Dinky: The Nurse Mare’s Foal is the story of one little foals fight for survival after being taken from his mother within hours of his birth. Dinky, takes us on a poignant trip through the heart and mind of an animal, who was born for the sole purpose of producing milk in the mare. In the elite world of horses, Dinky was considered a by-product, a ‘junk foal.’
Dinky: The Nurse Mare’s Foal is a book to delight horse lovers of all ages. The horrors of the cruel treatment suffered by many broodmares who give birth only to have their new foal taken from them so that they can nurse another more important foal, is offset by the compassionate treatment of the subject and the wonderful story-telling ability of the author. Told from the point of view of a very young foal, Dinky sets the stage with comments like, “I stood there looking at her with my cutest little boy expression,…”; and humorous ones like, “I realized I’d gotten my wish to stay out in the sun longer. I truly needed to be more specific, I thought…”; to horse communication statements such as “Humans seem pretty stupid, Dinky. We can learn their language, but I have yet to meet one that understands horse.” Fortunately, Dinky discovered that there are a few who can understand “horse” when he was adopted by author Marta and her husband Ken, and he meets his new brother and sister, fellow horses Chrome and Connella. Connella tells him, “Marta and Ken will take care of us and feed us. They teach us how to be part of their world, and we show them how to be horses.” The loving relationship between Marta and her horses is evident throughout the story. Dinky tells us, “I knew she was my human, so I wrapped my head around her, the way we horses hug a human.” Having spent my own adolescent years as a horse fanatic, I can really relate to that horse hug!!! This book would have been one of my favorites then, and it is definitely one of my favorites now…
Viv Drewa 
Reblogged this on Viv Drewa – The Owl Lady.
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