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The Black Stallion (The Black Stallion, #1)

Walter Farley,

Keith Ward (Illustrator)

Start date: June 1, 2018

Finish date: June 30, 2018

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Shelves: childrens-literature, book-reviews, horse-stories

Although I certainly enjoyed Walter Farley's classic tale of a boy and his horse when I read The Black Stallion as a young teenager, I most definitely never liked it quite as much as Marguerite Henry's Misty of Chincoteague series (and other horse series that were part of my childhood); furthermore, I also never did warm up to any of the sequels. And part of the reason why The Black Stallion has always been a bit of a miss for me is the fact that at least some of the scenarios described by autho Although I certainly enjoyed Walter Farley's classic tale of a boy and his horse when I read The Black Stallion as a young teenager, I most definitely never liked it quite as much as Marguerite Henry's Misty of Chincoteague series (and other horse series that were part of my childhood); furthermore, I also never did warm up to any of the sequels. And part of the reason why The Black Stallion has always been a bit of a miss for me is the fact that at least some of the scenarios described by author Walter Farley have tended to sound just a bit too good to be true, a bit too convenient and at times, almost unbelievable (and I really, truly do very much despise the fact that Alec keeps feeding the Black sugar, as sugar is basically really really unhealthy for horses, especially if it is something they are fed regularly and not as a very occasional treat). This time around, and basically upon rereading The Black Stallion for the first time in decades, I realise that much of my annoyance with the novel is and likely always has been with the whole thoroughbred racing scenario. Thoroughbreds are often ridden (and raced) much too young and much too fast (and the number of broken down thoroughbreds that end up in feedlots or being used as chuckwagon fodder is indeed both horrible and staggering). Now my family used to raise warmbloods, Trakehners, to be exact. And we would not even have considered breaking a horse (getting a horse used to a rider, to a saddle and the like) until around age three or so. However, with thoroughbreds, even one year and two year olds are routinely ridden and even raced (and at breakneck speeds at that). For example, Alec's friend and horse trainer Henry recounts how his best horse, Chang, collapsed and died after a race (and while you can tell that Henry is sad at what happened, he obviously also is proud of the fact that Chang's record still stands). And I, for one, have always wondered whether Chang was being overworked, whether he should not have been raced that day, whether the owners of Chang, and even Henry, might have failed to notice a potential medical issue or even refused to notice it (indeed, I might be reading too much into this, but these thoughts did come and always emerge whenever I read this part of The Black Stallion). And even the Black's final race, where he beats Cyclone and Sun Raider, it tends to leave a bit of a sour taste in my mouth, mostly due to the fact that the Black is injured during the race, and yes, this is an injury that could have proven much worse than it turns out to be (and I have actually watched thoroughbred races where horses physically attacked one another, jockeys used their whips on other horses, even on competing riders, it is not a pretty sight, and I cannot help but remember these scenarios, these real-life occurrences, when reading about the Black and his races). And I guess it also does not help any that the Black's fighting with other horses often seems to be almost feted and cheered by the author; personally, the fights, while they might be exciting to and for some, have always kind of sickened me a bit (because their description is almost like a revelry, a glorification of violence). Finally, I still do think The Black Stallion is an entertaining, informative and thrilling horse story, and that Walter Farley started writing this (his first novel) when he was a mere teenager is rather awesome in and of itself (The Black Stallion was published when Walter Farley was twenty-six, but he actually started writing the novel in high school). That being said, The Black Stallion most definitely has never been one of my favourite horse stories, as the brutality of the races, the Black's at times overly violent nature (and how this is actually condoned and even feted by Walter Farley's narrative as being something amazing and wonderful) and indeed that the Black was often being fed sugar have always lessened my reading pleasure more than somewhat. ...more

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