Your fav horsey book when you were a pre-teen & why?

[Melelio]

What horse books do you remember fondly/vividly from your youth (5-13)? What made them memorable to you? Do you still own a copy, or want one?

[GreyDun]

As much as I hate to admit it....The Saddle Club. I would literally bolt to the back of the bookstore and check to see if a new one had come out yet. So embarrassing. But they seriously had everything a little teenybopper could want - lots of different horses (and breeds), friends, boys (tee hee!), shows, foxhunting, foals, everything! It was like the Babysitter's Club for horse people, haha.

But seriously though, who didn't like all the Marguerite Henry books? Hands down, my favorite. And how awesome was Wesley Dennis? :D

[MeredithTX]

The Thoroughbred series!

[Stewie]

Was that what it was called? I THINK Jean Slaughter Doty wrote it.

If anyone can confirm that was the story where the mystery was solved because Our Heroine (talented, but not able to afford her own horse) figured out the tattoo on the horse's lip was changed from a 3 to an 8 and he was not the same horse who was sold to Little Miss Rich, who was now scared of him... I'd be forever grateful! It's been driving me crazy for years. :D

If that wasn't the plot for The Monday Horses... what was the name of the book??

[luckyducky]

ummm, ANY horse stories I could get my hands on were read, over and over if I liked them well enough, I can recall any of C.W. Anderson's, The Black Stallion series, anything by M. Henry, anything by Dorothy Lyons, gosh, yo name it, if it was written before 1980, and available, I was reading it!!!! Guess that kind of dates me huh?

[Indy]

All of the Marguerite Henry books (esp. the Misty-related ones). I also loved the Black Stallion books, but didn't get into them until I was a bit older.

And the wonderful "A Very Young Rider," which I scoured Ebay for until I found my very own copy. That's the best book ever.

The Thoroughbred series was good in the begining. I also liked the author's other books (Battlecry Forever was one of them...can't remember the other).

[A. P.]

"My Friend Flicka", "Thunderhead" and the "Green Grass of Wyoming", by Mary OHara. They are well written and are interesting stories in addition to being 'horsey'.

[luckyducky]

Yikes, forgot some of my other favorite authors!!! Sam Savitt, Jean Slaughter Doty, my mom enrolled me in this horse book club as a young un, we got some terrific books through it!! All hardcover, they are still at my mom's house and I like to go through and read one on a weekend I am home.

[Quinn]

C.W. Anderson's "Afraid to ride," "Great Heart," and "A filly for Joan." I could read those books and be transformed.

http://community.webshots.com/user/ballyduff

[kcmel]

I liked the "Sunbonnet" books. They had everything--mystery, intrigue, even a little bit of romance. I recently bought them on ebay and re-read them. It was fun, but as an adult who is somewhat familiar with horse racing--those plots were completely unbelievable (i.e., running your top-bred filly in a claiming race because you need money for your father's surgery and are too proud to ask the rich co-owner for money. Like said rich co-owner would allow it!).

[Moesha]

"A Horse Like Mr. Ragman" by Rachael Rivers-Coffey 1977

It was really inspirational, the themes were about family, friendship, being grateful and making the most of what you had.... here this young hard working girl who rides verry well and who works at a farm that has hunter and jumpers ( and a few gaited horses) who has never had her own horse, finally gets one...a small pinto...here father works so hard to buy for her, while she is in the hospital after getting really sick. So the big Blowing Rock Show is coming up and this little pinto ends up being an incredible jumper and wins the open jumper championship nwith teh girl riding! That is a pretty quicky summary, but I really loved this book growing up.

[colleent]

Summer Pony and Winter Pony by Jean Slaughter Doty.

[Aggie4Bar]

I was such a bookworm. I discovered the Black Stallion series when I was 9, and within a matter of only a few months, I'd read them all. Then it was on to the Marguerite Henry books, of which "King of the Wind" was my favourite. When we moved stateside, I discovered the Saddle Club. I remember being so excited when new books would come out. I also got fussed at by my mom because I'd glue myself into a chair and read them cover-to-cover in just a few hours. There were scads of others... pretty much everything I could get my hands on. And I still have all the Black Stallion and Marguerite Henry books. I donated everything else.

[bambam]

I LOVED the Black Stallion Series. I had the whole set and they were pretty dog-eared because I reread them so many times.
I liked the Maguerite Henry books, but they did not grab me the way the Black Stallion series did.

[lizathenag]

but then I knew her and took lessons from General Reynolds. Her books had a little Rochester NY feel to them.

[cosmos mom]

All the C./W. Anderson and Black Stallion books and A Very Young Rider. Because...just because!

[Halcyon Days]

Vicki and the Black Horse, and Prince Among Ponies were my two favorites, of course loved the Black stallion series, Black Beauty, and poured over every practical horse care book I could get my hands on. :P I would finish our school library's choices, and head off to the next library, then the next, by city bus. Yes I was obsessed. ;)

[[r.oo and l.ulu]]

The Saddle Club and Horsefeather series.

Aahh, goood memories. :)

[Janet]

A Horse of Your Own.

[EasterEgg]

Caroline Akrill's eventing trilogy - Eventer's Dream, A Hoof in the Door and Ticket to Ride. I still re-read them often.

All of the Pullein-Thompson's books, and the Patricia Leitch 'Shantih' series.

Because I would read anything as a child I did read the saddle club ones but always thought that they were a bit lame.

[Show Gypsy]

A Very Young Rider by Jill Krementz

The Saddle Club

Pretty much anything by C.W. Anderson, including:
Billy and Blaze
A Filly for Joan
Afraid to Ride
The Blind Connemara
Horse of Hurricane Hill
Salute

The Monday Horse by Jean Slaughter Doty

Midnight Magic (I can't remember the author, but it was published in England and about a girl who overcomes her fear of riding)

A Horse Called Holiday by Frances Wilbur

Beauty by Bill Wallace

The Christmas Colt by Mallory Stevens

Happily After All by Laura Stevenson

[DairyQueen2049]

The Secret Horse
http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Horse-Marion-Holland/dp/0590038451
A girl and her summer friend rescue a horse ment for slaughter from the local humane society and hide it in an old barn on a neighbors estate. Its a delight.

Light Horsekeeping
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?&isbn=0525146202&nsa=1
How to get a horse and how to keep it.
For those of us that had skeptical parents.

My Friend Flicka - but I insisted it was KAREN not Ken McLaughlin. Where were all the female lead roles in those horse books we had as kids?
See Jane Ride, indeed.

[GreyDun]

Thelwell books!

[circusponydreams]

The 'Flambards' series by KM Peyton - I read those books over and over (except for the one that was about planes and barely even had horses in it). I also read the Saddle Club books and anything else I could get my hands on that seemed remotely horsey, but Flambards stuck with me. I re-read the books last year, and they've held up pretty well, I think!

[Pandarus33]

Bar none- Summer Pony. I can still remember numerous lines. I read mine until it was falling apart and then ordered a new copy of it when I was in high school.

[2Horse]

When I was that age, I liked the Saddleclub series. I also LOVED the 'Heavenly Horse From the Outermost West' and the book that came out after that one.

[Kim]

Another vote for A Horse of Your Own. I swear I read that thing a million times!! I had an old version with a picture of Greg Best (at about 10 years of age) riding the pony Snow Goose. :)

I think I still have that book somewhere!!!

[darkmoonlady]

I have to go check my shelf for fhe title and author but it was about a family that moved to the country from the city in England. The girl in the story was an artist and loved horses, and somehow an arabian horse gets loose and she rescues it. If anyone knows the one I am talking about......I also collect childrens horse stories. Every time I go to the used book store I pick through and find them.

