HORSES

"I will not trade my horse with any that treads.
He bounds from the earth;
When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk.
He trots the air; the earth sings when he touches it.
The basest horn of his hoof is more musical than the pipe of Hermes.
He's of the color of the nutmeg and of the heart of the ginger.
He is pure air and fire, and the dull elements
Of earth and water never appear in him,
But only in patient stillness while his rider mounts him,
His neigh is like the bidding of a monarch,
And his countenance enforces homage."

William Shakespeare, King Henry V

"And here I say to parents, and especially to wealthy parents, Don't give your son money.  As far as you can afford it, give him horses.  No one ever came to grief? except honourable grief? through riding horses.  No hour of life is lost that is spent in the saddle.  Young men have often been ruined through owning horses, or through backing horses, but never through riding them; unless of course they break their necks, which, taken at a gallop, is a very good death to die."

Winston Churchill in My Early Life

"So sometimes yet, in the realities of silence and solitude, 
For a few people unhampered awhile by things,
The mustangs walk out with dawn, stand high, then "Sweep away,
wild with sheer life, and free, free, free-Free of all confines of time and flesh."

J. Frank Dobie    The Mustangs

"A man on a horse is spiritually as well as physically bigger than a man on foot."

-John Steinbeck

"When God had created the horse, He spoke to the magnificent creature:  'I have made thee unlike any other.  All the treasures of this earth lie between thine eyes.'."

                                                   Koran

"Long is the road which the horse had traveled.  Our history was written on his back, we are his heirs.  The Kingdom f the horse is linked to many human kingdoms.  Our history was written on the back of horses.  Never was thee an animal as completely involved in the service of man as the horse.  And never have gentleness, obedience and devotion been so ill-rewarded.  Yet, never had greater distinction or similar glorification been accorded any animal.  the history of man reveals the heritage of the horse.  Memory will not keep silent.  We are his heirs, even if today we believe that we have no further need of him.  The nature of the horse remains unchanged, whether it carries the saddle of the prince, or whether it draws the cart of the wagoner.  The noble ones accept the the yoke, they serve, but never will be slaves, for the themselves they never can be traitors.  A proud aristocratic creature, the most beautiful ornament of this master in the festive parade.  The freedom of his nature abides in the eye of the horse.  There is no manner of servitude capable of degrading the horse.

The Kingdom of the Horse

"Hast thou given the horse strength?  Hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?"

Job 39:19

"They say princes learn no art truly, but the art of horsemanship.  The reason is the brave beast is no flatterer.  He will throw a prince as soon as his groom."

Ben Johnson 1635

"Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper?  The glory of his nostrils is terrible.  He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength; he goeth on to meet the armed men.  He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword.  The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and shield.  He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage; neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet.  He saith among the trumpets, Ha ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting."

Book of Job

"Riding is the Quest for Vastness, for Endlessness."

Rudolf G. Binding

"Heaven is High, and Earth is wide.  If you rise three feet higher above the ground than other men, you will forever know what that means."

-Rudolf G. Binding

"A strange stillness dwells in the eye of the horse, a composure that appears to regard the world from a measured distance...It is a gaze from the depths of a dream...

Han-Heinrich Isenbart

"Far back, far back in our dark soul the horse prances...The horse, the horse!  The symbol of surging potency and power of movement, of action..."

D.H. Lawrence

He has galloped through young girls' dreams, added richness to grown women's lives, and served men in war and strife."

-Toni Robinson

"His eye, which scornfully glistens like fire, shows his hot courage and his high desire."

-Shakespeare

"...gigantic beauty of a stallion...eyes full of sparkling wickedness...nostrils dilate...well-built limbs tremble with pleasure..."

Walt Whitman

"...virture shall be bound into the hair of thy forlock...I have given thee the power of flight without wings."

The Koran

"Yearning glistens in the eye of the horse       
His glance
is turned towards the unbounded reaches."

Hans-Heinrich Isanbart
The Kingdom of the Horse

"It would be a terrible thing if the horse in us died forever."

D.H. Lawrence

"Although utilization of the horse and the esteem in which he was held varied through the centuries, the connection between rider and mount has always been the very same:  a study of determinate material and moral means that would lead to better mastery of the animal, which is an attitude that even the horseman of today should maintain if equitation is to represent something more than just a simple pastime, and be a discipline and a true sport.  Riding a horse should signify that one is conscious of one's own limitations and ability to command and aware of the capacity of the animal to understand and obey."

Horses and Horsemanship
Through the Ages

"It is not difficult to understand the reason for the near worship of the horse.  Learning to control such a remarkable beast was probably the most exciting development in man's history next to the invention of the wheel."

