For The Love of Horses, by Kelly Wilson

For The Love of Horses, by Kelly Wilson, is a non-fiction book about the Wilson sisters' inspiring journey to save New Zealand's wild horses.

The story starts with Vicki, Kelly and Amanda, when they were young and growing up in Northland. They did not have very much money and they worked very hard to have horses.They were riding, training and selling horses. Their first show was an A and P show. They would have to win to cover all the costs of the horses and they ended up going to many shows. The story also covers their school life, which in primary school they loved it, and then in middle school they struggled to fit in. 

The middle of the book tells us about the musters of the wild horses, the Kaimanawa's in Central Plateau, on the army's training ground. They save horses from slaughter and take them home to train, ride and compete. When they finished school they chose their own careers. Vicki chose horses, Kelly chose university and did photography and graphic design, and Amanda did filming and horses too. The rest of the book was about the positives and the challenges of training the Kaimanawa's, the camps, their careers and their relationships.

I liked how the book showed how they trained the horses, and their journey from when they were young to now, because I learnt that even if you do not have much money you can still become one of the best. This book was inspiring because they went through hard times, and they still powered through with what they were doing, and saving some Kaimanawa's, instead of the Kaimanawa's going to slaughter. I really liked all the photos because they showed how much they worked. It was inspiring that Kelly Wilson wrote the book and not someone else.

 

The bits I didn't enjoy was the Kaimanawa's going to slaughter, being sold and being put down. I also did not like when the book ended!

Kelly is trying to say, one: hard work pays off. Two: if first you don't succeed, try and try again. Three: being different is good. Four: wild horses are worth saving. I think the messages are very helpful and I would use them.

This book is an inspiring and interesting book, and I recommend it to animal lovers and people who like nature. It makes me want to go on one of their camps and read their next book!