I can so relate to this post! I too was horseless as a kid and read every horse centered book, I could get my hands on. I also watched many boring Westerns just to see the horses. I too fell in love with Arabian Horses because of books, but for me it was The Black Stallion Series. A kind elementary school librarian noticed I was always checking out horse books, so one day she took me by the hand and led me to The Black, who I am still in love with to this day! Librarians are the best!!! I came to the Jinny and Shantih books late in life and wish I had known about them early on. Jinny is definitely someone I would have related to!
This big loveable boy turned 20 on June 30, 2024. It’s a big milestone because a little over 11 years ago his life almost came to an abrupt end. As fate would have it though, he ended up with me and has been living a happy horsey life at The Franch ever since. Happy Birthday Frisco aka Cinnamons Conclusive!
This was gifted to me by my good friend, Sharon Miesen. It’s a first edition, printed in 1955. I love old books like this one. Love the way they smell, feel, and the way they make me feel. It’s books like this that remind me why I want to be a writer.
This book has seen a lot in its time. It’s been handled and read by many people over the years, mainly young girls most likely. Girls who dream of having their own wild Arabian stallion who loves them the way Flame loves Steve Duncan. I’ll bet this book has heard laughter, tears, and everything in between.
Books can take us to any time and place. Books like this helped me to continue to dream of possibilities in spite of the often-dark circumstances in which I found myself as a young girl. Hope truly is a powerful thing.
My very own Flame (gelding though). Dreams can come true!
I haven’t posted in a while, so just wanted to check in with a quick just for fun post. I picked up these two books at a Half Price Books in Dallas and they are filled with cool Arabian horse history. I shall add them to my growing stack of Arabian horse books which one day I will read and post articles from things learned from said stack of books. Was that a run-on sentence? It seems kind of long. Run on sentences and misplaced, commas are among my greatest writing skills. 😀
Anyhoo…here are some pics from inside these books. Hope everyone is having an awesome Saturday! It’s a little chilly here in north Texas, so I’m reading and writing today. 🙂
So, making these cute Christmas pics of horses is not as easy as one might think. A lot of bribing and coaxing is involved as you will see by the photos and videos below. I wish I had gotten a video of when Flame first walked into the stall and started snorting and stamping because he had never seen a window in the back of a stall before, but alas, I was not prepared.
I haven’t posted in a while so I’m warming back up with this little Christmas themed post. Hope you all enjoy! I hope everyone has the Happiest of Holidays!
Picked up this little beauty at Half Price Books! It’s a little beat up, but being the 1968 edition, it really brings back memories. I first read this glorious story about a young boy and wild black stallion when I was in elementary school in the 1970s, so pretty sure this is the edition I first read. You can read about my introduction to this wonderful book series, here.
I’m re-reading this story for about the 50th time and love it as much as the first time! When I finish it this time, I’ll post a review, but spoiler alert…it will be a 5-star review for sure!
I hope all of you are well and staying safe. My plan is to re-read the entire series, so, many reviews will be forthcoming. Also continuing to work on The Red Filly and hoping to have the first draft finished by the end of winter. I hope 2022 will be a good year for all of us!
Thanksgiving with Eddie Arcaro up after winning the 1936 Travers Stakes (photo-BloodHorse Library)
So I came across this article from Bloodhorse today while perusing Facebook about the first woman to train a Travers Stakes winner, and in the 1930s no less!
The article features the horse because he was appropriately named for an article posted on Thanksgiving. This horse was even struck by lightning, but went on to win the Travers after fully recovering from that injury.
Mary Hirsch was his trainer and she opened the door for women trainers to start being taken seriously in the male dominated horse racing industry.
George Bull presents Mary Hirsch with the 1936 Diana Stakes trophy at Saratoga Race Course. (The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame)
I haven’t posted in a while, but thought this was an interesting read. For the full article click here:
This post is just for fun because I received these beautiful books from Much Ado About Horses today! I haven’t read them yet of course, but wanted to post a few pictures because I love them so much! Much Ado About Horses is a website that sells hard to find and out of print Arabian horse books. They mailed these to me within a couple of days of ordering them and in excellent condition so I highly recommend them! Check out, muchadoabouthorses.com.
So, the great debate, sorrel vs. chestnut. In my opinion, Flame is a sorrel horse, however, the Arabian Horse Association doesn’t recognize that color, so he is registered as chestnut.
Wikipedia says that there is no difference between the two colors: “Sorrel is a reddish coat color in a horse lacking any black. It is a term that is usually synonymous with chestnut and one of the most common coat colors in horses. Some regions and breed registries distinguish it from chestnut, defining sorrel as a light, coppery shade, and chestnut as a browner shade. However, in terms of equine coat color genetics there is no known difference between sorrel and chestnut. Solid reddish-brown color is a base color of horses, caused by the recessive e gene.”
If you search Wikipedia for the terms sorrel (horse) or chestnut (horse), the same horse is pictured:
The funny thing is, I would have called this a dun horse or maybe a red dun horse. So confused!
Timmy-the half Haflinger
As for my rescue horse, Timmy, I’ve always considered him chestnut, but I’ve heard others refer to him as sorrel. I know that many people consider sorrel, the lighter color and chestnut the darker color, but I’ve always thought the opposite.
The American Haflinger Registry agrees with me:
“The specialty of the Haflinger lies, of course, in its unique golden chestnut coloring with a long, flowing white mane and tail.”
In conclusion, I’ll continue to apply the terms sorrel and chestnut the way I want to, in regard to my own horses anyway! 😀
Flame and his half-brother, Blaze=sorrelHoney=chestnutFrisco=sorrelTimmy=chestnut, okay golden chestnutPatriot=grey
Wait, how did Patriot get on this post?! He’s not my horse; belongs to The Franch, but he sure is beautiful!
Dreaming of Arabians 