Horsestory Volume II: Longhorns to Lady Wonder

Although our past is intertwined with horses, the stories of those strong and loyal helpers have mostly been forgotten. The Horsestory series highlights the diverse roles horses played over the years, and, when available, relates the stories of specific animals.

The series is very visual with many historical photos. It's an enjoyable read on its own for those who love horses or history. Volume II covers the time period from the days of the cattle drives out west to the early 1920s.

Test your Horsestory IQ. Did you know?

• A president was once arrested for speeding in his horse-drawn carriage.
• A blind horse helped build the Transcontinental Railroad.
• Horses helped save hundreds of lives by carrying warnings of a dam collapse in 1874.
• Fifteen of the first twenty-eight winning jockeys in the Kentucky Derby were black.
• A Thoroughbred mare’s photos were used in one of the earliest versions of a motion picture.
• Twenty mule teams, usually consisting of eighteen mules, hauled 20,000,000 tons of borax.
• Horses moved an entire village of fifty-five houses a half mile to its new location in 1897.
• Most of the Rough Riders walked.
• Horses played a vital role in the lifeboat system that saved people from shipwrecks.
• Horses were instrumental in developing the antitoxin for diphtheria.
• Seven and eleven-year-old brothers rode alone from New York to California in 62 days.
• A “psychic” mare helped searchers locate two missing boys in 1952 and 1955.

In Volume II: Longhorns to Lady Wonder, you’ll not only find the stories listed above but many more—sixty-two chapters of incredible ways horses collaborated with humans to achieve amazing things.

A FREE PDF Study Guide is available if you'd like to use this as a supplemental history curriculum.