Horsestory Volume I: The Early Years

Author: Vicki Watson 

 
Book 1 of 3: Horsestory

Although our past is intertwined with horses, the stories of those strong and loyal helpers have largely been forgotten. The Horsestory series highlights the diverse roles horses have played over the years, and, when available, relates the stories of specific animals. Prunes, a burro used for gold prospecting, is just one of the equines you’ll meet in Horsestory Volume I: The Early Years.

Prunes is one of the few mining burros whose story has survived. He was the partner and constant companion of Rupert M. Sherwood, a Colorado gold prospector. The trusty burro cheerfully carried Rupert’s gold pan, shovel, frying pan, coffee pot, pick, rope, blankets, flour, bacon, sugar, and oats. When Sherwood was too busy to make the trip into town for supplies, the miner pinned a shopping list to Prunes’ pack, and the burro set off on his own. Upon his arrival, the shopkeeper filled the order and sent Prunes back up the trail to Sherwood’s camp.

Here’s a sample of more from Horsestory: Volume I.

• A horse was worshipped as a weather god.
• The longest-lived horse worked until almost sixty.
• Horses traveled thousands of miles each year, carrying preachers who delivered the Good News.
• Paul Revere rode a borrowed horse when he spread his warning.
• An early president was instrumental in establishing mule breeding in the U.S.
• Home milk delivery was one of the longest services provided by horses.
• Horse thieves might be branded on the forehead with the letters “HT.”
• A horse in England was instrumental in rescuing people from shipwrecks.
• Horses powered boats using a treadwheel or treadmill.
• Horses pulled bathing machines in coastal areas.
• A horse outran one of the first steam locomotives.
• Ponies were often used in coal mines.
• Horses were instrumental in the escape and later capture of Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth.

Enjoy more about these and additional stories in this first volume of the Horsestory series!

Reading age: ‎ 12 - 18 years

Softcover: ‎ 284 pages
Size:  ‎ 8.5 x 11 inches