Riding Lessons


Sara Gruen - 2004
    Then, at eighteen, a tragic accident destroyed her riding career and Harry, the beautiful horse she cherished. Now, twenty years later, Annemarie is coming home to her dying father's New Hampshire horse farm. Jobless and abandoned, she is bringing her troubled teenage daughter to this place of pain and memory, where ghosts of an unresolved youth still haunt the fields and stables—and where hope lives in the eyes of the handsome, gentle veterinarian Annemarie loved as a girl . . . and in the seductive allure of a trainer with a magic touch. But everything will change yet again with one glimpse of a white striped gelding startlingly similar to the one Annemarie lost in another lifetime. And an obsession is born that could shatter her fragile world.

Saddled: How a Spirited Horse Reined Me in and Set Me Free


Susan Richards - 2010
    She wrote it down in her journal, struck by the fact that it had taken nine years of waking up hung-over to name her illness. What had changed? Susan had a new horse, a spirited Morgan named Georgia, and, as she says: ""It had something to do with Georgia. It had something to do with making a commitment as enormous as caring for a horse that might live as my companion for the next forty years. It had something to do with love."" Every day begins with a morning ride. Every day Susan lives a little more and thinks about her mistakes a little less. Every day she learns a little more from Georgia, the kind of horse who doesn't go in for indecision, who doesn't apologize for her opinions, and who isn't afraid to be herself. In Georgia, Susan finds something to draw her back to herself, but also something to keep her steady and focused, to teach her about stepping carefully in unknown territory, to help her learn again about balance. This is a memoir about the power of animals to carry us through the toughest times of our lives--about the importance of constancy, the beauty of quiet, steadfast love, the way loving a good (and sometimes bad!) animal can keep you going. It's a wonderful story for Susan's (and Georgia's) fans, and for anyone who has ever loved an animal enough to keep on living.

Stud


Kevin Conley - 2002
    For the next one hundred and fifty days, the cries of stallions and the vigorous encouragement of their handlers echo through breeding country, from the gentle hills of Kentucky to the rich valleys of California.First appearing as an article in The New Yorker, Stud takes you into this strange and seductive world. We move from Lexington's Overbrook Farm, where the world's leading sire, Storm Cat, a lightly raced eighteen-year-old, brings in around thirty million dollars a year; to the auction halls, where sheiks and bookies (known more casually as the Doobie Brothers and the Boys) bid millions for Storm Cat's well-bred offspring. We visit Three Chimneys, where the twenty-seven-year-old Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew, a senior citizen by equine standards, makes a rousing return to active duty after spinal surgery, and stroll through Running Horse Farm, on the banks of the Rio Grande, where a nearly unmanageable colt, Devil Begone, has found peace and prosperity servicing desert mares like Patty O'Furniture.Cheap stud, top stud, old stud, wild stud, from the Hall of Fame horse to the harem stallion with his feral herd, Stud looks at intimate acts in idyllic settings (and the billion-dollar business behind them), providing a voyeuristic glimpse of just how human the equine world can be.

The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman, the Horse That Inspired a Nation


Elizabeth Letts - 2011
    Into the rarefied atmosphere of wealth and tradition comes the most unlikely of horses—a drab white former plow horse named Snowman—and his rider, Harry de Leyer. They were the longest of all longshots—and their win was the stuff of legend. Harry de Leyer first saw the horse he would name Snowman on a bleak winter afternoon between the slats of a rickety truck bound for the slaughterhouse. He recognized the spark in the eye of the beaten-up horse and bought him for eighty dollars. On Harry’s modest farm on Long Island, the horse thrived. But the recent Dutch immigrant and his growing family needed money, and Harry was always on the lookout for the perfect thoroughbred to train for the show-jumping circuit—so he reluctantly sold Snowman to a farm a few miles down the road. But Snowman had other ideas about what Harry needed. When he turned up back at Harry’s barn, dragging an old tire and a broken fence board, Harry knew that he had misjudged the horse. And so he set about teaching this shaggy, easygoing horse how to fly. One show at a time, against extraordinary odds and some of the most expensive thoroughbreds alive, the pair climbed to the very top of the sport of show jumping. Here is the dramatic and inspiring rise to stardom of an unlikely duo, based on the insight and recollections of “the Flying Dutchman” himself. Their story captured the heart of Cold War–era America—a story of unstoppable hope, inconceivable dreams, and the chance to have it all. Elizabeth Letts’s message is simple: Never give up, even when the obstacles seem sky-high. There is something extraordinary in all of us.

