Blog Posts by Subject: Horsemanship

Breathtaking. That is the first word that comes to mind when flipping through the spectacular visual art in this book. The dark cover photo of a relaxed, beautiful flaxen chestnut horse sets the tone for this set of pictorial works.

This blog post was actually spawned from a visit to Devon Saddlery near Washington, D.C. I saw a poster there for a horse event, which included information on the National Sporting Library. I then became curious as to what other horse libraries were out there.

Like always, I am horse crazy as ever, so I definitely wanted to see which professional associations and journals are out there to aid horse professionals. When I was a librarian at a corporate library, part of my job was to dig up medical professional journals. I found an association for recruiters in health care for my supervisor that she did not know about. I became aware that there is a professional association for everything, and I sometimes refer patrons to professional associations.

A Horse for Mandy by Lurlene McDaniel, 1981

Firehorse by Diane L. Wilson, 2010

Imagine a world where horses pull fire engines, hoses and firemen, galloping to fight fires and save lives. Imagine a place where "ready-made" clothes are the talk of the town, and women gasp at the prices, where dalmatians nip at the heels of horses to make way for the fire horses, where a working "woman writer" at the Bostonian newspaper Argus is scandalous, and Rachel's father wonders who is taking care of the children, and who is cooking for her husband. The women of the family counter that he does not even know if she's married. Girls are not supposed to witness births, get dirty, 

Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse has been a London stage play for four years running and has now come to Broadway. The Spielberg film version is slated to be released December 28, 2011.

The story takes place during World War I and describes the horrific conditions and loss of life, both human and animal, that took place.

The first Saturday of May is approaching, and with it comes derby day in Louisville, Kentucky, the city where I was born. It's a time when celebrities flock to town, the bars stay open all night, and the nation focuses on Louisville for the two minutes the Kentucky Derby takes to run. These books, films, and recording artists will give you a little bit of Kentucky any time of year.