Excerpt from Horses for Writers

As a teacher of horsemanship I've always tried to give my students tools that will encourage them to keep trying to learn little more and be a little better that they are today. I believe as a writer I need to continue this creed. I hope this guide will help others reach just a little further each time they sit down at their desk to write or go out to commune with their horses.

Horses For Writers began as a simple reference guide for writers who wanted something beyond the black/white horse cardboard cutout for their story. I added something each time someone called me with a question about horses. I added to the book when I spotted something in a story that was just wrong.

Many writers do go with the simple solution of black/white/stallion/mare. This guide is for those who want go beyond that basic level. The beyond may only be a bay/gray/chestnut/gelding. Some may want to go a long way beyond that; all the way to creating horses readers remember long after they've forgotten the title of the book or even the name of the author.

There is a connection between horses and writers. I know many a writer who indulges their love of horses as soon as they earn some money from their writing. Others, like me, write in order to support their equine habit.

Few writers can resist the appeal of a horse. Sooner or later a horse shows up in their work, leading to scenarios like the following one.

"How old does a horse need to be before it's broken to ride?" I was in the middle of my own writing when a fellow writer called me with this question.

Since I have been a professional instructor and trainer for forty years now I am considered something of an expert on equines in my own circle of writing friends and acquaintances. Such phone calls are not uncommon.

"Huh, what breed of horse?" I asked, my attention still half on my own work.
"It's just a horse."
"Is it a backyard horse?" Obviously I was going to have to give this a little more thought.
"It's just background to a scene where this guy's going to get on a horse for the first time." My friend was getting a little testy now.
"Is he a professional?"
"Yeah, sort of."
"Cowboy?"
"No."
Okay, this guy's a scifi writer, "Earth or another planet?"
"Earth." A definite growl now.
I decided this was a place for an info dump, "A horse can be started under saddle anytime from one to four years old, or even later than that, but that is a whole different game. If it is a racehorse it is under saddle shortly after its first birthday. If it is a dressage horse it may be four years old before being ridden for the first time. Tennessee Walkers are started at about 18 months. Quarter Horses aimed at futurities at two. Others start their colts at three. The bigger the horse the longer you need to wait so they can finish growing. If you are big on Imprinting and the foal is small enough and you are tall enough you can start "riding" it at one hour of age."

I could hear his scream without my phone.

Trying to get the right piece of information to lend your story authenticity can be as easy as picking up a phone and asking a fellow writer with expertise in the subject. And yes, I am howling with laughter at that line. I've been on both sides of this one.

The Internet is another source of information. It is also a good way to chew up hours of your valuable time if you are a research junky as I am. You can also get some very bad information if you aren't careful. Just the other day I found a site with a seemingly scholarly work about the horses of China. Fortunately I read the whole article and knew a lot about different aspects of horses. There was serious misinformation concerning the Morgan breed. There was completely erroneous information regarding the horses that pulled the caisson that carried John F. Kennedy' body in procession (they were Lipizzans descended from horses the Spanish Riding School gave the United States for helping to rescue the Lipizzan breeding stock during World War II) as well as other things about horses I knew were wrong. I did an extensive background check on the writer and discovered he was not qualified in any way to be considered seriously as a source. So be careful, double check and cross check your information.

Sometimes there is nothing else to do except head for the library. Just as the savvy horseman heads for the teacher who can explain new concepts in the simplest fashion, the savvy writer heads for the children's book section. Books for children provide a lot of information in an easy, quick to find format. They even have pictures.

What about the times you want some specialized information that is probably not going to be in a children's book? And you don't know anyone who has the answer? How long it takes a mare to foal comes to my mind as something that writers get wrong on a consistent basis. HINT They don't carry their foals for nine months, as humans and cows do, and they don't take hours and hours to give birth.

You are not likely to find this information in anything except a textbook for veterinarians or specialized book about breeding horses. Most libraries don't have these readily available.

Just for the record the answers are; a mare carries her foal eleven months and it takes fifteen to thirty minutes to foal from the time she begins to seriously go into labor. Meaning, in the case of horses, she is displaying signs you can recognize as being in labor. Any longer than thirty minutes and you need your veterinarian.

In addition to being a rider and a writer I am also a cook who likes to collect old cookbooks. Some have recipes beginning, "Catch your chicken."

There are a lot of similarities between cooking, training a horse and writing a book. Writing the book is probably safest of the three. I don't know many writers who are on a first name basis with all the staff at the nearest first care medical facility because of their writing. I don't know any horseman who isn't. As for cooking, messing around with sharp knives and hot stuff occasionally warrants a trip to the ER. The probably is just in case you write a book that causes someone or the other to put a price on your head. It has happened.

Whether you are training a horse or writing a book the first thing involves catching.
If you can't catch your horse you aren't going to be riding or driving.

If you can't catch an idea (you really need lots and lots of ideas for a book) you are not going to write a book.

Whether you are writing a book or training a horse both projects take a lot of time. And you are never absolutely certain what you are going to end up with. The colt with champion bloodlines may turn out to be a nice kid's horse. The gawky animal, of no particular promise, becomes a champion.

I know of more than one writer scratching her head because the book she was sure was a winner fizzled gently. There is also puzzlement over the book dashed off to meet a deadline turning into a popular best seller. I know one writer who has a character she originally created as a secondary character. Well, for some reason, he has become a mainstay of her series and she's actually had fans come to blows over whether he or her original hero is the better guy. Go figure.

You can't train a horse or write a book in one session. The best way to train a horse, or write a book, is to have a goal in mind, a map, and do a little at a time, on a regular basis, over a long period of time.

I hope what I include in this book will help you make your book better. It is available at www.hollylisle.com
If I haven't included the information you need please contact me at ElizBald@aol.com with your question. I will try to answer your question or tell you where you might find the answer.

Happy writing and riding.

Elizabeth J. Baldwin