Fri
May 4 2012 9:02am

Girls and Horses: A First Reading Love?

Sean Bean and Black Beauty Tomorrow is the annual running of the Kentucky Derby, where ladies get to don fancy hats and everybody drinks mint juleps. Oh, and some horses run a race, too.

Many of us started reading books long before we were into romance novels—and many of those books featured horses, including such classics as The Black Stallion and Black Beauty (and those respective books’ subsequent series books).

Did you read horse books when you were young? Which were your favorites?

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11 comments

2. Janet W

Friday May 04, 2012 08:50am EDT

British young-adult author K M Peyton is the doyenne of those who write about horse-mad heroines ... Ruth is the heroine who moved heaven and earth to ride and ultimately, as I recall, own a horse. A horse she flat out adored!

Here's a link to Peyton's website:
http://kmpeyton.co.uk/

view all by | Friday May 04, 2012 09:32am EDT

The closest I got to reading about horses as a youngster was the Trixie Beldon Mysteries. Both Trixie and Honey were horse fanatics and rode through out the series.

4. Desiree Holt

Friday May 04, 2012 09:35am EDT

Misty of Chincoteague and Black Beauty are still two of my favorites.

5. jane321

view all by jane321 | Friday May 04, 2012 09:59am EDT

I read everything by Walter Farley and Marguerite Henry...over and over again. I loved The Black Stallion and to this day would like to go to pony penning day on Chincoteague Island.

6. Ann Voss Peterson

Friday May 04, 2012 10:46am EDT

I was a horse book fanatic. I read everything by Walter Farley and Marguerite Henry, of course. But some of my harder-to-find faves were Little Vic, by Doris Gates and the Bonnie books, written by Pat Johnson and Barbara Van Tuyl. Anyone remember those?

7. ladyengineer

view all by ladyengineer | Friday May 04, 2012 12:23pm EDT

I loved Walter Farley and read everything of his I could find at the public library. Rode horses as a kid, but not to the extent my sister did. She now owns a horse, giving her Gambler a nice retirement. He is pushing 30.

8. Beth Cato

Friday May 04, 2012 12:36pm EDT

I read every horse book in my town and school library and had a substantial collection at home, too. I loved C. W. Anderson (oh, his illustrations!), Walter Farley, Marguerite Henry, and Ann Sheldon's Linda Craig mysteries. I read the Flicka books but preferred the movies. Ann, yes, I own Little Vic and I remember the Bonnie books, too!

Who remembers the Serendipity books? I loved the illustrations in the Morgan series, and the book Shimmeree.

9. redline_

view all by redline_ | Friday May 04, 2012 02:09pm EDT

I know my mom was a very big fan of horses (she was a barrel racer) and horse books when she was young and counted books like Black Beauty among her favorites. Sadly, her only daughter never did get into them (sorry, Mum!).

10. Rose In RoseBear

view all by Rose In RoseBear | Friday May 04, 2012 10:49pm EDT

Walter Farley! I checked those books out of the library over and over and over again! The Black Stallion, The Island Stallion! Good ol' Alec!

Nice memories!

11. pamelia

Sunday May 06, 2012 05:07pm EDT

Definitely "The Black Stallion" and ALL the sequels, but before that I was reading all the horse books I could "Billy and Blaze" and all the other C.W. Anderson books I could find. I also loved "The Horse Masters" which was later made into a Disney movie (all before my time).
I remember grabbing a dozen books at the library when I was about 10 and the librarian said, "I have an inkling you like horses." as they were ALL about horses!