Author: Ellen F. Feld

ISBN: 0-9709002-5-2

The following review was contributed by: Kathryn Atwood: Click Here To View More Of Kathryn's   Reviews

"Robin: The Loveable Morgan Horse," fourth in a series by horsewoman Ellen
Feld, introduces two new characters: Karen Greene and her "loveable" horse,
Robin.  Karen, a relative newcomer to horses, experiences a physically and
emotionally damaging accident (with another horse) in the first chapter
which drags her riding confidence down to zero.  Heather, a teenaged
character from the previous books and an experienced horsewoman, helps
Karen develop the assurance necessary to begin riding again.

As the title suggests, though, the real hero of the book is Robin, whose
bond with her owner goes far towards healing Karen's emotional scars.  Feld
obviously knows horses: not only do her descriptions of the animals ring
solidly true, but she captures the emotional attachment between horse and
human beautifully.

The book could almost be called a treatise on horse care; in fact that's
basically what it is.  There is a storyline, but it seems, at times, to
exist only for the purpose of horsemanship education.  Is this a problem?
 It can be; the fictional quality of a story can suffer when its main
function is to promote a non-fictional point.  For example, Feld spends
four entire pages describing the treatment of something called "horse rot."
While this is obviously something horse owners should know about, the
storyline comes to a complete halt while this issue is discussed by two of
the book's characters.  The didactic elements of "Robin" are all
worthwhile, but they also occasionally overpower the fictional aspects of
the story.

Robin is, however, truly a loveable and well-delineated  horse, and the
adventures she shares with her owner Karen make for a sweet story and one
that will appeal particularly to animal lovers.