06/10/2024

Equine veterinarian Seamans debuts with an entertaining, heartwarming memoir detailing his adventures working with horses during his years of practice working in the western U.S. Seamans earned his DVM at Texas A&M University in 1985 and spent the next 35 years working in Texas, Kentucky, California, Idaho, and New Mexico. As a large-animal vet, he was often asked to make house calls; these visits resulted in encounters with a wide range of eccentric personalities. The stories he tells are funny, sad, and sometimes even alarming. Each chapter focuses on common ailments and their solutions. While Seamans's tone is gently humorous, his descriptions of his work are detailed and often technical, including the diagnosis and how it was reached, therapies recommended, names of drugs used, doses administered, and follow-up care. He emphasizes his advocacy for the animal in question, even when the outcome is not pleasant. Seaman's Texas drawl, his folksy chuckle, and the guitar riffs that introduce and end each chapter belie the thorough and technical information at the heart of each chapter. VERDICT While Seamans strives to make this book accessible to all readers, equine enthusiasts and horse owners will benefit most from its content.—Joanna M. Burkhardt