Kate’s 2¢: “Collective Marks by Nancy Feldman

“Collective Marks by Nancy Feldman
Kate’s 2¢: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares my thoughts about what I read. I’m just saying…

I appreciated the opening remarks of this book. I’m familiar with the basics of dressage from a non-rider’s point of view, but, not the technical aspects of it. It made sense of the title.
Eric’s harsh, rigid techniques of training horses and their riders were hard to read about. Although, this is a novel, I suspect many riders will see various trainers they’ve known…and, perhaps, feared.
By facing one’s fear, one can learn; thus, Michael faced his fears as his mount face its fears. They learned respect, understanding, expectation, and acceptance from each other. The trainer, Eric, was able to read each of them and brought out the best of each.
Beginning writers are often told to write what you know and, if you don’t know it, research it. “Collective Marks” exemplifies how depth of perception, perspective, and authenticity only come from truly knowing and experiencing your subject. Feldman very aptly used her background to create a compelling story.

From the WEB:
Nancy Feldman has actively ridden and trained horses for more than 50 years. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Literature and Psychology, and a Master’s Degree in Psychiatric Social Work.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:
Collective marks : a novel DBC12428
Feldman, Nancy N. Reading time: 10 hours, 33 minutes.
Read by Jason Ryan. A production of Maryland State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.

Animals and Wildlife

Social worker Annie Trowbridge makes one last effort to find work for Michael, a willful and suspicious young man who is fascinated with horses, by placing him with a horse trainer. Struggles ensue between the volatile, defensive Michael and the hard, unsympathetic trainer. Michael’s growing understanding of dressage and the techniques used to communicate with horses are the means by which Michael learns that he is dealing with both a gifted trainer and a potentially dangerous man. Unrated.
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