Horse Thief — Robert Newton Peck

After losing two fingers in his first bull ride, seventeen-year-old Tullis Yoder worries he'll never have a chance to top another bull. Then the rodeo show he works for goes broke, and he learns that its thirteen horses, his only family, will be slaughtered for dog meat. With the help of a lady doctor and an aging professional horse thief, Tullis steals his beloved horses. He wants to set the horses free, but with crooks, three sheriffs, and a powerful judge after him, will he have a chance?