Equine Fictions

This innovative volume approaches the intriguing relationship between humans and horses in 21st-century Anglophone fiction and autobiography from the perspectives of affect and politics. It addresses the strong emotional power attached to the human-horse bond, and contextualizes horse narratives within debates concerning identity and its politics. The in-depth analysis deals with topics such as the intertwinement of humans and animals, healing, mourning, and nostalgia in horse narratives, and the formation of gendered and national identities. The volume pays particular attention to life writing by Susan Richards, Rupert Isaacson, and Buck Brannaman, fiction by Gillian Mears and Jane Smiley, and Follyfoot fanfiction. Because of its focus on narratives telling of today’s human-horse encounters and its explicit attention to diverse textual forms, this book represents a unique contribution to the study of human-horse encounters in contemporary writing, and will be of particular use to scholars working in human-animal studies, Anglophone literature, and American studies.

There is widespread belief in a warm and comforting story which states the horse is a gentle herbivore. What if a Rosetta Stone had been found to unlock the dark secrets of the horse s past? An international multi-million dollar industry serviced by horse whisperers, glossy magazines and popular culture preaches that horses are meek prey animals who fear predators. What if evidence demonstrated horses have slain lions, tigers, pumas, wolves, hyenas and humans? Contemporary writers have successfully airbrushed murderous and meat-eating horses out of literature. What if Shakespeare, Sherlock Holmes and Steve McQueen provided artistic evidence to refute that claim? Thanks to global equestrian amnesia, the crucial role played by horses in recent history has been lost to mankind. What if testimony revealed meat-eating horses had been used to explore the Poles and photographs had been discovered of Tibet s blood-eating horses? Deadly Equines is a revolutionary departure from equestrian romance. It is a fact-filled analysis which reveals how humanity has known about meat-eating horses for at least four thousand years, during which time horses have consumed nearly two dozen different types of protein, including human flesh, and that these episodes have occurred on every continent, including Antarctica. Various sources of corroborating data, including legends, literature, cinema, news stories, scientific reports and eyewitness accounts are presented for the reader s investigation. None of these items had been hidden. They were ignored, misinterpreted or, in some cases, censored. The result is the first exploration of the horse s hidden history, an alternative equestrian world populated by forgotten facts, overlooked evidence and astonishing stories. Amply illustrated, and containing a map of occurrences, this study challenges the reader to develop a new under-standing of the horse, one based upon reason, not fantasy.

Julie survived a horrific car accident, but she has no memory of the event or the boyfriend who was with her in the car. He disappeared, and she is diagnosed with PTSD. Her doctor recommends a therapy animal, and Julie chooses to get a horse. Julie's experience with horses is limited, but it's empowering to finally be involved in life again, and her symptoms abate. However, she has a lot to learn, and when the riding coach gives confusing lessons, Julie is thrown off balance, both emotionally and in the saddle. The improvement she'd begun to experience with PTSD symptoms is lost, and her nightmares return. Can Julie and the horse recover and heal their broken spirits?

A “superb” account of the enduring connection between humans and horses—“Full of the sort of details that get edited out of more traditional histories” (The Economist). Fifty-six million years ago, the earliest equid walked the earth—and beginning with the first-known horse-keepers of the Copper Age, the horse has played an integral part in human history. It has sustained us as a source of food, an industrial and agricultural machine, a comrade in arms, a symbol of wealth, power, and the wild. Combining fascinating anthropological detail and incisive personal anecdote, equestrian expert Susanna Forrest draws from an immense range of archival documents as well as literature and art to illustrate how our evolution has coincided with that of horses. In paintings and poems (such as Byron’s famous “Mazeppa”), in theater and classical music (including works by Liszt and Tchaikovsky), representations of the horse have changed over centuries, portraying the crucial impact that we’ve had on each other. Forrest combines this history with her own experience in the field, and travels the world to offer a comprehensive look at the horse in our lives today: from Mongolia where she observes the endangered takhi, to a show-horse performance at the Palace of Versailles; from a polo club in Beijing to Arlington, Virginia, where veterans with PTSD are rehabilitated through interaction with horses. “For the horse-addicted, a book can get no better than this . . . original, cerebral and from the heart.” —The Times (London)

When she agrees to take on one of the abused horses just rescued by the local SPCA, a new chapter opens in Susan Richards's difficult life. She lost her mother at the age of five and was raised by uncaring relatives; she married unhappily and divorced; and she'd been an alcoholic. Now, at the age of forty-three, she lives with three horses who keep her company: the diva-like Georgia, boyish Tempo and hopelessly romantic Hotshot. While trying to capture another horse assigned to her, Lay Me Down, a skeletal mare, walks into Susan's horse trailer of her own volition. When Susan agrees to take her, she begins to forge a special, healing relationship that alters her life. Poignant and evocative, this is a book for anyone who has ever loved a horse, and for everyone who has ever lost a loved one.

“Steve is a fine horse. But he thinks he could be finer. He wants to be EXCEPTIONAL.” When Steve finds a gold horn in the forest and attaches it to his head, ta-da! Exceptional! His friends are so impressed, they, too, attach objects to their own heads, in an effort to be as exceptional as Steve. So when Steve suddenly realizes his horn has gone missing, he’s devastated! He won’t be exceptional without his horn! Or will he? A laugh-out-loud tale of an endearingly self-absorbed horse who learns that there’s more than one way to blow your own horn!

Hooves & Hearts Book 0.5 Fake it till you make it, right? Meg Beckett has packed up everything she has, which isn't much, and left her life in Georgia behind for a new start in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. She knows how lucky she is to have gotten a job at Heart & Soul Ranch; just like she knows she can't afford to lose it. But Meg hasn't been entirely honest with her new employer. Her horse experience isn't nearly as extensive as she talked it up to be and it doesn't take her long to realize that she's in way over her head. There's no way she's going back to the dead end future she left behind, but she'd better learn fast if she doesn't want to find herself out of a home and a job. Heart and Soul Ranch is her escape, but will her past catch up with her? By Heart & By Soul is a prequel novella in the Hooves & Hearts Series. This equestrian women's fiction novella has all the small town vibes, a hint of humor, and horsewomen who support each other and love their horses.

“No fantasy writer working today has a defter touch with Irish magic” (Morgan Llywelyn, author of Lion of Ireland). Set against the colorful and magical backdrop of Ireland, The Grey Horse chronicles a time when the Irish people suffered under harsh English overlords who sought to destroy their culture and way of life. In the Irish town of Carraroe, a magnificent, completely grey stallion appears. The horse brings with him the promise of better times and magical happenings, for he is actually the shape-shifted form of Ruairi MacEibhir, journeyed to such a time of danger in order to win the hand of the woman he loves.