Two young captives escape their Spanish masters, each taking a horse as they flee on foot. One of the horses is a prized stallion, a horse of two colors, sporting dark spots on its rump. But the youths know well that they are in danger, pursued by vengeful men. Can they make their way home safely ahead of angry soldiers and through the territory of enemy tribes?

This is an engaging story with minimal violence, appropriate for pre-teens and up. ( )

Story about how Appaloosa horses were first introduced to Native Americans. Two young men from different Indian tribes escape from a Spanish settlement where they've been held captive. In a bold daring move, they steal two horses to take home, one a striking two-colored stallion, its hindquarters white with black spots. The boys have never seen a horse like him before. They don't know much about horses, as their people have just recently started to use them, and only for pack animals. Together the boys face difficulties of the long journey home: how to handle the horses, doubts about whether they can be ridden, eluding the pursuing Spaniards and finding enough food as they pass through some desolate country. More problems arise when Indians from an enemy tribe show up, fiercely determined to catch the horses for themselves. The journey is not without tragedy, and in the end one of the boys returns home to people who have almost forgotten him, feeling something of a failure. But the ending has a pleasant surprise that makes his hardships and losses worthwhile.

from the Dogear Diary ( )