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The Equestrian Wisdom and History Literary Collection

It has been argued that when you deprive people of words you restrict their thoughts, deny their inspiration and diminish their possibilities of life. Sadly the equestrian words and ideas which could inspire and change lives in the 21st century seem to have fallen out of fashion. This alarming development has been encouraged by the disappearance of essential equestrian titles from the past, and a lack of academic investigation in the present. The result has been the dawning of an age of collective equine academic amnesia, one wherein great authors are forgotten and new authors are neglected.

In contrast to the academic works and equine discoveries brought about in the late 19th century by the mutual efforts of noted equine scientist Cossar Ewart and world-travelled equestrian author, Horace Hayes, too many of today’s equine works are indicative of the equestrian narcissism of the West, with its preoccupation with outmoded and harmful equestrian methods based on western Europe’s misunderstanding of the horse and an outdated allegiance to the charade of mounted nobility.

There is an equal danger from the rise of modern self-styled experts who are interested in labels, not ideas, and who promote the increasing bourgeoisification of the horse.

Together they have combined to create equine works of mind-numbing opaqueness, in a language of turgidity, designed to promote the outdated myths and plodding prejudices inherited from European, Roman and Greek pedestrian origins.

This has brought about the nadir of intellectual equestrian investigation, one where many of today’s equine authors have abandoned the practice of sceptical inquiry in favour of a misguided preference to an idealized past.

The Long Riders’ Guild’s new Equestrian Wisdom and History series is designed to re-publish the most important equestrian books previously written, as well as publishing indispensable new works by the world’s leading equine academics, equine investigative journalists and riders. There are approximately one hundred titles scheduled for production and the books will be available in a host of languages.

For more information regarding forthcoming titles, or to suggest a title for this literary collection, please contact The Long Riders’ Guild Press.

Here are the titles currently available in this exciting new collection.

Whisper on the Wind - The Story of Tom Bass, Celebrated Black Horseman
by Bill Downey

 

 

 

Before Jackie Robinson ever donned a Dodger uniform - there was Tom Bass. Before Rosa Parks ever demanded a seat in the front of the bus - there was Tom Bass. Before Martin Luther King ever had a dream - there was Tom Bass. Before Barack Obama ever ran for President - there was the legend of Tom Bass - the black horse whisperer. Born a slave, Tom Bass rose to the summit of what had always been a white man's profession, the training of the America's greatest Saddlebred horses. At nine years old this Mozart of the equestrian world used his extraordinary natural talent to teach an outlaw mule who couldn't even be handled to canter backwards. An advocate of gentleness and patience, Bass turned dangerous horses into reliable mounts - without ever raising his voice or using a whip. His immense knowledge of equine psychology allowed the man who had been born in a slave cabin to invent a revolutionary and humane bit, still in use today. Yet Bass's greatest achievements were in the saddle, not in the training ring. What he was able to entice horses to do defies belief. His consummate skill and immense empathy with horses allowed him to produce horses of such exquisite proficiency that their accomplishments are still remembered today. Buffalo Bill's famous white horse, Columbus, was one such legendary talent. Bass was able largely to transcend the race barrier because he was accounted the greatest horseman of the late nineteenth century. The first black American ever to ride in Madison Square Garden, in an age when racial segregation ruled the nation, Tom Bass was the mounted friend of five presidents of the United States, including Teddy Roosevelt. Upon Tom's death in 1934, his name was a household word, synonymous with equestrian feats of unparalleled beauty and achievement. Then his story faded into oblivion, until this fascinating biography of America's most remarkable black horseman was rescued from the shadows.

Please visit Barnes & Noble or Amazon.co.uk to buy a copy of this book.

Equus -
The Natural History of the Horse, Ass, Onager, Quagga and Zebra

Charles Hamilton Smith

 

 

 

 

 

Before the advent of machines, horses ruled supreme. They were the solace and servant of mankind in a life still devoid of railroads and automobiles. Thus in a world dominated by horses, the appearance of a book containing humanity’s collective equine knowledge marked an important event, especially as this was no example of obsolete scholarship. Though published in 1841, the book more accurately reflected the eighteenth century, with its total reliance on equines, rather than the technological fascination characterizing the emerging Victorian era.

