Recommended Reads: Horses

As a horse runs, think of it as a game of tag with the wind. - Tre Tuberville

I think back to my childhood when I, like most children, had a love of horses. Do you remember your hobby-horse and the wonderful 6-inch plastic molded horse with all of their gear? On my rocking horse I could ride like the wind, and go on many wonderful adventures in my imagination.

All of these books are about horses; from the magnificent race horses to the horses of the Wild West. You might even consider re-reading Black Beauty.

Recorded cassette (RC), digital book (DB), braille (BR), large type (LT), and described video (DV) copies of these books are available from the Perkins Braille & Talking Book Library. Please contact the library to order any of these books.

Prepared by Judi Cannon, Braille Services Specialist
Perkins Braille & Talking Book Library

National Velvet by Enid Bagnold.
RC 60250, BR 15997, DB 60250 (BARD Download)
Classic story of a girl and her horse. Fourteen-year-old Velvet Brown is determined to turn the unruly piebald horse she won in a raffle into a champion. But it will take more than just hard work and dedication to win the Grand National steeplechase. For grades 6-9. 1935.

Bloodlines: A Horse Racing Anthology by Maggie Estep.
RC 64128, DB 64128 (BARD Download)
Twenty short works of fiction and nonfiction about the sport of horse racing. Lee Child offers a story about a hit man hired to kill a horse. Jane Smiley reflects on raising thoroughbreds. Other contributors include Laura Lippman, Steven Crist, Jerry Stahl, and Meghan O’Rourke. Some violence. 2006.

The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans.
RC 41402, BR 11816, DB 41402 (BARD Download)
Thirteen-year-old Grace Maclean loses her leg when she and her horse, Pilgrim, are struck by a truck. Pilgrim is also injured-- mentally and physically. Grace’s mother, magazine editor Annie Graves, learns of a horse whisperer, Tom Booker, who might be able to restore Pilgrim. In hopes that he will also help Grace, Annie takes both of them to his ranch in Montana. Strong language, violence, and some explicit descriptions of sex. 2005.

Even Money by Dick Francis.
DB 70306, RC 70306, LT 9989 
After a steeplechase event, British bookmaker Ned Talbot meets his father, who Ned thought had been dead for thirty-seven years. But then Ned sees him murdered. Already coping with a mentally ill wife, Ned uncovers family secrets and determines the reason his father was killed. 2009. 

Silks by Dick Francis.
DB 67533, RC 67533, BR 17862, LT 9011
London barrister Geoffrey Mason, an amateur steeplechase rider, defends an acquaintance, professional jockey Steve Mitchell, against the charge that he murdered a competitor, Scot Barlow. One of Mason’s former clients muddies up the case with threats. Strong language and some violence. Bestseller. 2008.

Under Orders by Dick Francis.
DB 63419, RC 63419  BR 16807 LT 6326
One-armed jockey-turned-private-investigator Sid Halley investigates Internet gambling and possible race fixing for various clients. After jockey Huw Walker is murdered during a race on Cheltenham Gold Cup Day, Sid suspects the homicide is connected to his investigation--especially after Sid’s girlfriend is threatened. Bestseller. 2006.

Riding Lessons by Sara Gruen.
RC 66046, DB 66046 (BARD Download) 
Twenty years ago a riding accident ended Annemarie’s world-class equestrian career and killed her horse, Harry. Now divorced, Annemarie returns to her parents’ farm with her daughter. There Annemarie rekindles an old romance and encounters a horse that looks just like Harry. Some descriptions of sex and some strong language. 2004.

Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry.
RC 25353, BR 12918, DB 25353 (BARD Download)
Adventuresome tale of two children and a freedom-loving wild pony on the islands of the Chesapeake Bay. For grades 4-7.

Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand.
RC 51968, BR 14930, DV 492, LT 2434
Recounts the rise of an "undersized, crooked-legged" thoroughbred horse who in 1938 was the year’s number-one newsmaker over Franklin Roosevelt, Hitler, and Lou Gehrig. Hillenbrand tells Seabiscuit’s story through the three men who made a true long shot into a winner: owner Charles Howard, trainer Tom Smith, and jockey Red Pollard. Bestseller. 2001.

Stormy Weather by Paulette Jiles.
RC 66134, LT 7318, DB 66134 (BARD Download) 
Depression-era Texas. After her husband’s death, Elizabeth Stoddard and her daughters Mayme, Jeanine, and Bea struggle to rebuild their lives on a farm devastated by drought and dust storms. They place their hopes in a wildcat oil well, a racehorse named Smoky Joe, and one another. Some strong language. 2007.

The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle.
DB 67017, RC 67017, LT 7550 
Colorado. When her older sister elopes, sixth-grader Alice Winston helps care for her mother, who is bedridden by depression, and assists her father in running the family’s struggling horse farm. Strong language, some descriptions of sex, and some violence. For senior high and older readers. Alex Award. 2007.

