Customer Reviews

Wild About Horses: Our Timeless Passion for the Horse

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I always knew that there were others of us out there...those horse crazed people who can't get enough of our equine friend. This book tries to unlock the secrets of our obession with horses through wonderful tales of people and their horses. It helps to explain why it is that we must stop our car and just look out at a pasture filled with horses silently grazing. What an excellent, excellent book. When you're, done, you'll want to read it again.

The author, Lawrence Scanlan, is something of a 'born-again' horse lover, by his own proclamation. He admits that for much of his life he failed to see the overwhelming appeal that many people find in horses. But as an adult, in preparation for his job as co-author of "Riding High" with show jumping champion Ian Millar, Scanlan started to take riding lessons. Soon he was hooked. Although he still does not have horses of his own, he now loves riding and spending time in the company of our equine companions. As he read more and more about the equine creature, he became fascinated with the intertwined histories of humans and horses. This is what led him to write "Wild About Horses," a collection of [mostly true, some fictional] stories celebrating this inter-species bond.

Scanlan does not really have a central thesis, but rather explores the numerous ways in which horses have participated in and impacted humans throughout history and into the present day. His writing is fluid and to the point. The book is divided into ten chapters, each with a slightly different theme, covering such stories as the following (these are not the only stories he addresses, but just a sampling to give you an idea):

Horses in rituals and sacrifices through history; Pegasus; the Trojan Horse; Scanlan's own horseback trip in Wyoming; the history of mustangs; Wild Horse Annie; the evolution of the horse; the domestication of horses; horses as a food source; Xenophon; Native American horsemanship; trainer John Solomon Raney in the 1850s; trainers Monty Roberts and Tom Dorrance; Alexander the Great and Bucephalus; the history of warhorses; the Huns and Mongols; Medieval knights; the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; Comanche and the Battle of Little Bighorn; Napoleon and Marengo; Wellington and Copenhagen; Roy Rogers and Trigger; Eadweard Muybridge's motion photography; the Lone Ranger and Silver; the books "Black Beauty," "Misty of Chincoteague," "My Friend Flicka," and "Smoky the Cow Horse"; the movie "National Velvet"; author and former jockey Dick Francis; equine athletes Ruffian, Northern Dancer, Secretariat, Phar Lap, Man O'War, Big Ben, Halla, and Arkle; cattle drives; Scanlan's own stay at a working ranch; A.E. Tschiffley's 10,000 mile ride across the Americas; Barbara Whittome's 2,500 mile ride across Russia; Welsh Pony breeders Dick & Adele Rockwell; the Pony Express, and Buffalo Bill Cody; Snow Man, a horse rescued from slaughter that went on to become a champion jumper; Marocco the 'dancing horse'; Clever Hans; horse psychic Fred Kimball; and the bonds horses form with other animals.

While I did enjoy reading this book, I have a few criticisms. First and foremost, Scanlan seems to have borrowed heavily from the book "The Man Who Listens to Horses" by Monty Roberts (for which Scanlan wrote the introduction and afterword). He has used material both from his own contributions to the book, as well as Roberts's own writing, often using identical phrasing. This parroting was especially evident since I have only just finished reading Roberts's book, and was somewhat disappointing. The sense of repetition is also furthered by the fact that most of these stories are very common ones, and I've heard about 75% of them before. They're not bad stories, but I do wish Scanlan had dug a little deeper for some less commonly heard-of accounts to include.

Furthermore, Scanlan's coverage is not balanced. He leaves out vast areas of the horse world. The book has plenty of material on riding horses and ponies, but almost nothing on draft horses. The "Sport Horse Legends" chapter focuses almost entirely on Thoroughbred racehorses. There are a few jumpers thrown in, but no Western horses at all. When he talks of horse trainers, he talks a great deal about Monty Roberts, and a little bit about a couple others, but does not even mention many of the most influencial trainers of the last few decades. At times I also questioned the author's analytical skills, particularly when he dismissed a story as false on the basis that the horse involved, reported to be a palomino, had a Spanish name that translated to Cinnamon (which he said was too dark a color for palomino). However, this does not seem so far-fetched to me, as my father once owned a small black dog named Big Red...