[KellyS]

I have to go check my shelf for fhe title and author but it was about a family that moved to the country from the city in England. The girl in the story was an artist and loved horses, and somehow an arabian horse gets loose and she rescues it. If anyone knows the one I am talking about......I also collect childrens horse stories. Every time I go to the used book store I pick through and find them.

I can't remember the title of that book, but I know the sequel was called Summer Riders. :)

Loved Marguerite Henry's books, the Black Stallion series, Jean Slaughter Doty's books (especially Dark Horse), and The Saddle Club series (we kept our horses at home so I always wanted to be in a barn like Pine Hollow). :)

But my favorites were Blitz (Hetty Burlingam Beatty) and Black, Bay, & Chestnut (CW Anderson).

[darkmoonlady]

Found it, it is For Love of a Horse by Patricia Leitch and I just discovered it was the first in a SERIES. Guess I'l have to start combing Ebay for them.

[Sandy M]

ummm, ANY horse stories I could get my hands on were read, over and over if I liked them well enough, I can recall any of C.W. Anderson's, The Black Stallion series, anything by M. Henry, anything by Dorothy Lyons, gosh, yo name it, if it was written before 1980, and available, I was reading it!!!! Guess that kind of dates me huh?


You and me, babe. In my case, were talking '50s and '60s, though. My favorite was Alice S. O'Connell's "Pamela and the Blue mare" and "Pamela and the Blue Mare at the Olympic Trials." Both from the era when women could NOT ride on the 3-day teams in the Olympics, and had only just been or were about to be accepted for the Show Jumping teams (Pam Smythe of GB, first woman show jumper in the Olympics - 1960; Lana DuPont, 1st 3-day rider - 1964 (I think - it was Tokyo Oympics). Just killed me that the girl qualified her horse for the Olympics, but had to hand it over to her boyfriend to ride.

Both the O'Connell books are 'rare books' now, and while I'd love to have a battered copy of the "Olympic Trials" one (I have the 1st book), the few I've seen are in the $$$ range. Part of the reason, I imagine, is that the illustrations are by Paul Brown. Just for fun, I did a quick search, and the cheapest and somehwhat battered copy (classed "fair") is $150 - prices up to nearly $500 for better condition copies. Aaargh.

[azeventer]

I loved all the books in The Black Stallion series. I also second what someone said about The Flambards.....loved that book too! Actually, there are several other books by British author K. M. Peyton (who wrote Flambards) that I loved.....Fly-By-Night, and The Team. They were about an inexperienced, horse crazy teenager who bought a pony when her family moved to the country.....and her experiences in pony club. They were very well done, showed how hard it actually is to have a horse when you don't know much.....Peyton obviously knows horses. They are out of print now, but I actually recently ordered them from Barnes and Noble used books, and still enjoyed them....even as an adult. I still have yet another book by Peyton that I had as a kid.... Free Rein....about trying to train a horse for the Grand National. If anyone ever finds any of these books.....highly recommended!

[Janet]

For fiction- Marguerite Henry
Misty
Stormy
Gaudenzia, Pride of the Palio
Justin Morgan
(forgot the title, but about one of the TB foundation sires)

[zagafi]

Another fan of the "Sunbonnet" books here. I *loved* those as a kid!! I sobbed when our basement flooded a few years back and I lost all my treasured childhood books. Of all the things damaged, the loss of my books hurt the worst!

[Mtn trails]

"Smokey the Cowhorse" - I must have read it 10 times and loved it.

"Blitz - the Story of a Horse"

"The Black Stallion" I didn't read the whole series, just the original, Son of the Black and the Daughter of the Black Stallion.

"Misty"

"Black Beauty"

"Old Bones"

"King of the Wind"

Can't remember the rest.

[Eventer13]

Well, can't remember exactly when I read it (might have been 15, not early teens) but I loved and still love Black Beauty. Still makes me cry :)

Also enjoyed the Misty series, and other Margaret Henry books. Read the first 2 Black Stallion books, and they were both good.

[kewpalace]

I read almost everything I could get my hands on, but my favorties were:

All of Marguerite Henry's book, but particularly "Album of Horses", "White Stallion of Lipizza" and "King of the Wind".

CW Anderson's "Twenty Gallant Horses", "BLACK, BAY AND CHESTNUT" and "Big Red".

Wildfire by Zane Grey.

Smoky the Cow Horse by Will James.

There was also a book (or story?) about a young girl on a black horse with white mane/tail who would race trains. Don't recall what it was called though . . .

[Chipngrace]

The Thoroughbred series, I kept collecting them even into adulthood and was very sad last year to recieve "the very last in the Thoroughbred series" with a tearful reunion of all the generations of characters LOL

I also often read Justin Morgan Had a Horse, Misty and Stormy, the Saddle Club...

A note on the saddle club, I was so excited when I first started English riding lessons at age 12, that the barn owners name was Max, I thought I would make friends and we'd be just like the girls in the book, but alas, I never made many friends at riding until I was older.

[Holly Jeanne]

C.W. Anderson's "Afraid to Ride" and, later "The Horsemaster's." Don't have either of them still but wish I did. :D

[HappyTalk]

The Horsemasters by Don Stanford and Pidgy's Surprise by Jeanne Mellin. I'm lucky as I have copies of both.

[texang73]

Another vote for the Sunbonnet/Bonnie books (about the girl who had the racehorse named Bonnie). LOVED those!
I kept them for years before my younger sis absconded them!

[citydog]

"A Horse Like Mr. Ragman" by Rachael Rivers-Coffey 1977



OMG!!! I *loved* that book! I swear bits of it still pop into my head (like having to develop the skill to ride on "ice-slick" leather and not cheat by using suede knee pads). I think Ragman is still what I have in my head as the most-desirable horse--remember his jumping the bedsheet?

*off to scour eBay*

[JenLS]

The Magic and The Healing by Nick O'Donohoe has been re-released. That was a great book, but I was older when I first read it.

[GansMyMan]

King of the Wind
The Phantom Rider
Misty
Black Stallion books
Black Beauty books

All my horse books were also my mother's, because I was abused...

[LearnToFly]

The thoroughbred series, up until Wonder died... After that, it all went downhill.... Written too fast by too many people and too many mistakes... But the first 30 or so books in the series are wonderful!!!

i also loved the Saddle Club for older kids and Pony Pals for younger

[poltroon]

Found it, it is For Love of a Horse by Patricia Leitch and I just discovered it was the first in a SERIES. Guess I'l have to start combing Ebay for them.

In addition she has written other excellent horsey books., including Fields of Praise (http://www.ponydom.com/books/book.html?id=19). You can't go wrong with her.

We've been collecting these wonderful children's horse books that hold up over time (http://www.ponydom.com/books/results.html?genre=Young%20Adult) at ponydom.com. Add/rate/comment on your favorites.

Another among my favorites is Margaret Cabell Self's Sky Rocket: The Story of a Little Bay Horse (http://www.ponydom.com/books/book.html?id=16). I must've checked that out of the library a dozen times at least.

[poltroon]

Was that what it was called? I THINK Jean Slaughter Doty wrote it.

If anyone can confirm that was the story where the mystery was solved because Our Heroine (talented, but not able to afford her own horse) figured out the tattoo on the horse's lip was changed from a 3 to an 8 and he was not the same horse who was sold to Little Miss Rich, who was now scared of him... I'd be forever grateful! It's been driving me crazy for years. :D

If that wasn't the plot for The Monday Horses... what was the name of the book??

This is not The Monday Horses (http://www.ponydom.com/books/book.html?id=12), which is about a girl whose Arabian, Toby, cuts his foot on glass near a fancy show stable, and she ends up riding there and working with the ponies, including Mustard Seed and Riddle Me This. And in the process she learns about drugging and other unethical practices in the industry.

