Crazy For Horses

Imagine Thoroughbreds thundering over your desk or graceful Arabians flying across your wall! Here are sixteen full-colour photos of horses and lots of fascinatingfacts to read, too. Stats and a description of the breed accompany each poster, and additional information abounds: the oldest breed of horse alive, how to tell a ponyfrom a horse, horse anatomy, colour terminology, famous horse events, kinds of competitions, and more. There is even an extensive list of addresses and websites for kids who want to gallop into the world of horses. Nothing fascinates kids as much as animals, and few animals captivate the heart and imagination as much ashorses do. Crazy for Horses combines appealing photographs and informative text, making it essential for horse lovers of all ages.

ONE OF USA TODAY'S “20 SUMMER BOOKS YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS” In the bestselling tradition of works by such authors as Susan Orlean and Mary Roach, a New York Times reporter and Pulitzer Prize finalist explores why so many people—including herself—are obsessed with horses. It may surprise you to learn that there are over seven million horses in America—even more than when they were the only means of transportation—and nearly two million horse owners. Acclaimed journalist and avid equestrian Sarah Maslin Nir is one of them; she began riding horses when she was just two years old and hasn’t stopped since. Horse Crazy is a fascinating, funny, and moving love letter to these graceful animals and the people who—like her—are obsessed with them. It is also a coming-of-age story of Nir growing up an outsider within the world’s most elite inner circles, and finding her true north in horses. Nir takes readers into the lesser-known corners of the riding world and profiles some of its most captivating figures. We meet Monty Roberts, the California trainer whose prowess earned him the nickname “the man who listens to horses,” and his pet deer; George and Ann Blair, who at their riding academy on a tiny island in Manhattan’s Harlem River seek to resurrect the erased legacy of the African American cowboy; and Francesca Kelly, whose love for an Indian nobleman shaped her life’s mission: to protect an endangered Indian breed of horse and bring them to America. Woven into these compelling character studies, Nir shares her own moving personal narrative. She details her father’s harrowing tale of surviving the Holocaust, and describes an enchanted but deeply lonely upbringing in Manhattan, where horses became her family. She found them even in the middle of the city, in a stable disguised in an old townhouse and in Central Park, when she chased down truants as an auxiliary mounted patrol officer. And she speaks candidly of how horses have helped her overcome heartbreak and loss. Infused with heart and wit, and with each chapter named after a horse Nir has loved, Horse Crazy is an unforgettable blend of beautifully written memoir and first-rate reporting.

"This production offers an engaging, original way for children to learn about a Native American hero. Renowned Abenaki author Bruchac has selected interesting facts that reveal how a young boy is transformed into brave Crazy Horse. ..." AudioFile Magazine

"Text and photos give readers information about horse riding and competitions, horse care, horse breeds, and general information"--

Contains basic information on horses as well as brief histories for seventeen breeds including mustangs and Clydesdales.

Carole Hanson and Stevie Lake have been best friends ever since they met at Pine Hollow Stables. So when Lisa Atwood joins their ridinggroup, the girls aren't sure she's got what it takes. Lisa may be the smartest student in the classroom, but she's got a lot to learn when it comes to horses. . . .

Horse Crazy explores the meaning behind the love between girls and horses. Jean O'Malley Halley, a self-professed "horse girl," contends that this relationship and its cultural signifiers influence the manner in which young girls define their identity when it comes to gender. Halley examines how popular culture, including the "pony book" genre, uses horses to encourage conformity to gender norms but also insists that the loving relationship between a girl and a horse fundamentally challenges sexist and mainstream ideas of girlhood. Horse Crazy looks at the relationships between girls and horses through the frameworks of Michel Foucault's concepts of normalization and biopower, drawing conclusions about the way girls' agency is both normalized and resistant to normalization. Segments of Halley's own experiences with horses as a young girl, as well as experiences from the perspective of other girls, are sources for examination. "Horsey girls," as she calls them, are girls who find a way to defy the expectations given to them by society-thinness, obsession with makeup and beauty, frailty-and gain the possibility of freedom in the process. Drawing on Nicole Shukin's uses of animal capital theories, Halley also explores the varied treatment of horses themselves as an example of the biopolitical use of nonhuman animals and the manipulation and exploitation of horse life. In so doing she engages with common ways we think and feel about animals and with the technologies of speciesism.

Is your first and second favorite animal a horse? Is your bedroom covered with horse posters on your walls and horse models on your shelves? Would you rather muck out a stall than clean your room? Then you are absolutely, undeniably horse crazy, and For Horse-Crazy Girls Only is the book for you! This is the only comprehensive book about everything a horse-crazy girl needs to know about horses. You'll learn everything from the different breeds of horses, to how a horse's body works, to the quirky little things that make the horse the BEST animal ever. Author Christina Wilsdon even shares ideas for horse-themed parties, and suggestions for the best horse movies to watch with your friends. And that's just the beginning.