It’s clear from his new novel, THE BIG BAYS OF LINCOLN COUNTY, that Ed Vande Voorde knows plenty about working horses. The book is a refreshing and realistic read about the pleasures and efforts involved in working draft horses, and competing in pulling contests with them that hold compelling moments for any teamster old or new. Yet the story begins with a flood around a bridge, and a human and animal rescue that depends on a team and teamster immersed in icy waters, being controlled and directed entirely by the teamster’s voice. Besides being realistic, Vande Voorde is also surprisingly frank in this story, about the motivations of Amish farmers, and their religious practice and beliefs, which ordain a life of hard work and devotion that keep the rest of American culture, that they call the “English,” at a distance.