You could be thinking of Doty's Dark Horse (http://www.ponydom.com/books/book.html?id=279), but I don't recall a tattoo being part of the story. It did involve a horse that had changed identities again and again as a promising jumper.

[carolprudm]

You and me, babe. In my case, were talking '50s and '60s, though. My favorite was Alice S. O'Connell's "Pamela and the Blue mare" and "Pamela and the Blue Mare at the Olympic Trials." Both from the era when women could NOT ride on the 3-day teams in the Olympics, and had only just been or were about to be accepted for the Show Jumping teams (Pam Smythe of GB, first woman show jumper in the Olympics - 1960; Lana DuPont, 1st 3-day rider - 1964 (I think - it was Tokyo Oympics). Just killed me that the girl qualified her horse for the Olympics, but had to hand it over to her boyfriend to ride.

Both the O'Connell books are 'rare books' now, and while I'd love to have a battered copy of the "Olympic Trials" one (I have the 1st book), the few I've seen are in the $$$ range. Part of the reason, I imagine, is that the illustrations are by Paul Brown. Just for fun, I did a quick search, and the cheapest and somehwhat battered copy (classed "fair") is $150 - prices up to nearly $500 for better condition copies. Aaargh.
Yup, I have copies of both:) :) :)
Also liked Saber the horse fron the sea by Herald
Dream Pony for Robin and Big jump for Robin by Suzanne (?) Harris
Jame Mc Ilvaine's Cammie books

[Mickey4Ever]

i think lots of horse series are really lame but one i love is allie layos' "blue ribbon days' its by my friends sis (whos also my friend!) shes in college and wrote the books when she was young i cant wait for the next one.i am also working on a book series. its still in the worx tho lol

[Mayaty02]

oh Black Stallion all the way - I have every single book and am saving them for my daughter (call me lame if you want!) Hey those books are going on 30 yrs old, their gonna be antiques! but my fav part of my old Black Stallion books are the doodles I did on them!

I also loved Dick Francis, but can't remember when I started reading them, could have been a bit later.

[Promise]

Heartland by Lauren Brooke...
These were the books that gave me the 'horse bug'! Funny how things work out!


& Actually I still do love these books :D

[Irishrose261]

"The White Pony" (by Mary Oldham). It's about an overweight girl who dreams of being a writer and who falls in love with a near-sighted pony at the riding school next door. I recently bought myself a copy from Amazon. :)

[**stellar**]

I adored all the Thoroughbred books until I was like 15...can't remeber which came first, me outgrowing them or the stories stopped following the time/age scale I set up in my pre teen mind.

I enjoyed Saddle Club but there were to many of them. You can't even find them in bookstores anymore :( same with the babysitter club books.

My mom still puts the odd Thoroughbred books on my desk as a suprise after my exams in December. I finish them in an hour and reminis about how I sooo wanted to be a 16 year old jockey!

[RoseBud143]

OMG i am suuuch a book nerd!!! lol

i loved the saddle cub series.. and i loved stevie!! lol

and the TB's series, i read them but i too read them in like in hour, hiding under the covers with a flashlight.. lol i used to go righto n the day they released!! hehe but they came out slower and i couldnt get them in order anymore :(

black stallion

M henerys books and one no ones mentioned yet..

Heartland!!! there realy cute :)

[Arthlur]

I loved the Thoroughbred books! I still have like 30 of them on my bookshelf. I also liked all of the Misty books.

[CDNJumperGirl]

The Thoroughbred series!

Dito that! I'm in my late teens now and still go back and read them even now! I find comfort in how familiar the stories are and I always dream of having a life like that. :yes:

[vineyridge]

I'm old, too, and I loved all the Marguerite Henry books. But most of all, I loved Pamela and the Blue Mare and its sequel. In fact, I was thinking, since I've got these TB babies, that I should re-read the Blue Mare to see how she was trained.

If you read both books, you can get an amazing education in how to train horses. Someone here on COTH in an earlier book thread said that Alice O'Connell had worked with or consulted Vladimir Littauer to make sure she had the training part right. To my mind, that's kind of like consulting with Freud on psychotherapy.

[glitterless]

Definitely "My Friend Flicka," "Thunderhead," and "Green Grass of Wyoming"

I'm re-reading them now and realizing that I missed a lot of the storylines when I read them as a child.. I was too young to know what was going on, especially the problems Nell was having. I think they're extremely well written.

I also loved the "Black Stallion" series, although the first one was my favourite.

The "Bonnie" books.

I did read Saddle Club and Thoroughbred for awhile, but never got into them as much.

There was one book called "Summer with Tommy" that I vaguely remember.

[poltroon]

Dream Pony for Robin and Big jump for Robin by Suzanne (?) Harris


Those are Suzanne Wilding. "Dream Pony for Robin" even has a Sam Savitt rendering of a Chronicle of the Horse ad for a seriously dreamy pony.

I still want that pony today. :lol:

[carolprudm]

Those are Suzanne Wilding. "Dream Pony for Robin" even has a Sam Savitt rendering of a Chronicle of the Horse ad for a seriously dreamy pony.

I still want that pony today. :lol:
Yup, that is her name.

Forgot Eric Hatch's Year of the Horse. The Disney Movie, Horse in a Gray Flannel Suit was based on it.

[Moesha]

I'm going to have to re-read it now! I just loved that book so much....it is one of those memories that you expect to be real...so pulling into Blowing Rock you expect those characters and horses to be there!


:)

[merrygoround]

All of Will James-" Smokey" being the first. :D :D

[vineyridge]

Anyone ever read Robert Lawson's Mr. Revere and I? It's the autobiography of the mare that Paul Revere rode on his Ride. Wonderfully illustrated, funny, and gives a good feel for Revolutionary Boston.

[Jessi P]

Another among my favorites is Margaret Cabell Self's Sky Rocket: The Story of a Little Bay Horse (http://www.ponydom.com/books/book.html?id=16). I must've checked that out of the library a dozen times at least.

This was THE BEST book!

Other I liked:

The Monday Horses by Jean Slaughter Doty

[Ethan & Ella's Mom]

The Mystery of Pony Hollow by Lynn Hall-Sarah.

[jody jaffe]

Misty.

My heart still beats fast when I see the cover. I devoured that book, read it and reread it until it was frayed. In sixth grade, my best friend and I planned a pilgrimage to Chincoteague. We didn't know how we were going to get there, but we were. And we were going to come back with a Misty of our own. Big dreams for two street kids from Philly.

We didn't make it. But I did, 35 years later with my generous husband who understand horse addiction. We pulled up to the viewing area and darn if there weren't three ponies standing about ten feet away. One of them looked exactly like Misty. I was so overwhelmed, I started crying.

I'd finally made my pilgrimage.

[MySparrow]

Beyond Rope and Fence, by David Grew. Very hard to find now, but a stunner. Follows a wild mare from birth through maturity as she struggles to cope with human encroachment into her herd's territory along with the normal challenges and dangers of life in the wild. Moving, and completely cemented my passion for horses.

[TheOtherHorse]

I loved the Thoroughbred series, along with the Saddle Club.

[RugBug]

The Dorothy Lyons books. I started with Midnight Moon and worked my way through. I didn't get to read the first "Silver Birch" until about 2 years ago. I paid $100 bucks for it and am so glad I did. I have them all but one...and that one is going for about $200. When I've got that kind of cash to blow, it will be mine.

Also loved all the Jean Slaughter Doty's books I could get my hands on (The Crumb, Monday Horses, Summer Pony, Winter Pony, Dark Horse, Can I Get There by Candlelight? etc).

the Patricia Leitch books

Paul Brown's books (he's mostly known for his illustrations, but what could be better than a book with Paul Brown illustrations AND words?)

