The core of this book is an account of over 150 breeds of horse and pony. The entries are in three categories; heavy, lighter and ponies. Each breed has a page or double page spread. There is a side view and a rear view that are used to indicate particular points of the breed. In many of the two-page spreads, there is a close up of the head. Facts on height, origin and colour are provided. There is a short Mission Statement; for example, “from a mixed background, the Czech warmblood has emerged as a likable and reliable mount”. An account of the breed origins, features and use are given. A picture of the breed being used is also frequently provided with double-page photographs of horses working or just running around. These include the classic Camargue horses in the sea image. Some rarer breeds, such as the Peneia of southern Greece, get only a little box in the spread for a geographically associated breed: in this example, the Pindos.
This central section is preceded by two sections. The first is an introduction to horses. This includes an account of the horse family with some detail on evolution. There is also a section on crosses with donkeys and asses. A general overview of the biology of the horse is provided. This includes aspects of horse behaviour and the interaction of horses with each other and with humans. This is followed by an account of domestication and the use of horse in war and at work. The place of horses in legends and culture is also discussed.
The breed descriptions are followed by a section on the care and management of horses and ponies: diet, pasture management, stabling, grooming and health are all covered. There is a four-page glossary of technical terms. I recently read an autobiography of a canal boatman (Roberts, 2015) which contains a lot of information of the care and management of canal boat horses. It contained one bit of jargon that puzzled me – the half leg horse. The term is not included in this book but the autobiography explained it as a horse with short legs: useful given the low headroom at many canal bridges.
There was a period when I was interested in the concept of breeds and varieties and there are many books on horse breeds (and on cats and dogs but fewer on pigs and poultry). This book published by Dorling Kindersley is, like all books from this imprint, splendidly illustrated and clearly written. The inclusion of the three general sections adds some interesting and useful information. The advice on care and health is well given. The main library markets will be school and public libraries. It would be a good present for a young rider. If you are interested in horse breeds from a more academic or genetic approach, there is also much of use in this book.
