“The guy's name was Colt.Colt, said Thebes. Like a baby, male horse?I guess, said the guy, or a gun.Well, which do you prefer? she said.What do you mean? he asked.Like, how do you prefer to think of yourself? As a baby, male horse?No, he said, he didn't really like to think of himself that way.Well, then, as a gun? she said.No, not really, he said. He preferred basically not to think of himself at all.”

“I guess she's just nuts,' he said. 'And if she's nuts, a guy's got to do nuts things. You don't think you could say the hell with her?”

“You can kiss me if you like," she said.Alex let go of her and turned away. "Thanks, Fiona," he said. "But frankly I'd prefer to kiss the horse.”

“He’s just a good all-around horse. He aint a finished horse but I think he’ll make a cow horse. I’m pleased to hear it. Of course your preference is for one that’ll bow up like a bandsaw and run head first into the barn wall.John Grady smiled. Horse of my dreams, he said. It aint exactly like that.How is it then?I don’t know. I think it’s just somethin you like. Or don’t like. You can add up all of a horse’s good points on a sheet of paper and it still wont tell you whether you’ll like the horse or not.What about if you add up all his bad ones?I don’t know. I’d say you’d probably done made up your mind at that point.You think there’s horses so spoiled you cant do nothin with em?Yes I do. But probably not as many as you might think.Maybe not. You think a horse can understand what a man says?You mean like words?I don’t know. Like can he understand what he says.John Grady looked out the window. Water was beaded on the glass. Two bats were hunting in the barnlight. No, he said. I think he can understand what you mean.”

“The whole thing’s absurd,” he said. “Your sister married a duke. I told Clevedon . . .” he trailed off.“What did you tell him?”“Never mind that now,” he said.“I certainly will mind it now,” she said.“Do you want to find Clara or do you want to quarrel?” he said.“Preferably both,” she said.”

“You said yourself the guy looks like he pleasures himself to pictures of Rahm Emanuel.”