The "Little Black" Series by Walter Farley (as well as the Black Stallion Series..of course)

Melody, Mutton Bone and Sam and Hobby Horse Hill by Lavinia R Davis. There are a few more that I never had the chance to read

Spring Comes Riding and Spurs for Suzanna by Betty Cavanna

And of course, A Very Young Rider

Gosh, there were so many. I fell lucky that I own many of the ones I listed. I read them every now and again...and look on the fondly more often. Because I couldn't really ride much as a child, I spent most of my time with my head buried in a book about them.

[Regalmeans]

I had like every Saddle Club book ever. Some of the Thoroughbred ones too, but I didn't like the Cindy or Christina much.

On a more classic note I was OBSESSED with Marguerite Henry's books, especially "Misty's Twilight" and "Dear Readers and Riders." I loved "A Very Younger Rider" too!

Does anyone remember these from the mid 90s or earlier.....
~ Silver Creek Stables (about four girls at riding camp, one who was badly injured in an accident?)
~ Riding Academy (about four girls in boarding school)
~ Forget the name - series about kids at a summer riding day camp? Characters included Pam and Maxine.
~ Gypsy From Nowhere - about a girl who had an accident riding and a horse died and she went to live with her family on a ranch.
~ Galloping Detective - about a girl named Lucy who wanted to ride in MacClay finals.

[RugBug]

~ Gypsy From Nowhere - about a girl who had an accident riding and a horse died and she went to live with her family on a ranch.
.

I think this is the Gypsy series by Sharon Wagner? There's three or four of them and they were published in the early to mid 80s

[Purely4Pleasure]

CW Anderson (Mom swears that I read "Billy and Blaze" so often that I memorized it), M Henry (esp. "King of the Wind"), W Farley (every single one - even the dopey ones). The "Flicka" books and "Black Beauty" were frequent re-reads. In fact, I re-read "Black Beauty" last year and it STILL makes me cry.

During college, I worked in a local bookstore and plowed through much of the "Saddle Club" and "Thoroughbred" books on my lunch breaks.

"The Lady" by Anne McCaffrey is fun - impossibly good little girl, a little romance, and Irish horses.

Does anyone remember a book about a girl who gets polio and is frightened to ride again, but eventually overcomes her fears and saves her family (with the help of a horse, naturally) when some nasty person breaks into her house??? That vague memory has bugged me for years.

[RugBug]

Does anyone remember a book about a girl who gets polio and is frightened to ride again, but eventually overcomes her fears and saves her family (with the help of a horse, naturally) when some nasty person breaks into her house??? That vague memory has bugged me for years.

It's possibly Dark Sunshine by Dorothy Lyons. Girl (Blythe) had polio and uses braces. Horse is wild and possibly trapped in a box canyon. Blythe befriends horse, tames her and ends up riding her. I'll have to look at the synopsis while I'm home at lunch today.

[Natalie A]

Does anyone remember these from the mid 90s.....
~ Silver Creek Stables (about four girls at riding camp, one who was badly injured in an accident?)
~ Riding Academy (about four girls in boarding school)

I do! I'm so sad I didn't keep a lot of the "horse trash" books I grew up reading. I kept my favorites, but a lot of the not high quality literature but still enjoyable ones got purged...

[arktos19]

Does anyone remember a book about a girl who gets polio and is frightened to ride again, but eventually overcomes her fears and saves her family (with the help of a horse, naturally) when some nasty person breaks into her house??? That vague memory has bugged me for years.

I believe you are thinking of "Tall and Proud" by Vian Smith (had to look it up on Amazon but I remember it well). The book is set in England, and the horse is a semi-wild ex-race horse. The "nasty person" is an escaped convict from a nearby prison....

[cabopony]

just about Walter Farley books. As a librarian, I still have them all in my attic.

[Purely4Pleasure]

I believe you are thinking of "Tall and Proud" by Vian Smith (had to look it up on Amazon but I remember it well). The book is set in England, and the horse is a semi-wild ex-race horse. The "nasty person" is an escaped convict from a nearby prison....

I think this is it! I remembered it set in the US (not Western - more East Coast semi-suburbs), but it could easily have been UK.

ETA - AND my local library has a copy!! Guess I'll be doing a little "memory wallow" this weekend.

[Sandy M]

Beyond Rope and Fence, by David Grew. Very hard to find now, but a stunner. Follows a wild mare from birth through maturity as she struggles to cope with human encroachment into her herd's territory along with the normal challenges and dangers of life in the wild. Moving, and completely cemented my passion for horses.


I believe he also authored "The Sorrel Stallion." I have an old copy around (illustrated by Paul Brown! Yes!) and it too, goes from foalhood to good relationships, to abusive relationships, to adventure (escaping a forest fire while a Forest Service horse), and eventualy freedom again. I re-read it recently, and it seemed quite "adult" for a horse story relegated to the "juvenile fiction" genre.

[kari]

Loved The Black Stallion books, Vicky and the Black Horse, Vicky and the Brown Mare, and I LOVED the little Black books when I was much younger. Still have them all too.

[Janet]

Misty.

My heart still beats fast when I see the cover. I devoured that book, read it and reread it until it was frayed. In sixth grade, my best friend and I planned a pilgrimage to Chincoteague. We didn't know how we were going to get there, but we were. And we were going to come back with a Misty of our own. Big dreams for two street kids from Philly.

We didn't make it. But I did, 35 years later with my generous husband who understand horse addiction. We pulled up to the viewing area and darn if there weren't three ponies standing about ten feet away. One of them looked exactly like Misty. I was so overwhelmed, I started crying.

I'd finally made my pilgrimage.

When I was a kid (1963 IIRC) we went to Chincoteague and saw Misty (stuffed) and Stormy - her daughter- (live).

[mayhew]

The Black Stallion series. I also loved those big "Encyclopedia of the Horse" type books with tons of pictures and breed descriptions. I'd go through them, name the horses, and add them to my imaginary stable. Then I'd go through the Dover saddlery catalogue and "buy" tack for them. This became so elaborate that I had to keep lists of them, as I could no longer remember all of their names.

[Midge]

For fiction- Marguerite Henry
Misty
Stormy
Gaudenzia, Pride of the Palio
Justin Morgan
(forgot the title, but about one of the TB foundation sires)

I loved Gaudenzia! The foundation sire book was The Magnificent Barb

I also love A horse of HER Own, by Selma Hudnut

[AnotherRound]

I was thinking about Little Black a Pony. Actually my granddaughter is 6 and is about ready to read those, thanks for reminding me. We are reading Black Beauty aloud together, and she even reads that on her own, sometimes. I can't wait to start getting all these books for her. I printed out this thread!

[Janet]

The Black Stallion (and sequels) never caught my interest.

[Midge]

Does anyone remember a book about a girl who gets polio and is frightened to ride again, but eventually overcomes her fears and saves her family (with the help of a horse, naturally) when some nasty person breaks into her house??? That vague memory has bugged me for years.

This one might be Tall and Proud.

[knz66]

Most definately The Black Stallion Series and Margaret Henry's King of the Wind. All the exotic names, places, journey's he encountered trying to find and stay with his beloved horse.

I would read them over and over and over... Heck, I'll pick up one now and then and read them.

[JoZ]

I read all the Walter Farley and Marguerite Henry books, but I'd have to say my favorite storybook (not novel, since it was a true story) had to be Old Bones the Wonder Horse by Mildred Mastin Pace. It is the story of Exterminator, the 1918 Kentucky Derby winner, an unlikely but wonderfully compelling champion.

