Best Horse Books of All Time!
I absolutely love reading, especially when it is a horse book!! I got so many awesome responses on this one. Thanks to all of the equestrians that voted for the their favorites!
Here is your reading list! How many have you read?
Whoa! We have a TIE for first place!
🏆 The Equestrians Choice Winners are….
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell & The Black Stallion by Walter Farley!
Both such amazing books! Perfect for a re-read at any time, and if you haven’t read them yet… GO DO IT NOW! :)
Get Black Beauty on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2VelPQa
Get The Black Stallion on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3acxNhy
Best Horse Books: Runners-Up
🏅Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry.
Nobody could capture the Phantom. She was the wildest mare on Assateague Island. They said she was like the wind, that the white "map" on her shoulders was her mark of freedom.
Paul and Maureen Beebe had their hearts set on owning her. They were itching to buy and tame her and worked hard to earn the money she would cost. But the roundup men had tried to capture her and for two years she had escaped them.
Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3eobYii
🏅War Horse by Michael Morpurgo.
Michael Morpurgo’s classic tale, capturing the power of the human spirit.
First published back in 1982, War Horse has taken the world by storm. The book was adapted to the stage and was performed at the National Theatre and on Broadway.
Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2XHAO6P
🏅Eighty Dollar Champion by Elizabeth Letts.
Harry de Leyer first saw the horse he would name Snowman on a truck bound for the slaughterhouse. The recent Dutch immigrant recognized the spark in the eye of the beaten-up nag and bought him for eighty dollars. On Harry's modest farm on Long Island, he ultimately taught Snowman how to fly. Here is the dramatic and inspiring rise to stardom of an unlikely duo.
Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2ylt1B6
🏅The Silver Brumby by Elyne Mitchell.
A silver brumby is special, but he will be hunted by man and horse alike, and must be stronger than both....
Thowra, the magnificent silver stallion, is king of brumbies.
Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3bjGnfV
🏅My Friend Flicka by Mary O'Hara.
It seems Ken can't do anything right. He loses saddle blankets and breaks reins . . . but then comes the worst news yet: a report card so bad that he has to repeat a grade. How can you tame the dreamy mind of a boy who stares out of the window instead of taking an exam? Enter Flicka, the chestnut filly with a wild spirit.
Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/34KfS0t
🏅The Horses in My Life by Monty Roberts.
Trainer Monty Roberts, who is famous the world over as "the man who listens to horses," celebrates his best-loved horses, chosen from the tens of thousands he has worked with over the past 60 years.
Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2VfdFan
🏅Heartland by Lauren Brooke.
This powerful series follows Amy Fleming through the loss of her mother and her struggle to continue the work at Heartland-a refuge for abused and abandoned horses.
Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ao8jOw
🏅The Horse Whisperer: A Novel by Nicholas Evans.
His name is Tom Booker. His voice can calm wild horses, his touch can heal broken spirits. And Annie Graves has traveled across a continent to the Booker ranch in Montana, desperate to heal her injured daughter, the girl’s savage horse, and her own wounded heart.
Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2KeQHK4
🏅Last Chance Mustang by Mitchell Bornstein.
Last Chance Mustang is the story of Samson, a formerly free-roaming, still wild-at-heart American mustang that was plucked from his mountainous Nevada home and thrown into the domestic horse world, where he was brutalized and victimized. After years of abuse, Samson had evolved into a hateful and hated, maladjusted beast - until the day he found his way to a rural Illinois farm, an ill-equipped owner, and one last chance.
Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ewGKFW
🏅King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry.
He was named "Sham" for the sun, this golden red stallion born in the Sultan of Morocco's stone stables. Upon his heel was a small white spot, the symbol of speed. But on his chest was the symbol of misfortune. Although he was as swift as the desert winds, Sham's proud pedigree would be scorned all his life by cruel masters and owners.
Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/34O7zky
Need More Suggestions? More Horse Books Below👇
Horse Themed Fiction:
The Dressage Chronicles by Karen McGoldrick.
