The Horse God Built: The Untold Story of Secretariat, the World's Greatest Racehorse Kindle Edition

Arrived fasdt and in good condition. Very good story.

If you love horses and understand the bond that occurs between you and your horse...or if you desire to have that bond, you will love this book. I almost gave it four stars because, in my estimation, only one thing was missing; there are very few pictures in this book. Why do we not see more of what the book is telling us.; the winding miles of fence at Meadow Farm or Claiborne, Secretariat at play, at work, the faces of the people the author speaks about, etc? (If, by chance, they are located in the back of the book (I am reading the Kindle version and this review comes before the acknowledgements, etc. If there are pictures in the back, then please forgive me) I'm just sad about not being able to enjoy some of those photos of which the author speaks.This has whetted my appetite to read more about Secretariat (which I thought I knew already but so many more to learn) This books pulled a lot of emotion from me and I appreciated the author's desire to not only tell a story of Secretariat but of the unknown, seldom celebrated story of a man almost lost to the pages of time, Eddie Sweat...Secretariat's groom during the glory years. What a beautiful picture which has been painted by Mr. Scanlan of that man who loved "his" horse. Mr. Scanlan is a horse owner also and he states his desire to become a better horseman because of what he learned about the devotion of Mr. "Shorty" Sweat to "the Horse God Built."I was 18 the year Secretariat won the Triple Crown; I would be graduating HS in a few weeks. Too busy with my own horse in the way of any horse-crazy girl who lives and breathes the equine, I did not follow Thoroughbred racing though I could tell you, loving all things HORSE, the Triple Crown winners and the year they won. I owned a quarter horse named Barzal Bravo ("Bozo" for short) with thoroughbred racing blood making up half his pedigree. Helping my horse-centered world along, my family lived in the same equestrian subdivision as several of the Los Alamitos Race Course trainers and their "lay off" horses. I was often at those early morning workouts at the track with my horsey girlfriends; ethereal moments about which the author writes. My bedroom walls were covered with the daily race results from Los AL. Because I did not have access to much money on my own and most of what I did earn went to support my own horse's upkeep, I did not buy magazines or books to read and thus knew very littleabout this new "Big Red"...plus, I was a Man O' War purist in my heart. However, everyone had heard of Secretariat and I became a believer after watching him win the Derby and Preakness. As the day of the Belmont arrived, my parents had taken us camping. I only agreed to go if my dad made sure we had a working TV to watch the race. As Secretariat rounded the last turn pulling away, my emotions spilled out. As an equine artist, I appreciate the beauty of the horse and this was a thing of beauty...and history. I knew I was watching it being made right in front of me! I screamed! I jumped up in the air. Then as Big Red swept toward the finish line with the cameras struggling to even show the other horses in the race, I laid on the floor and wept like a baby.To this day I cannot watch that race without those emotions welling up inside me and weeping outloud...for the beauty, that wonderful horse, the history, his death and my youth long gone but remembered for a shining moment. Much like other transcendent moments in history when one can remember where theybwere or what they were doing, I

Mr. Scanlan, thank you for saying what needed to be said, for exposing what millions still choose not to see or think about and for so many excellent topics you cover in this book, who's title is dead on. The book rates a 5 with me and hide rate it higher if i could. While the book seemed to start.... not slow but not in the direction I thought it would, I found myself unable to put it down. Please dont start reading this book and not finish, for in doing so, its as tho you order a mouth-watering desert, entree, what-have you, and when its placed before you, you're content just to breath in the aroma of your favorite food! The farther I read, the deeper i got into thisa book; the more onlookers assumed I had a cold for I was unable to read more than a page once past the half way point without tears welling up in my eyes or just straight out crying. Moved emotionaly for so many reasons. You come to learn much about the author tho I dont think it was always intentional. If you care about horses, if you've known that fussion of souls that occurs between horse and human he writes about, calling it a "connection", and it certainly is that, you'll be refreshed as I was to read about it, to be allowed a glimpse into that most personal & intimate area of the relationship between horse/human that few know of and even fewer have been privilaged enough to experience it, then get this book. I purposely have only alluded to the books content:he's the writter. I can only say that its moving, inspiring, sad and up-lifting & hopefully you will libe by "Shorty's" mantra: "love your horse, and your horse will love you". One last point. Scanlan speaks about the ability of comunication, how a study done by the University of Pennsylvania found that "98% of pet owners talk to their animals as if to a sympathetic friend". (Its the next sentence I hope will resonate and bring real change) ...how many ~listen~ to their animals, as Eddie Sweat listened to Secretariat ~ listened with his ears, his heart, he listened in his bones. And in doing so, "A great horse passed thru him". It was the paragraph just preceding this that was so moving that even tho it consisted of only 11 lines it took me what must have been 10 minutes to read; I simply couldnt see thru thew tears. Why would I, a 50 year old man cry while reading a small paragraph about an old gray gelding and his stable mates? If you love horses treat yourself to these gems that Scanlan nestles through-out this book. Tho admittedly, this encounter stirred me more than most of the others. And tho the feelings of humans was most certainly involved, it was the privilage they were given, as painful, touching or tear-jerking as it may be, to witness what he calls a "Ceremony" but I will call a realm that exists but few have witnessed.Thank you Mr. Scanlan.... Thank you.

This is an okay book. If I hadn’t known the references to the horse park or races or the horses I’m familiar with, the research style writing would have left me bored! I was hoping to find some answers to the questions the author himself raises about Eddie Sweat, but alas, no luck. It only talks about his greatness without really showing us how he’s great, albeit I’ve no doubt he must have been. I think the caption is unfitting in a way, and may have been kept on for marketing purposes cuz the story did mostly circle back to the horse and the groom while talking about the whole Horseracing scenario, but the whole book is not just about The horse God built. It’s a well researched and thorough work it seems and it felt like the author was compelled to tell the story about the backstretch and the confused exhilaration of the Horseracing community in keeping up with the sport, where eventually nothing else mattered but the love of the horse... yet it felt incomplete. I’d recommend this book for the knowledge it imparts, but I won’t look for a story in this book... a good one or a bad one, cuz there’s none. It’s like a collection of newspaper articles, not even strung together. I shouldn’t sound so critical cuz I researched so many of the horses, and watched videos of races only after this book... and learnt so much.. but it could have said a better story, strung together in order instead of being scattered so it’d have been popular enough to reach everyone, which I honestly wish it had done!

I was 19 when Secretariat won the Triple Crown. I'm not really a fan of horse racing but I knew even then that history was going to be made. He was truly one of a kind. The title for this book is perfect!!!

A fantastic book written about the greatest race horse of all time.

This book was more interesting about the real Secretariat and his groom Eddie Sweat than I ever imagined. The author went to a lot of trouble to get his research right, by getting to talk to just about everyone who had ever had any dealings with the racehorse and his groom. They were an incredible team and one that made others stop and think about the way you care for horses and what they think about you. A lot can be learned from the way they went about their daily lives. Horses learn to trust the person they know best and Secretariat had the best groom he could ever have had. Other grooms from that era felt that Eddie had the right way of dealing with the racehorse he was charged with looking after and that even meant putting the horse first in every respect. Other racehorses are mentioned in this book, but they don't detract from the over all story and account of the life of one of the world's greatest racehorses who was definitely built by god. The author definitely did this book proud. Therefore I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who loves and respect horses as they are incredibly intelligent creatures.

This book was amazing and full of fascinating facts, lovely pictures, and information about Secretariat and his groom.I did not want the book to end, I almost felt like I was living through the time with everyone which is a tribute to the author. Fantastic.

What a horse he was, certainly built by God. I wish I could have met him, and his groom. The book is really about the groom and the relationship between horse and man. I know I too have experienced this wonderful love that a horse gives to a human they trust and understand. A wonderful story of a wonderful horse,certainly only one in a life time reaches that acclaim to fame, his achievements are outstanding. What a horse!

As a rule I am very anti animal (all) abuse eg 🏇 racing etc.... But this story was something I wanted to read it includes the persons taking care of Secretariat and that I found fascinating, he was an incredible animal wish I could have seen him in his paddock 🌸

Very small writing and a lot of detail.