Member Reviews
This was a beautiful book with incredible photos. I enjoy painting horses. This book was helpful to me to study the anatomy of a horse and see different photos of Horses to inspire my paintings.
This book would be a great coffee table book.
I received this book from NetGalley.
This book contains a splendid selection of large full colour photos of horses, by several different photographers. I particularly like that draught breeds are given equal prominence with saddle breeds. The information with each photo is concise and gets across the information well. As the breeder of a Suffolk Punch says of her foal, this breed is rarer than the panda.
Many of the uses to which horses have been and are being put, are described. If there is a lack, I'd say it is that no photos of children on ponies are shown (apart from a special needs mount); we do see some ponies, and I suppose there are plenty of pony books for kids. However, the lack may make the book a little less approachable for children. The editor seems to have focused on a book for adults and looked worldwide.
Horse lovers like me who don't have a horse right now, could probably live in this book.
I downloaded an e-ARC from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.
Great book for anyone interested in horses. My children love horses so they really enjoyed us sitting looking through this book. Great source of information
Horses by Paula Hammond is currently scheduled for release on August 14 2020. From the Azteca to the Appaloosa, Choctaw to the Palomina, Brumbys in Australia to the Mongolian, from rare breeds such as the Polish Konik to the semi-feral Pyrenean Pottok, Horses celebrates a wide variety of breeds from all around the world. Ranging from dressage to police horses, from racing horses to rodeo and polo, the book looks at the anatomy and life-cycle of foals and yearlings, colts and fillies, stallions, mares and geldings around the globe. It includes draft horses and warmbloods, light horses and thoroughbreds, gaited horses, ponies and breeds that have become feral. Each photograph is accompanied by a caption with fascinating information about the characteristics of each breed. Illustrated with 200 outstanding color photographs, Horses is an exquisitely produced work packed with lively information about this beloved animal.
Horses is a lovely collection of photographs. Horses are majestic on any given day, even when they are being stubborn or silly. This book does a great job of capturing the wonder of horses, using a wide variety of breeds and landscapes. It was nice to browse through the pages, simply enjoying the images. It was also nice to go through the book in a slower, more thoughtful manner, to read the information offered on horses. I think the text was well written and interesting, but as expected it was the photographs that really captured my attention and kept it as I looked through the book. I think horse lovers, and animal lovers in general, will enjoy the book and find a place for it in their collection.
AUTHOR
Paula Hammond is a prolific writer with an extensive catalogue of successful publications. Her catalogue includes an extensive range of subjects and topics. Her central recurring themes are nature and science; they are her passion.
Hammond began her career as an editor. Since then she has worked as a publisher, educational consultant, copy-writer, ghost-writer, author, and journalist. To date, Paula has written over 50 fiction and non-fiction books for publishers such as Harper Collins, Marshall Cavendish, Scholastic, and World Book. She also writes regular columns and features for a variety of news-stand magazines and journals.
SYNOPSIS
Horses is 224 pages of sheer pleasurable reading for those who appreciate the equine species. Inside this exquisitely illustrated catalogue you will find a myriad of horse breeds. No horse was left behind in this testament to the animal and its noble continence. Most breeds are included from the Appaloosa and the Palomino, to the Konik and the Potok. Horses is a celebration of the many types of equine to be found globally.
Hammond presents a detailed record of the lifecycle of the horse from foal all the way to adulthood. She explains the different terms used to describe young horses such as a foal, a filly, and a colt. She goes on to explain to the reader the different terms for adult horses such as mare, gelding, and stallion. She further explains the unique differences between classifying the animals as horses, ponies, or miniature horses. The author references the different colors used to describe horses such as buckskin, chestnut, roan, paint, and many others. Equine care is also covered. It includes general care, grooming, and related welfare considerations. She includes anatomical illustrations of the animal for greater understanding.
Horses gives a brief description of individual breeds with their specific differences. It describes the anatomy of the horse from its frog to its flank, from its nose to its tail. The book details the duties best suited for each breed; from draft horse to show horses. There are numerous pictures of horses in their individual occupations: show horses, draft horses, ceremonial horses, steeple chase, polo, racing, and many more. Hammond also dedicates a brief portion of the book to the few remaining wild horse herds around the globe.
Hammond includes the history of some of the breeds. She gives a historic perspective on the link between humanity and the species. This includes the past and present-day domestication of equines internationally. She explains how selective breeding is applied in-order-to produce breeds with characteristics that are-seen-as valuable.
The photographs are full, double, and half page spreads of the highest quality, definition, and color. Horses is truly a thing of beauty and will be a joy forever in your collection of equine related literature.
CONCLUSION
Overall, a very nice book. I was ecstatic to be given the opportunity to read and review another of Paula Hammond’s nature-based publications. I recently read and reviewed her Tigers book. You can see that review here. You may also find our review of Beautiful Horses, by Liz Wright you can see it here.
Horses, by Paula Hammond is a stunningly illustrated, beautifully narrated and skillfully written work. Containing 200 high definition, highly colored, rich, photographs that paint an evocative image of the species. So powerful in fact, that you can almost smell the leather, sweat, and soil that is so familiar to horse lovers everywhere.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Paula Hammond, NetGalley and Amber Books for affording me the opportunity to review Horses.
Horses by Paula Hammond. When they added the new app today I was able to add this book. The Horses pictures are beautiful and so is the writing I loved the book. I live across the street from some horses that someone boards in a pasture. I can greatly appreciate the photographs and I will definitely tell people my feelings when the book go live on August 14th. I love your book. Anyone who loves horses would absolutely love this book.
Another gorgeous book from Amber books, full of beautiful photos Or horses and a lot of insightful information.
Definitely recommend this for the horse lovers in your life
Horses is an informative read with beautiful photographs.