The resulting book, written by the period’s most imminent equine naturalist, was a masterpiece of Equus erudition. An English soldier turned scientist, Charles Hamilton Smith was concerned that the public was being misled by erroneous accounts or the absence of accurate information. To rectify this error, he set about enabling equestrian essentials to emerge from obscurity, thereby authoring a book which became the principal authority on all aspects of horse-related wisdom. Smith consulted, translated and transcribed every type of original texts, including works in Greek, Latin, Arabic and many Oriental sources. Nor was any topic off limits. Rare legal records detailing Welsh laws against horse abuse were unearthed. An early genetic examination of curly haired horses in Columbia was presented. Eyewitnesses were interviewed who had seen wild sultan-stallions attacking predators in Central Asia.

Yet the mounted author’s most astonishing accomplishment was the careful documentation of more than a hundred ancient and extinct breeds, including the Katschenstzi of Tartary, a shining black horse with a white mane and the Sardinian wild horse, an indigenous animal not imported by man.

Sadly, despite the book’s incredible research and resources, it was doomed to be eclipsed by a rapidly-changing social landscape. The result is that this new edition is an equestrian time capsule, complete with the lost expertise of another age. With a Preface by modern Britain’s renowned equestrian historian, Dr. Elaine Walker, this timeless book also contains Smith’s original colour prints of ancient, rare and extinct equids.

To buy a copy of this book, please visit Barnes & Noble or  contact the LRG-AF

Russian Hussar

Vladimir Littauer

Vladimir Littauer served in the Russian Imperial Cavalry from 1911 to 1920. This book recounts, with humour and modesty, his experiences as a cadet at the Nicholas Cavalry School in St. Petersburg, through the hair-raising struggles of the First World War and the trauma of the Russian Revolution, to his escape in 1920. By the time you turn the last page, you will feel as if you have galloped beside the author through the early years of his amazing life.

As Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart writes in the Foreword, this is quite the best book on its subject ever written, and is essential reading for anyone with an interest in cavalry warfare, life under the Czar or European military history.

Littauer arrived in the United States in 1921, and shortly thereafter founded the famous Boots and Saddles Riding School in New York. For the next sixty years he taught successive generations of riders and teachers, and revolutionised riding in the United States and overseas. He wrote ten books on equitation and training, all of which are full of long experience, a deep love of horses, and plenty of common sense.

For more information, please go to Amazon.co.uk or Barnes & Noble

Horseman's Progress

Vladimir Littauer

This book presents the story of educated riding since its inception four centuries ago. Vladimir Littauer relates in a most entertaining way how dressage was improved; how forward riding was developed by an Italian cavalry officer and how the new natural method for field riding and jumping swept dressage into the background. It is a gold mine of accurate, intelligent, and authoritative instruction – much more than mere history.

The book is divided into four parts which show how the customs and ways of life in different periods have affected the horseman's progress. Court, cavalry and sport have all had their influence.

Littauer also discusses modern riding in Italy, France, Germany, England and the United States and each country's contribution to the development of riding. The vista that unfolds in the development of modern riding will fascinate those who ride, teach or compete.

Vladimir Littauer was an officer in the Russian Imperial Cavalry and fought on horseback in the First World War and the Revolution. His knowledge and understanding of horses is unsurpassed, and he writes with humour and common sense.

Horseman’s Progress is essential reading for anyone who is interested in the history of horsemanship and who wants to obtain a better relationship with his horse.

 

For more information, please go to Amazon.co.uk or Barnes & Noble

Clever Hans and the Elberfeld Horses

Maurice Maeterlinck


 

 

 

 

 

In the early days of the 20th century, the world was agog to learn that a German stallion named Clever Hans could apparently communicate with humans. The discovery of this remarkable animal, who could supposedly also spell and tell time, caused such an uproar that the German government appointed the “Hans Commission” to investigate the astonishing claims. With the New York Times and other papers anxiously awaiting the outcome, the Commission concluded in September, 1904 that no tricks were involved. A sceptical psychologist however declared that the horse’s owner was guilty of inadvertently signalling the answers to Hans.

The result was an impassioned debate, one which resulted in a wealthy German businessman named Karl Krall announcing he had trained three other horses which were smarter than Hans. These horses could not only solve complex mathematical calculations and recognise people, he said, they could also transmit the correct answer to questions via the newly-invented telephone. Plus, to offset scientific critics, one of Krall’s horses was blind!

