by Theresa Oliver
Release Date: October 21st 2015
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary
Write More Publications
Summary from Goodreads:
Sam is a typical twelve-year-old boy who works on his parent's farm, but is not as interested in horses as his horse-training family. However, he does his best to help out until an incident when he is riding with his mother. After saving her from becoming nearly trampled, his viewpoint changes … until a strange horse comes to their farm with quirks, earning him the name Dog.
Dog likes Sam right away, but Sam wants nothing to do with him, as he is the son of Trumpeter, the horse that nearly maimed his mother for life. Sam has a hard time dealing with not only the memory of the accident, but the extra chores and responsibilities suddenly thrust upon him, one of which is training Dog.
Because his mother is out of work and people are canceling orders, money is scarce. With the Indiana Classic coming up-a local horse race with a huge purse-will Sam be able to befriend Dog and save their farm, or will Dog go back to his present owner, never to be seen again?
Find out in Theresa Oliver's first pre-teen novel, A Horse Named Dog.
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Excerpt:
They walked along at a leisurely pace for a bit when,
suddenly, Trumpeter reared up, then came down hard into a bolt. Sasha quickly
reined him in, standing in the stirrups as she pulled him back and brought him
down to an easy walk. “Whoa, boy! No racing today. We’re just going for a walk.
Take it easy,” Sasha said, patting Trumpeter on the side of his neck, but he
abruptly pulled away.
“He’s in a mood,” Sam commented sarcastically, reaching down
to pat Angel. She nodded her head.
“Yeah, pull back a bit, Sam, just in case,” Sam’s mother
said. “Angel might be spooking him.” Another horse walking so close beside
Trumpeter could be triggering his nature to race.
Sam laughed. “Anything spooks him, Mom. He wants to run.
We’d better go back and get Dad.”
His mother shook her head. “No, he’ll be fine. The fresh air
will do him some good.” A second later, Trumpeter tried to bolt again, but
Sasha was quick to pull back on the reins, bringing him easily back under
control. “On second thought, maybe a quick run will do him some good. Hold
tight to Angel. I’ll see you in the practice field.”
“Okay,” Sam replied uneasily. His mother had taken Trumpeter
for a run upon many occasions, but it seemed different this time somehow, and
he didn’t like it. But he did as his mother asked and held tightly to Angel’s
reins, bringing her to a stop.
Suddenly, his mother leaned forward slightly in the saddle,
holding tightly to the reins and yelled, “Yah!”
Within a second, Trumpeter’s front hooves raised high into
the air as he lunged forward, landing about six feet ahead, as he sprinted into
a dead run with his tail flying wildly in the breeze straight out behind him.
He stretched his long neck forward as the wind blew through his mane.
It was really a beautiful sight, watching Trumpeter run—as
if watching poetry in motion. His muscles flexed, undulating at an incredible
speed as he leaned forward. Trumpeter was a horse that was born to run. Within
a second, they were already in the practice field ahead in the distance.
Showing off a bit, Sasha turned Trumpeter quickly around and waved at Sam.
Sam laughed and made a clicking sound with his tongue,
giving Angel the signal to trot, and she happily obeyed.
Then, in the distance, Trumpeter suddenly reared up, taking
Sasha off guard. She fell backward off the horse, landing with a hard thud upon
the ground as Sam watched in horror. Trumpeter came down hard onto his mother’s
leg, crushing it. As he dug in to bolt again, he knocked her back hard onto the
ground and her head banged into the hard ground, jolting her.
“Mom!” Sam yelled. “Yah!” he yelled and leaned forward,
urging Angel into a full run toward his mother, lying lifeless on the ground as
Trumpeter ran off into the woods. With Angel running at full speed, he was at
his mother’s side in seconds. “Mom, are you okay?”
“Sam, honey, go get Dad,” his mother said calmly, but when
Sam looked down at her leg, it was lying at an unnatural angle to the side. A
bone was protruding from her leg and blood was quickly pooling onto her faded
blue jeans and she was losing consciousness from the pain.
“Mom, I’m not leaving you!” Sam replied, sliding his arm
under her shoulders. He looked up, and Trumpeter was bearing down, barreling
right toward them as tufts of earth kicked up from the ground behind him with a
wild look in his eyes. Angel stood still, looking around nervously, then back
down to Sasha and Sam. “Mom, I have to move you.”
“Honey, I can’t.” Sasha bit her lower lip, trying to hold
back the pain. The pool of blood on her jeans was now spreading down her leg.
“Mom, he’s coming back,” Sam said into her ear, trying to
think quickly. He looked up, and Trumpeter was leaning forward, sprinting
toward them at full speed with bloodlust in his eyes.
About the Author
Theresa Oliver grew up in southern Indiana, across from Louisville, Kentucky, in Clarksville, Indiana. In her childhood, she fell in love with the power of the written word, a love affair that has continued her whole life. She moved to Florida, where she has lived much of her adult life. She attended the University of Tennessee at Martin, Martin, Tenn., and earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communications degree, News Editorial sequence. She also earned a Master of Arts in Teaching degree, Early Childhood Education sequence, from Armstrong Atlantic State University, Savannah, Ga. She is currently a writer, a full-time teacher, and the owner of Write More Publications and TNT Author Services. However, her greatest adventure is as a mother of three beautiful boys. Oliver currently resides in Kissimmee, Florida, with her husband and children.
Theresa Oliver grew up in southern Indiana, across from Louisville, Kentucky, in Clarksville, Indiana. In her childhood, she fell in love with the power of the written word, a love affair that has continued her whole life. She moved to Florida, where she has lived much of her adult life. She attended the University of Tennessee at Martin, Martin, Tenn., and earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communications degree, News Editorial sequence. She also earned a Master of Arts in Teaching degree, Early Childhood Education sequence, from Armstrong Atlantic State University, Savannah, Ga. She is currently a writer, a full-time teacher, and the owner of Write More Publications and TNT Author Services. However, her greatest adventure is as a mother of three beautiful boys. Oliver currently resides in Kissimmee, Florida, with her husband and children.
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