‘No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle’ — and other quotes you’ll understand
Say what? Through history the great and the good have churned out some horsey quotes that we can all relate to…
1. ‘It’s a lot like nuts and bolts – if the rider’s nuts, the horse bolts!’
Nicholas Evans, the author of The Horse Whisperer, speaks truth here.
2. Sir Winston Churchill had a lifelong passion for horses. He was a cavalryman in the late 19th Century, and was responsible for saving thousands of horses that were stranded in Europe after the First World War. He rode well into his 80s and clearly understood the pure, mood-lifting pleasure of a good ride:
“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.”
“No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.”
“To many, the words ‘love’, ‘hope’ and ‘dreams’ are synonymous with horses… if you never love a horse, you will never understand.”
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3. “A canter is a cure for every evil.”
Yup, now tell us something we don’t know, Benjamin Disraeli.
4. It’s fair to say that the greatest writer of all time, William Shakespeare, knew a thing or two about horses, as illustrated by these three quotes — from Richard III, Henry V, and King Lear respectively. Looks like he was also a fan of chestnuts. Good man!
“A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!”
“He’s of the colour of the nutmeg. And of the heat of the ginger…. he is pure air and fire; and the dull elements of earth and water never appear in him, but only in patient stillness while his rider mounts him; he is indeed a horse, and all other jades you may call beasts.”
“He’s mad that trusts in the tameness of a wolf, a horse’s health, a boy’s love, or a whore’s oath.”
5. “For want of a Nail the Shoe was lost; for want of a Shoe the Horse was lost; and for want of a Horse the Rider was lost; being overtaken and slain by the Enemy, all for want of Care about a Horse-shoe Nail.”
And let this message from one of the founding fathers of the United States of America, Benjamin Franklin, be a lesson to us all never to skimp on farrier visits.
6. “When you’re young and you fall off a horse, you may break something. When you’re my age, you splatter.”
Possibly the most famous singing cowboy of his generation, Roy Rogers (1911-1998) starred in many Western films.
7. “Four things greater than all things are women and horses and power and war.”
The author of The Jungle Book and Just So Stories, Rudyard Kipling also wrote extensively about horses. His equestrian works include the poems White Horses and The Undertaker’s Horse, and the short story The Maltese Cat — which is not about a cat at all, but a polo pony.
8. “A horse never runs so fast as when he has other horses to catch up and outpace.”
A Roman poet who lived and worked during the reign of Emperor Augustus, round about the time of the birth of Christ, Ovid’s ancient quote tells us that horses have always been horses!
9. “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
Ah, Confucius. Philosopher and purveyor of ancient Chinese wisdom, and also a man who’s clearly been told by his riding instructor: “You’re fine. Now get back on and take that jump again!”
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10. “He has known joy and violence. Felt the warmth of children and the cruelty of abuse. He has nearly died saving lives and merely been killed by a drunken act. He has known the finery of grand estates and the filth of stinking slums. He has survived fire and flood, starvation and torment. And nothing could break his spirit — or his great love. This is HIS life. He is called the horse.”
This quote by Anna Sewell, the author of Black Beauty, perfectly captures the noble spirit of the horse.
11. “Of all creatures God made at the Creation, there is none more excellent, or so much to be respected as a horse.”
This quote is said to be a ‘Bedouin’ legend . Those Bedouins certainly knew what they were talking about…
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Amanda Vlietstra is a freelance writer and editor who’s worked for a number of national magazines and websites. Having thrown herself back rural living with gusto since moving from London to Buckinghamshire in 2012, she juggles her horsey life with work and two small children. She claims to do dressage, but really just potters about having fun on her 14.2hh Belgian Warmblood mare, Roxy. She also enjoys a good gossip over a coffee in the tackroom!