You know what happens to all those girls who are just crazy about horses? Once they discover boys, the horses are history. Or maybe not. For Lizzy, and others like her, no boy, no man who knows what's good for him, speaks the unspeakable-"It's me or the horse." It's no contest.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2RIHo9h
Learning to Fall: A Novel by Anne Clermont.
Brynn honors her passion for horses by studying at the toughest veterinary program in the country. Months from graduating, tragedy strikes - tragedy for which she can't help but feel responsible. Brynn feels suffocated by the weight of her father's legacy and his dusty hopes for horse show jumping success. When Brynn's frenetic efforts to dig the family business out of debt fail, she's down to one desperate hope.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2yqCwih
I am the Great Horse by Katherine Roberts.
Climb on my back, if you dare, and let me carry you into the battles that changed the world...
So speaks Alexander the Great's bold black stallion Bucephalas, one of the most famous horses of the ancient world, as he recounts their epic journey from Macedonia across Persia and over the Himalayas into India, straight from the horse's mouth.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2RGnRqf
Beauty by Bill Wallace.
She was an old horse, but she still had a lot of life in her. And she was the best friend Luke needed after the pain of his parents' divorce and the move to Oklahoma to live with his difficult grandfather. Luke could have had a younger horse, one better able to keep up with a boy's adventures. But it was Beauty that Luke loved. He found himself sharing his hopes, dreams, and fears with the old horse.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/3cxu9AB
Horses I've Known (Tumbleweed Series) by Will James.
Fourteen short stories capture the quirky and peculiar behavior of horses, both good and ornery.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/3alTtYt
Non Fiction:
The Age of the Horse: An Equine Journey Through Human History by Susanna Forrest.
Fifty-six million years ago, the earliest equid walked the earth-and beginning with the first-known horse-keepers of the Copper Age, the horse has played an integral part in human history.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/3biplPd
Half Broke: A Memoir by Ginger Gaffney.
At the start of this remarkable story of recovery, healing, and redemption, Ginger Gaffney answers a call to help retrain the troubled horses at an alternative prison ranch in New Mexico, a facility run entirely by the prisoners. The horses are scavenging through the dumpsters, kicking and running down the residents when they bring the trash out after meals. One horse is severely injured.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/3alTN9D
Ruffian: Burning From the Start by Jane Schwartz.
Here is the story f the exceptional filly, a horse so dominating, she was likened to legend. Beginning with her earliest days in Kentucky, the book follows Ruffian at every stage of her career and through the agony of her final hours--venturing behind the scenes of the racing world, and exploring the politics and personalities that came together to shape this extraordinary filly's life.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2XIgrGF
Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand.
Seabiscuit was one of the most electrifying and popular attractions in sports history and the single biggest newsmaker in the world in 1938, receiving more coverage than FDR, Hitler, or Mussolini. But his success was a surprise to the racing establishment, which had written off the crooked-legged racehorse with the sad tail.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2wLKtOH
Chicken Soup for the Horse Lover's Soul: Inspirational Stories About Horses and the People Who Love Them by Jack Canfield.
Chicken Soup for the Horse Lover's Soul is filled with inspiring stories of rescue and rehabilitation, heartbreaking losses, dedication and commitment, and positive messages of responsibility and unconditional love.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2RLtTG2
Sgt. Reckless: America's War Horse by Robin Hutton.
This is the complete and captivating account of how a would-be Korean racehorse became one of the greatest Marine Corps wartime heroes. Amid an inferno of explosives on a deadly minefield in the Korean War, a four-legged marine proved to be a heroic force of nature.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2VEIjJ0
The Perfect Horse: The Daring U.S. Mission to Rescue the Priceless Stallions Kidnapped by the Nazis by Elizabeth Letts.
From the author of The Eighty-Dollar Champion, the remarkable story of the heroic rescue of priceless horses in the closing days of World War II.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/3cljNU6
Equestrian Adventuresses Series Book 1: Saddles and Sisterhood. Edited by Krystal Kelly.
Travel to Bhutan, Canada, Ireland, Greece the Bronx and more as you embark on adventures in the saddle. In this book you will find out what it's like to be apart of a "saddle club" friendship whilst growing up in Australia. You'll race the Grey Ghost against your childhood rivalry, and you'll knock on strangers doors in Ireland as you complete your 400 mile journey across a country.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2RJJZjo
Chosen by a Horse by Susan Richards.
