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Hold the Rein Free
When the children learned that Mia's foal was to be destroyed as soon as it was born because its sire had been a scrub stallion from the Indian reservation instead of a Thoroughbred like Mia, their reaction was one of horror and dismay. But Kiko, the Mexican-Indian boy whose father was foreman of the ranch, had never in his life questioned the edicts of the adult world. It was Amy, the child of the city, who announced to Kiko that they weren't going to let this happen and it was she who devised the plot to hide the young filly. Set against the picturesque background of a Southern California ranch, the story moves with dramatic impact to an exciting and unexpected climax.
191 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 17, 2024
So this was one of those books that captivated me from the very beginning and kept my attention until the very end. And while I have read a lot of horse books over the years, this one certainly stands out for some very unique situations in here. Never have I met kids that were so very clever and wise; smarter than the adults around them. And at times I just had to snicker and laugh at it as it truly was funny! And I very rarely laugh at stuff in books. But make no mistake; this is actually a very serious story.
This is set in California on a ranch. The main characters are kids: Kiko (11) and Amy (12). Kiko is part Mexican and part Native American. His father Frank works on the rich man's ranch but the rich man, Mr Richie, is mean. Amy, a blonde, has just moved to the ranch with her parents and her father is a writer. The two kids, together with the burro Sancho, get into much mischief. But the biggest mischief they do is to take and hide a mare worth a lot of money.
Why? Because otherwise Mr Richie is going to kill the colt when its born. Because poor Mia jumps the fence and has a short love affair with a young stallion from the nearby Indian reservation. And in his eyes that "ruins" the reputation of his ranch. So the kids do what they have to do.
I was very hooked while I read this. It was electrifying and thrilling. I never knew what was going to happen next. And there was various types of danger throughout the whole story. I kept wondering "are they going to get caught?" And that of course leads to the bigger question of how long can this situation carry on for? How do you continue to hide a mare and colt as the months pass? And yes people were out searching for that mare!
There were all sorts of danger in here too, from things in the environment to people searching.
But its a wonderful horse story. I am certainly glad I bought this book as I spent a wonderful day reading this while the temperature outside is freezing (it's only 9 F here).
And the author who wrote this must know horses as she mentions the loose hanging lip of a relaxed horse. So there are many wonderful equine details in here to make it very real... I also enjoyed all the vivid descriptions of nature, the scrubby hills and mountains, etc.
But best of all it surprised me a few times with laughter. The kids do such outrageous things on purpose as they outsmart the adults. Its funny. I would never dare to do anything of the sort when I was a kid.
And Kiko may be just a boy but he knows his horses. He puts the horses before himself. So does Amy. Lovely training scenes too.
This is set in California on a ranch. The main characters are kids: Kiko (11) and Amy (12). Kiko is part Mexican and part Native American. His father Frank works on the rich man's ranch but the rich man, Mr Richie, is mean. Amy, a blonde, has just moved to the ranch with her parents and her father is a writer. The two kids, together with the burro Sancho, get into much mischief. But the biggest mischief they do is to take and hide a mare worth a lot of money.
Why? Because otherwise Mr Richie is going to kill the colt when its born. Because poor Mia jumps the fence and has a short love affair with a young stallion from the nearby Indian reservation. And in his eyes that "ruins" the reputation of his ranch. So the kids do what they have to do.
I was very hooked while I read this. It was electrifying and thrilling. I never knew what was going to happen next. And there was various types of danger throughout the whole story. I kept wondering "are they going to get caught?" And that of course leads to the bigger question of how long can this situation carry on for? How do you continue to hide a mare and colt as the months pass? And yes people were out searching for that mare!
There were all sorts of danger in here too, from things in the environment to people searching.
But its a wonderful horse story. I am certainly glad I bought this book as I spent a wonderful day reading this while the temperature outside is freezing (it's only 9 F here).
And the author who wrote this must know horses as she mentions the loose hanging lip of a relaxed horse. So there are many wonderful equine details in here to make it very real... I also enjoyed all the vivid descriptions of nature, the scrubby hills and mountains, etc.
