ISBN 159048052X

ISBN 1590481720

The Cavalry Horse and his Pack, Lieut. Jonathan Boniface - This is quite simply the most important book ever written in the English language by a military man on the subject of equestrian travel.

It was designed to be used by the United States cavalry. Yet it differs from traditional army manuals in that instead of emphasizing mounted maneuvering, it concentrates on the preparation and practice of journeying on horseback. If you want to learn how cavalry men charged into battle waving sabers, this isn’t the book for you. If you want to learn how to properly pack and ride a horse over extremely long distances, then you are holding the cavalry man’s sacred text in your hands.

The author, Lieutenant Jonathan Boniface, traveled from Asia to Europe in search of the most valuable equestrian travel knowledge. He lists seventy-eight primary sources, including the finest equestrian scholars of the time, from a variety of countries. Boniface takes the reader through the step by step process of finding the best riding horse, proper saddling, rules for daily travel, care of the horse, and possible dangers. He also devotes a section of the book to working and traveling with pack horses and mules. At more than five hundred pages, the book represents the largest international study of its kind. Plus, the text is packed with nearly two hundred excellent photographs and diagrams. It is a superb literary achievement !

At the dawn of the 20th century experts were busy predicting the imminent demise of the horse. Mankind’s most historically influential comrade would make way for the automobile, cynics said.  Yet the young author of this remarkable volume disagreed with the critics.

No machine of steam and steel, of cog or cam, no vapor-fed motor, no craft propelled by batteries or boilers would ever successfully displace the horse from our on-going needs, advised Boniface.

Part text book, part history book and all inspiration, “The Cavalry Horse and his Pack” is the lasting tribute to the great horseman and talented writer who foresaw the day when horse travel would once again flourish and a book such as this one would be cherished by unforeseen generations of Long Riders, cavalry students and horse lovers.

Go to Amazon.co.uk or Barnes & Noble.

ISBN 159048049X 

The Horse Travel Journal, Edited byCuChullaine O'Reilly - The critical need for a standardized Horse Travel Journal was recognized by the Founding Members of The Long Riders’ Guild in the year 2000, during their first international meeting of equestrian explorers. All of these mounted travellers shared stories about their assorted unsuccessful efforts to maintain a written record of their equestrian adventures. Though various literary avenues had been tried, no one had devised a book specifically designed to record the equestrian occurrences encountered during these long and often perilous journeys.

Thus was born the need and desire to publish a book intended to register the most important comments and observations of the world’s Long Riders.  It has been designed to fit into a standard saddle bag. Every daily diary entry in The Horse Travel Journal allows the Long Rider to make concise notes on the specifics of that day’s journey, the condition of the horses, problems encountered, etc. Additional pages are provided for personal recollections about daily events.

In addition, at the rear of the book, The Horse Travel Journal contains the world’s first Long Rider Pictionary. In their initial meeting it was discovered that despite the fact that many of the Long Rides were fluent in several foreign languages, normal linguistic training did not include the necessary equestrian terms often encountered during the course of such a journey. How does one say “have you seen my stallion” in Mongolian at midnight, for example? Now, with the aid of the Long Rider Pictionary, the equestrian traveller can point to the object in question in his or her search for local linguistic assistance.

ISBN 1590482379  

The Wagon Travel Handbook, David Renwick Grant - Until the dawning of the 20th century wagons of all sorts, shapes and sizes were mankind’s main mode of travel. From donkey dray to ducal carriage, prairie schooner to farm cart, wagons assisted mankind with his labour or liberated him to explore the world. Sadly one of the victims of the internal combustion engine was the ancient art of wagon travel.

Even in this day of GPS satellites and computerised cars, there are those who aspire instead to see the world glide by no faster than the trot of their gently pacing horse-drawn wagon.  Yet had you longed to learn how to undertake a wagon journey, who could have taught you the everyday skills needed to travel across a host of countries and climates? You would have sought in vain for a guide to this lost knowledge - until now.

This is the finest book ever penned about modern wagon travel, a volume which embodies a wealth of hard-earned experience and lore gained by David Grant. He is the legendary Scottish wagon-master who journeyed around the world with his family in a horse-drawn wagon, thereby gaining entry into The Guinness Book of World Records.

Grant has filled The Wagon Travel Handbook with all the practical information a first time-wagon traveller will need before setting out, including sections on interior and exterior wagon design, choice of draught animals, veterinary requirements and frontier formalities. Also included are valuable personal accounts gleaned from other modern wagon masters interviewed for this book, including the young couple travelling from Pennsylvania to Patagonia and the family who has spent the last five years slowly discovering the beauties of Europe. Their collective problems, and inventive solutions, are presented in this amply illustrated volume, as is the remarkable story of the most famous wagon traveller of the 19^th century.

If you have ever yearned to set off on the journey of a lifetime aboard a horse-drawn wagon, then this is the book that will turn that dream into a reality. Or perhaps you’re an armchair traveller who merely wishes to enjoy a vicarious read and ride? Either way, this book will delight and inform your voyage of discovery.  For more information, please go to Amazon.co.uk or Barnes & Noble.

ISBN 1590480465

Horses, Saddles and Bridles, General William Carter - General William Harding Carter served with the United States Sixth Calvary and was considered one of that country’s foremost experts on both the horse and his equipment. This volume covers a wide range of topics including basic training of the horse, care of its equipment, managing a stable, and riding methods.

Additionally, “Horses, Saddles and Bridles” provides a fascinating look back into equestrian travel history. Carter provides case studies of various cavalry campaigns, detailing for example how Napoleon lost more than 186,000 horses in his ill-fated Russian campaign!

Amply illustrated, this rediscovered classic remains fascinating reading for students of the horse or history.

ISBN 1590480635