Did you know that a miniature horse weighs just a few pounds, while a giant draft horse can weigh well over a ton? Or that from a standstill a mule can jump, kangaroo-like, more than five feet high? With answers to hundreds of questions about behavior, physiology, training, and special breed characteristics, Knowing Horses has all your horse quandaries covered. Even if you've loved horses all your life, you'll discover something new in this encyclopedic compendium of all things equine.
Carol A. Butler is co-author of a series of natural history Q&A books with Rutgers University Press, a psychoanalyst, and a docent at the American Museum of Natural History. She lives in New York, New York.
Les Sellnow is a lifelong horseman, competitor, and journalist, as well as the author of eight horse books and hundreds of magazine articles. He writes regularly for The Horse and The Blood-Horse magazines. He lives in Riverton, Wyoming.
Get to the Heart of the Horse
Even if you've loved horses your entire life, there's always more to discover. This informative compendium of all things equine answers hundreds of questions about behavior, physiology, breed characteristics, training, sporting events, and the long-standing relationship between humans and horses.
Did you know...?
-A miniature horse weights just a few hundred pounds, while a giant draft horse can weigh well over a ton.
-Horses usually buck and rear out of pain and fear, not to misbehave.
-From a standstill, a mule can jump kangaroo-like over a wooden bar 5 feet high.
-The horses ridden by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are a cross between Hanoverian and Thoroughbred.
-Only 11 horses have won the Triple Crown in its 130-year history.
-The only remaining genetically wild horse is the Przewalski (pronounced sha-VAL-skee).
-Genetically, there is no such thing as an albino horse.
-Rodeo events, such as team penning and bronc riding, developed from traditional cowboy skills.
1 Horse 101: A Few Equine Essentials
2 Hooves, Hearing, and Hiccups: Some Physical Facts
3 Horsing Around: Exploring Equine Behavior
4 Breeds: How to Tell a Saddlebred from a Standardbred
5 Training Horses: If You Whisper, They Will Listen
6 Horse Racing: The Sport of Kings and Commoners
7 Piaffes, Pulling, and Polo: More Equestrian Sports
8 Wild Horses: Mustangs, Brumbies, and How to Pronounce "Przewalski"
9 The Historical Horse: Horses and Humans Go Way Back
Appendix: More Stuff About Horses
Index
Knowing Horses is a must for those who love horses and want to learn more about their favorite animals.
Les Sellnow, a competitive horseman and journalist, and Carol A. Butler, a writer, psychoanalyst and docent at the American Museum of Natural History, have unearthed a plethora of interesting facts and stories about horses and included them in a pocket-sized paperback that is interesting to browse as well as have on hand as a quick reference.