But best of all it surprised me a few times with laughter. The kids do such outrageous things on purpose as they outsmart the adults. Its funny. I would never dare to do anything of the sort when I was a kid.
And Kiko may be just a boy but he knows his horses. He puts the horses before himself. So does Amy. Lovely training scenes too.
December 22, 2018
When two children discover that there are orders to kill the foal of a pregnant mare the moment it's born they concoct a plan to save both mare and foal.
Lots of thrilling action. I never understood just how well written this book was until two factors came into play: I had a mare and foal myself and saw how delightfully this author captured EXACTLY the mannerisms of both. This is an author that understands horses. And secondly, had come to live out west myself and saw how accurately the countryside is detailed, and the fire that follows.
And knowing more about this fire intimately brings me to understand just how exciting the ending is.
So, wow, overall this is a great book with a truly satisfying conclusion. Morally were the children right? Were the adults? I'll leave that question alone. I just want to enjoy the story in the spirit intended.
Lots of thrilling action. I never understood just how well written this book was until two factors came into play: I had a mare and foal myself and saw how delightfully this author captured EXACTLY the mannerisms of both. This is an author that understands horses. And secondly, had come to live out west myself and saw how accurately the countryside is detailed, and the fire that follows.
And knowing more about this fire intimately brings me to understand just how exciting the ending is.
So, wow, overall this is a great book with a truly satisfying conclusion. Morally were the children right? Were the adults? I'll leave that question alone. I just want to enjoy the story in the spirit intended.
December 24, 2019
This is a decent Scholastic paperback horse story, but not a whole lot of horse action. The main story is hiding a mare and foal from a racist owner that wants to kill the foal because he is not a purebred. The main equine here is not the mare and foal or the foal's frowned-upon father but a wise donkey. And there just aren't enough donkey stories in the world.
The illustrations are done by the incredible Sam Savitt. The only problem is that he only did a few of them and they are repeated throughout the book at the head of each chapter. That was a cheap shot.
The story also suffers from who should have been the main focus of the book. The perspective keeps changing from one character to another. The most interesting human character, a native American girl does not come in until about halfway through the book. I think it would have been a much better book told entirely from the Native American girl's point of view. Or the donkey's.
I used to have a copy of this when I was a kid and just recently bought a replacement copy. So, that tells you that although its not a great work of art, it does bring out the sentimentality in you.
The illustrations are done by the incredible Sam Savitt. The only problem is that he only did a few of them and they are repeated throughout the book at the head of each chapter. That was a cheap shot.
The story also suffers from who should have been the main focus of the book. The perspective keeps changing from one character to another. The most interesting human character, a native American girl does not come in until about halfway through the book. I think it would have been a much better book told entirely from the Native American girl's point of view. Or the donkey's.
I used to have a copy of this when I was a kid and just recently bought a replacement copy. So, that tells you that although its not a great work of art, it does bring out the sentimentality in you.
January 6, 2016
Living on a ranch in the west, bordering an Indian reservation, Kiko lives the life of a nomad. His father works dawn to dusk and so the boy is left to his own devices. He finds a kindred spirit in Amy, a young girl who has been transplanted from the city but who takes on country living as easily as slipping on a sweater. Together they hatch a plan to save a mare, Mia, who was accidentally bred to an Indian stallion. The ranch owner wants nothing to do with the mare or her soon to be born foal, but Kiko and Amy decide that they will take matters into their own hands and do whatever it takes to save the horses. Adventure, and mayhem, ensue, as the children, unencumbered by the complicated thoughts adults have, put their plan into action.
Children have a much simpler and enthusiastic view of the world, and that is well written in Van Der Veer's story Hold the Rein Free. The adventures they embark on are astonishing, but believable - kids can accomplish quite a bit when they aren't held back by trivial matters such as profits and losses and reputations. Amy mentions at one point that no one is paying any attention to a couple of kids and a donkey, and that's just it - she's right, and because of that, a child's world often goes unnoticed. Here you feel you are living in their world and traversing the countryside beside them.
