Chosen By A Horse – Richards, Susan Publisher: Mariner Books; Reprint edition: New York : Soho Press ©2006 #248 pages

Susan Richards thought she was rescuing a starved, abused, and abandoned mare. It turns out that the horse, Lay Me Down, was rescuing her. Lay Me Down had a very loving and open heart, besides the fact of being weak from malnutrition. So Lay Me Down and her foal who had no name allow themselves to walk on up Susans trailor ramp, into a new, loving life.
Susan knew she didn’t need another horse, but she felt for Lay Me down. Susan had felt that position in life before, because she was also abused both as a child in a bad past marriage. Lay Me Down comes to Susan, a Social worker through the SPCA as a foster horse, with a foal kicking along beside her. When the case is settled between the former owner and the SPCA, the foal is to be returned to him to pay a dept to a vet. But Susan is told that she may keep the mare, Lay Me Down. Formerly a racehorse, Lay Me Down experienced extreme abuse and neglect her entire life. Sick, and separated from her foal, prematurely, Susan is shocked to see how Lay Me Down isn’t afraid, or tense about anything.
Lay Me Down very quickly finds her way into Susan’s Heart, in a different way than her other three horses had. But Susan notices that something is odd about Lay Me Downs eye. Susan takes her to Cornell University for help. But she finds that Lay Me Down has an inoperable tumor. She is informed that it is no longer a question that Susan would have to euthanize Lay Me Down, it was when. Susan is terrified, because she hasn’t had to face death since losing her mother at the age of 5.
The ending was beautiful, yet tragic. It touched my heart as I read, and made me cry. Because I also have horses, and rescued a beautiful Appaloosa horse from abuse and starvation. Thankfully it wasn’t as serious as a tumor, and she is healthy and spoiled. This book really touched me.