The description about a horse doesn't go with this title and author. This is a good retelling of the Beauty and the Beast tale, with finely crafted writing and a solid story from beginning to end.
I read this book for the first time many years ago and remember loving it. On this reread, I found myself being a bit impatient at the beginning of the story - I think that I just wanted Beauty to get to the castle and the Beast, but once I let my patience settle down a bit, I got right back into the story and loved it once more.