The Horse that Wouldn't Trot
A Life with Tennessee
WalkingHorses: Lessons Learned and Memories Shared By Rose Miller Order your copy today by
clicking here!
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Rose Miller shares a powerful
story of human and equine interaction which transcends the usual relationship of
human and animal bond.
The Horse That Wouldn’t Trot
closely relates a spiritual dimension that existed between her and her beloved
Tennessee Walking Horses. Rose has dealt with much pain as a horse owner, mom,
and friend. Yet each setback is forwarded by a new human or equine acquaintance
and the will to share and love an amazing life. This book is a well written
reflection of a real person’s life that is both revealing and inspirational. A
horse lovers must read.
~ Dr. Dave Whitaker, Director of the
Horse Program at MiddleTennesseeState
University ~
WELCOME!
2009 Rose and Praise Hallelujah 21 years old
Many of us are horse lovers. Most of us first became attracted to horses
when we were small children. Such is the story of Rose Miller. Horses are
her lifelong addiction.
Like many young girls, Rose was born with a deep love for all animals, but
especially horses. When she was 4, she announced to her bewildered parents
that the family should move to a farm and raise horses! Eventually 4 years
later because of her dad’s job, they did move to a Pennsylvania hill-top
farm where at 15, Rose got Smokey, her first horse. It would be many years
later after getting married, adding 4 children to the family, and surviving
a deadly tornado before Rose got her chance to raise smooth gaited horses
that do not trot: the Tennessee Walking Horses, a true American breed. The
Tennessee Walking Horse was developed in the South and shares genetics with
the Morgan Horse, American Saddlebred, Standardbred, and Thoroughbred.
Now nearly 40 years later, she is writing about her horse adventures
and sharing horse training concepts in the conversational manner of Mark
Rashid’s interesting and educational horse books such as:
Horses Never Lie.
The Horse That Wouldn’t Trot:
Lessons Learned and Memories Shared is part memoir of one woman’s
journey to success from the show ring to the breeding shed; part history of
the Tennessee Walking Horse which sadly must include the abusive practice of
“soring” used on some show horses, and full of poignant horse and human
relationship stories, some sad, some funny, but all shared with her love for
the horse. Rose’s honest and straightforward approach to sharing her
compelling journey to become a true horsewoman is endearing and humbling.
The detail and humor in which she shares her memories is fascinating. Learn
about breeding, foaling, and showing horses through the special stories of
extraordinary stallions and mares.
Rose is a member of Friends of
Sound Horses, and a lifetime member of the National Walking Horse
Association (NWHA,) 2 organizations dedicated to the humane treatment of
Tennessee Walking Horses. She recieved the NWHA Phoenix Award for her
extraordinary efforts toward the betterment of the Tennessee Walking Horse.
She has been a horse show judge.
Rose has been a Tennessee
Walking Horse Breeder’s and Exhibitor”s Association (TWHBEA) Director from
Indiana, a member of the TWHBEA Pleasure committee and NWHA Judge’s
Committee. She contributed to Vickie Presley Mazzola’s book,
The Plantation Tennessee Walking Horse: A guide for Amateur Competitors.
(‘What Judges See’ section).
Her stallions have
been in horse magazines (not paid advertisements). Delight”s Headman on
cover of 1985 Equus Stallion
Supplement, Praise Hallelujah on cover of 1995 edition of
Horse Illustrated, and also on the cover of the July 2006 issue of
NWHA’s National News. She has
written numerous articles for the
Voice, Sound Advice and National
News, Tennessee Walking Horse publications.
The Horse That Wouldn’t Trot is Rose’s first book. The sequel which continues
her equine life with mules: Mules,
Mules, and More Mules: The Adventures and Misadventures of a First Time Mule
Owner will be out fall of 2010.
Please enjoy these true stories about my amazing Tennessee Walking Horses!
Recently I got an email from a woman named Rose Miller
asking me to review a book she had written about Tennessee Walking Horses
entitled "The Horse that Wouldn't Trot". This is right up my alley as
two of my favorite subjects- books and horses. To really excite me
though, a book has to be well written with a good story line. I want
to lose myself in the storyline. I want to laugh out loud, and I want to
feel the emotion emanating from the pages. Did I get all of that with Rose's
book? Oh yea, I did.
People often tell me, as we compare notes about "been
there and done that" that I should write a book about my life. "Really?" I
say, always surprised. I've just been…living. Nothing special, I
think, but people always tell me that my life has been packed with drama.
THAT, I'll have to admit, is truly so. Rose Miller has me on the drama hands
down. Rose is a bit older than me so she's had more time to collect
memories, a large portion of which being about horses. As she shares her
failures and successes, she talks to the reader about her journey as if she
were sitting with you in her kitchen, chatting over a cup of coffee. I
laughed out loud at times, and at others, tears were rolling down my cheeks.