It's Not About the Horse: It's About Overcoming Fear and Self-Doubt


Wyatt Webb - 2002
    This unique form of therapy blends horse sense with common sense. Wyatt uses the horse as a metaphor, explaining that how you relate to this animal will tell how you relate to all living things, hence the title "It's Not About The Horse". Using this analogy and case studies Wyatt shows the reader how to understand what they have learned over the course of their lifetime and explains how to examine what works for or against them. Wyatt then goes on to explain, drawing from his own life experience how anyone that wants to grow and really know who they are must travel through uncharted territory, the only place where you learn anything.

Betting on Horse Racing for Dummies


Richard Eng - 2005
    It explains: what goes on at the track what to look for in horses and jockeys how to read a racing form and do simple handicapping how to manage betting funds and make wagers that stand a good chance of paying off. Complete with coverage of off-track and online betting, it's just what anyone needs to play the ponies-and win! Richard Eng (Las Vegas, NV) is a racing writer and handicapper for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a columnist for the Daily Racing Form, and the host of a horseracing radio program in Las Vegas. He was formerly a part of the ABC Sports team that covered the Triple Crown.

Learning to Fall


Anne Clermont - 2016
    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.Enter Jason Lander, who understands what it’s like to walk away from the ring. The onetime champion agrees to train Brynn, and her horse Jett, for an all-or-nothing run at the prestigious Million Dollar Gold Cup. But going all the way means doing it his way, which has Brynn questioning her decisions, her loyalties, and her growing feelings for Jason—complicating her relationship with her lover.Set in Northern California against a stunning backdrop of coastal hills and valleys, Learning to Fall is about discovering how to let go—and how to hang on with your heart.Fans of Seabiscuit and The Horse Whisperer will love this beautifully written debut; one they’re bound to add to their shelf of favorites.

Centaur


Declan Murphy - 2017
    His skull shattered in twelve places, he was believed to be dead, the last rites were read and the Racing Post prepared his obituary. Miraculously, and the word is not used lightly, he survived and defied medical thinking in recovering to the extent that eighteen months after his fall, he was able to saddle up for one more race. As usual, he won.For 23 years, Declan has been unable to tell his story, to bring to words existence on the frontier between life and death, to describe the incredible bond between man and horse. But now, in an extraordinary collaboration with Ami Rao, she has helped him find those words, a way to piece together what happened before, during and after, what it all meant and what it means to us all. It is a story of triumph, fear, love and loss, by turns primal, heartbreaking and inspirational, and ultimately, it is the story of hope, and of life.

Rain Shadow


Catherine Madera - 2012
    Intent on burying the past, Taylor determines to keep busy in the present. This includes following in her mother's footsteps (whether she likes it or not), a part-time job learning the art of the perfect latte from a sharp-tongued barista, and volunteer hours at an animal shelter. At the shelter, Taylor meets a savagely wounded mare whose strength and grace mysteriously touch her own damaged spirit, reawakening old ghosts and inviting new healing. With the help of friends - including a handsome veterinarian with saving hands - Taylor discovers second changes are found in unlikely places and that, against all odds, love restores a broken heart.

Secretariat's Meadow: The Land, the Family, the Legend


Kate Chenery Tweedy - 2010
    Presents the story of how the Chenerey family came to breed and race Secretariat along with the history of the family and the land in which they bred racehorses.

Just a Groom (Hearts & Horse Trials, #1)


Laurie Twizel - 2017
    But when fellow competitor Frederick Twemlow snatches away their top horse, everything they have ever worked for is on the brink of falling apart before their eyes. Frederick Twemlow is gorgeous, rich, popular and at the top of the eventing ranks. When he sets his sights on something, he doesn't stop until he gets it. So when he begins to make eyes at Elsa, they both know it's only a matter of time before Frederick gets what he wants. Desperate to despise him for tipping their yard into turmoil, and to prove her loyalty to Sophia; for how long can Elsa resist his charms?

