100 books like The Horse Dancer

By Jojo Moyes,

Here are 100 books that The Horse Dancer fans have personally recommended if you like The Horse Dancer. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Black Stallion

Laura Hesse Author Of One Frosty Christmas

From my list on middle-grade horse stories for horse-crazy fans.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been passionate about horses and adventure since I was a little girl. I’ve owned many horses over the years, and they all forever live on in the pages of my books. I wrote my book in 2001 while recovering from major surgery. The story was inspired by a young lady I met while volunteering with Nanaimo Therapeutic Riding and a frostbitten Mustang that arrived at Thunderbird Show Park en route from Wyoming to northern British Columbia. I lost my father to cancer a year before the book’s release. In many ways, Hannah Storey’s learning to cope with loss is based on my own. Life is like that, though, isn’t it?

Laura's book list on middle-grade horse stories for horse-crazy fans

Laura Hesse Why did Laura love this book?

I don’t know how many times I stayed up late, unable to put down a book, but The Black Stallion was my first ‘stay-up-all-night’ read. Alec’s journey of survival and winning over the Black Stallion exploded in my mind. I drew, I wrote, I joined a swim club and started riding lessons.

I learned to never give up on my dreams, no matter how impossible they might seem. It also drew me into the world of natural horsemanship as well as to choose an interesting career: forestry. I wanted to live the adventure and did!  For me, this is where it started.

By Walter Farley,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked The Black Stallion as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

First published in 1941, Walter Farley's best-selling novel for young readers is the triumphant tale of a boy and a wild horse. From Alec Ramsay and the Black's first meeting on an ill-fated ship to their adventures on a desert island and their eventual rescue, this beloved story will hold the rapt attention of readers new and old.

This book has been selected as a Common Core State Standards Text Exemplar (Grades 4-5, Stories) in Appendix B.


Book cover of Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man

Fiona Walker Author Of The Country Set

From my list on heart-warming and uplifting fiction about horses.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always loved horses, in real life and fiction. I guzzled up pony stories as soon as I was old enough to read, then I started writing them, tales of teenage orphans adopted by distant aunts who lived in crumbling stately piles with fields full of ponies. When I started writing fiction for a living, it stood to reason horses would feature, and three decades after one trotted into my debut novel French Relations – then galloped off into the sunset in its sequel Well Groomed - they’re still a mainstay. Of the twenty novels I’ve written, more than half have horses at their heart, including my new Comptons series. 

Fiona's book list on heart-warming and uplifting fiction about horses

Fiona Walker Why did Fiona love this book?

This first of Sassoon’s semi-biographical Sherston trilogy is a nostalgic amble along Edwardian English lanes, across its village greens, and over its hedges, tracing the early years of likeable, witty George Sherston before the Great War. It depicts a bygone era of pearl-clutching maiden aunts, rumbustious village cricket matches, and the rigours of the hunting field, in which enthusiastic recruit George is a terrific observer of the larger-than-life characters he encounters. He is winningly grateful to his horses for being so much better at it than him, from flighty first pony Sheila to trusty hunter Harkaway, and ‘bargain’ point-to-pointer Cockbird who is gifted to the cavalry at the book’s close, just as George accepts his commission to the Flintshire Fusiliers to fight in the Great War, saying farewell to his halcyon childhood. Sassoon, famous for his war poetry, is such a warm and intelligent writer that his affection for characters…

By Siegfried Sassoon,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The first volume in Siegfried Sassoon’s beloved trilogy, The Complete Memoirs of George Sherston, with a new introduction by celebrated historian Paul Fussell

A highly decorated English soldier and an acclaimed poet and novelist, Siegfried Sassoon won fame for his trilogy of fictionalized autobiographies that wonderfully capture the vanishing idylls of Edwardian England and the brutal realities of war.

In this first novel of the semiautobiographical George Sherston trilogy, Sassoon wonderfully captures the vanishing idylls of the Edwardian English countryside. Never out of print since its original publication in 1928, when it won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, Sassoon's…


Book cover of Black Beauty

M.J. Evans Author Of The Stallion and His Peculiar Boy

From my list on horses that teens will love.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a life-long equestrian. I believe I was born with manure in my blood! I have always loved horses. I bought my own horse with my own money when I was thirteen and had to work to support him myself. I continue to own and ride horses more than fifty years later! I love competing in Dressage and riding the trails in the beautiful Colorado mountains. My interest in researching and writing historical horse stories grew out of my love of both horses and history.

M.J.'s book list on horses that teens will love

M.J. Evans Why did M.J. love this book?

Some books stay with you for a lifetime. Such is the case with Black Beauty for me.

This historical fiction novel (although it wasn’t “Historical” when it was written!”) is considered a classic because of its staying power and message. Anna Sewell’s work inspired the creation of the ASPCA because of the depictions of animal cruelty in the book.