In the midst of this equestrian scientific brawl, the Nobel Laureate, Maurice Maeterlinck, announced he was going to travel from his Belgian home and personally inspect these educated German horses. Having been granted complete freedom to test the horses in a variety of ways, he concluded, “You rub your eyes and ask yourself in the presence of what new creature you stand. You look for some trace, obvious or subtle, of the mystery. You feel yourself attacked in your innermost citadel where you held yourself impregnable.”

Was it all a colossal fraud? The psychologists, who have spent a hundred years denouncing Clever Hans and Karl Krall’s horses, are still quick to say it was. Yet even their denunciation wasn’t originally unanimous. In a detailed report, Edmund Sanford, one of America’s founding psychologists, reluctantly admitted that he could not conclusively denounce the horses’ scholastic abilities.

With the outbreak of the First World War it all became a moot point, as the horses were slain and the majority of the original documents were lost to posterity. This is the first modern attempt to re-examine the mystery of Clever Hans and his fellow educated horses. This ground-breaking study includes Maeterlinck’s original eye-witness observations, extracts from Karl Krall’s rare German book explaining how he trained the horses to achieve such remarkable results, and Sanford’s detailed psychological report. The mystery of Clever Hans and Krall’s horses still intrigues equestrian scholars and this analysis will provide vital information designed to reconsider the startling question – can horses communicate with humans?

 

To buy this book, please visit Barnes & Noble or Amazon.co.uk.

Mounted Archery in the Americas

Edited by David Gray and Lukas Novotny

This fascinating and amply illustrated book charts the history of mounted archery from its ancient roots on the steppes of Eurasia thousands of years ago to its current resurgence in popularity in the Americas. It also provides the reader with up-to-the-minute practical information gleaned from a unique team of the world’s leading experts.

Mounted archery is shooting the bow and arrow from horseback at the canter and after a century and a half of neglect on the Great Plains of North America, interest in this thrilling activity is rapidly spreading from the Arctic Circle to the Tropic of Capricorn.

This is the story of the reappearance of this exciting discipline in the Americas.

Horseback archery has its origins in two of the great grasslands of the world—the United States Great Plains, and the vast steppes of Eurasia. As far back as 3,000 years ago Asian mounted warriors thundered down on their enemies in lightning surprise attacks, loosing showers of arrows which stunned and hopelessly dissembled their pedestrian opposition.

The horseback archery culture of the American Indians reached a similar level of development and sophistication, but emerged much later and was a shorter phenomenon. Horses spread north from the Spanish colony of Mexico through the Plains beginning in the mid 1600’s, but this dynamic equestrian culture virtually vanished with the demise of the buffalo in the mid 1800’s.

Yet this mounted tradition was revived when, in 1998, Kassai Lajos, the legendary Hungarian founder of the modern standardized discipline of mounted archery, came to the United States for now-legendary demonstration. The world’s leading mounted archer returned for three subsequent training camps which inspired many others to take up the sport. Since then, mounted archery has spread with great enthusiasm across the United States, Canada and South America. This challenging and engaging discipline is promoted by the Mounted Archery Association of the Americas, and the royalties from this ground-breaking study of this ancient equestrian art are being donated to this Association.
For more information, please visit Barnes & Noble or
Amazon.co.uk.

Horses
The celebrated study of mankind's closest ally, by the distinguished Frontier philosopher. 

Roger Pocock

 

 

Roger Pocock’s life reads like a fairytale full of adventure. A childhood cut short to go to sea, then service with the Canadian North West Mounted Police in 1885, followed by stints as a war correspondent, Yukon gold miner, South African army scout, and “missionary to hostile tribes.” In between he formed the Legion of Frontiersmen, organized the original World Flight by airplane and was the first person in history to ride the length of the infamous Outlaw Trail.

When he was wasn’t seeking excitement, Pocock could be found writing.

Though most of the prolific author’s work predictably revolved around the exciting episodes of his own life, or the other men of action he knew, Pocock’s most famous foray into academic study was his rightfully famous book, “Horses.” In today’s equine-friendly world it is difficult to imagine how revolutionary Pocock’s observations about horses were at the time.