Crazy Good: The True Story of Dan Patch, the Most Famous Horse in America by Charles Leerhsen.
DB 68261, RC 68261 
Portrays the life of legendary harness-racing horse Dan Patch and the men who owned and drove him. Describes Dan Patch being born with a badly formed left leg and recounts his debut run at an Indiana country fair in 1900. Highlights the champion’s achievements and marketing success. 2008.

The Big Horse by Joe McGinness.
LT 6072 
McGinniss's new book finds him trying to recapture his lost love of horse racing by following P.G. Johnson, an aging trainer, and his "big horse," Volponi, through the 2003 racing season. 2005.

Man o' War: A Legend Like Lightning by Dorothy Ours.
RC 63399, DB 63399 (BARD Download) 
Biography of legendary racehorse Man o’ War (1917-1947). The author profiles the thoroughbred’s owners, jockeys, and trainer and recounts the animal’s illustrious career in 1919 and 1920. Highlights record-breaking contests, the match race with rival Sir Barton, America’s first Triple Crown winner, and the controversy surrounding Man o’ War’s lone defeat. 2006.

Hugger, Mugger by Robert B. Parker.
RC 50098, LT 795
Private detective Spenser is hired to find out who’s shooting Walter Clive’s horses at the Three Fillies Stables in Georgia. The best thoroughbred, Hugger Mugger, is bound to win the Triple Crown--if he lives. Spenser meets Clive’s dissolute daughters, and then a human is murdered. Strong language and some violence. Bestseller. 2000.

The Man Who Listens to Horses by Monty Roberts.
RC 45002, BR 11288
A portrait of Monty Roberts, the horse trainer who discovered a humane technique for taming wild horses. Appalled by traditional methods of "breaking" horses that he witnessed in his youth, Roberts developed a gentle procedure for "joining-up" with a horse through a process of man-animal communication. Bestseller. 1997.

Boy: The Horse that Came from the Wild by Monty Roberts.
RC 48908, BR 12396
In this sequel to The Man Who Listens to Horses (RC 45002, BR 11288), horse trainer Monty Roberts captures a wild mustang and gently tames it to saddle. Eleven months later, he gives the mustang, Shy Boy, a choice of staying with him or returning to his original herd. Bestseller.  1999.

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell.
DB 41291, RC 41291, BR 16469, LT 10473 
Black Beauty, a fine stallion, tells of his suffering as he is sold from one cruel master to another. This book was written to dramatize the abuse of horses in nineteenth-century England. Some violence. For grades 4-7.

Horse Heaven by Jane Smiley.
RC 49947, LT 11115, DB 49947 (BARD Download)
In two years on the horse racing circuit, anything can happen, both on and off the track. Smiley’s kaleidoscopic novel recounts the lives of owners, trainers, jockeys, and others involved in the daily activities of owning, caring for, and racing horses. Explicit descriptions of sex and strong language. Bestseller. 2000.

The Red Pony by John Steinbeck.
BR 10887, RC 34258
Jody Tiflin is only ten years old when he receives the red pony as a gift. But as Jody matures, his experiences with horses, an old ranchhand, and the birth of a colt teach him about the interconnections between life and death. 1938.

A Horse of Her Own by Annie Wedekind.
DB 68049, RC 68049
Fourteen-year-old Jane Ryan has ridden stable-owned horse Beau for many years, so it comes as a shock when Beau is sold during summer camp. But then her trainer offers her a challenge--to ride Lancelot, a newly acquired, temperamental horse. For grades 6-9. 2008.

All My Patients Have Tales:  Favorite Stories From a Vet's Practice by Jeff Wells.
DB 68717, RC 68717, BR 18334, LT 10028 
Wells recounts his Iowa vet-school experience and the early years of his veterinary practice in South Dakota and Colorado. Describes chasing an excrement-spewing feral cat through the clinic, treating a Tibetan yak named Jack, and realizing that an ex-marine had fainted while Wells sutured a horse’s nose. 2009.

Firehorse by Diane Lee Wilson.
DB 67459, RC 67459 
Boston, 1872. Fifteen-year-old Rachel, who longs to be a veterinarian instead of a proper lady, rescues a severely burnt mare from a fire station. A serial arsonist threatens the city while distemper kills thousands of horses, leaving firemen stranded when a giant blaze occurs. For junior and senior high readers. 2006.

Word Gets Around: A Novel of Daily, Texas by Lisa Wingate.
DB 69082, RC 69082
Lauren Eldridge reluctantly returns to her hometown in Texas to help her father train a racehorse that is starring in a Hollywood film. With the family’s ranch on the line, Lauren does her best despite complications from struggling screenwriter Nate Heath, who might be more trouble than the horse. 2009.