My day-to-day handbook was Margaret Cabell Self's The Complete Book of Horses and Ponies. As a horseless horse crazy kid with a penchant for detail, I knew everything there was to know (from a BOOK) about horse care, feeding, grooming and riding!

[YankeeLawyer]

Summer Pony, Winter Pony, The Monday Horses, A Very Young Rider, and The Black Stallion and most of the sequels.

[flogarty]

Billy and Blaze
Big Red and Little Black
The Saddle Club
James Heriot books
Mary O'Hara books

[skrgirl]

The Thoroughbred series!

Those were my favorites too

[Tha Ridge]

The Black Stallion series. I also loved those big "Encyclopedia of the Horse" type books with tons of pictures and breed descriptions. I'd go through them, name the horses, and add them to my imaginary stable. Then I'd go through the Dover saddlery catalogue and "buy" tack for them. This became so elaborate that I had to keep lists of them, as I could no longer remember all of their names.

I thought I was the only one!!! Of course, mine were always outfitted with the best from Dover. :)

[MyGiantPony]

Am I the only one old enough to remember the Everygirl Horse Stories? They were a series of short stories bound in hardback.

And there were two others I read constantly, but I can't remember the titles.

One was about an orphan girl who lives with her aunt and uncle. She gets a job at a local stable where the BM is a drunk. She discovers a skeleton of a horse hidden away in a back stall and secretly nurses him back to health - then one night when she plans on stealing the horse away, she discovers the drunk BM passed out and the barn on fire. 99 lb girl rescues the passed out drunk and every single horse with no permanent damage to herself. (Is this book the reason I'm a drama queen now? :D )

The other one was a story about a girl who had saved up something like $50 for a pony - I honestly can't remember all the details except the one chapter where she's coming home from school in a blizzard and discovers a horse caught up in barbed wire and rescues him all by herself.

Any help on those titles?

[MyGiantPony]

I thought I was the only one!!! Of course, mine were always outfitted with the best from Dover. :)

In my kidhood it was Millers. I'd mark that catalog to death - write lists, present them to my mom - look - it'll only cost $1100 for everything I "need". (Hey, back then $1100 bought A LOT!)

[crackerjack]

I have to go check my shelf for fhe title and author but it was about a family that moved to the country from the city in England. The girl in the story was an artist and loved horses, and somehow an arabian horse gets loose and she rescues it. If anyone knows the one I am talking about......I also collect childrens horse stories. Every time I go to the used book store I pick through and find them.

These are the Shantih and Ginny books. I loved them! I also loved the Jill books - she had the ponies called Black Boy and Rapide.

[Montanas_Girl]

The Thoroughbred books (while Joanne Campbell was still writing them) were definitely my favorites, with the Saddle Club books coming a close second. I also read all of the Silver Creek Stables and Riding Academy books. I loved Marguerite Henry - I think King of the Wind and Misty's Twilight were my favorites. I think I also had every book Walter Farley ever wrote. Sadly, my mom decided I'd "outgrown" my youth horse books a few years ago, and most of them met the yard sale fate - I think we saved all the Marguerite Henry's though. To this day, I still love Smokey the Cow Horse and Black Beauty, as well as all 3 Flicka books.

[Gracie's Mom]

Does anyone else remember "Bluegrass Champion - Harlequin Hullabaloo" and "Golden Sovereign", both by Dorothy Lyons? Both about horses of color, with a wonderful angst-ridden young heroine to prove them to the world? I loved those books back in the early 70's, and finally found copies on ebay to own as a middle-ager. Lyons wrote great stories.

The other I just adored was "Man O' War", by Cooper & Treat. This one was a factual story of Man O' War's life. My name was on both covers from the elementry school library, I checked it out soooo many times! I finally tracked down my own copy of it a few years ago on ebay, after looking for it for a long time. I suspect others loved it as well, I had to cough up $80 to get my copy!:eek: I have heard it has been re-released, I hope so.....it is a great book, and the old photos of MOW are fab!

[annikak]

One was about an orphan girl who lives with her aunt and uncle. She gets a job at a local stable where the BM is a drunk. She discovers a skeleton of a horse hidden away in a back stall and secretly nurses him back to health - then one night when she plans on stealing the horse away, she discovers the drunk BM passed out and the barn on fire. 99 lb girl rescues the passed out drunk and every single horse with no permanent damage to herself. (Is this book the reason I'm a drama queen now? :D )

.

Any help on those titles?

I think this one is a Horse Of Her Own, which is wonderful. Irish Hurdles is the other one, I think. She also wrote the Red Head and the Roan, another great book!

Peyton, who is also Herold (Sabre, horse from the Sea) is an all time fav!
Bonnie Books- I don't CARE that they were so off base- I loved every one of them! I wanted to be Julie.... I can still remember so many parts of them- Inspector Vickel? Oh dear, that was great!

Akrill Trilogy was great, too!

All the Doty Books- If you remember Cat Burglar, that is the name of my horse now. ;)

Great memories- I love all these books!!!
OOOHHH!! Bluegrass Champion and the other Lyons books! Great! Add Scarlett Royal, and Three Loves Has Sandy- wow!! Meeemmmorrrryyyssss....

[Janet]

The other one was a story about a girl who had saved up something like $50 for a pony - I honestly can't remember all the details except the one chapter where she's coming home from school in a blizzard and discovers a horse caught up in barbed wire and rescues him all by herself.

Maybe Sam Savitt's "The Black Horse"?

[randomequine]

Well, my preteen years aren't too far behind me, but I own every single Thoroughbred Series book, including all of the diaries and "Ashliegh" series. I even remember my favorite boot....#18, Glory in Danger :D.

I also adore this book by the name of "Shadow Horse." Gets me every time.

[Hannahsmom]

[quote=Gracie's Mom;2034437]Does anyone else remember "Bluegrass Champion - Harlequin Hullabaloo" and "Golden Sovereign", both by Dorothy Lyons?

Loved both as well as the other Lyons' books. I wish I had kept all these books now.

I am trying to remember the name of a book I loved about a girl named Cindy? and her hunter which was named Copper or Copper-something. It was a great teen girl book where she and her boyfriends all foxhunted.

[Paragon]

I'm only slightly ashamed to admit that I still own the first *coughfortycough* books of the Saddle Club series. :D And the first seven Thoroughbred books. Would have kept collecting and reading forever, but it became suddenly, abundantly clear that every book after that point would be a reworking of the book before. New girl, new horse, new miracle OMG!! Those first books, though... good stuff.

Also really enjoyed the "Blue Ribbon" series by Chris St. John. Six books about three young women (is this a theme? whoa! :lol:) and their horses. Back when ever actually showing a horse was a very distant dream, these books were like a peek into a whole other world, however ficticious.

Here's one, though... did anyone else ever read this one (http://www.amazon.com/ghost-pony-Lynn-Hall/dp/B00070TJZU)? "The Ghost Pony", by Lynn Hall. Somewhere in this house, I still have a copy. Must have ordered it from a book order when I was in elementary school. Will never shake that one from my memory.

[leadliner]

Oh, so, so many! I loved the Pullein-Thompson sisters' stories, K.M. Peyton, and James Herriot. Of course I enjoyed the Thoroughbred and Saddle Club series, as well as all those classics: Walter Farley, Mary O'Hara, Marguerite Henry, Anna Sewell (definitely cried big time about Ginger and Merrylegs), National Velvet... I also liked Shadow Horse by Alison Hart.

As for the "why" part to this question.... They featured my favorite four-legged animals! Of course I loved them!

[Wild Oaks Farm]

I LOVE The Horsemasters! It is sitting right above my computer as I type this.

