'A letter is handed to you. In broken English, it tells you that you must now vacate your farm; that this is no longer your home, for it now belongs to the crowd on your doorstep. Then the drums begin to beat.' As the land invasions gather pace, the Retzlaffs begin an epic journey across Zimbabwe, facing eviction after eviction, trying to save the group of animals with whom they feel a deep and enduring bond - the horses. When their neighbours flee to New Zealand, the Retzlaffs promise to look after their horses, and making similar promises to other farmers along their journey, not knowing whether they will be able to feed or save them, they amass an astonishing herd of over 300 animals. But the final journey to freedom will be arduous, and they can take only 104 horses. Each with a different personality and story, it is not just the family who rescue the horses, but the horses who rescue the family. Grey, the silver gelding: the leader. Brutus, the untamed colt. Princess, the temperamental mare. One Hundred and Four Horses is the story of an idyllic existence that falls apart at the seams, and a story of incredible bonds - a love of the land, the strength of a family, and of the connection between man and the most majestic of animals, the horse.

Horse Sense provides an in-depth guide to horse care under conditions unique to Australia and New Zealand. It is written in an easy-to-read style to appeal to novices as well as experienced owners and covers all aspects of horse care and management. This new edition provides the latest information on new feeds and supplements, new techniques for gently breaking in young horses, handling difficult horses, safe riding, and treating injuries, diseases, worms and other pests. The book also incorporates the latest standards and guidelines for the welfare of horses. FeaturesIllustrated with colour, black & white photographs and line drawings Covers all aspects of horse care and handling Includes advice on buying, selling and leasing horses Gives expert guidance on first aid, health and nutrition Discusses facilities for large and small properties Provides guidelines on transportation and welfare Looks at employment prospects and training in the horse industry

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. "It has always been my contention that working with horses is, or at least should be, a delicate balancing act between finding how much or how little direction it will take to help the horse we are working with understand whatever it is we are trying to teach. Too little direction and our efforts might become ineffective. Too much direction and we may develop resistance and animosity between our horse and us." With this sensitive, thoughtful approach, Rashid challenges the conventional wisdom of "alpha leadership" and teaches the reader to become a "passive leader"-a human counterpart to the kind of horse other members of a herd choose to associate with and to follow. Applying Rashid's principles and techniques helps cultivate horse personalities that are responsive and dependable regardless of the rider. Reliving Rashid's experiences with him, you will come to feel the same sort of compassion and appreciation for your horses that you do for the people in your life. This edition features additional notes at the end of each chapter that contribute to a more complete understanding of Rashid's methods and philosophy.

Horse addicts come in all shapes, sizes and guises but are easily recognisable as a breed. They never have food in their fridge, they forget to go shopping and live on junk. Their horse on the other hand has special supplements for all its needs and its feed is agonised over, carefully chosen and measured to ensure optimum nutrition for its workload. Addict and non-addict can live in beautiful harmony if the right balance is achieved - it is easiest to develop your stable hand skills and be grateful the horse is too big to share the bed with you. Lovers of cat and dog addicts aren't so lucky!

'I absolutely love Snow Foal - it's so truthful, tender and touching. A book to read in a day and remember for a lifetime.' - Dame Jacqueline Wilson

The perfect children's book to curl up with and begin the new year. A beautiful and heart-wrenching middle grade debut for kids aged 9 to 11, full of love, healing, friendship and hope. Perfect for fans of Jacqueline Wilson's Tracey Beaker, Cathy Cassidy, Pax and Gill Lewis.

When eleven-year-old Addie goes to stay with a foster-care family on a remote Exmoor farm in the midst of a very cold winter, she is full of hurt, anger and a deep mistrust of everyone around her. Until one day, when she rescues a tiny wild foal from the moorland snow and Addie discovers that perhaps she’s not so alone after all.

And as adventure and unexpected friendship blossom, Addie is determined that both of them will know what is to be home again soon . . .

The beauty, grace, and uniformity of these magnificent horses, bred selectively for centuries, are unexcelled, and every Arabian owner will agree that there is a spiritual bond and kinship between the Arabian horse and its master such as exists with no other breed. This is the most comprehensive and authoritative work on its subject. The author traces Arabians from 1580 B.C. to the present and through all the countries where they have been bred. Over 200 photographs and reproductions of ancient and modern art depict the great horses of the past and present, the conditions under which they were kept, how they were trained, and how the strains were developed. Drawings show the important points of the classic Arabian, and charts outline the major strains. The canvas on which the author has painted this panorama of the Arabian is large, and it is dedicated to the creative breeders, not only of the past and present, but especially of the future.

