From the recent spate of equine deaths on racetracks to protests demanding the removal of mounted Confederate soldier statues to the success and appeal of War Horse, there is no question that horses still play a role in our lives--though fewer and fewer of us actually interact with them. In Precarious Partners, Kari Weil takes readers back to a time in France when horses were an inescapable part of daily life. This was a time when horse ownership became an attainable dream not just for soldiers, but also for middle class children; when natural historians argued about animal intelligence; when the prevalence of horse beatings inspired the first animal protection laws; and when the combined magnificence and abuse of these animals inspired artists, writers, and riders alike. Weil traces the evolving partnerships established between French citizens and their horses through this era. She considers the newly designed "races" of workhorses who carried men from the battlefield to the hippodrome, lugged heavy loads through the boulevards, or who paraded women riders, "amazones," in the parks or circus halls--as well as with those unfortunate horses who found their fate on a dinner plate. Moving between literature, painting, natural philosophy, popular cartoons, sport manuals, and tracts of public hygiene, Precarious Partners traces the changing social, political, and emotional relations with these charismatic creatures who straddled conceptions of pet and livestock in nineteenth-century France.

What would rodeo look like if we took it as a record, not of human triumph and resilience, but of human imperfection and stubbornness?"" asks animal historian Susan Nance. Against the backdrop of the larger histories of ranching, cattle, horses, and the environment in the West, this book explores how the evolution of rodeo has reflected rural western beliefs and assumptions about the natural world that have led to environmental crises and served the beef empire. By unearthing behind-the-scenes stories of rodeo animals as diverse individuals, this book lays bare contradictions within rodeo and the rural West. For almost 150 years, westerners have used rodeo to symbolically reenact their struggles with animals and the land as uniformly progressive and triumphant. Nance upends that view with accounts of individual animals that reveal how diligently rodeo people have worked to make livestock into surrogates for the trials of rural life in the West and the violence in its history. Western horses and cattle were more than just props. Rodeo reclaims their lived history through compelling stories of anonymous roping steers and calves who inspired reform of the sport, such as the famed but abused bucker Steamboat, and the many broncs and bulls, famous or not, who unknowingly built an industry. Rodeo is a dangerous sport that reveals many westerners as people proudly tolerant of risk and violence, and ready to impose these values on livestock. In Rodeo: An Animal History, Nance pushes past standard histories and the sport's publicity to show how rodeo was shot through with stubbornness and human failing as much as fortitude and community spirit.

Rupert Isaacson's The Horse Boy is one family's epic journey to rescue their son. Rupert and Kirstin Isaacson were heartbroken when they learned that their two-year-old son Rowan was autistic. And with each passing day, Rowan's growing isolation, his uncontrollable fits, each failed treatment, filled them with despair. Then one day Rowan escaped and ran into a field of horses. Rupert watched in horror - but saw a miracle occur. The horses responded lovingly to Rowan - and he to them. Could Rowan's affinity with these animals save their son from his condition? The Isaacsons left their home in Texas and travelled to the plains and mountains of Mongolia - the spiritual home of the horse - risking everything - their happiness, future and sanity - on an arduous epic horseback journey in search of a cure for Rowan . . . 'An elegant, affecting narrative...a triumph of the human spirit' Daily Telegraph 'Captivating, incredible, a magical journey, an impossible dream'Telegraph Weekend 'It is probably only once in a critical lifetime that one will be moved almost to tears by [such] an account ... the excellence of his writing [creates an] elegant, affecting narrative ... a triumph of the human spirit'Telegraph 'Magical, miraculous, uplifting'Daily Mail Rupert Isaacson is British but lives with his family in Texas, USA. He is an ex-professional horse trainer and founding director of the Indigenous Land Rights Fund. He is the author of The Healing Land: A Kalahari Journey and his journalism and travel writing has appeared in the Daily Telegraph, Esquire, National Geographic, Independent on Sunday, Conde Nast Traveller, Daily Mail and The Field.

Dozens of illustrations, floor plans, and instructions provide a wealth of information for cattle barns, pigeon houses, self-feeding corncribs, self-closing doors, horse barns, dog houses, and much more. There are also suggestions on placement of outbuildings and choosing the right materials for foundations, walls, and roof. The new release of this homesteading helper will engage new audiences, from builders to history buffs to craft lovers.