Ultimate Horse

by Elwyn Hartley Edwards

An illustrated guide to the domestication, uses, breeds, and care of horses and the various events connected with them includes more than ninety breeds of horses from around the world, traces the history of the horse, and discusses health care, feeding, saddles, training, riding, breeding, and competitions. 20,000 first printing.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Horses, Picture Books, Reference, Childrens

272 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 1991

About the author

Captain Elwyn Hartley Edwards, MC, was an equestrian writer and editor, born on 17 April 1927 on a boat between India and Britain, and his birth recorded in North Wales. He died on 9 December 2007, aged 80.

Elwyn Edwards was the editor of Riding magazine for 18 years. And the consultant editor for Horse & Hound for five years, he also served as a regional chairman of the British Horse Society and as a member of the BHS council, receiving the society's Award of Merit in 1993. He was also a vice-president of the Riding for the Disabled Association and vice-patron of the Horse and Pony Protection Association.

He used to regularly judge horse shows in the UK. He had written more than 30 books on horse-related subjects and was an authority on lorinery and saddlery

Reviews

[Adrian Patenaude · Rating 5 out of 5]

the hours i spent with this as a girl....

[Chelsea Trent]

Do you have a passion for horses? Well, look no further this book names many horse breeds and their past history. This book goes over breeds, horse care, reproduction, and how to choose the right horse for you.

I enjoyed this book, it expanded my knowledge of horse behavior, breeds, and history. Not all horses are the same each breed has a diffirent and complex personality, reading this book let me see that. I would reccomend this book to anyone who has a horse, is looking into getting a horse, doing research(on all horses or a single breed), or just LOVES HORSES! This book covers all the bases of riding, feeding, and caring for your horse. This book will be great for first time owners and i give it 5 stars. Well, hopefully you'll look it over. Ciao for now

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book for anyone wanting to learn more about horses. This book is wonderfully informative with excellent descriptions, explanations, and pictures.

[SatKartar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first horse-book I ever had. Great book for learning the basics!

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was 29, I ran away from home. That’s a whole other story, but the main gist is that I left behind an extensive collection of horse books. My Mom, knowing that one day I’d return with my tail between my legs, went to my apartment and saved one book from the entire collection – a first American edition of The Ultimate Horse Book by Elwyn Hartley Edwards (Dorling Kindersley; 1991.)

Mom chose well. Although some of the information is out of date (Andalusians are rarely called Andalusians anymore, for example) this is still a book well worth the money. Since this book was so popular on both sides of the Pond, the book is easily found in used book stores and used book online sales. It’s especially good for people like me who do not have a snowball’s chance of ever actually owning a horse. It helps ease the pain of horselessness.

The Good

This guy could really write. He appeared occasionally on British television as the token horse expert. His enthusiasm for his subjects shone clearly on his face and is reflected in his words. He had over a dozen books published by this time and would go one to have more than 30 before he died in 2007. His most (in)famous book was the oft-copied Encyclopedia of the Horse (Octopus; 1977.) Even this book is somewhat of a copy of that book.

The collection of photographs assembled was formidable. What is especially nice is that some of the horses are identified in the book’s credits. Many breed representatives were photographed at the Kentucky Horse Park. This was one of the first books to cut out photograph subjects and place them against a bright white background.

The Bad

There are two unfortunate aspects to this book. The first is that it is so much like Encyclopedia of the Horse (even in some of its chapter organization) that anyone familiar with Encyclopedia of the Horse will not find much new information. The book breed section concentrates on horses familiar to the English-speaking world instead of trying to slog through all of the hundreds of horse and pony breeds in the world.

Another problem is the book’s length. It’s too short. It is in no way a definitive text. You just can’t explain everything about horses in 240 pages (most of those pages with pictures.) It’s good for skimming the basics or for a horse-crazy kid with a short attention span. Still, it’s much better than most other similar books on the market.

[Nav · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a coffee table book, it takes advantage of its page size to include lots of diagrams and photographs and to tuck in extra horse trivia. This is a good introduction to horses that goes over quite a lot: the history of their evolution and domestication, how they communicate, what a pregnancy would look like as well as providing vocabulary for the novice (how to describe horses from coat color types, tack and equipment, gaits, etc). It also goes over how horses should be treated such as proper grooming and isn't afraid to call out practices it considers abusive. This book can't substitute for hands-on learning and would likely only offer trivia type information to someone who isn't uninitiated.

A bit dated now, this book's longest section describes the different horse breeds which indirectly informs the reader what makes a type of horse its own direct breed and directly provides a wealth of information like the names of famous horses, the types of events horses compete in, etc.

[Dark-Draco · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't say that I have read this cover to cover, as a lot of the actual text is quite general horsey stuff that has been repeated in hundreds of other books. However, there are some things that were interesting and a lot of topics are covered. The best bit about this book by far is the huge colour photos of each breed - well worth having this just for them.

[Bethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Gorgeous high colour photo spreads of the various horse and pony breeds with information about them. It's more of a coffee table book than a heavily in-depth type of book though.

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was the kid who was obsessed with horses, and I practically memorized this book when I was about 10.

[Sierra Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that it was good it. The book teaches about horses and more to the people that already know things about the animals.
It also teaches about the actives you can do with the horse.

[Darkened Warrior {Stare into your Nightmare} · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that has excellent detail, great pictures, and fascinating facts about horses. I HIGHLY recommend this book.(It's really thick, but it doesn't bother me, nor should it to you.)

[Lissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got given this book as a child and have never let it go. Its still on my book shelf.