Horses & Horsemanship – THE LEGEND OF THE GREAT HORSE trilogy

Why I Write about Horses

It can be hard to write about horses and not be misunderstood. Most people seem decided about horses one way or another (mostly another), and conventional “wisdom” I’ve known tends to dismiss horses and their activities as outdated and obsolete.

The misunderstanding is understandable: we humans have always been a few flakes short of a bale when it comes to our equine partner … the writ-large story of horsemanship is one of human ignorance staggering toward a cooperative path it wants nothing of, until some innovation in cavalry tops the ridge and a new way is more or less happily accepted (mostly much less).

When I tell people I’m writing a fiction adventure about horses in history, reactions vary. Some smile in a rush of good feelings and memories (these we call ‘horsepeople’), some are intrigued; other’s eyes dart away with a short nod and change of subject, or peer at me curiously trying to grasp why a grown man would spend time writing about ‘horsies.’

Horse Talk

Well, I don’t write about ‘horsies’ — no author does — but about an animal, a force, that has been an essential partner in civilization. I write to honor the intangible spirit in horses which sparks humanity’s creative impulses, a spirit which has served as mankind’s inner guide by providing a concrete image of noble humility, courage and selfless service. Discussions about horses deal in ideas that created the cultures we live in and have succeeded. Horse talk is really about humanity.

We can speak about horses in bold terms and not be embarrassed: it is hard to find expressive terms to describe how close and longstanding man’s partnership with the horse truly is. History has moved to the sound of hoofbeats since prehistoric man enshrined horses on cave walls, and celebration of our partnership has ennobled mankind throughout recorded time.

Is the great ride over?

Is mankind ready to dismount and proceed into the terrifying future alone? This is a graver decision than the attention it is given.

Yes, we have machines to replace buggies and hoofed cavalry … but perhaps we should consider the lessons of the countless cultures that rested upon the status quo of their horsemanship–and were overridden by newly-discovered potential in the horse.

Today horsemanship’s ancient roles of youth development, leadership training and community-fostering deserve examination, and there are exciting new roles to explore in horse-powered ‘green’ commerce, recreation, and healing so relevant to our crowded future.

It may even be that the ancients were correct in believing the horse was a gift of the Creator, and the future belongs to horsemen as much as did the past.

My answer to skeptics? Horse talk is more than it seems.

The Wonderful Strangeness of Horses

Book II of my fiction trilogy about horses and history is being published soon. So why did I write about horses?

The main reason is they teach us about the world, and they’re lots of fun. Here are some reasons I think horses are an interesting subject:

Horses have always been with us

Since Stone Age man first put paint to rock, horses have fascinated and assisted mankind in some capacity: for food, weight-bearing, load-pulling, travel, status, inspiration, therapy, sports, recreation, gambling, war … it’s amazing how many roles the horse has taken.

The horse and our partnership is filled with paradoxes

So much of life isn’t what it seems and horses are no exception. For example:

– A timid prey animal, the horse was history’s most feared engine of war.

– A humble servant, the horse ennobles mankind.

– A century after engines made the horse “obsolete,” there are more horses than ever before.

– Horses can gallop miles with a human on its back and pull tons of weight, but can perish of a missed feeding.

(And they let people ride them!)

Horses haven’t much changed since the Olden Days

Horses have been tamed, but they retain their basic character and instincts. Prehistoric man could have raised a prehistoric colt, put a saddle on him and trained him to gallop and jump. What is the difference between then and now?

It took thousands of years to learn to ride horses (and we seem to have forgotten several times). I wonder why it took so long to figure out … unless we had to change…

Heartland Reviews: 5 Hearts to “Eclipsed by Shadow”

This fascinating YA first book of a trilogy on the history of man’s relationships with the horse is particularly well done … teaches not only the history of Man’s relationship with the horse, but the history and day to day cultures of different civilizations of the past.—Bob Spear, Heartland Reviews

Bob Spear of Heartland Reviews gave Eclipsed by Shadow the book’s first pre-publication review by the publishing industry, which led to the honor of Eclipsed by Shadow being named a GRREAT Read (Gifted & Reluctant Readers Explore Amazing Titles):

Bob Spear | Heartland Reviews

This fascinating YA first book of a trilogy on the history of man’s relationships with the horse is particularly well done.

Meagan, a young teenager, witnesses the arrival of a new colt she names Promise. She enjoys socializing the colt and caring for him until it’s time for him to grow up with other colts. Several years later, the now young adult horse returns to Meagan’s horse farm to begin saddle training. Unfortunately, a crooked horse trainer is out to steal Promise. Meagan stumbles on the plot and manages to leap onto Promises back and jumps a fence in order to escape. Suddenly Promise sprouts wings and carries Meagan back in time to caveman times. Meagan falls off, only to find herself in the middle of a caveman horse hunt for fresh food. After a short time there, she jumps on another horse and finds herself as a slave in Rome , and then she moves forward to ride with the Mongols. After more hard times, she moves forward in time to the times of the Crusades, where the book ends with the reader anxious to know what is next.

This series teaches not only the history of Man’s relationship with the horse, but the history and day to day cultures of different civilizations of the past. We rated this first book five hearts.

2010 NOTE: Heartland Reviews ended their (free) objective reviews with an announcement stating this reason:

“If the mainstream reviewers such as Kirkus, Foreword Magazine, and Bowker feel comfortable in charging for their reviews, I just can’t justify providing a free service any more. Over the past six years, I have read and written reviews for almost 2,000 books, at a great personal sacrifice for my family and me.”

Thank you, Mr. Spear, and best wishes for the future!

Eclipsed by Shadow is the first book of the new fiction trilogy, The Legend of the Great Horse, arriving this Summer with a fresh and original look at the colorful role of horses in civilization. The story follows the time-travel adventure of a modern horsewoman lost in history.

Further information about this unique and imaginative ‘creative non-fiction’ novel can be found at TheGreatHorse.com.

“On the Rocks” | Horses in Cave Art

This post begins a timeline to discuss the various eras traveled in “Eclipsed by Shadow,” and the rest of “The Legend of the Great Horse” trilogy. The first era is Pre-History.

Man’s long, colorful relationship with the horse is revealed in one of humanity’s oldest creative impulses: Art. The equine image has adorned virtually every medium of artistic conception throughout history, from prehistoric caves and pottery to paintings, sculpture, music, and literature. Even in our modern automated age, horses have made the successful leap to electronic “new media” of teevee, film and video games.

From a historical perspective, it is fascinating to realize how much retained knowledge of our past is owed to art. The consciousness of a culture is embedded in the art it leaves behind, and artwork is painstakingly preserved for posterity. Horses have stirred human imagination since before recorded history, so art tells the story of horsemanship—and civilization—in a comprehensive visual thread.

The earliest art is the cave painting, and horses are a predominate theme. These prehistoric images give bright glimpses into the shadows of humankind’s veiled beginnings—surviving samples date back over 30,000 years. “Rock art” is famous for depictions of horses and other animals central to the world of primitive man, and some of the prehistoric images reveal genuine artistic quality. The purpose for these drawings is unknown, but various possibilities include the recording or transmission of information, religious ceremonies or superstitious “magical” rites. Whatever the explanation, cave art represent first rays of creative light peering out before the dawn of civilization.

Most cave paintings are crude, but there exist works that rise above mundane scratchings. The most sophisticated and “sublime” cave paintings transcend time, revealing an artistic spirit already intact in pre-historic man. It is as if art truly does touch upon some indefinable and ageless spark of the cosmos. As Pablo Picasso himself said upon viewing the famous Lascaux caves, “We have discovered nothing.”