The horse Susan Richards chose for rescue wouldn’t be corralled into her waiting trailer. Instead Lay Me Down, a former racehorse with a foal close on her heels, walked right up that ramp and into Susan’s life. This gentle creature―malnourished, plagued by pneumonia and an eye infection―had endured a rough road, but somehow her heart was still open and generous.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2Ka2itU
The Soul of a Horse: Life Lessons from the Herd by Joe Camp.
A heartwarming story of a couple and their horse exploring what caring for a horse can teach us about companionship—whether it’s with a four-legged friend or a fellow human.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/3coKWpe
Horse, Follow Closely: Native American Horsemanship by Gawani Pony Boy.
The bible of North American Horsemanship, Horse, Follow Closely is GaWaNi Pony Boy’s signature title about the relationship training methods that are steeped in common sense and the age-old wisdom of his Native American ancestors.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2VF5Qtl
Horses Never Lie: The Heart of Passive Leadership by Mark Rashid.
Here renowned trainer Mark Rashid introduces us to his revolutionary method for training horses. His sensitive, thoughtful approach emphasizes the importance of balance, and has led some to refer to him as a real-life horse whisperer.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2Vf01Ee
Discovering Natural Horsemanship: A Beginner's Odyssey by Tom Moates.
Tom Moates's life and work were on a horseless path until serendipity brought Niji, a sorrel gelding, into his life. In his candid and plainspoken style, Moates shares the honest highs and lows of starting out in the Better Way with horses.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2z4iV80
Young Adult & Young at Heart:
A Horse Called Holiday by Frances Wilbur.
The moment Middie sees Holiday, a beautiful chestnut thoroughbred, she is certain that he will be able to win her a blue ribbon or two in the horse shoe, until she discovers that Holiday is deaf.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2XJWrnh
Silver Snaffles: A Story of a Shetland Pony by Primrose Cumming.
A story of a little girl who longs for a pony.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/3bjvVoC
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron by Kathleen Duey.
Follows Spirit, the leader of a herd of wild mustangs, from his childhood as the son of Esperanza, a palomino mare, through his capture, to his courageous return to freedom.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/3evbp6n
Mustang: Wild Spirit of the West by Marguerite Henry.
Horses were in Annie Bronn’s blood. For as long as she could remember, she had been fascinated by the spirited wild mustangs that roamed free throughout the West. So when greedy cattlemen started to round up the mustangs for slaughter, Annie knew it was up to her to save the breed.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2VFqz0n
Flame Island Stallion by Walter Farley.
When Steve Duncan is asked to go on an archeological search on a remote Caribbean island, he never imagines the stallion he will find there. But the giant horse is unapproachable, showing nothing but fear and fury towards people. When the stallion gets caught in quicksand, can Steve get close enough to save the wild horse?
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2VEIX9o
The Wild One (Phantom Stallion #1) by Terri Farley.
When 13-year-old Samantha returns home to her family′s cattle ranch in Nevada, she′s worried. She moved away two years ago to recover from a bad fall off her beloved mustang, Blackie, and she′s still not sure she can get back in the saddle. Her new colt doesn′t seem to like her, and the other ranchers treat her like the boss′s spoiled daughter, and Blackie has been missing since that fateful day.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2VQ5hgL
Year of the Black Pony by Walt Morey.
The Fellows family has joined numerous others striving to make a go of homesteading in the Oregon high desert. But the venture has been disastrous from the start.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/34IqsFe
Horse Crazy (Saddle Club series Book 1) by Bonnie Bryant.
Carole Hanson and Stevie Lake have been best friends ever since they met at Pine Hollow Stables. So when Lisa Atwood joins their ridinggroup, the girls aren't sure she's got what it takes. Lisa may be the smartest student in the classroom, but she's got a lot to learn when it comes to horses. . . .
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2Kcur3z
Gypsy from Nowhere by Sharon Wagner.
Gypsy, the beautiful filly with one blue eye and one brown and Wendy, the lonely teen aged girl had more than a few things in common.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/3cjs1fA
Billy and Blaze Collection by C.W. Anderson.
