An elderly horse is kept in the ranch yard one summer to graze the grass and keep it from growing too tall. Two small kids are given a lift onto its back one day by a passing ranch hand and promptly fall off. With the horse's enduring patience, they spend the rest of the summer trying different ways to get back on a horse twice as tall as they are and practicing how to stay on longer when they do.

A brief but beautiful portrait of a senior animal and one glorious summer of childhood. ( )

Once We Had a Horse by Glen Rounds is about two children who play with a horse on their farm all summer. The horse is taken in to keep the grass down during the summer months so the children take the opportunity to become horseback riders. We see in the back cover of the book that the author comes from a western background himself, which makes the story feel a bit more personable. I really enjoyed the story along with the illustrations which are simple but still show the personality of the characters in a unique way. ( )

"Once We Had a Horse" is a short, simple and sweet story of two children who discover a retired cow pony in the front yard of their ranch home. This book tells the story of their efforts to learn to ride "their" horse. It is full of line drawings by the author, as well. I liked it. ( )