And finally, his writing is not completely focused on the supposed subject of the book - why humans love horses. He has included an overwhelming number of stories about horse abuse, and most don't even lead into more uplifting stories. In the "Epic Rides" chapter, he even commends several long-distance riders known for riding horses to death. Even more strange to me was the fact that, although much of the first chapter talks mildly and even respectfully about the ways horse skins and heads were used to adorn ancient holy spots, Scanlan later launches into a tirade against equine taxidermy and condemns horsemen such as Roy Rogers, who chose to have Trigger preserved and mounted.

However, despite its faults, I did like the book. It was not perfect, but it was enjoyable. I did find some of the stories to be new and quite interesting, and Scanlan's extensive list of recommended further reading has lengthened the list of books I plan to read. If you're a connoisseur of horse lore, "Wild About Horses" may not hold any surprises for you, but it is nevertheless a nice collection. It's easy reading, and the text is interspersed with many black-and-white photographs. This would be nice for a personal treat or a gift for a friend.

Scanlan's love of this noble beast is evident on every page. Powerfully written, this chronology of mankinds eternal facination with horses both enthralled and angered me and sometimes made me laugh out loud. Great photographs and interveiws, I loved this book. Wonderfully moving accounts' of the fastest horses on earth to the only living thing left at Custer's Last Stand. A enthralling, heart warming book: read some of these story's to your kids, you will both be richer for it.

Lawrence Scanlan's book is a wonderfully written, passionate, sensitive account of the world of horses. Weaving myth, lore, history and anecdote, he paints a great and varied picture of lives of our equine friends and how they intertwine with our best and worst endeavors. I particularly liked the chapters on horses in film and epic horseback rides. The concluding chapter in which Scanlan visits three wise horsewomen of the Northeast -- there's a movie title for you -- is particularly touching and would make a terrific book on its own (Scanlan, if you're listening). At the back of the book is a bibliography, several pages in length, which should provide any horse-lover with hours of additional reading. In all this is a terrific introductory book and one that would make a great gift for kids.

I couldn't put this book down once I started reading it. Whether you are an expert horseperson or just a horse lover this book is for you! The chapters cover horses throughout history in war, sports, Hollywood, Greek mythology, and even where we get some of our common sayings (pass the buck, lucky horseshoe, getting on your high horse). I will definitely read this book more than once!

This book was so good that I'm going to get it. I got from the library, read it, and this is the first non fiction book that I wasn't forcing myself to get through.Highly recomended for all horse-a-holics :)

My husband brought home this book...we were both wild about horses from earliest age. We have 14. Scanlan seems to have a wild romantic fantasy about horses. As stated previously many of these stories have already been told. He seems mesmerized by Monty Roberts who I don't care for...so much hype. It is an ok book but was hoping for much more. And as for wild horses they are getting out of control on the range...I live there, poluting water holes and edging out other game do to the fantasy of the wild horse. Writen from a cloud. I haven't finished the book as I grew tired of his woo woo attitude.

I enjoy reading about personal impressions that register in other peoples' minds as they experience their relationships with horses and gather knowledge. This book does that, with lots of factual material presented in a way that makes a great read. It is easy in this mechanized world to forget how intricately linked human history is with equines. His description of riding with a herd of wild horses on the plains of Wyoming on a pack trip made me feel like I was there! And a horse lover can never learn too much about these amazing animals! I will read it again and will recommend it to my friends!

Just read - agree with Monika - (review written in '04 (I believe) too much tales of abuse, murder, maiming of horses for my taste. What was this author (compiler) thinking about in getting this stuff together? I wonder how many books this has really sold. I also wonder about the other reviewers who gave this five stars? Lots of info left out - something started then left hanging. "Epic Rides" - terrible, deplorable. Overall not a good effort. Scanlan - how much of a horse lover is he, really? Makes you wonder. Wish I could get my $15.00 back.

I gave "Wild About Horses" four stars instead of five because I'd already heard or read most of the stories in my fifty years of being 'wild about horses'. They're good stories though, and well worth repeating. Scanlan reports a variation on 'The Pacing Mustang' (one of my all time favorites): the wild stallion who threw himself off of a cliff rather than endure capture by men. He includes a chapter on 'Epic Rides' which made me want to just saddle up and go (one of his riders, A.F. Tschiffely rode 10,000 miles from the tip of South of America to Washington D.C. in two and a half years. Anyone game for a trip from Texas to Alaska?).

'Wild About Horses' would be an excellent book to give to your horse-crazy teen-ager. It's all about relationships (between horses and humans, in this case) and is written in a laid-back, New Age style that is easy to read. Scanlan talks about his own experiences with horses, and if you're a beginning rider you'll empathize with him!