In Billy and Blaze, Billy gets his very own horse for his birthday! They make a great team, but are they good enough to win the silver cup at the Mason Horse Show?
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2XQwvGi
Thelwell's Pony Series by Normam Thelwell.
Little girls. Fat hairy ponies. Hook-nosed riding teachers, riders on backward, and horses gone madly off course. The artist Norman Thelwell published his first pony cartoon in 1953, and quite by accident, his name became synonymous with these kinds of images.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/3cpjtDU
Old Bones: The Wonder Horse by Mildred Mastin Pace.
This is the story of the great horse Exterminator, affectionately known as Old Bones. An unknown in 1918, he won the Kentucky Derby. He went on to become the top winner of cup races and, many claim, the greatest thoroughbred ever developed in this country.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2Kq6vKl
Hoofbeats Series by Kathleen Duey.
Orphaned at age six and taken in by a heartless couple, nine-year-old Katie Rose spends her days doing chores and dreaming of going west to find her Uncle Jack. Then Mr. Stevens brings home an unbroken Mustang, and Katie's world changes.
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2Ka3FsG
Fantasy:
Black Horses for the King by Anne McCaffrey.
Galwyn, the son of a bankrupt and dishonored aristocrat, has always had an ear for languages. So when Lord Artos—later known as King Arthur—needs an interpreter to help him buy large horses to breed a troop strong enough to carry armed warriors against the Saxon invaders, Galwyn gets a chance to redeem his father’s honor and make a name for himself.
Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Veq0vs
Arrows of the Queen: Heralds of Valdemar Series, Book 1 by Mercedes Lackey
Chosen by the Companion Rolan, a mystical horse-like being with powers beyond imagining, Talia, once a runaway, has now become a trainee Herald, destined to become one of the Queen's own elite guard. For Talia has certain awakening talents of the mind that only a Companion like Rolan can truly sense.
Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3bgfEko
Green Rider (Green Rider Trilogy Book 1) by Kristen Britain.
After an unexpected confrontation with a dying knight, Karigan G'ladahon becomes the unlikely bearer of a vital message to the King, on a mission during which she faces assassins and other deadly dangers in a world of complex magic.
Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2XK2tnC
The Tower of Ravens: Book One of Rhiannon's Ride by Kate Forsyth.
One-Horn’s daughter is not like the others of her kind. Born of a human father, she lacks the horns so prized by her people and is scorned even by her own mother. Her only chance for escape is to capture one of the legendary flying horses and ride it to freedom.
Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3eF2vDA
Split Infinity by Piers Anthony.
On the technological, decadent world of Proton, someone was trying to destroy Stile, serf and master Gamesman. His only escape lay through a mysterious “curtain” revealed by a loving robot.
Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3csleAm
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater.
Some race to win. Others race to survive. It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.
Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2yjZS9B
Unicorns I Have Known by Robert Vavra.
A collection of unicorn legends and lore--drawn from such sources as the Bible, myth, art, and literature--enhanced by full-color photographs.
Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Kaq9d7
Breed Books:
Ultimate Horse Book by Elwyn Hartley Edwards.
Here is a comprehensive and visually stunning guide to horses from around the world. At the center of the book is a photographic catalog of 80 breeds of horse and pony. Each breed is photographed in color, and its history, physical characteristics and temperament are explained. Includes horse care, riding and equipment section. 500 photographs and illustrations.
Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Kbiwmr
Horses of the World by Élise Rousseau.
Horses of the World is a comprehensive, large-format overview of 570 breeds of domestic and extant wild horses, including hybrids between the two and between domestic breeds and other equids, such as zebras. This beautifully illustrated and detailed guide covers the origins of modern horses, anatomy and physiology, variation in breeds, and modern equestrian practices.
Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Vip9cY
The Official Horse Breeds Standards Guide by Fran Lynghaug.
This is the only guidebook collecting the official North America breed associations’ standards and conformations, making it a much-needed, handy, and comprehensive reference. Like the American Kennel Club's The Complete Dog Book (now in its 20th printing), this is the book for horse breeds.
Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2RJhBOA
