Christina Wilsdon - For Horse-Crazy Girls Only: Everything You Want to Know About Horses

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For Sophie Jean, my own horse-crazy girl C.W.

To Michael, Max, and the special horses in my lifeUnique, Ambition, and Heather A.U.

Dear Horse-Crazy Girls,

When I was a little girl, I wasnt able to have a horse of my own, but I never let that get in the way of my obsession with horses. I loved everything about themand I still do!

From collecting Breyer models to reading classics like Misty of Chincoteague and The Black Stallion, to watching movies like National Velvet and The Man from Snowy River, I kept my love of horses alive by surrounding myself with horsey things and reading everything I could about them.

This passion for horses led me to pursue a career in the horse industry, where Ive enjoyed a variety of positions in journalism, marketing, and product development for companies such as the American Horse Shows Association (now USEFUnited States Equestrian Foundation) and Breyer. Its been wonderful to work with my favorite subjectthe horseevery day, and earn a living doing so!

Thats why Im so excited to share For Horse-Crazy Girls Only with youbecause now you have the opportunity to make horses a part of your everyday world, too. The author, Christina Wilsdon, has compiled an AMAZING collection of equine informationfacts, fictions, and lore. She was guided and helped in this endeavor by her own horse-crazy girl, Sophie, and by all the horse-crazy girls (now grown up) here at Breyer. This fun, fact-filled book about horses was beautifully illustrated by another horse-crazy gal, Alecia Underhill.

For Horse-Crazy Girls Only has lots of great stuff about all things horsey, and I especially love all the engaging sidebars and facts that Chris has assembled. I know that every member of our team here at Breyer learned something from it that they didnt know before.

So, from all the horse-crazy staff at Breyer, we hope you enjoy this wonderful book and its fantastic illustrations.

Keep your horse dreams alive, and enjoy the ride!

Stephanie Macejko

Vice President of Marketing

Breyer

If youre reading this book, youre probably a horse-crazy girl.

And if you are horse crazy, you know just why horses are so great! Theyre beautiful. And fast. And lovely to watch, whether theyre grazing peacefully or galloping with manes and tails flying.

Horses can become your friends, too. Theyre social animals, so they like hanging around with their palsother horses as well as you! And because theyre social, they pick up on how other horses feel, and they can also sense your mood.

Horses are smart, and their memory is excellent. If you win the friendship of a horse, youve got a friend for life! Thats a big responsibility. Both humbling and empowering. But if you click with the horse, youll just feel right together.

Riding horses is an experience in itself. But being horse crazy isnt just about riding horses. That wouldnt explain why horse-crazy girls draw them, hang around them, read about them, and muck out their stalls. Its a life-long adventure.

Being horse crazy will surely lead you down some bridle trails, but it can also take you on many other paths, too. It took me on a path to being a writer, and to writing this book.

You can read For Horse-Crazy Girls Only in any order. Just open the book and jump to whatever topic grabs your interest first.

I hope this book inspires you to follow your own horse-filled dreams, and to become the best you that you can be.

From one horse-crazy gal (now all grown up and still horse crazy!) to another,

Christina Wilsdon

P.S. I thought that this book wouldnt be complete without a little input from an actual horse-crazy girl still growing up! So youll see comments from my young teenage daughter, Sophie, throughout the book. She didnt share my enthusiasm for horses right out of the starting gate (when she was two and I urged her to hop aboard a little pony named Rhubarb, she gave me a Look and said, YOU ride the pony). But it wasnt long before she chose to be enchanted by horses after all. She started riding when she was six, and she now volunteers as a groom and helper at the stable where she takes lessons.

Lots of girls like horses. Lots of girls may even say they love horses. But how do you know if youve gone off the edge into horse crazy? Simple: Just take this quiz and find out! Query your horsey friends, too.

1. Your first favorite animal is a horse. Your second is

a. a dog

b. a cat

c. a horse

2. The last three books you read for fun were about

a. romance

b. vampires

c. horses

3. Your bedroom walls are covered with posters. Most of them are pictures of

a. celebrities

b. kittens

c. horses

4. It drives you crazy when

a. you cant find matching socks

b. your favorite breakfast cereal is all gone

c. you see a picture in a horse book that has the bridle straps in all the wrong places: Whats up with that?

5. Which of the following statements is true about you?

a. Id rather vacuum than muck out a stall.

b. Id rather clean the cats litter box than muck out a stall.

c. Id rather muck out a stall than clean my room.

6. Most of the shelf space in your room that isnt devoted to books is given over to

a. your collection of nail-polish colors

b. your doll collection

c. your model-horse collection

7. Every year, your holiday gift wish list has this in the number-one position:

a. new clothes

b. a Wii

c. a horse

8. The margins of your notebooks are filled with doodled drawings of

a. poodles

b. flowers

c. horses

9. You think horses smell

a. horrible

b. kind of musty

c. great

10. Why might somebody say you have a good seat?

a. because theyre being rude

b. because they like your chair

c. because you ride well

11. The first thing that comes to mind when you think of a halter is

a. a kind of skimpy shirt

b. someone who tells you not to run in the hall

c. headgear for a horse

12. If a friend borrowed one of your T-shirts, chances are that it would sport a picture of

a. a daisy

b. a naughty monkey

c. a horse

Are most (if not all) of your answers c? If so, you are certifiably, undeniably, irrefutably, positively, emphatically, definitely, absolutely, unquestionably, totally hopelessly horse crazy!

There isnt a horse-crazy girl anywhere who doesnt dream about the horse shell have someday.

What does your dream horse look like? Have you ever drawn or painted a picture of it, or written about it? What would you name it? Give your dream horse a personalitywith its individual likes and dislikes. Imagine a back story for your horsethe story of its life before it met you.