Horse Owner's Veterinary Handbook


James M. Giffin - 1989
    Doctors James Giffin and Tom Gore address such basic health-care and management issues as the latest medicines and immunizations, wounds, illnesses, parasites, nutrition and supplements, and reproduction. Just inside the covers, the horse owner can easily access the index of Signs and Symptoms, since responding quickly to an emergency can literally mean the life or death of a horse. Anyone who looks after a horse whether owner, trainer or groom can rely on this authoritative book to get them through emergencies and well as routine events. James M. Giffin, M.D., lives in Ridgway, Colorado, and Tom Gore, D.V.M., lives in Osmond, Nebraska. They co-authored Howell s Dog Owner s Home

The Byerley Turk: The Incredible Story of the World's First Thoroughbred


Jeremy James - 2005
    For years, many of the essential facts about this horse have been shrouded in mystery, but now author Jeremy James has combined extensive original research with an absorbing narrative to recount the Turk's heretofore untold story. The result is an epic account of the life of a magnificent animal, extending from the palaces of the Ottoman Empire to the streets of London and beyond, and featuring a fascinating cast of historical figures. "Men without horses are nothing," the author tells us, and the powerful bonds between horse and master lie at the heart of this story. It begins in 1679 in a remote Balkan village, where a seyis-a penniless groom-finds himself caring for a remarkable young foal. Believing it destined for greatness, and seeing a chance to escape his own humble circumstances, he begins schooling the animal in the disciplines of war.Hewing closely to the historical record, the author goes on to trace the fortunes of the Turk and its new master: In 1682, they arrived in Istanbul, where the horse was selected for the Ottoman Empire's renowned cavalry. Ridden as a battle charger in the Turkish sieges on Vienna and Buda, it was captured, along with its groom, by a party of adventuring British aristocrats and taken back to England in 1686. In London, it was bought by Captain Robert Byerley, who rode the Turk to Ireland (stopping along the way to take first place at the Downpatrick Races) to take on the Jacobite forces in several pivotal encounters, including the Battle of the Boyne.After a lifetime of adventure, the Turk was put to stud, initiating what was to become its greatest legacy: first foundation sire of the thoroughbred line. Thoroughly documented and certain to ignite debate within racing circles with its controversial claims about the horse's origins, The Byerley Turk is nothing less than groundbreaking. This sweeping narrative not only tracks the life of a single horse but provides new insights into the world it inhabited, conjuring the spirit of an entire era and offering a meditation on the immutable force of destiny.

Borrowed Horses


Sian Griffiths - 2013
    She has given up everything (career, romance) to pursue her goal of riding for the US Equestrian Team, but now, with no horse to ride and no money to buy or support a young prospect, she finds herself faced with a choice: should she take a chance on a relationship with the attractive stranger pursuing her, or invest her time in training her coach's abused and violent mare? As she explores each option, Joannie finds that a fully lived life is much like the jumping courses she's always ridden, every path bearing obstacles that she will have to clear to find her way forward.

Hope Rising


Kim Meeder - 2003
    From a mistreated horse to an emotionally starved child and back again, a torrent of love washes away their barren places. Kim's ranch is a place where this miracle happens over and over again. It is a place where the impossible flourishes, where dreams survive the inferno of reality - a place where hope rises.Where Wounded Spirits Run Free Follow a horse where no one else can tread, through the minefield of pain that surrounds a broken child's soul. From a mistreated horse to an emotionally starved child and back again, a torrent of love revives their barren places.In the presence of unconditional love, a mute girl speaks for the first time. A defiant teenager teaches a horse to trust again...and opens his own heart to love. A rescued horse gives a dying man his last wish. A battered girl finds love and protection in the friendship of a battered horse...Come visit a place where the impossible flourishes, where dreams survive the inferno of reality--a place where hope rises.