Children have a much simpler and enthusiastic view of the world, and that is well written in Van Der Veer's story Hold the Rein Free. The adventures they embark on are astonishing, but believable - kids can accomplish quite a bit when they aren't held back by trivial matters such as profits and losses and reputations. Amy mentions at one point that no one is paying any attention to a couple of kids and a donkey, and that's just it - she's right, and because of that, a child's world often goes unnoticed. Here you feel you are living in their world and traversing the countryside beside them.
September 28, 2015
To open this book is to enter a bright and vibrant child's world, bursting with the exuberance and optimism that only the finest in juvenile literature has to offer. Set mid-20th century on a California ranch, a pair of impetuous preteens manage to come up with a brilliant plan to hide a pregnant mare and her subsequent foal in a hidden corral, far away from the owner who wants to shoot the colt on sight. They spend all summer ingeniously throwing people off their tracks while bonding with mare and foal, basically living the dream life of anyone who's ever wanted to grow up on a ranch. Full of Western adventure and idyllic golden times, it's pure wish fulfillment for all ages. I was just so HAPPY by the time I finished my smile was bursting out everywhere.
February 16, 2012
This is one of my favorite books. I read it numerous times as a child and my daughter has read it as well. The writing is so good that you actually feel like you are living out the story while reading it (a rarity in children's literature since authors tend to simplify words and plots for juvenile readers).
January 29, 2015
I read this as a sixth grade horse lover and I remember I absolutely loved it! the author had the ability to pull me right into the story and made me feel as if I was the one on the horse's back.
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October 12, 2020A mare named Mia manages to escape her pen and runs off to the reservation nearby. She ends up with a stallion and her owners fear she may be pregnant at too young of an age. The owner tells Kiko’s dad to shoot the colt when it is born and maybe Mia too. Kiko is a young boy that loves to roam around the ranch. Amy Fairfield comes to the ranch for vacation while her dad works on his book. When she hears about what will happen to Mia and her foal, she insists that she and Kiko must do something. They come up with a plan to take Mia before she foals and hide her in the mountains. The kids set up a corral and hide food for her. They manage to get her hidden and she has her colt, Tesoro. We see the kids having fun with their horses and dodging the men coming to look for them. After many close calls they get Kiko’s cousins involved in helping. The 5 of them do everything they can to hide Mia and Tesoro, but when a fire breaks out on the mountain they must do something to save them. They end up bringing them back to the ranch, while managing to save a herd of cattle too! They manage to convince the owner that they were trying to save Mia, not steal her and he ends up letting the children keep the colt.Amy Fairfield is a 12 year old girl, she has a small frame, blonde hair and blue eyes. She moves to the ranch from the city so her father can write his book. She comes from a rich family. She is smart, brave, eager to learn, and kind. She has a big heart for all the animals on the ranch, from the horses to the doves in the woods. Amy loves to have fun and is a good friend. Kiko is an 11 year old boy. His father is a vaquero on the ranch. He is half Native American and half Mexian. Due to the time period the book is written in, this alters his self perception because of how he is treated due to his race. Kiko knows a lot about the land of the ranch and the horses on it. He loves to be outdoors and help with things on the ranch. These are the two main human characters in the book. There are 3 main animal characters in this book too. Mia is the mare that they want to protect, she is a two year old mare and is bay colored. She has a large white star and her face. Mia’s colt, Tesoro (treasure in Spanish) is an all black colt. He has lots of energy and runs around the corral. The last animal character is Sancho, Kiko’s donkey. He is a steady, kind, and obedient donkey. He carries the children all around the ranch. I mention these animals because they are so important in the book. In this book, some of the chapter pages have black and white drawings. These add something fun for the reader to look at. There is some Spanish in this book, but not a lot. I love this book because it is a family favorite, my mom loved it as a child and read it to me! It is a super fun story and kept my attention even as an adult. I also enjoy that it is a unique take on a horse book. One way I would use this book in the classroom is to have them create a different ending for the book. This would be a good example of creative writing. Another way to use this book would be to have my students write about what the author’s purpose is. I think this book would also be fun just to read aloud to my students.
