Get your horse fix, without leaving the sofa by curling up with a great book. Here we review five great horsey reads – a mix of fiction, training and even a memoir – perfect as gifts or just a treat for you!


Horse Behaviour – Interpreting Body Language and Communication by Barbara Schoning

An easy reference book for equine students and horse owners on equine behaviour. The book discusses how to understand your horse’s body language and its importance in building a bond with your horse. It looks at specific behaviours and provides methods on how to deal with them.


HORSES DIVORCES & HISSY FITS by Tina Cryer

A light, funny and so true to life read, this book is about a non-horsey teenager who befriends an abandoned pony where she learns everything horsey. The tone is very youthful with snippets of slang texts messages thrown in for good measure, worth a read.


THE HORSE ENCYCLOPEDIA

A book to treasure with terrific imagery and a well laid out design. It might not be in depth on any particular equine topic, but it gives a good overview on the equine body, breeds, the history of horses and their management.


FOALS AND YOUNG HORSES – Training and management for a well-behaved horse by Ute Ochsenbauer and Beate Schmidtlein

This book covers how to handle, train and deal with issues relating to feeding, training and management of young horses ranging from the birth of a foal to a three-year-old. Should you be thinking of breeding a foal or already own youngster this book is easy to refer to as it’s laid-out into small sections. The extensive range of exercises to build trust and confidence were simple and easy to understand.


THE RIDE OF MY LIFE – MEMOIRS OF A SPORTING EDITOR by Michael Clayton

Once you’ve started reading it, this book is hard to put down! Michael’s life as an editor and all he knows about hunting and horses is truly fascinating. His writing simply carries you through the book tale after tale. Highlights for me included; Michael speaking fondly of his mare Josephine and his account of a disastrous crash during the Driving Grand Prix at Windsor. A must read!