Now, half a century later, it has inspired me to not only write historical fiction horse stories but I also chose to write in first person from the horse’s point of view the way Black Beauty is written.

By Anna Sewell, Kristen Guest (editor),

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked Black Beauty as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Continuously in print and translated into multiple languages since it was first published, Anna Sewell's Black Beauty is a classic work of children's literature and an important text in the fields of Victorian studies and animal studies. Writing to ""induce kindness, sympathy and an understanding treatment"", Sewell realistically documents the working conditions of Black Beauty, who moves down the social scale from a rural carriage horse to a delivery horse in London. Sewell makes visible and tangible the experience of animals who were often treated as if they were machines. Though she died shortly after it was published, Sewell's book…


All They Need to Know

By Eileen Goudge,

Book cover of All They Need to Know

Eileen Goudge Author Of All They Need to Know

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Baker

Eileen's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

On the run from her abusive husband, Kyra Smith hits the road. Destination unknown. With a dog she rescued in tow, she lands in the peaceful California mountain town of Gold Creek and is immediately befriended by an openhearted group of women who call themselves the Tattooed Ladies. They’re there for Kyra—and for each other.

The maternal Frannie is a tattoo artist struggling with a troubled daughter. Suzy is a self-described fashionista grandma bearing a painful estrangement from her son. Then there’s Jo, whose storybook marriage is shadowed by a grim medical diagnosis. And bookstore owner Marisol. She longs for…

All They Need to Know

By Eileen Goudge,

What is this book about?

A woman escaping a violent past finds new friendships, romance, and tenuous sanctuary in an emotionally gripping novel by New York Times bestselling author Eileen Goudge.

On the run from her abusive husband, Kyra Smith hits the road. Destination unknown. With a neglected dog she rescued in tow, she lands in the peaceful California town of Gold Creek and is immediately befriended by an openhearted group of women called the Tattooed Ladies Club. They're there for Kyra-and for each other.

The maternal Frannie is a tattoo artist struggling with a troubled daughter. Suzy is a self-described fashionista grandma bearing a…


Book cover of Horse Heaven

Meredith Marple Author Of The Year Mrs. Cooper Got Out More: A Great Wharf Novel

From my list on people with other animals in the mix.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a former independent publisher and current writer of memoir and fiction. My degree was in zoology (animal biology), which got me my first job in educational publishing. After a solid career in textbooks, I switched over to trade publishing and finally writing. I may have left the "hard science" behind, but I continue to be fascinated by human and animal behavior, which shows up in my reading and writing. 

Meredith's book list on people with other animals in the mix

Meredith Marple Why did Meredith love this book?

The animal is a number of racehorses. The human is a collection of owners, trainers, jockeys, and more, yielding a comprehensive look at human and animal behavior in the horse racing industry. A strong, intimate novel. I used to ride but never very well, and I’ve always wondered what a horse’s “thoughts” involved. Author Smiley gave me a feel for that as she applied her own assumptions to one horse in particular.  

By Jane Smiley,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Horse Heaven as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK

"A WISE, SPIRITED NOVEL . . . [IN WHICH] SMILEY PLUMBS THE WONDROUSLY
STRANGE WORLD OF HORSE RACING." --People

"ONE OF THE PREMIER NOVELISTS OF HER GENERATION, possessed of a mastery
of craft and an uncompromising vision that grow more powerful with each
book . . . Racing's eclectic mix of classes and personalities provides
Smiley with fertile soil . . . Expertly juggling storylines, she
investigates the sexual, social, psychological, and spiritual problems
of wealthy owners, working-class bettors, trainers on the edge of
financial ruin, and, in a typically bold…


Book cover of The Horse Whisperer: A Novel

Diana Kimpton Author Of There Must Be Horses

From my list on the relationship between horses and people.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been a writer for thirty years and a horse lover my entire life. When I decided to write There Must Be Horses, I set out to learn about natural horsemanship and the way horses and people relate to each other. Of course, I then needed to try out all those exciting ideas myself so I bought myself a horse to help with my research. That was my excuse anyway – in truth I was finally fulfilling my childhood dream of a pony of my own. I still have that horse and would never part with him. He’s an important part of our family. 

Diana's book list on the relationship between horses and people

Diana Kimpton Why did Diana love this book?

I read this book when it was first published, and I couldn’t put it down. The story opens with a dreadful accident where a lorry hits two girls out riding together. One girl and her horse are killed, the other girl has life-changing injuries. and her horse is so traumatised that the vet suggests putting him down. However, her mother refuses to do that. Instead, she loads the horse into a trailer and takes him and her daughter to Montana to meet a horse whisperer who she hopes can heal them all. (NB Although this story features a child, it is not a children’s book.)