Hope
The Encyclopedia of the Horse

"Ah, to have a horse, and gallop away, singing, away to someone you loved perhaps, into the heart of all the simplicity and peace in the world; was not that like the opportunity afforded by life itself?"

Malcolm Lowey
Under the Volocano

"A Horse is a thing of such beauty...none will tire of looking at him as long as he displays himself in his splendor."

Xenophon

   "How close, how intimate is the comradeship between a man and his favorite horse on a long journey. It is a silent, comprehensive friendship, an intercourse beyond the need of words.

   They drink at the same wayside springs, and sleep under the same guardian stars. They are conscious together of the subduing spell of nightfall and the quickening joy of daybreak. The master shares his evening meal with his hungry companion, and feels the soft, moist lips caressing the palm of his hand as they close over the morsel of bread. In the gray dawn he is roused from his bivouac by the gentle stir of a warm, sweet breath over his sleeping face, and looks up into the eyes of his faithful fellow-traveler, ready and waiting for the toil of the day. Surely, unless he is a pagan and an unbeliever, whatever name he calls upon his God, he will thank Him for this voiceless sympathy, this dumb affection, and his morning prayer will embrace a double blessing-God bless us both, and keep our feet from falling and our souls from death!

   And then, through the keen morning air, the swift hoofs beat their spirited music along the road, keeping time to the pulsing of two hearts that are moved with the same eager desire-to conquer space, to devour the distance, to attain the goal of the journey."

Henry van Dyke

The Story of the Other Wise Man

***********************************************
Book: "The Mythology of Horses: Horse Legend and Lore Throughout the Ages" by Gerald & Loretta Hausman

Book: "The Ultimate Guide to Horse Breeds" by Andrea Fitzpatrick

Book: "The Complete Encyclopedia of Horses" by Josee Hermsen

Book: "The Encyclopedia of Horses & Ponies" by Tamsin Pickeral

Book: "Magner's Classic Encyclopedia Of The Horse" by Dennis Manger

Book: "The Horseman's Illustrated Dictionary" by Steven D. Price

Book: "The Kingdom of the Horse: A Comprehensive Guide to the Horse and the Major Breeds" Ed. by Caroline Davis et. al

Book: "Horses Of The Sun: A Gallery of the World's Most Exquisite Equines" by Robert Vavra

Book: "Dark Horse: Unraveling the Mystery of Nearctic" by Muriel Anne Lennox

Book: "Dynasties: Great Thoroughbred Stallions" by Edward L. Bowen

Book: "On Horseback Through Asia Minor" by Frederick Bumaby

Book: "The Mythology of Horses: Horse Legend and Lore Throughout the Ages" by Gerald & Loretta Hausman

Book: "Pony Kids" by Perry Ogden

Book: "The Essential Book of Horse Tack & Equipment" by Susan McBane

Book: "Natural healing For Horses" by Jenny Morgan

Book: "Living with Horsepower!: Personally Empowering Life Lessons Learned from the Horse" by rebekah Ferran Witter

Book: "Horses Don't Lie: What Horses Teach Us About Our Natural Capacity for Awareness, Confidence, Courage, and Trust" by Chris Irwin & B. Weber

Book: "Chicken Soup for the Horse Lover's Soul" by Jack Caufield & Mark Victor Hansen et. al

Book: "Horse People: Scenes from the Riding Life" by Michael Korda

Book: "The New Rider's Horse Encyclopedia" by Elwyn Hartley Edwards

Book: "Traditional Horse Husbandry: A Practical Guide to Horsekeeping" by Carl W. Gay

Book: "The quotable Equine" by Jim Dratfield

Book: "Dynasties: Great Thoroughbred Stallions" by Edward L. Bowen

Book: "Sacred Horses: The Memoirs of a Turkmen Cowboy" by Jonathan Maslow

Book: "America's Horses: A Celebration of the Horse Breeds Born in the U.S.A." by Moira C. Harris

Book: "Wild Horses" by Elwyn Hartley Edwards

Book: "Horses of the Camargue" by Hans Silvester

Book: "The Greatest Horse Stories Ever Told" Ed. by Steven D. Price

Book: "Horse of a Different Color: A Tale of Breeding Geniuses, Dominant Females, and the Fastest Derby Winner Since Secretariat" by Jim Squires

Book: Horses and the Mystical Path: The Celtic Way of Expanding the Human Soul" by Adele von Rust McCormick et al.

Book: "Three Strides Before The Wire: The Dark and Beautiful World of Horse Racing" by Elizabeth Mitchell