The Best Book for Young Adult Horse Lovers

The author of this marvelous encyclopedia of horses and ponies is Sandy Ransford. She is a full-time writer who has written over 50 books for children and young adults. Eight of those are about horses and horsemanship.

Ransford, an expert horsewoman herself, shares her life with a horse and two ponies. Her horse books for children include topics like caring for your horse, learning to ride, and horse breed books.

Her writing style, though aimed at young adults, does not reflect a childish nature. She presents her information clearly and well-ordered. Ransford has a great sense of humor. Although her horse books are not humorous, she has written numerous books for children about humor and joke telling.

The School Library Journal reviewed this marvelous book.

This comprehensive and beautifully illustrated volume provides a wonderful overview of horses and horsemanship. The first part of the book covers the life cycle, domestication, and types of horses and ponies. The many different breeds appear in striking full-color photos, often highlighted by comments about the standards that are important to that breed. The second part deals with how to care for these animals and discusses horsemanship from taking riding lessons to training and driving a horse. Procedures are explained with great detail and accuracy, and the illustrations effectively expand on the words. Hard hats are the rule in the photos even in the section on western riding, clearly emphasizing the importance of safety. Whether youngsters want to know how to braid a horse's mane, what the different types of concentrated food are, or what a Haflinger looks like, they will find the answer in this clearly written book. Filled with appealing photos of young people interacting with their four-legged friends, this title is an extremely useful addition to any collection.

by Book Owner MH:

I found this book very readable with lots of beautiful pictures. It has sections on horse breeds(horses&ponies), horse's coloring/markings, grooming, traveling, trimming, stable management, feeding, health & caring for a sick horse, tack, it even has a section on riding(mostly eastern)and driving! This book only gives basic information with a reasonable amount of detail, I would reccommend this book for any horse lover of any age. If you plan on owning a horse someday and want a book on training your horse, this isn't the best choice. If you want to know what goes into caring for a horse I would reccomend this book. Again, it has wonderful pictures and is easy to read, I love it and have confidence you will too.

From N. Murphy:

This was a wonderful book for a person who loves horses and likes to see different pictures of horses and ponies. My niece loved it so much she actually sleep with it the firsr night.