For those who haven't spent summers cleaning saddles and combing burrs from the manes of horses, it's difficult to comprehend the emotional intelligence of such raw, powerful creatures. But esteemed equine trainer Ginger Gaffney offers a vivid glimpse in her debut memoir, Half Broke, set primarily on an alternative prison ranch in her home state of New Mexico.
At the Delancey Street Foundation's innovative facility, Gaffney faces a situation that threatens both her skills as a riding instructor and her quiet, reclusive nature: the livestock team, made up of convicts recovering from horrifying incidents of abuse and addiction, has lost control of its horses--if that control was ever there to begin with. The animals are as scarred, physically and emotionally, as their caretakers, and Gaffney is quick to make--and understand--the connection.
Slowly, she teaches the ranch residents how the horses read their movements, eager to decipher doubt, anger or repression in their breath and in their gaits. Her instruction offers respite to the convicts and horses alike, and each develops a special relationship with Gaffney that does not always follow a linear redemptive path. There is heartbreak here, but more than anything there is enormous respect. As Gaffney volunteers more and more hours on the ranch, she picks at her own scabs, including her shy childhood, her past destructive relationships and her sexuality. Readers may be left wishing for a deeper portrait of each ranch resident, but Gaffney's story is a rich reckoning in its own right. --Lauren Puckett, freelance writer