Surprised by the Joy … Of A Horse’s Soft Nose

Plus: The best horse books and movies of all time, Mary Oliver’s four horses, my sister the champion rider

I wasn’t looking for serenity between the nostrils of a horse. Really all I wanted to do was ogle the manure pile over at Blackthorn Farm.

But I was cranky. The kind of cranky where you go for a walk on a spectacularly warm and sunny November day and you barely notice how beautiful it is because you are in your head – and staring down at your feet shuffling through the leaves.