March 24, 2022
I'm finally clearing my bookshelves of a lot of old books from my childhood, and this one was a fave from about 5th or 6th grade. I was a big horse lover, reread every horse story in the library multiple times, purchased every Scholastic horse book available in the school flyers. This was one of them, a stand alone story set in the scrub and canyons of a California ranch. The son of the ranch foreman concocts a plan with the daughter of a visiting family to steal and hide away the owner's valuable pregnant mare, because the foal's sire was a scrub stallion from the nearby Native reservation. The ranch owner threatens to shoot the foal and possibly the mare as well, as he considers her "damaged goods."
The story is well written and I must have reread it multiple times as a preteen, because it was my favorite book for a long time and I carried it around throughout various moves as an adult. But now I am donating most of my childhood favorites, as my children are grown and don't want them. I read it once more for old times, and hopefully it will be an enjoyable read for another horse-crazy child.
The story is well written and I must have reread it multiple times as a preteen, because it was my favorite book for a long time and I carried it around throughout various moves as an adult. But now I am donating most of my childhood favorites, as my children are grown and don't want them. I read it once more for old times, and hopefully it will be an enjoyable read for another horse-crazy child.
June 8, 2024
LFL find. I loved it, and would have done so even more as a child, hooked on King of the Wind: The Story of the Godolphin Arabian and others by Marguerite Henry. I was never a fan of horses to the point of wanting one, but I did like learning about them. And there's a lot to learn about horses, and about the scrublands and mountains, and about ranching, Indians, etc.
Speaking of Indians, there's actually a fairly subtle anti-racism message here. I loved the author's exploration of how all the different people interacted with each other.
But it's the children's clever and hard-working persistence against so many obstacles to take care of this mare and foal that drive the story. And it's enthralling.
Speaking of Indians, there's actually a fairly subtle anti-racism message here. I loved the author's exploration of how all the different people interacted with each other.
But it's the children's clever and hard-working persistence against so many obstacles to take care of this mare and foal that drive the story. And it's enthralling.
November 3, 2024
So I’d like to rewrite the book and take out all the deception and lying done by the children to their parents and add a different angle to the story. Then the idea of the story would be something you could let kids read.
November 30, 2024
Good story, but I wish the ending was more complete.
September 7, 2016
I read an abridged version and unfortunately it showed. The writing seemed choppy and simplistic. I was looking forward to some lyrical passages but they just weren't there. The plot moved along fine and held the suspense but the end was pretty much like...well...that's it? It was all coincidence that flushed out the kids and then you don't even truly know the fate of the horses anyway...
The main life lesson on p.162... "It came to her that sometimes the things that you love have to be let go. For their own sakes they have to be let go."
The main life lesson on p.162... "It came to her that sometimes the things that you love have to be let go. For their own sakes they have to be let go."
October 3, 2017
Hold the Rein Free is one of my favorite books because of Van Der Veer's ability to draw the reader into the world of the dry canyons of California. The friendship that develops between two unlikely friends as they work to save a colt is engaging and sympathetic. The book's plot crescendos to a thrilling ending. If you like real-world YA adventure, give this book a chance!
February 24, 2010
I held on to this book into adulthood, and somehow lost it. It appeals to the horse-lover phase of girlhood, and is an early version of kids playing heroes, in a way that involves no magic and is actually possible, if not plausible.
May 6, 2010
This is one of those books that held on to me throughout my childhood and into adulthood. Every young girl who loves horses, young boy who loves playing at secrets, and adult who wants to go back to those times should read it.
March 11, 2023
I've loved this book since I was a kid and it was such a joy rereading this lovely classic.
October 8, 2012
I think I'm going to end up with this on my list twice...
May 4, 2013
Oh boy, this book. I read this almost ten years ago and I still remember how moving it was.
June 21, 2017
One of my favorites as a kid.
April 8, 2017
C. children's, grade 4, fiction, horses, west, Mom's stash, discard.
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March 11, 2018I haven't read this since about sixth grade, but it was my favorite book that year. Now I want to go back and take a look at how it handles the relationship between the Native American community, the Mexican American community, and the white community, from the description--none of which I remember.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews