Celia Ryker’s Big Guy is a warm, lively novel told from the perspective of Full Time, a successful show horse whose rider calls him Big Guy. When arthritis ends his competitive career, he’s moved from a spacious stall and polished show routine into a barn full of lesson horses. At first, Big Guy sees the change as a humiliating demotion. He misses the ribbons, the careful grooming, and Nancy, the girl who rode and loved him for years. His new life gradually opens into something larger, though, as he learns the rhythms of pasture life, meets a memorable herd, and discovers what it means to belong.

Big Guy’s voice is the book’s greatest strength. He’s proud, observant, funny, and sometimes wonderfully vain. His misunderstandings of human objects and customs, including balloons, swimming pools, and zoos, create gentle comedy without making him seem foolish. The other horses are just as distinctive. Sweet Shorty steadies the group, cranky Kaiser hides vulnerability behind bluster, Brownie offers hard-earned wisdom, and Slippy treats every fence as a personal challenge. Their conversations give the barn the feeling of a bustling neighborhood where everyone knows everyone else’s habits, history, and weak spots.

The story also has more emotional weight than its playful premise might suggest. Big Guy must cope with aging, physical pain, wounded pride, separation, and the fear of becoming unwanted. His early description of school horses as “old leather halters whose brass buckles and rings are worn and dull” captures the sadness shared by animals whose earlier careers and owners are gone. Ryker doesn’t rush Big Guy through these feelings. He makes mistakes, insults his new companions, worries about how others see him, and slowly earns his place in the herd through loyalty and courage.

The horse-centered viewpoint also gives the book an appealing way to explore care and responsibility. Readers see how confusing even well-intended human decisions can feel to an animal that doesn’t understand the full conversation. At the same time, the barn is filled with people who adjust workloads, tend injuries, sit through the night with a sick horse, and try to find safe homes for animals who can no longer work. The riding and stable details feel natural rather than pasted in, and the glossary makes the terminology accessible. Ryker’s note that the horses were based on animals she knew adds another layer of affection to the story.

By the end, Big Guy has become a thoughtful story about identity, usefulness, friendship, and the many forms a good life can take. Big Guy doesn’t simply trade one career for another. He learns to see himself and the horses around him more clearly. His final realization, “We’re all real horses,” is simple, but it lands because the whole book has built toward it. This would be an inviting read for young horse lovers, but its compassion for aging animals and its understanding of pride, change, and community give it plenty to offer adult readers too.

Pages: 184 | ASIN: 1578691745