Horse books

My girls love horses. I am looking for short chapter books (abt 100 pages) that they can read. Any suggestions? They've already read Summer Pony and are working on Winter Pony.

Oh boy, that takes me back! I spent most of my childhood nose-deep in horse books. That childhood, of course, was many years ago now but I'm not sure horse books change much. If your girls would be at all interested in some of those old classics they could do a lot worse than to try the books by Ruby Ferguson (Jill Has Two Ponies etc), Mary O'Hara (My Friend Flicka etc) or the Queen of pony-fiction, former show jumper Pat Smythe. And unless they have very strong hearts, be sure to avoid Black Beauty - a book that broke my heart as a child and that I was foolish enough to re-purchase some years ago but haven't yet been brave enough to reread.

BTW - I hope these satisfy your requirements - I'm afraid, being a Brit, I'm not entirely sure what is meant by 'chapter books' (books with chapters?)

Black Stallion books are wonderful, but probably too long just yet. Maybe in a year or two.

You might want to check out Jessica Haas's books, they may be too short though

Oldies but goodies:

Afraid to Ride by C.W. Anderson (his other books are good, too, but some might be a bit young -- don't know how old your girls are. There is a whole series about Billy and Blaze that I remember reading in 1st or 2nd grade)
Misty of Chincoteague and pretty much anything else by Marguerite Henry.

Some of the Animal Ark series, like Horse in the House and Foals in the Field by Ben Baglio are about horses. Also, The Christmas Pony by Sylvia Green is another one.

Thanks everyone!!! We will check them out!!

#2-I agree, broke my heart too!

My son likes easy chapter books about horses....

Some not yet mentioned:

Runaway Radish by Jessie Haas. She's written quite a few others as well.

Runaway Racehorse by Ron Roy is part of the popular A to Z mystery stories and he adored it. And now is reading the entire series.

Likewise there is a Boxcar Children book called The Mystery Horse

The Big Apple Barn #1 books

We also spent quite a bit of time reading stories of real racehorses over the past 6 months that were about at the same level but non-fiction -- I Rode the Red Horse, which is about Secretariat, and Assault: The Crippled Champion were his favorites.

I would just like to say that books that break your heart or cause deep emotional displays should not be avoided...for an author to be able to write words that cause such emotions in others is a true gift. I agree that Black Beauty will cause the heart to break, but it is a good break is it not? It shows just how powerful the story is. Anna Sewell wrote the book for the purpose of raising awareness of how humans treated horses in an age before automobiles. The bigger picture is to raise awareness of how humans treat all animals that are used as beasts of burdens.

To deprive your children of reading this book because you think it is to emotional, is to deprive them of the core essence of what a book truly is. You will also be depriving them of historical meaning because this book is great on many levels. First...it is a book on animal abuse. Second...it is a book that a woman wrote. Third...this book changed many peoples perceptions about animal abuse in an age when horses were just a commodity and women's opinions about things were mostly ignored.

I know you did not come out and say you were not going to let your children read Black Beauty, but look past the story itself to the history and purpose of the book itself...this book could lead to many home schooled history lessons!

Have to add, I loved Black Beauty as a child (along with the classic dog tearjerkers Beautiful Joe and Old Yeller.) My mother couldn't understand how I would want to read them because they were all so sad, but as a kid I didn't mind crying over a book. I'm not sure I'd want to read them now, but as a kid I reread them many times.

#10 It's true. I really enjoyed a good cry over these books when I was very young. I think that's one of those things that definitely wears off as you get older and learn about real grief.

#9-Fantastic point!! I will probably wait another year before we do read Black Beauty. I do want to do it with my girls, but wanted to wait until they are a little older. The oldest is extremely sensitive but getting better as she gets older.

There's a Breyer Stablemates series that is popular at my library.

I was thinking of Misty of Chincoteague(spelling?) I remember loving all of those books. But I think they were a little longer than what you are asking for- but they are worth the read!

My daughter really enjoyed the Keeker books, though they are more for beginners I think. She also really liked the Phantom Stallion, My Secret Unicorn, and Horse Diaries series.

Bella Sara (like the online video game) makes a series of books as well, but they were "just okay" (her words). :)

As a Vermonter, I must put in a good word for Justin Morgan had a horse.

Justin Morgan Had a Horse by the incomparable Marguerite Henry.

In #17. Thanks for the amplification, MerryMary. Somehow the brackets for a Touchstone mis-fired. -- G

I'm late to this topic, but as I owned and read tons of these when I was younger I have to chime in. I second the recommendations for Justin Morgan and Misty of Chincateague (however it's spelled), and I'd like to add a couple of other ones:
Beware the Mare and its sequels are a bit uncommon, but they're right about 100 pages, which is the length in the OP. They're light, fast reads, but I enjoyed them.
The Thoroughbred and Thoroughbred Ashleigh series by Joanna Campbell are about families living on breeding and racing horse farms. They aren't too long individually, but there are tons of them (LT lists 125 works for Thoroughbred). If your girls like them, they'll be occupied for a long time.
The Heartland series by Lauren Brooke is another one about living on a horse farm, though I only read a few of these ones.
The First Horse I See also stands out in my mind. I remember the girl in that one also dealing with coming-of-age issues, more so than in the others I listed, although they all touch on them to some degree--Heartland also has a good amount of this.

An unusual story my now 22yo daughter loved and hung on to is Ryn the Wild Horse by Bohumil Riha. It's about 100 pages.

One of my favorite authors ever is Mary O'Hara for My Friend Flicka and its sequels. My Friend Flicka is also available as a recorded book...wonderful for a long car ride, which is how we listened to it as a family. It is an incredible story, and definitely not just for children or horse lovers!

#16 Thanks for the book title Harry........I just ordered it from my library to surprise my son.....who loves horses.

Horse books? Let's see, check out these authors:

Glenn Balch
CW Anderson
Glen Rounds
Marjorie Reynolds
Wesley Dennis
Sam Savitt

I stumbled upon this resource today. It might be useful to you. http://www.pinterest.com/pin/207024914095344391/