[Wild Oaks Farm]

I'm only slightly ashamed to admit that I still own the first *coughfortycough* books of the Saddle Club series. :D And the first seven Thoroughbred books. Would have kept collecting and reading forever, but it became suddenly, abundantly clear that every book after that point would be a reworking of the book before. New girl, new horse, new miracle OMG!! Those first books, though... good stuff.

Also really enjoyed the "Blue Ribbon" series by Chris St. John. Six books about three young women (is this a theme? whoa! :lol:) and their horses. Back when ever actually showing a horse was a very distant dream, these books were like a peek into a whole other world, however ficticious.

Here's one, though... did anyone else ever read this one (http://www.amazon.com/ghost-pony-Lynn-Hall/dp/B00070TJZU)? "The Ghost Pony", by Lynn Hall. Somewhere in this house, I still have a copy. Must have ordered it from a book order when I was in elementary school. Will never shake that one from my memory.

I know that one! I always thought the pony on the cover was so pretty! :D

[Wild Oaks Farm]

I was thinking about Little Black a Pony. Actually my granddaughter is 6 and is about ready to read those, thanks for reminding me. We are reading Black Beauty aloud together, and she even reads that on her own, sometimes. I can't wait to start getting all these books for her. I printed out this thread!


Ahhh! I loved Little Black!! My grandmother had those books when I was little. I believe the owner of Little Black also had a horse...was it Big Red?...that he moved up to after Little Black.

[Wild Oaks Farm]

This was THE BEST book!

Other I liked:

The Monday Horses by Jean Slaughter Doty

Oh my gosh! I forgot all about Sky Rocket...I loved him!

These threads are great!

[Coup De Des]

You guys are missing out if you haven't read The Silver Brumby series :P

I understand they most likely aren't available outside Australia but if you ever come across any of them, you should snap them up. They're lovely.

I loved Dancing Brumby by Elaine Mitchell (i think that's what it's called)

[Midge]

Coup, I read a good number of those 30 ish years ago. I think I still have Silver Brumbies of the South. HUGE language barrier to a kid, I mean, WTF is a Brumby??? :)

[bryn]

gosh. . . there were soooo many. . . two standouts not yet mentioned here:

Man O War and
Smoke Rings

Does anyone else remember Smoke Rings? Story of a dapple grey given to a young girl who goes on to ride in the Olympics? Oh did I ever dream of being that girl!!!

[Bumpkin]

A HORSE OF YOUR OWN - M.A. Stoneridge

I loved that book better than any of the stories, although I read tons and tons of horse story books.

Also The PONY CLUB MANUAL, and there was a Veterinarian Book that I read the entire thing in one weekend.

[Melelio]

Wow! Tons here I never read! And I thought I'd got em all :D

Never told mine. The ones that I remember fondly are:

The Billy and Blaze series...still wanna get em all again for my DS
Little Black, A Pony
Tall and Proud, Vian Smith
Any Doty books
Blue Smoke, I think by Dorothy Lyons
Black Stallion series, esp. Island Stallion
Old Bones
Secret Horse
The Alois Podhjaksy book I think called Training the Horse and Rider
The Flambards series...want those again, as well

really none that you all haven't mentioned, that's kinda why I wanted this post to see what I missed. I'd go back and read ANY of those again, plus the ones you've brought up.

I DID just read a book called "Ghost Horse of " something or other"...by someone or other with hyphenated last name. It seemed a pre-teen book, but wasn't in the pre-teen section. Was good...my DS found it for me, pulled it off the shelf (he's 19 months LOL).

Keep em coming! :yes:

[Trees4U]

The Black Stallion Series:

The Black

Satan

Black Minx

:yes: :yes: :yes:

[catknsn]

Found it, it is For Love of a Horse by Patricia Leitch and I just discovered it was the first in a SERIES. Guess I'l have to start combing Ebay for them.

That was my favorite too. Of course, the horse was a rescue!

I didn't realize there were sequels...now I want to read them. :)

[luckyducky]

ok, some more favorites from my past,:


Windy Foot at the County Fair
Sleigh Bells for Windy Foot
Maple Sugar for Windy Foot
Come on Seabiscuit!
The Fury series
Now these are OLD books, I read them in the 70's also, when I find them on eBay I am snatching them up! Can you believe so many of our favorites are no longer even in print??
Does anyone besides me remember these books?

[glitterless]

I remember the Fury books! I read those too.. I'll have to dig them out..

[Melelio]

But do you guys remember the Fury TV show? Was on about 10am on Saturdays....Even then, before I even HAD a horse, or had ridden really, I knew it was kinda cheesy, but it was a cool horse!

Ok, yea, this was like 1975....I'm dated, too :D

[Beasmom]

Anything by Water Farley. My favorite "science fiction" was "The Island Stallion Races", with the aliens, Flick and Jay, helping Steve and Flame get to the race in Havana. Great escapist stuff!

"Black Beauty", of course, though I couldn't get through the death of Ginger without crying.

I had several picture books about various breeds, but can't recall the titles. One had a very dramatic illustration of a police horse (Morgan) and his rider stopping a runaway flower-cart horse. That was my favorite image in the book, and I'd study it often.

Unfortunately, those books from my childhood are all gone now.

[tracy]

I can't rmember the author but she trained my mom when I was small. We lived in Neenah Wisconsin. Has anyone read this book or know the author?

[CrUsHpOnY]

The Thoroughbred series!
AMEN...i read just about everyone of those books...they are glorious, my favorite was Wonders Promise:)

[LSM1212]

Summer Pony and Winter Pony by Jean Slaughter Doty.

OMG.... what a flash back. I LOFFED those books. :) Now going on E-Bay and Amazon to try and find them!

[PinkPonies]

I LOVED a book called "A Horse of Her Own" by Joanna Campbell (the lady who started the Thoroughbred series, but this was before the TB series). It was about a girl who started riding and caring for her neighbors old horse named Bones and turned him into a champion jumper. I must have read it 100 times. I still l have it - it's taped together and all the pages are falling out. OMG, I LOVED that book SOO much!! I'm curious if anyone else has read it...?

I also loved the Black Stallion. Read that a ton of times too. I still have a strange thing for black arabians!!

Read the Saddle Club series a lot, but that got a little cheesey after awhile... Especially when I started "knowing what I was doing" with horses...

[LSM1212]

OMG.... what a flash back. I LOFFED those books. :) Now going on E-Bay and Amazon to try and find them!

All I have to say is... thanks guys. Just found a bunch of these on Amazon and ordered them all !!! Cha-ching..... LOL

[Jo]

I haven't read all the replies, but I just spent two hours going through all my childhood books at my dad's house. They are moving and it's time for me (a 26 year old!) to figure out what has to go to my "grownup" house and what I can get rid of. All my old favorites came with me - anything by Marguerite Henry, all the Black Stallion books, Jean Slaughter Doty -- ALL of them!

I also have about 5 years of Practical Horseman, Equus, and Horse Illustrated... Anyone know what I should do with those...? I'd leave them in our barn lounge but I don't know that anyone would read them!

[Teach]

I have built a nice little library in the lounge of my barn (glass bookcases & all). That way riders can look things up if they want to, or just curl up on the window seat & read while waiting to be picked up. Some of the girls will sit in there with tack & read & clean at the same time. And, I get to keep ALL my horsey books guilt-free, because they're not cluttering up the house! That's a biggie for me as I am a book-o-holic (just picked up 2 new ones at our local dump's swap shop yesterday!) :D

[myguyom]

Like many of you, I devoured the "Black Stallion" series of books when I was younger, and I still have them all, and although they have been read probably 25 times or so each, I could probably take them to a book store and place them on the shelf and pass them off as new. I also loved "The Heavenly Horse from the Outermost West", and it's sequel, "Piper at the Gate". The Margueritte Henry books were a favourite, as were two others, "Gypsy" and it's sequel "Gypsy and Nimblefoot" . I also loved "Blitz" the story of a fire carriage horse who goes from riches to rags and back again. I read almost every horse book that I could get my hands on, including the "my Friend Flicka" and "national Velvet" books.

