My Little Ponies

Horses were a focal point of my childhood. I read about them, drew them, collected statues of them, rode them, and pretended to be one of them. Now, all grown up and living in the Bluegrass, horses have reprised their role in my life. Mostly, I read horse-centric books. Yet better than books about horses are blogs about them—which have become my new favorite diversion from the “Current Reading Lineup” list.

Tons of horse blogs live on the Web. Whatever your pleasure or need is—dressage, jumping, training, medical care, racing, breeding—there’s surely a blog for it. And one for each horse breed to boot. I wanted to share links with you to a few blogs I’ve been following recently because you may like them too. Each has horses with outsized personalities and writers who know how to illuminate them for readers.

Of course, I’ve a fondness for rescue tales and two blogs deliver on that: Saving Faith: Fighting to Survive and From Hell to Heaven: Saving Argus. Both focus on a single horse rescued from severe neglect. The only drawback is that you have to read one post at a time, starting with the first (which is listed last) and move forward by date. Though Faith’s story ended in 2010, it’s still worthwhile to read; Argus’s story continues to unfold. Augustus’ Reign is a different kind of rescue: giving a home to a wild Mustang. The author covers Mustangs in general and the work of Shiloh Horse Rescue.

If you want to live vicariously through some equestrians, try The Literary Horse, Grey Horse Matters, and Tucker the Wunderkind.

What I love about all these blogs is how the community steps in to help in the comments section—whether it’s medical info, training tips, foster care, legal suggestions, or just a word of encouragement or support. I may not have a horse now, but if I ever do, I will have learned much of what I need to know through bloggers.

All these blogs will link you to more horse blogs. You’ll have a list of your own favorites in no time. And you’ll understand why I’m so easily diverted from my book list.

[Pics from top to bottom: Faith from Saving Faith; Augustus (in the middle) from Augustus’ Reign; and Blue from Grey Horse Matters.]