The Rescue of Belle and Sundance

Rating

New or Used: US$9.94

In December 2008, two abandoned pack horses, a young mare named Belle and an older gelding called Sundance, are spotted by snowmobilers in the remote mountains of the Canadian Rockies. Starving and exhausted, they've trampled the snow into a deep white closet, with walls towering over them. Others manage to reach the horses, bringing hay but also a gun, in case the horses are too far gone. A slight sign of life in the horses' eyes gets them the hay. The 8-day story of their near impossible rescue, involving a trench dug by dozens of volunteers six feet deep and a kilometre long, and then a 30-kilometre descent for the frostbitten humans and wretchedly weak and emaciated horses in minus 40 degrees temperatures, and a Christmas Eve transfer to a foster farm, is sure to be read in one breathless sitting. The austerely beautiful setting and the riveting details (the horses' bond to one another led to their abandonment, they ate one another's tails for protein, and their first meal could be only 'flakes' of hay, and Gatorade) add to this tale of animal resilience and trust, and human stamina and compassion.

About the Author

Birgit Stutz, a journalist, riding instructor and horse trainer, actively participated in the rescue. She lives on a ranch in the Canadian Rockies and was part of the rescue team. Lawrence Scanlan is the author of The Horse God Built: Secretariat, His Groom, Their Legacy and wrote the Introduction and Afterword of the original Monty Roberts' New York Times bestselling book The Man Who Listens to Horses.

Reviews

Journalist, horse trainer, and riding instructor Stutz and Scanlan (The Horse God Built: The Untold Story of Secretariat, the World's Greatest Racehorse) tell the story of Belle and Sundance, two packhorses who were abandoned high up in the Canadian Rockies. Their owner, an inexperienced packer, had attempted to take supplies to a friend. After going through several bogs, the horses refused to go farther. The owner left them, thinking they would come down the mountain on their own. In December 2008, two snowmobilers spotted them. The horses had been without food for so long that they had eaten all the hair from each other's tails. Bringing along some horse lovers to assess the animals' condition, the snowmobilers came back with hay and a gun. The group decided that the horses had a chance to survive, and so the community of McBride, BC, began a concerted effort to save them. Verdict Readers who enjoyed Susan Richards's Chosen by a Horse and Jana Harris's Horses Never Lie About Love: The Story of a True Heart Named True Colors will appreciate this book. Recommended for all animal lovers.-Patsy E. Gray, formerly with Huntsville P.L., AL (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.