I have one bookshelf completely full of all of these books, and I constantly scour used bookstores, garage sales and the Sally Ann for others.

[myguyom]

Like many of you, I devoured the "Black Stallion" series of books when I was younger, and I still have them all, and although they have been read probably 25 times or so each, I could probably take them to a book store and place them on the shelf and pass them off as new. I also loved "The Heavenly Horse from the Outermost West", and it's sequel, "Piper at the Gate". The Margueritte Henry books were a favourite, as were two others, "Gypsy" and it's sequel "Gypsy and Nimblefoot" . I also loved "Blitz" the story of a fire carriage horse who goes from riches to rags and back again. I read almost every horse book that I could get my hands on, including the "my Friend Flicka" and "national Velvet" books.

I have one bookshelf completely full of all of these books, and I constantly scour used bookstores, garage sales and the Sally Ann for others.

[Emryss]

May family has not only the Jean Slaughter Doty books of my youth, but the Black Stallion and Marguerite Henry books (plus many lesser-known books) of my mother's youth. Also among the family collection is my great-grandmother's (1st edition American) copy of Black Beauty. All are well-loved. Seems our family keeps things and hands them down. They're all in the capable hands of my now 13 year old niece.

[islandrider]

All the above, and I still have many! Plus, the great book about Snowman, the incredible jumper who was rescued right off a slaughter bound truck. I was reunited with the book last year thanks to a fellow COTHER, love it as much now 40 years later...

[MyGiantPony]

Maybe Sam Savitt's "The Black Horse"?

YES!!! That's it!

(I just remembered this thread and was checking to see if anyone knew the books I listed.)

[MyGiantPony]

I think this one is a Horse Of Her Own, which is wonderful. Irish Hurdles is the other one, I think. She also wrote the Red Head and the Roan, another great book!

Yes - it was A Horse of Her Own. I kind of thought that was the title but wasn't sure.

Edited to add: Now I'm not sure...was it The Secret Horse?

[JenLS]

I've been trying to remember the title of a book I read probably in the early 90s. It was more fantasy and was set in an alternate world where there were black horses with blue eyes (good) and black horses with red eyes (bad)? I think it was a series.

[michaleenflynn]

Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry - far and away my fave out of many.

[Sacred_Petra]

"The Lady" by Anne McCaffrey is fun - impossibly good little girl, a little romance, and Irish horses.


Thank you for knowing this book. I stumbled upon this book without any clue what it was about and loved it!

Any fantasy fiction readers out there? I adore Mercedes Lackey's books! Companions may not technically be horses, but they're horse shaped, and that was good enough for me. I also liked Kristen Britain's Green Rider, but wasn't impressed with First Rider's Call.

I'm a little surprised no one's mention Peter S Beagle's The Last Unicorn. I grew up watching the movie version on a weekly basis, so I was a little afraid to read it once I found a copy, but I loved the book even more than the movie.

[DancingQueen]

I'm sure it's been said before but the Flicka books really got to me. It's a rags to riches story but it also has a lot of hard work and dedication involved in the story. The part where the boy sits with the horse in the river for a whole night refusing to let go makes me cry right now as I write about it!

I also really liked the Jill books. They take place in britain and are written by somebody named Ferguson I believe (could be a mixup, my teens were a long time ago. LOL) I like them because the girl had a very normal life and normal struggles. She would often "win" in the end but the win was not always entirely show related. A lot of times it had to sdo with being the better person, taking care of yuor horse the right way and just plain hard work. Thyey had a moral of course but the goals and struggles of this girl seemed fairly real and attainable as opposed to the black stallion books which I of course also read.

[Ecks Marx The Spot]

The Black Stallion series of course :)
its been so long I had to really think!

Impossible Charlie... Loved that one!

A Morgan for Melinda

And
Sire Unknown.

[Lcsd114]

There is an English author called Joyce Stranger who wrote lovely books based in the British countryside. They were gentle stories about different animals, vets and farmers but she was not shy to show the sometimes harsh reality of farming. Her books specifically about horses were:

Breed of Giants - about a family that breeds and shows Shire horses.
Khazan, the horse that came from the sea - a girl finds and horse shipwrecked on the beach and she trains him to run in the Grand National (based on a true story, believe it or not.)
Zara - about a guy who falls in love with a horse and wants to own her at any cost.

If you want lovely old-fashioned books, I highly recommend Joyce Stranger.

I also loved the Patricia Leitch Jinny books, the books by K.M. Peyton, especially Fly-By-Night and The Last Ditch (the same characters as in Fly-By-Night but older and training a horse for the Grand National.)

[PRS]

I LOVED the Black Stallion Series by Walter Farley. I read the whole series several times. Our local library had them and sometimes I would have to wait for someone to return the one I wanted. As I got older I started purchasing the books for my daughter. There was one missing that was out of print though, The Black Stallion and Satan. I eventually found it on E-Bay. Now my daughter has the entire collection and will pass it down to her, hopefully horse crazy, kids.

I also loved Black Beauty. All the Margarite Henry books and there were a few others, Smokey comes to mind. Hard to remember 40 years of favorites.

[KayBee]

C.W. Anderson's "Afraid to ride," "Great Heart," and "A filly for Joan." I could read those books and be transformed. http://community.webshots.com/user/ballyduff

LOVED Afraid to Ride. Also loved the Sunbonnet books. And Jean Slaughter Doty's book The Crumb. Oh, that book made me howl (with tears, not laughter).

But my all-time favorite was Something to Jump For by Elizabeth Moore. I purchased a (replacement) copy for myself two years ago and, today, out of curiousity, searched to see if I could find any copies out there for purchase. Only two! Really great book with fabulous illustrations.

It's the story of orphaned Tess who, with her older sister Faith, are trying to make a go of their parent's riding stable. Unfortunately, a beast of a horse dealer (the "Pig") holds the paper on the property so they're trying to make it from month to month. The Pig, several years ago, left a filly for Faith to train. Tess has been riding it and LOVES the horse ("Lady". She's been trying to save enough $$ to buy Lady while hoping that the Pig forgets about the mare long enough to earn what she needs.

The drama! The pathos!

Seriously, it's books like these that makes me hope that Google gets to go ahead with putting out-of-print books online. This book and The Horsemasters by Don Stafford are great reading.

Available copies of Something to Jump For
http://www.booksandcollectibles.com.au/dump/Karen_Millward/books-0005/000786.html
http://cgi.ebay.com/SOMETHING-TO-JUMP-FOR-by-Moore-Elizabeth_W0QQitemZ370250937709QQcmdZViewItemQQptZ US_Nonfiction_Book?hash=item5634acf56d

And, WOW. Copies of the Don Stafford book (the few that are out there) are PRICEY...

So bummed -- I put all my horsey books (most of which where my sister's) in a box and... it's disappeared. But I did get some great horsey books from the COTH SS and am restarting my collection.

[equest]

I recently found Jean Slaughter Doty's books "Dark Horse" and "The Monday Horses" on Alibris and bought them. I'm a nerd. :)

[bort84]

Aw, this thread makes me wish I had kept all of my old "kids" books, but I don't know where they are.

Walter Farley books. When I discovered them, I checked out every available one from our library and devoured them over a summer. My grandma (not much of a reader, and a horse trainer) used to get mad at me because I'd read them in the car on the way to the barn during the summers, and she thought I was nutty.