An enjoyable coffee table read.
ThankYou to the publisher for the approval in return for an honest review and to Netgalley.
What a beautiful book to get lost in, fabulous photographs along with interesting information about these wonderful creatures, one for browsing would make a great present for any horse lover or an interesting coffee table book. I would definitely buy it.
#Netgalley #Amazon
I really enjoyed this visual journey through a world I don't visit. I am not a horse person, other than to say I love looking at them. This book helped me see them as not only something wonderful to behold, but also fascinating as they are adaptable. I personally liked the close up shots, the images of different hair or color patterns, and the action shots. This book is one that will get lots of check outs in the library from all ages who enjoy learning about these amazing animals or want to revisit a time they remember of being with horses. Thanks for creating such a great title that will appeal to so many. Thanks for the ARC #NetGalley and #AmberBooks #Horses #CoffeeTableBooks
A gorgeous collection of horse photographs. Having a bad day? Look at these awesome horses! Look at their manes! Their shiny, silky coats! Look at the different types of hooves! Look at the working horses, wild horses, horsey horses, mini horses, running horses, resting horses, bucking horses! HORSES! Seriously, if you like horses, and just want something to look at for a while, you’ll need this book.
An Awesome book! The pics where all so beautiful and the writing engaging as it is informative. A must read for any horse person!!!
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been a bit of a horse addict. Unable to own any horses of my own, (and growing up with a pet-stingy step-dad), I’ve had to enjoy the aspects of these beautiful, majestic, and sometimes nutty animals through books and the occasional trail ride with my brother. So, obviously, when I saw Horses: Stunning Photographs from the Equine World on NetGalley, my finger went right to the request button.
I honestly thought it was going to be just pictures since it’s a book of horse photography. I was pleasantly surprised when the book had not only stunning photos, but also tidbits of information, some that I already knew (due to my voracious readings of horse books), but some that I didn’t know. It was great to see something not only beautiful but also educational.
Horses is definitely a book I would pick up after its publication!
Therapeutic riding was recommended by my doctor when I was 5 years old as one of my therapies for Cerebral Palsy. I went to a few different Riding for the Disabled (RDA) riding schools umtil just before I went to University.
It is a time I look back on with fondness, I have also got a collection of horse books, both reference books and novels with plots about horses, or families who own horses.
Horses by Paula Hammond has beautiful photos and can be dipped in and out of or devoured in one sitting. Breeds, foals and other information is clearly explained in the book.
After all thses years of not riding, it was wonderful to revisit my passion for horses through this book.
Huge thanks to Paula Hammond and publisher for my eARC in exchange for an honest revieew.
5 stars.
A wonderful book full of stunning photos and facts about the different breeds of horses.
This book is a must for anyone who enjoys horses
I couldn’t possibly need another horse book, could I? Rhetorical question. The answer is always yes.
This is a beautiful collection of arresting photography, perfect for the coffee table. Short pieces of text offer fairly standard information about horse breeds, use, history. Let’s be honest, though, you don’t buy this particular book for the info, you buy it for the pictures!
An absolutely stunning coffee table book.
Horses are similar to dogs, in that one single species has over time become insanely diverse. The photography in Horses is beautiful and highlights the wide range of appearances and roles that horses can have. While not a truly educational book designed to impart knowledge, I definitely picked up a lot of fun facts and new topics to learn about from the concise captions. The only thing holding me back from giving this a five star rating is that it was a little bit inaccessible if you aren't familiar with a base level of horse terminology. There was opportunity to explain a bit more at the beginning of each section, or even a glossary if they would rather not clutter those landing pages.
Thanks to Netgalley and Amber Books for letting me read an e-ARC of this beautiful book!
I've loved horses since I was a little girl, so I was very excited to read this book and look at the photographs. This book is divided into a few chapters, which each cover a different topic. For example there are chapters with a collection of photographs of breeds, foals and wild horses. Each photo is accompanied by a small description.
This isn't a book full of extraordinary photography like you've never seen before. It is however a nice coffee table book, especially for young horse fans.
The third of this publisher's animal-focused coffee table books I've seen, and there's no let-up in quality here, meaning this might be shelved alongside "Tigers" and "Elephants", if someone were so inclined. In some regards this is the best of the three, partly because it has a subject with so many aspects to it, and hence the book has so many aspects, meaning the picture captions (by far the bulk of the text here) cannot get as repetitive as before. We strike off straight away on a global trip to show us many of the different breeds – from Mexico, to Scotland, the Camargue in France and even Denmark, it seems everywhere has a specific build, colouration, temperament and purpose in their local adaptation. I might have preferred a selection of routine, formulaic portraits here rather than the close-ups and different scales used, so we could get a good comparison of them all in like-for-like fashion, but this section is still superb. We then learn the anatomical features that make a horse such a success (here close-ups are of course more than appropriate), discover how they're used, from racing round Siena (not good) to sledge-pulling in the Romanian or Canadian snow (a bit better). We can't leave the subject without some cutesiness from the baby animals, but close with a pictorial discussion of the feral populations of the world.
It's not perfect – but it is an ideal picture book. The fact it is destined for the coffee table and regular browsing for the visuals means it can't be as scientific as it at times appears (the section on anatomy is nowhere near as butcher-styled as I'd have expected). There was a chance for a colour chart or two to get our heads round the terms for their coats as well. And of course the publishers do themselves and google search users no help with one-word names for these books that would defeat any algorithm. But yes – an ideal picture book. A strong four stars or more – giddy-up!
This is a fantastic book for the coffee table. Superb photographs throughout the book of my favourite animal - the horse! Thoroughly recommend for any fellow horse lovers.
My thanks to NetGalley and Amber Books for allowing me to read and review honestly.