If you love books, this is the perfect place for you. Once a month, Heather, Ute, and sometimes Krystal, will talk about their favorite horsey book. In today’s episode of the EQA Book Club, Heather and Ute talk about the new genre of Equestrian Fiction and how it has evolved from pony books, a genre we all know from our childhood. We talk about some of the books we read as children and some we have read more recently. We also discuss what it takes to write equestrian fiction successfully and why it has seen a huge proliferation in the last fifteen years. Join us on this journey through the world of horse books and down memory lane.
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Equestrian Fiction – A new genre for grown-up horse girls!
Who has not read The Black Stallion or My Friend Flicka as a horse girl? I devoured all those pony books as a child and teen but eventually outgrew them and never really found decent adult horse fiction until recently. Thanks to the growing market of self-publishers and ebooks, equestrian fiction for adults has grown into a genre of its own with lots of great book written by horsemen and horsewomen turned writers, therefore today you will find a ton of great horse books for adults.
Horse Romance
A good romance book is the perfect escape from the sometimes harsh reality, especially when it features horses. Horse romance is the only section of horse books which has been published by traditional publishing houses and till today is probably most widely read by lots of women.
- In the Reins by Carly Kade
- Her Summer at Pemberly by Sallianne Hines
- Riders by Jilly Cooper
Horse Travel & Adventure
The Long Rider’s Guilt was probably one of the first agencies publishing books about travels and adventures on horseback. There are books which have been written in the 18th and 19th century and which read like a journey back in time. But also today there are lots of interesting books written by and about modern Equestrian Adventuresses.
- Horse Nomads collected by Krystal Kelly
- Wild Horses of the Summer Sun by Tory Bilski
- Rough Magic – Riding the World’s loneliest Horse Race by Lara Prior-Palmer
Non-fictional Horse books
There are so many educational books on horses out there about every imaginable topic. Nowadays you will also get a lot of biographical and autobiographical books on horses.
- For the Love of Horses by Kelly Wilson
- Horses Never Lie by Mark Rashid
- Natural Horsemanship Explained by Robert M.Miller
- Travel Guide for Equestrians by Krystal Kelly
- The EQA Educational Horse Book List
Pony Books
- The Black Stallion by Walter Farley
- Misty of Chincoteague by Maguerite Henry
- My Friend Flicka by Mary O’Hara
Don’t forget to check out the resources section in this article!
Highlights
- Pony Books
- Stereotypes in pony books & horse fiction
- How did Equestrian Fiction evolve
- Non fiction books
- Books vs Ebooks
Thank you for tuning in and happy trails!
Special Announcement
Do you love to read or listen to horsey books and stories? Then you should have a look at our EQA Book Series, now available as paperbacks, e-books, and audiobooks.
Five books, packed with exciting true-life stories written by women from all around the world about the adventures they had with horses!
Follow a vet on her adventures in the Namibian Bush, an ex-pat winning a showjumping medal in Italy, a British family with two toddlers crossing Patagonia on horseback, or a German girl finding her dream horse on an Indian horse market.
Meanwhile our fifth book Horse Nomads has just been released and like all the others is packed with exciting stories of women adventuring with horses in France, Greece, Mongolia, Lesotho & India.

Do you feel that we are missing out on an important topic? Or maybe you have an interesting story to tell? Contact Heather or Ute!
Resources
- EQA Book Club Episode For the Love of Horses – Kelly Wilson
- EQA Book Club Episode In the Reins – Carly Kade
- Horse Travel Book List – 44 Inspirational Adventure Books
- 10 Must-Read Horse Books for Adults
- The EQA Eductional Horse Book List
- EQA Book Club Shop
- EQA Online Shop
Thanks for listening to our EQA Book Club Episode: Equestrian Fiction!