By Nicholas Evans,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Horse Whisperer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The phenomenal number one bestseller, which sold over twenty million copies and was made into a classic film starring Robert Redford and Scarlett Johansson. This stunning 25th anniversary edition features exclusive new content from Nicholas Evans.

'A love story, a gripping adventure and an emotionally charged tale of redemption and human strength' Cosmopolitan

'Brilliance pervades this five-handkerchief weepie' The Times

'Wild horses couldn't drag me from this . . . a tear-jerking page-turner' Daily Mail

____________________

When Grace Maclean and her beloved horse, Pilgrim, are hit by a truck one snow-covered morning, their destinies become inextricably bound to one another.…


Book cover of Flambards

Fiona Walker Author Of The Country Set

From my list on heart-warming and uplifting fiction about horses.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always loved horses, in real life and fiction. I guzzled up pony stories as soon as I was old enough to read, then I started writing them, tales of teenage orphans adopted by distant aunts who lived in crumbling stately piles with fields full of ponies. When I started writing fiction for a living, it stood to reason horses would feature, and three decades after one trotted into my debut novel French Relations – then galloped off into the sunset in its sequel Well Groomed - they’re still a mainstay. Of the twenty novels I’ve written, more than half have horses at their heart, including my new Comptons series. 

Fiona's book list on heart-warming and uplifting fiction about horses

Fiona Walker Why did Fiona love this book?

The glorious Flambards series, starring gutsy heroine Christina, was a staple for pony-mad teenagers in the 70s and 80s and is still held in great affection by its legions of fans. It’s so full of heart and life that it’s stayed relevant and readable today. Orphaned at the turn of the twentieth century, Christina Parsons is sent to live with tyrannical, hunting-mad Uncle William and his two sons in their impoverished estate. One son, dashing thruster Mark, is thought to be a good match for Christina, but it’s his younger brother, the clever, awkward would-be aviator William who she falls for. Perhaps the most trusting and enduring love she finds, however, is that for horses, starting with the wonderful, kind Sweet Briar in this opening novel. The freedom they discover together, blasting across Flambards’ ancient turf from Uncle William’s angry bellowing, is a tour de force.

By K.M. Peyton,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Flambards as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When Christina is sent to live in the grand country house, Flambards, she doesn't know what to expect. Once there, she meets two young men, Mark and Will, trying to cope with their bad-tempered father. She also discovers a passion for horse-riding and a love for life in the country. As time goes by Christina begins to embrace her new life and all the social engagements that it involves, but with both brothers vying for her attention Christina knows it's just a matter
of time before she has to choose . . .

A welcome reissue of this much-loved family…


Book cover of Riders

Fiona Walker Author Of The Country Set

From my list on heart-warming and uplifting fiction about horses.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always loved horses, in real life and fiction. I guzzled up pony stories as soon as I was old enough to read, then I started writing them, tales of teenage orphans adopted by distant aunts who lived in crumbling stately piles with fields full of ponies. When I started writing fiction for a living, it stood to reason horses would feature, and three decades after one trotted into my debut novel French Relations – then galloped off into the sunset in its sequel Well Groomed - they’re still a mainstay. Of the twenty novels I’ve written, more than half have horses at their heart, including my new Comptons series. 

Fiona's book list on heart-warming and uplifting fiction about horses

Fiona Walker Why did Fiona love this book?

Naughty, pun-laden, wise-cracking, and wildly sexy, Riders was the first of Jilly Cooper’s ‘Rutshire Chronicles’ introducing us to the Cotswolds show-jumping set, led by the thoroughly unreconstructed Rupert Campbell-Black whose ruthless bid to win Olympic gold sweeps up all in his wake. The male characters, alternately strutting around in breeches and dinner suits and trailed by adoring Labradors and women, are all a wonderfully undomesticated pack. The feisty heroines who take them on inevitably end up swooning. It’s the horses – a brave bold and talented herd – that are by far the most noble characters and provide many genuinely moving moments. Riders is about as politically correct as a cigar in a maternity ward and unapologetically British from hunting cap to mahogany-topped boot, yet it remains the best ‘grown-up pony book’ in existence, still adored by tens of thousands of fans.

By Jilly Cooper,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Riders as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This is The Classic Bestseller. Set against the glorious Cotswold countryside and the playgrounds of the world, Jilly Cooper's Rutshire Chronicles, Riders, Rivals, Polo, The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous, Appassionata and Score!, offer an intoxicating blend of skulduggery, swooning romance, sexual adventure and hilarious high jinks. Riders, the first and steamiest in the series, takes the lid off international showjumping, a sport where the brave horses are almost human, but the humans behave like animals. The brooding hero, gypsy Jake Lovell, under whose magic hands the most difficult horse or woman becomes biddable, is driven to the top by…


Book cover of Afraid to Ride

Sara Warner Author Of Still Waters

From my list on with adventure, strong women, and horses.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a lifelong horsewoman, environmental researcher, and writer. After a career with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, working to protect wild rivers and streams, I “retired” to become a dressage teacher, trainer, and judge, and I regularly travel the Gulf Coast, teaching dressage clinics. I have taught literature and writing at the college level. I have bred and trained champion horses and helped horses rescued from dire situations. Together with my husband, I also organized a rescue operation for horses on the Gulf Coast affected by Hurricane Katrina. I have a PhD in History, Theory, and Culture from Emory University. All in all, I’ve had an adventurous and wonderful life which I try to share in my writing.

