The Hand You're Dealt

by Deb Bennett

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Genres: BDSM

166 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 25, 2003

About the author

Dr. Deb Bennett is a 1984 graduate of the University of Kansas, and until 1992 was on the staff of the Smithsonian Institution. Her degree is in Vertebrate Paleontology, which emphasizes the anatomy and biomechanics of fossil animals. Dr. Bennett is known as an authority on the classification, evolution, anatomy, and biomechanics of fossil and living horses. Her research interests also include the history of domestication and of individual horse breeds. She teaches unique equine anatomy short-courses and anatomy-based horsemanship clinics designed primarily for owners, trainers, therapists, and breeders.

Internationally known for her work in horse conformation, "Dr. Deb" has made a career out of conveying a kind of "X-ray vision" for bone structure to breeders and buyers. Her background in biomechanics allows her to clearly explain how horse conformation relates to performance ability. Dr. Deb's clinics often involve the use of real bones and interesting biomechanical models.



Unusual in another regard, Dr. Deb doesn't confine her work to the chalkboard, but rides and works with horses herself, having shown in almost every division of competition. In this area, Dr. Deb is a universalist, constantly reminding students that the cut of a person's hat matters not one whit to a horse. Riding clubs and organizations across the continent and around the world have enjoyed and benefited from her clinics: Arabians, sporthorses, endurance, Morgans, Pasos, Saddlebreds, Warmbloods, Quarter Horses - you name it - for she is remarkably conversant with the needs and problems of many breeds. Practical problem-solving is always a focus, whether it's stabilizing a paso llano, picking up a canter lead, or achieving flying changes, extended trot, or lateral work. Dr. Deb's goals for your horse are the same as for her own: to be athletically competent, sound, happy, confident, long-lived and free-moving.

For the past 20 years, Dr. Deb has been a consulting editor and frequent contributor to Equus Magazine, and also regularly writes for the Journal of Equine Dentistry and The Eclectic Horseman. Over a long career, she has also been invited to write for almost every other equestrian publication in North America. Dr. Bennett backs this up with a long list of technical publications. You can directly link to this site by clicking here: http://www.equinestudies.org/knowledg...

She is a major contributor to the "Elsevier Encyclopedia of Animal Science" and the Smithsonian Institution's "Seeds of Change" volume. She is the author of two major works -- "Conquerors: A History of Horsemanship in the Western Hemisphere," and "The Birdie Book: An Internal Geography of Horse and Rider." Dr. Deb founded the Equine Studies Institute in 1992. She resides in California but is frequently "on the road" teaching in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the U.S.

Reviews

[Danny Tyran · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I was reading Ravensong and was getting tired of Gordo's lament, I searched for another novel to take a break from his quibbles. I can say that I was lucky, because the Dark Side's unnamed MC is anything but a whiner.

This story is written in the second person and the past tense. The author never mentions the name of his protagonist. I had a little trouble adjusting to all these "you are", "you do" and so on. I had never read anything but didactic books written in this person, never a novel. But after a few pages, I got used to it.

This novel is reminiscent of others of the same genre written in the 70s or 80s. The last part even made me think of the ending of the famous book Mr. Benson by John Preston. Except that the story can’t have happened at that time, since the MC used the Internet and even Google.

The author says at the end that he based his novel on firsthand experiences, those of his friends and on his imagination. I think there is a lot of wild imagination in this, particularly the last part (in Middle East). Because there are things that would be if not impossible, at least unbearable without physical painful consequences. It's pretty hardcore and except for Mark, another slave which the MC becomes attached to, we can’t say that’s a romance.

Maybe the author should find a good beta reader and correct his work, because there are still several mistakes. But overall, it's an interesting novel. That's why I give it 4 stars.

[Rise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book explained quite a lot of what happens with BDSM slaves. There are some masters who do treat their slaves with care and some who abuse them. I couldn't grasp the concept of this type of lifestyle for any person to put themselves through. Some people may feel that their jobs is to be submissive to someone and to me it seems as if they giving too much trust and power to ppl in these type of communities. This book was an okay read for me although some things were repeated as to the steps being taken over and over.

[CB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well - sex, sex and more BDSM sex. There is a story in-between all the BDSM sex and there is love too but it's not between master/slave; however, there is some caring there. The story is about the life of an Accountant who really wants to be a slave and finally finds a couple Masters, who then lose him in a slave trade-off to some real slavers.

[Malcolm McPherson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mills and Boone novel of the gay BDSM world. It could do with considerable development and editing.