'Poignant and compelling, an equine Bridget Jones.' - Racing Post Being a stable lass is probably one of the hardest jobs in the country, and yet for Gemma Hogg it is the most rewarding. She works in the beautiful Yorkshire market town of Middleham and if her colleagues are occasionally challenging, then the horses are downright astonishing. Now, in Stable Lass, she takes us into the closed world of a top racing yard, from the elation of having several winners in one day to the almost indescribable grief of losing a horse. Like most stable lads and lasses, Gemma arrived in her yard as a teenager fresh out of racing college and had to cope with living away from home for the first time, as well as adapting to the brutal long hours, backbreaking work and often treacherous weather. She describes falling in love with Polo Venture, the first racehorse in her care, the pure exhilaration of riding him on Middleham Gallops for the first time and what happens when a horse takes against you, from the growling gelding Valiant Warrior to the potentially lethal Broadway Boy. She brings to life the characters around the yard, from straight-talking boss Micky Hammond to the jockeys starving themselves to make weight, the wealthy owners and the other stable lads and lasses who come from a range of different places and backgrounds. Stable Lass by Gemma Hogg is a unique look into the world of horse racing filled with heart-warming stories and amazing thoroughbreds - some loveable, some cantankerous, all impressive.

Hilary Bradt's classic account of a journey through Ireland on horseback in the 1980s published for the first time in a single volume. In 1984, Hilary Bradt achieved an ambition from her pony-mad childhood to undertake a long-distance ride. This warm, funny and heart-wrenching account centres on the growing bond between the author and her Connemara ponies, Mollie and Peggy. Using her experience of horsepacking in Peru with saddlebags imported from America, she and Mollie set forth with no decent maps, and only a vague idea of the route. The many challenges and obstacles they face include impassable rivers, bogs, stone walls, and the author's own shyness. The book is also a portrait of a vanished rural Ireland before the Celtic Tiger era, built up from descriptions and conversations with local people. The journey takes Bradt and her ponies a thousand miles south from county Mayo, around the peninsulas of Kerry and Cork, and inland towards Waterford. 'I've never tried hitchhiking with a horse before,' comments the author, faced with the challenge of getting across the River Shannon. 'It's not easy!' Originally published in two separate volumes, Connemara Mollie and Dingle Peggy, this brand new edition brings the whole story together for the first time, with additional, previously unpublished photographs.

This book demonstrates how horse breeding is entwined with human societies and identities. It explores issues of lineage, purity, and status by exploring interconnections between animals and humans. The quest for purity in equine breed reflects and evolves alongside human subjectivity shaped by categories of race, gender, class, region, and nation. Focusing on various horse breeds, from the Chincoteague Pony to Brazilian Crioulo and the Arabian horse, each chapter in this collection considers how human and animal identities are shaped by practices of breeding and categorizing domesticated animals. Bringing together different historical, geographical, and disciplinary perspectives, this book will appeal to academics, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students, in the fields of human-animal studies, sociology, environmental studies, cultural studies, history, and literature.

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. 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. Their story captured the heart of Cold War-era America-a story of unstoppable hope, inconceivable dreams, and the chance to have it all. They were the longest of all longshots-and their win was the stuff of legend.

Kevin De Ornellas argues that in Renaissance England the relationship between horse and rider works as an unambiguous symbol of domination by the strong over the weak. There was little sentimental concern for animal welfare, leading to the routine abuse of the material animal. This unproblematic, practical exploitation of the horse led to the currency of the horse/rider relationship as a trope or symbol of exploitation in the literature of the period. Engaging with fiction, plays, poems, and non-fictional prose works of late Tudor and early Stuart England, De Ornellas demonstrates that the horse a bridled, unwilling slave becomes a yardstick against which the oppression of England s poor, women, increasingly uninfluential clergyman, and deluded gamblers is measured. The status of the bitted, harnessed horse was a low one in early modern England to be compared to such a beast is a demonstration of inferiority and subjugation. To think anything else is to be naive about the realities of horse management in the period and is to be naive about the realities of the exploitation of horses and other mammals in the present-day world."