Sara's book list on with adventure, strong women, and horses

Sara Warner Why did Sara love this book?

I first discovered this wonderful story decades ago in my youth, when I read everything I could find with a horse in it. Many years later, following a catastrophic riding accident, I found this book tucked away on a backroom shelf. I immediately recalled that Judy’s struggle was precisely the one I was then facing, and I spent the afternoon re-reading her story. There may be something enduringly healing about the stories we love in childhood, because the power of Anderson’s story helped me recover my confidence with my horses. An added bonus of Anderson’s books are his masterful sketches which capture the essence of the horses at the center of his stories, and Afraid to Ride includes some of my all-time favorites.

By C.W. Anderson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Afraid to Ride as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


Book cover of Hex: A Ruby Murphy Mystery

Sara Warner Author Of Still Waters

From my list on with adventure, strong women, and horses.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a lifelong horsewoman, environmental researcher, and writer. After a career with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, working to protect wild rivers and streams, I “retired” to become a dressage teacher, trainer, and judge, and I regularly travel the Gulf Coast, teaching dressage clinics. I have taught literature and writing at the college level. I have bred and trained champion horses and helped horses rescued from dire situations. Together with my husband, I also organized a rescue operation for horses on the Gulf Coast affected by Hurricane Katrina. I have a PhD in History, Theory, and Culture from Emory University. All in all, I’ve had an adventurous and wonderful life which I try to share in my writing.

Sara's book list on with adventure, strong women, and horses

Sara Warner Why did Sara love this book?

Few people in the world could render with so much humanity the backstreet stories of Coney Island and Belmont Race Track as Estep has in “Hex.” As main character/narrator Ruby navigates the down and out animals and humans of her neighborhood, we are made privy to the power of kindness and friendship in a carnivalesque world that continually threatens to fall into shambles. As a lifelong rider and trainer myself, I have often been struck by the proximity of extremes in the horse world. Estep’s revelations of a dark and pithy world, shot through with the dreams and aspirations of regular people, is a fascinating ride through streets at once familiar and strange. A treat for adventurous readers.

By Maggie Estep,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hex as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Having drifted through thirty-three years of life, Ruby Murphy has put down roots in a rootless place: Coney Island. A recovering alcoholic who is fanatical in her love for animals and her misanthropic friends, Ruby lives above a furniture store and works at the musty Coney Island Museum. One day, Ruby is on the subway heading into Manhattan when the train stalls between stations. An elegant blond woman with a scarred face strikes up a conversation, and a misunderstanding between the two women leads to an offer Ruby decides she can’t refuse. The woman needs her boyfriend followed, and she…


Book cover of Dream of Fair Horses

Amanda Wills Author Of The Lost Pony of Riverdale

From my list on capturing the bond between horses and people.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been mad about horses since I was tiny, and as soon as I started to read I devoured every pony book I could lay my hands on. My love of pony books led to a life-long passion for horses and I still ride every week. When I began writing fiction a decade ago, I decided to write the kind of pony books I loved reading when I was a child. Here I am, almost twenty books later, spending my days dreaming of horses, still a pony-mad girl at heart! 

Amanda's book list on capturing the bond between horses and people

Amanda Wills Why did Amanda love this book?

Pony-mad Gillian dreams of riding in the Horse of the Year Show at Wembley.

Problem is, she doesn’t have a pony. And that would be that but for the fact that she finds one in a field near her new home. And this pony – Perdita – is perfect.

How I dreamed of finding my own perfect pony, just like Gill, as I raced through this book as a child. I was as excited as she was when Perdita’s owner offers her the chance to ride the grey mare. I was with her every step of the way as they work their socks off to qualify for Wembley. And I bawled my eyes out when the story didn’t end the way I’d hoped.

Because this tale of love and loss, of winning and losing, is a timeless classic that should be top of the To Be Read pile for…

By Patricia Leitch,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dream of Fair Horses as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'In all my life, I had never seen anything as beautiful as this grey pony ... '
Gill Caridia and her family are on the move. Gill's father writes the sort of book that literary papers love, but which few people actually buy. And then he writes a detective story that sells so well he buys back the house in the countryside where he grew up. It means change for all the children, but for Gill it means the chance to find horses, and not just horses but to ride at Wembley. But Gill learns that no dream comes without…


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