The Nature of Horses [Hardcover]

Horse riders, trainers, and others who spend their daily lives in the company of horses will appreciate this in-depth study of equine behavior and its origins. Science writer Budiansky begins by examining the environment and circumstances to which the horse has adapted throughout its long evolution, presenting evidence that much of the horse's behavior is genetic rather than learned. A full chapter is devoted to the development of the horse's relationship with humans over the centuries, and another outlines a breeding program that could produce a superior performance horse. This book will appeal to professionals and horse fanciers seeking a thorough understanding of horse behavior. For academic equine collections and public libraries where interest warrants.?Deborah Emerson, Monroe Community Coll. Lib., Rochester, N.Y.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Budiansky, a writer at U.S. News and World Report, may not provide as many ``insights into the true nature of the beast'' as he hopes, but he serves up fascinating historical, behavioral, and biological nuggets about our equine friends. Troubled that our understanding of Equus caballus is badly flawed, Budiansky (Nature's Keepers, 1995) endeavors to set the record straight, clearing the air of ``what millenniums of tradition, love, and wishful thinking have sometimes muddled,'' and telling the horses' story through the ``objective tools of science.'' He starts at the beginning of domestication, 6,000 years ago, with the Sredni Stog people. They, it is surmised, either clambered atop the horse or ate him; their bones are mixed together at archaeological digs in the Ukraine, marking the onset of a long, fruitful association. Horses and humans discovered what they had in common: an intuitive language of dominance and submission, an adaptation to grasslands, a social fabric built on subordination to authority and trust. Budiansky's portrait delves into mitochondrial DNA analysis, the mechanics of movement and eyesight and vocalization, but he's hesitant to guess at the ultimate meaning of this data. He is less edifying but far more entertaining when he occasionally hazards subjective rather than scientific information, as in his observation of the horse's ability to interpret subtle social cues shared with humans (dispelling notions of horses as mind readers) or when he simply throws out an idea he has concerning their fabled homing instinct. And he's incisive when describing the curious world of the stud book and the ambiguous effects of inbreeding. As a science journalist, Budiansky brings together a wealth of equine research; as the devoted horseman he is, he knows there is more than the objective interface, and that magic is a persistent part of the equation. (70 drawings and photos) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Julie Krone Jockey, Author -- "Riding for My Life" Dedicated and devoted horse lovers have waited for a book that gives thorough, authoritative information on the horse. Detailed, yet understandable, this book tells you why horses do what they do and provides fascinating insights on how horses think. If a horse came with a translator, this book would be it.

A study presents some of the latest research into horse vision, movement, language, and breeding, as well as a history of the origins of the horse and humankind's relationship with our equine companions. 25,000 first printing. Tour.

Formerly Washington editor of the journal Nature, Stephen Budiansky is a senior writer at US News & World Report, where he writes about science, the environment and current affairs. He lives with his wife and two children on a --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.