A lifelong student of equine behaviour, Pocock set out to document the wisdom of his age into a book unique for its time. His concerns for attempting to preserve equestrian knowledge were based on cruel reality. More than 300,000 horses had been destroyed during the recent Boer War. To make matters worse, “Horses” was penned by Pocock while he was serving with the British army, stationed behind the trenches during the First World War.

With bombs bursting overhead, Pocock poured onto these pages the things his equine friends had taught him.  “If one thinks of a horse as a little child, one cannot go far wrong.”  “When my horse forgets his manners, I examine my conduct to find where I am to blame.”

“The human mind may be likened unto a stable with horses all in a row. That strong team Tradition and Custom are overworked. Bias and Prejudice have plenty to do. Passion and Vice get an occasional airing, and Vanity has daily exercise. But Reason is kept in his stall. He is not popular with the other horses. Let us try him.”

Though Pocock enjoyed a reputation for dangerous living, his observations on horses were praised by the leading thinkers of his day. Professor Cossar Ewart, whose study on the origin of horses drew positive praise from Charles Darwin, wrote the Preface to Pocock’s book.

Here then is a true “lost masterpiece” of equestrian study, penned by one of the most unique men ever to mount a horse or lift a pen.

 

For more information, please visit Barnes & Noble or Amazon.co.uk.

Horses of the Conquest

R. B. Cunninghame Graham


In this modern-day era, with its inherent safeties and pasturised heroes, how difficult it is to relate to the bold men and their brave horses who came to the New World.

Much has been written about those Europeans known as the Conquistadors.

Beginning with Columbus in the late 15th century, Iberian horses accompanied their riders across turbulent seas, over miles of mountain trails, through steaming jungles, and into cities of golden splendour. These saddle-borne conquerors were quick to admit that, after God, they owed their good fortune to their horses.

Many books have recorded or reviled the Conquistadors.

No book ever equalled this equine account of the horses that helped them make history.

The author, Don Roberto Cunninghame Graham, was uniquely qualified to pen such an important equestrian tale. Born in 1852 to a aristocratic Scottish family, Cunninghame Graham spent his youth working as a gaucho in Argentina, before becoming an outspoken Member of Parliament in London. A lifelong horseman, Don Roberto was also one of the first European writers to defend the rights of native peoples.

Fluent in Spanish, Cunninghame Graham did extensive research into Spain’s archives, thereby discovering manuscripts which had lain unread for centuries. The result was a book written, Don Roberto says, out of gratitude to the horses who shaped history. Amply illustrated with drawings of period horses, their riders and various pieces of equestrian equipment, “Horses of the Conquest” remains one of the most important equestrian books ever published.
Click here to go to Barnes & Noble or Amazon.co.uk

They Rode into Europe

Miklós Jankovich

(Translated by Anthony Dent)

While the average history book is full of dates and events, or battles and inventions, such books are generally penned by pedestrians who lack the equestrian insight necessary to accurately comprehend, study and comment on the impact Central Asian mounted culture had on the development of European society. Yet this remarkable book combines the academic excellence of two of the 20th century’s leading equestrian experts. The result is the astonishing They Rode Into Europe.

It was written by the famed Hungarian horseman and author, Miklos Jankovich. The author, who had access to records in the Magyar language beyond the reach of most Western European researchers, used a vast array of little-known historical information to create a coherent, comprehensive and authoritative picture of the relationship between mounted cultures from the earliest times to the late twentieth century.

The translator, Anthony Dent, was rightly considered to be one of England’s finest equestrian scholars. This very well-known writer on horses supplemented the amply illustrated text with his own interpolations (marked as such) in those passages which have a special bearing on Britain and North America.

Together, Jankovich and Dent created an equestrian study of unparalleled importance. The history of the world was shaped to a large extent by men on horseback who, because of the animals under them, were able to travel great distances, thus bringing about that exchange of ideas and inventions which is a fundamental requisite of human progress.

Thanks to the work of these two equestrian academic pioneers, the result of their research in the fields of history, ethnology, archaeology and the study of the horse, is once again available in a readable work which explains how horses played a central role in man’s cultural, social, and economic development.

 

For more information, please go to Amazon.co.uk or Barnes & Noble.

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