A true story
A coat that lightens. A bond that deepens.
Told in rhyme, in the horse's own voice: a coat that changes color through the seasons of a life, and his person of seventeen years and counting.
A large-format, high-quality, hardcover book.
For children, and for anyone who has ever loved a horse.
The part that is true
Most of them arrive black. Then they spend a lifetime turning white, the coat lightening and dappling and shifting again year after year, and exactly how that color expresses itself over time is still something of a genetic mystery. Sterling arrived a fiery chestnut.
That slow change is what the book is really about. Coat moving through the seasons, the way a life does.
My colors change with every season,
a magic trick with no known reason.
A fiery coat of burning red, a splash of white upon my head.
My coat turns light from dark each day, my color, now, is called rose gray.
My coat is now a shimmering white that sparkles under stars so bright.
Meet the Author
Anita and Sterling. Photograph by Ashton Kingsley.
Anita spent her career as an emergency veterinarian, caring for animals in times of crisis. Her passion, however, has always been horses. Since childhood, they have inspired, challenged, and sustained her through both good times and bad.
Her love of horses was instrumental in her decision to become a veterinarian and has shaped much of her life's journey.
Her debut book, A Coat Full of Dreams, is written in the voice of her Irish Sport Horse, A Sterling Chance, seventeen years and counting. His journey from playful foal to trusted partner has taught her lessons about courage, friendship, love, resilience, and finding joy in every stage of life. She hopes readers, both young and old, will discover a little of their own story within Sterling's.
Anita also hosts equestrian clinics at Big Horse Ranch in Arroyo Grande, where Sterling lives. Visit the ranch →
Sterling is real
Sterling came into Anita's life at the age of eighteen months. Seventeen years later they are still together, which is the thing that sets this book apart from most horse stories on the shelf. It has no ending yet.
He built a real career along the way.
How it begins
With open eyes, what do I see?
Beside my mother, there is ME!
A fiery coat of burning red,
a splash of white upon my head.
Sterling tells his own story, four lines to a page, beginning with the first morning he opened his eyes beside his mother.
What readers are saying
Morag HigginsEquido Level Four Instructor, WESI, MRPCH, BSc Equine Science, BHSAII cannot praise this work highly enough; it is illustrated to perfection. I strongly recommend every horse person in the world read this and think to themselves, is this how my horse thinks of me? It inspires us to be not only better horse people, but better human beings. An absolute must for school libraries and personal bookshelves.
Crissi McDonaldAuthor of Continuing the Ride, Getting Along with Horses, and the North to Home trilogyA Coat Full of Dreams invites young readers into the quiet magic of a life shared with a gray horse whose gentle spirit shines through the author's words and artist's beautiful illustrations.
Gia FultonKindergarten Teacher, California Public SchoolsThis beautiful book celebrates the special bond between horses and their riders. Its engaging rhymes, colorful illustrations, and heartfelt message about trust and kindness make it a joy to read aloud. It's a wonderful choice for horse lovers, young and old.
The paintings
Jean Abernethy has been illustrating for equestrian books and magazines for more than forty years, and is the creator of Fergus the Horse. Her work has been recognized by Harness Tracks of America, American Horse Publications, and Western Writers of America, and she has received the Will Rogers Medallion Award.
Every image in this book was painted in oil on canvas, then reproduced full page opposite the verse.
For schools and libraries
Four lines to a page, full rhyme, full-page oil paintings opposite each verse. The story turns on trust and kindness between a person and a horse, and lands somewhere quiet at the end. For children, and for anyone who has ever loved a horse.
Librarians and educators may request review copies at hello@stellarsterlingpress.com.
Bring Sterling home
Retail is $23 at launch. Pre-order now for $18 and yours will be signed by Anita and shipped in mid-October 2026. For the child who lives at the barn, and for anyone who has loved a horse.
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One email the day the book is published. Nothing else.
We use your email to send one launch note and nothing else. No marketing lists.
A true story
Sterling is real. He is still with Anita. The partnership has no ending yet.
You are the kaleidoscope of my dreams.
Anita, to Sterling
Contact us
hello@stellarsterlingpress.com
For questions about the book, review copies, or wholesale inquiries.