Author Juliet Blaxland's latest book 'The House Pony: An ABC of Horsemanship' gives young readers a whistle-stop guide to horsecare, via beautiful illustrations and a humorous story
“Please may the motorway pony come and live in the house, Aunt Jelly?” asked Tuttyhead. “Of course he can. He can live in the house and be known as The House Pony, but you must look after him, and see to all his needs, and make sure he is happy. It will be fun!” said Aunt Jelly, with a look that hinted that the last place a pony should live is in a house.
Alarm bells may ring for horse owners at the prospect of a pony who was found loose on the M4 motorway, finding himself kipping down on a four-poster bed and being tied to an Aga rail. But author and illustrator Juliet Blaxland’s latest children’s book ‘The House Pony: An ABC of Horsemanship’ takes young readers on a fast-track guide to horsecare — from bedding and feeding, to quick-release knots and laminitis.
Approved by the Pony Club, the book has also been given a glowing review by the six-time Badminton winner Lucinda Green who says: “This is a stunningly illustrated book, that will be hugely enjoyed and greatly learnt from.”
Using the alphabet, each image contains items beginning with a particular letter, and the reader can enjoy searching for them at the same time as learning valuable facts about caring for a pony.
After The House Pony has raided the kitchen for food and shed hair all over the bed, it quickly becomes clear to Tuttyhead that a house is possibly not the best place to keep a pony after all…
This short paperback offers some light relief for budding young riders, who can feel bombarded by wading through heavy-going horsemanship manuals.
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A graduate from Durham University, Madeleine joined H&H in 2011 and became Features Editor — producing content across the magazine and website, including the popular inside back cover article ‘The horse that made me’ and the weekly ‘The best of my fun…’ interview. She has written on topics as diverse as hay making and headcams, to hot totty in the horse world and circus horses. Madeleine now works as a freelance feature writer for Country Life, The Telegraph, Horse & Hound, cntraveller.com, The Spectator and The Field, as well as writing obituaries for The Times.
