Review Detail

A comprehensive guide to horses, from their prehistoric origins to the breeds known today. In addition to the titular 80 horse breeds, this book includes timelines of horses through history, anatomical terminology, famous legends and lore of equine creatures, and the role of horses for work and sport.

Every page is full of fun facts and illustrations. The section focused on breeds is divided by geography, and I loved being able to place the picture of a horse with a name and where they live in the world. With so many horses to include, there isn't room for comprehensive biography on each one. But, there is a note on typical height and an interesting fact, such as the origin of the breed, their temperament, or common uses today. Something else this book taught me is that the breeds I recognized and thought of as foreign or global are actually mostly North American/European, and there's a whole bunch more which are native to Asia and South America.

Pick this up for a horse lover, and get ready to pull out the horse figurines and guess which breed is which.