by Edward Hart
British, hardcover, first edition, Batsford, 1981
One of the great all-time books on heavy horses from Great Britain, from one of my all-time favorite authors and horse writers. Strong on the Shire horse, this book explains the showing system and goes through buying, training, show preparation, decorated classes (wow!), vehicles for cart and driving events, juding, open days, ploughing matches, etc.
It even has a chapter on farrier competitions featuring photos of, I do believe, the late great Mr. Eric Plant FWCF at the Great Yorkshire Show. I can "hear" him speaking through the text on why the inside branch might be thinned or the toe clip offset and just what bevelling is all about.
There are refererences to individual horses who worked for Thwaites and other breweries--right down to how they wore their shoes. Favorite tip: use pig oil to keep a mane in its place and as a hoof oil.
I love this book and have a copy myself that I treasure. It is rare to see one these days. This is in great shape, flap was price-clipped so it was a gift to someone who probably never read it. They missed a lot. $20 plus post.
Fire Engines, Firefighters: The Men, Equipment and Machines from Colonial Days to the Present
by Paul Ditzel
Rutledge/Crown Press, hardcover, 1976
They left "the horses" out of the title, but they certainly did not leave the horses out of the book! Much on horse-drawn fire engines and many great old photos of fire horses! Great photo of a team of grays from the Los Angeles Fire Department getting hitched with the famous drop-down harness. A heart-breaking photo of the gray middle horse in a three-abreast team going down on the street. Even the non-horse content is great in this book. No dust jacket, rubs on front endpaper from old tape remnants (probably a gift note?) otherwise like-new condition. $20 plus post and sooooo worth it!
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