Black Beauty is a  fictional story of a horse’s life full of ups and downs, careless grooms, true friends, and the true hand of a gentle master. The story begins with Black Beauty’s birth with his mother, and this handsome horse is passed into the hands of different owners. Along the way, he befriends a horse called Ginger who sadly dies from a negligent owner later on, and he even breaks his knees from falling over a a stoned path! Some other adventures this brave horse faced include saving the mistress’s life by running to the doctor’s, being cramped in an unkempt dirty stall, and being almost crippled in the leg by a sharp stone. In the end, Black Beauty is handed back to the same lad – all grown up now – that took care of him from the beginning. Happily, he lives in the orchard and looks on to a peaceful future. 

 

After I read this book, I felt I could see through the eyes of horses and feel their pains. Every time I watched a movie where a horse got whipped, I would sympathize with the horse. I truly experienced the brutality horses felt in that time period – every pain and struggle was described so vividly. One of the memorable scenes was when Black Beauty was being whipped by a drunk owner to gallop as fast as he could along sharp stones in the middle of the night. The poor horse’s hoof was broken, and he fell with violence onto two knees – throwing the dreadful owner off and killing him. In terrible agony, Black Beauty lay there among the stones until someone finally rescued him. However, the fall had blemished both his knees, which foreshadowed his fate of being passed among low-classed owners. This novel will definitely change your view of a horse forever. 

 

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