Want to learn the ideas in Dark Horse better than ever? Read the world’s #1 book summary of Dark Horse by Kenneth D. Ackerman here.
Read a brief 1-Page Summary or watch video summaries curated by our expert team. Note: this book guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher or author, and we always encourage you to purchase and read the full book.
Video Summaries of Dark Horse
We’ve scoured the Internet for the very best videos on Dark Horse, from high-quality videos summaries to interviews or commentary by Kenneth D. Ackerman.
1-Page Summary of Dark Horse
Overall Summary
In 1983, a well-known Christian author and musician named John Fischer released an allegorical short story called “Dark Horse.” It was intended to be read along with his album of the same name. The story is about breaking through external boundaries to become a disciple.
A spotted horse is born on a ranch. All the other horses are white, and they all try to be as close to white as possible. The more white hair a horse has, the prouder it is of its looks and the way it acts. It thinks that being closer to pure-white would make it happier than what it already is, so this desire becomes an obsession for him.
One day, a mysterious black stallion shows up at the ranch. He says there’s more to life than just being comfortable and living in the enclosure. There’s adventure and self-knowledge out there if you’re willing to take risks and try new things. The horse challenges his friends to cultivate an inner purity rather than worrying about their physical appearance.
A horse named Spots decides to leave the ranch where it was born, because the other horses there are given too much attention based on their color. This causes Spots to feel like its natural beauty is being ignored. It goes out into the wild and meets a black stallion who teaches it about faith in something greater than itself. Eventually, Spots comes to love its spots as much as its white patches, realizing that what’s important isn’t just how someone looks on the outside, but also how they act inside.
The climax of the story comes when a horse is able to run through a brush fire in order to find cool water. This represents baptism and how it saves people from sin. The short story ends with the horse rejecting its white coat, which was used to cover up imperfections, instead relying on faith for guidance.
