Books for the Horse Lover

With the snow, now ice and rain, coming down in Virginia, who wants to be outside?  This is a great time of year to pick up a good book and curl up by a warm fire.  If you love horses then here are some books you might enjoy. These are all fiction for the rider and non-rider alike.

1) Dick Francis
Francis passed away not too long ago but his books are still great reads. There are tons of them set in the British racing world, mysteries, but very well written.  You can find these often in antique malls for a few dollars, or online.  

2) Rita Mae Brown
Fellow Virginia Rita Mae Brown is an avid fox hunter (she has her own pack of hounds) and she writes mysteries set in the hunting world.

3) Tami Hoag
Hoag is also a mystery writer.

4) Jane Smiley
Smiley is a rider and horse lover and has several books about horses.

5) Other Lesser Known Writers
Here are some books that I am aware of, some I have read, others have been recommended.  

Nancy Shulins - Falling for Eli

 (Buy It Here)

Josh Pons - Country Life Diary - this is one of my all time favorite books, written in a three-year diary in narrative form, about life on a breeding farm in Maryland.  Pons writes very well and I did not want to put this one down. I believe it is out of print but it can be found on Amazon or on used book sites. 

(Buy it here)

Jim Squires - Horse of A Different Color - this is a great book, written by the former editor of the Chicago Tribune who loses his job and buys a breeding farm in Kentucky and breeds a Kentucky Derby winner. The story is true, it is well written and a great book.

 (Buy it here)

Barbara Moss - In and Out

(Buy it here)

Kathleen Brooks - Bluegrass State of Mind

(Buy it here)

And if you need an endless list of books to read with horsey themes then you should check this Blog out.  See it here.  Reading is such an escape and no better time of year to escape without leaving the house.  Stay warm and safe this cold and icy February day.