I found myself speed reading through some of the pages because I didn't have
time to be sitting at my computer reading a book right then but couldn’t
bear to get out of my chair without reading what happened next.
Rose's journey unfolds over decades of a life spent
with horses. She takes you back to the time she was a "newbie" making
decisions we all have made that, in retrospect, make our hair stand on end
as we wonder how we didn't kill ourselves. Rose's honest and
straightforward approach to her compelling story is endearing and humbling.
The detail and humor in which she shares her memories is fascinating.
I have trouble remembering what I had for lunch yesterday. Rose can retell a
conversation that took place 30 years ago. I can tell you why though. Some
folks are born for story-telling. Rose Miller is one of them. I'd
recommend you get yourself a copy.
This
entertaining and informative book by Rose Miller is not only a
fascinating history of Tennessee Walking Horses, but also contains
delightful anecdotes about her trials and tribulations in breeding,
training and showing horses. By the end of the book, I felt like I
knew her family and horses like neighbors, experiencing their
successes, joys with births and sorrows in death.
A back injury led Rose to the Walkers’ smooth gait and their
dependability for pleasure riding or for show. She shares her
soul-deep love for the animals and how she relates and communicates
with the horse’s mysterious mind. For example, the stallion who dug
a hole under the fence to get to a mare, or certain stallion’s
preference for mares of a particular color. Or the show horse who
associated the words “mail box” with getting close to an object and
standing still, a valuable training tool.
The book includes great photos of Rose’s beautiful horses in
shows, in parades and of her prize show stallion posing with a bride
in full wedding attire for a bridal supplement to the newspaper.
Rose has done a good job of building tension in writing about the
show competitions. She also explains the history of the Tennessee
Walkers, how their distinctive gait was bred into a more “showy”
step and the unsavory practice of “soring” horses (applying caustic
chemicals and chains and more) to make them step higher to thrill
the audiences and win the competitions.
When I was growing up on a ranch in eastern Montana, my horse was
a Tennessee Walking Horse, a red roan named Strawberry. He had a
wonderful, easy gait that I always describe as like riding a rocking
chair. But although he was a great kid’s horse, very laid back, I
always thought he was a bit lazy. We always fell way behind the
other horses when they were trotting out to the pasture. Now I
understand it was because Walkers don’t trot and their gait doesn’t
match. I also now understand the term “barn sour,” because while we
fell behind on the way to the pasture, Strawberry would be out in
the lead when heading home. A lesson learned too late!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to horse owners
as well as readers who simple have an interest in horses and their
varied traits and personalities.
Rose Miller’s next book is Mules, Mules and More Mules: The
Adventures and Misadventures of a First Time Mule Owner, which
will be coming out this fall.
The Horse That Wouldn’t Trot:A Life with
Tennessee Walking Horses: Lessons Learned and Memories Shared
This entertaining and informative book by
Rose Miller is not only a fascinating history of Tennessee
Walking Horses, but also contains delightful anecdotes about her
trials and tribulations in breeding, training and showing
horses. By the end of the book, I felt like I knew her family
like neighbors, experiencing successes, new life and death.
A back injury led Rose to the Walkers’
smooth gait and dependability for pleasure riding or for show.
She shares her soul-deep love for the animals and how she
relates and communicates with the horse’s mysterious mind. For
example, the stallion who dug a hole under the fence to get to a
mare, or certain stallion’s preference for mares of a particular
color. Or the show horse who associated the words “mail box”
with getting close to an object and standing still, a valuable
training tool.
The book includes great photos of Rose’s
beautiful horses, in shows, in parades and one of her prize show
stallion posing with a bride in full wedding attire for a bridal
supplement to the newspaper.
Rose has done a good job of building
tension in writing about the show competitions. She also
explains the history of the Tennessee Walkers, how their
distinctive gait was bred into a more “showy” step and the
unsavory practice of “soring” horses to make them step higher to
win more.
My horse when I was growing up on a ranch
in eastern Montana was a Tennessee Walking Horse, a red roan
named Strawberry. He had a wonderful, easy gait that I always
describe as like riding a rocking chair. But although he was a
great kid’s horse, very laid back, I always thought he was a bit
lazy. We always fell way behind the other horses when they were
trotting out to the pasture. Now I understand it was because
Walkers don’t trot. I also understand the term “barn sour,”
because while we fell behind on the way to the pasture,
Strawberry would be out in the lead when heading home.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and
recommend it to horse owners as well as readers who are just
interested in horses and their varied traits and personalities.
The Horse That Wouldn’t Trot is available at
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This
entertaining and informative book by Rose Miller is not only a
fascinating history of Tennessee Walking Horses, but also contains
delightful anecdotes about her trials and tribulations in breeding,
training and showing horses. By the end of the book, I felt like I
knew her family and horses like neighbors, experiencing their
successes, joys with births and sorrows in death.