this book!
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: rhonda laney on March 29, 2012 :
4 STARS
Prelude to Backyard Horse Tales 3 Don't Call Me Love
Its a cute short story told by the foal's point of view.
Chelsea Love is the registered name, but his barn name is Love. When Love had questions the first year he would ask his mother to explain them. Love was taught to never let anyone push her around by her mama.
Its cute and different made me think about different sides of horses. I would read more of her books.
02/05/2012 PUB
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: rhonda laney on March 29, 2012 :
4 STARS
Prelude to Backyard Horse Tales 3 Don't Call Me Love
Its a cute short story told by the foal's point of view.
Chelsea Love is the registered name, but his barn name is Love. When Love had questions the first year he would ask his mother to explain them. Love was taught to never let anyone push her around by her mama.
Its cute and different made me think about different sides of horses. I would read more of her books.
02/05/2012 PUB
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

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