I teach middle school, so I have several times encountered the phenomenon of horse-mad children, usually (always, in my experience thus far) girls. From an outsider perspective - I was never into horses, though I did develop an abiding love for dinosaurs that has never really faded - this story seemed to do a good job of capturing not just how horses are beautiful and fantastic creatures, but also what it is in particular that these horse-mad human adolescents seem to love.
I really liked this story. It was perfectly timed and paced, and the character was so adorable. I was rooting for her the whole time, and I enjoyed how she learned to compromise and became a better, stronger, more adult person as a result.
Relatedly, whenever my students frame a desire for something that they want, but should know that they can't have, in terms of "wanting" it, I have a pretty good response:
Child: "Mr. Stone, can I go to the bathroom?"
Me: "No."
Child: "But I waaaaant to!"
Me: "Well, I want a pony. Ask me again when we finish this section of notes."
I'm not actually sure what I would do with a pony, to be entirely honest. Maybe a really small one could live in our apartment? It would probably scare the heck out of our lizard.