The Thoroughbred series. I LOVED these. I was an advanced reader for my age, so I was not really into the Saddle Club books when I should have been (I only read my friends copies if there was nothing else to read). When these books came out, I was so excited! They were a bit "harder" than the Saddle Club books, and longer, and I loved the racing setting. I think I stopped at about 23. Then I discovered romance books that had horsey themes, haha. My dad definitely didn't know what I was buying = )

Marguerite Henry for sure. I loved King of the Wind and her Album of Horses, but I read and enjoyed all of them.

I also remember reading Smokey the Cow Horse (discovered on a teacher's bookshelf amidst all non-horsey books, I was so excited!) and really enjoying it.

Black Beauty! Such a fantastic book. I've read it multiple times.

I also read any sort of reference horse book I could find. I was like a sponge, sucking up all horse knowledge I could get my hands on. Then I'd go chat with my grandmother and try to wow her with my horsey knowledge = ) I'd come home from our library with stacks and stacks of books.

There were definitely some other fiction books that I can't remember the names of that I enjoyed, but those were the biggies. Now I want to go buy them all and put them on a shelf of honor = )

[michaleenflynn]

I haven't read all the replies, but I just spent two hours going through all my childhood books at my dad's house. They are moving and it's time for me (a 26 year old!) to figure out what has to go to my "grownup" house and what I can get rid of. All my old favorites came with me - anything by Marguerite Henry, all the Black Stallion books, Jean Slaughter Doty -- ALL of them!

I also have about 5 years of Practical Horseman, Equus, and Horse Illustrated... Anyone know what I should do with those...? I'd leave them in our barn lounge but I don't know that anyone would read them!

Ebay!

[Goldiegirl]

Once upon a time I read a book about a girl & her horse that I absolutely loved. The only thing I can remember was the horse's name was Talat. I think it was sort of a mythical story about the girl going on a quest, maybe meeting her male counterpart along the way....

What book is this? I can not for the life of me remember the title or author- nothing. Please tell me I a not dreaming this!

[SuperSTB]

M.Henry and W. Farley- owned and read them all- so many times in fact that by the time I was mid-teens they were thin and soft as fabric. I also had an extensive collection of horse non-fiction books as well. I was a library nerd kid so I always seemed disappointed in the local library's collection of horse books because for the most part I had them all. Now I get to relive them through my kids ;) Not so horsey but I was an immense Nancy Drew reader as a kid too. Some of C. Keene's books involved horses, like Shadow Ranch. :cool: Yep- that was my room- horse books, breyers, and barbies.

[lionstigersbears]

My absolute all time favorite horse book is 'A Horse Named Paris' by Lynn Sonberg (can't remember the photographers name... Ken something I think? ... nonfiction) - anyone else read this? It's still one of my most treasured books.

Also read most of the other books people have mentioned ... and I am not ashamed to say that when I went home for Christmas last year I reread the first 11 or so Thoroughbred books (I'm 21...).
I have read and reread so many horse series, but the only two books I have never reread were 'Cindy's Heartbreak' (Thoroughbred 18 or 19? somewhere around there) because it absolutely devastated me and the Saddle Club book 'Phantom Horse,' which I own and cannot look at because the cover, with the horse with red eyes stirs up all these feelings of terror. I cannot believe that this book is actually scary in any sense, but I refused to have it in my room after I read it and have never looked at/read it again.

[Falconfree]

I still have almost all of my old kid books, mostly because I have a very, very hard time parting with books. My excuse to Hubby is that maybe our someday kids will be horselovers, and then we would have to buy the books all over again. :winkgrin: I still go back and read them occasionally.

Our local library only had one of the Black Stallion books, so I only read the first one when I was younger. It was pretty great.

All the other "old" horse books, Black Beauty (for several years I would read this about once a week, I was absolutely in love with it), National Velvet, My Friend Flicka, more I'm sure I've forgotten. The classics. The old movies based on them are also pretty good, especially Black Beauty. My parents had that sucker memorized because of my sister and I.

I wasn't a big fan of the Saddle Club books, but I had a few. My favorite was when they went on an endurance ride. The one where the spoiled bad girl's horse died made me cry.

I adored the Thoroughbred series. Couldn't get enough of it! Two of my favorite horsey sports are racing and eventing, so it was even more perfect. The later ones are hit or miss as to quality. Her other books are good too. Battlecry Forever makes me bawl every time I read it, even today.

I also remember reading Smokey the Cow Horse (discovered on a teacher's bookshelf amidst all non-horsey books, I was so excited!) and really enjoying it.

I'd forgotten about this book! It was pretty great. I found it the same way, the one horse book on a teacher's bookshelf. It was good enough that I had to get my own copy. Definitely also recommended!

EDIT: How did I forget Marguerite Henry's awesome books? I absolutely adore them still. Have made a couple of trips to Chincoteague partly because of her stories.

[BAC]

You and me, babe. In my case, were talking '50s and '60s, though. My favorite was Alice S. O'Connell's "Pamela and the Blue mare" and "Pamela and the Blue Mare at the Olympic Trials." Both from the era when women could NOT ride on the 3-day teams in the Olympics, and had only just been or were about to be accepted for the Show Jumping teams (Pam Smythe of GB, first woman show jumper in the Olympics - 1960; Lana DuPont, 1st 3-day rider - 1964 (I think - it was Tokyo Oympics). Just killed me that the girl qualified her horse for the Olympics, but had to hand it over to her boyfriend to ride.

Both the O'Connell books are 'rare books' now, and while I'd love to have a battered copy of the "Olympic Trials" one (I have the 1st book), the few I've seen are in the $$$ range. Part of the reason, I imagine, is that the illustrations are by Paul Brown. Just for fun, I did a quick search, and the cheapest and somehwhat battered copy (classed "fair") is $150 - prices up to nearly $500 for better condition copies. Aaargh.

I have both of the Blue Mare books and paid a small fortune for each although no where near $500 and I think you are right, the Paul Brown illustrations only add to their value. Both of mine are in beautiful condition, one even has a mint condition dust jacket in color by PB. These two books, together with The Horsemasters and Cammie's Choice were my absolute favorites, and I still re-read them occasionally. I think what set them apart was that there was some real instruction and technical details in them, in addition to horse crazy girl in each that I could so easily relate to.

Other favorites were anything by C.W. Anderson, Marguerite Henry, Paul Brown, the Black Stallion series, and for non-fiction Jane Marshall Dillon's School for Young Riders and Jean Slaughter's Pony Care and Horsemanship for Beginners. I was middle aged before I realized Jean Slaughter Doty wrote children's fiction, somehow I missed those but have read them as an adult and enjoyed them too.

[JenLS]

Goldiegirl - The book is The Hero and The Crown by Robin McKinley. The sequel is The Blue Sword. Those were favorites of mine too.

[KayBee]

Once upon a time I read a book about a girl & her horse that I absolutely loved. The only thing I can remember was the horse's name was Talat. I think it was sort of a mythical story about the girl going on a quest, maybe meeting her male counterpart along the way....

What book is this? I can not for the life of me remember the title or author- nothing. Please tell me I a not dreaming this!


Robin McKinley's The Hero and the Crown. The sequel, The Blue Sword, is also awesome and, yes, has horses... These would be shelved under middle grade or YA fiction at your library. I'd bet that, if your own branch doesn't have them, you'd be able to get them through interlibrary loan (if you don't want to buy them. I'm betting they would be findable used.)

[RolyPolyPony]

Summer Pony and Winter Pony by Doty! So much so that like 8 years ago I bought them on eBay, because I wanted the covers I remembered from my childhood library :)

Also Fly-by-Night and The Team by Peyton :) Their British-ness fascinated me!