Review: JOSEPHINE - How Horses Are Trained

How Horses are Trained is this week's book. It was first published in 1961 and is a non fictional work.

The blurb reads:-

Josephine Pullein-Thompson, famous for her books on riding, explains the basic training of all riding horses and then deals with the specialists - from show jumper to pit pony. There is a chapter on how horses were trained in the past and one of advice to would-be-trainers.

Written in comprehensive language it will be of interest to all who wish to know what lies behind the accomplished performances of race horse, circus pony or show jumper.

This book is part of the "How" series and this series includes such titles as "How We Weigh and Measure" and "How A Book Is Made".

Curiously, this book has a list of acknowledgements, of which one is a Mr. Dennis Far, who is her sister Diana's late husband.

The first chapter is entitled "The Trainer", which deals with the history of training horses from early Stone Age to the (at the time) present.

The second chapter is called "The Kindergarten", which deals with the training and handling of youngsters from a foal to early riding years (generally 4-5 years). It also deals with, albeit briefly, abandoned methods, such as the use of dumb jockeys.

The third chapter is called "The General Certificate of Education" which details with basic schooling (regardless of the discipline or job the horse is used). This includes some basic dressage such as a turn on the forehand, the rein back, and the half pass. It also deals with some basic faults.

The fourth chapter is entitled "Jumping Lessons". It deals with jumping, right from the extreme basics of teaching a horse to jump, to basic jumping.

The fifth chapter is called "The Stars". This deals with the various roles of the horse. The first part is called The Showjumper, and this deals with what sort of horse is best for jumping (competitively), and also how at the time, show jumping has changed.
The second part details The Competitive and High School Horse (basically the Dressage Horse). This details the various competitions that are (or were; there are more out now) available and what sort of horse is both conformationally and temperamentally suited to dressage. It also says about various movements requited (which have not been previously been discussed) at each level.
The third part details The Event Horse, and the sort of things you need for such a horse. This is slightly out of date as it says that a horse needs to do the road and tracks and steeplechase sections of a three day event. Very few events (and certainly not the major ones) have this section these days, as in the past few years it has been phased out. It also details with a minimum weight a horse must carry (11 stone 11 pounds for men, and 11 stone for women). which was phased out in the 1990s.

The sixth chapter is entitled "More Stars", which is basically a follow on to the previous chapter.
The first part is called Race Horse, which details with early training methods (1600-1700) and the type of horses that were around then. It then details with more up to date training methods too, from early training to a two year old. I'm not too sure how accurate it is, as like Eventing, the training of racehorses has changed over the years.
The next part deals with Polo Ponies, from a short basic history, to the training and the sort of pony that is useful.
The next part deals with Show Horses-Hacks, from the brief history of them (mainly to do with Rotten Row) to what is needed for a Show Hack as opposed to a "working" Hack.
The next part details with the Show Hunters, and what details it, and what is required of it (basically a well behaved type that the judge finds easy to ride).
The next part details Show Ponies. Basically set out as above, but the pony must be suitable for a child to ride. Instead of the judge riding it, they give shows, so must be well behaved.
The next part deals with Gymkhana Ponies. Basically it details what sort of pony temperamentally and in terms of speed is needed, rather than actual games.
The next part details the Circus Horse. This is out of date as there are few circuses that use animals (and consequently very few Circus Horses) but it is interesting from a historical point of view.

The seventh chapter is entitled "The Workers". The first part is called Riding School Horses. This details (albeit briefly) about what sort of pony that is needs, and basically what a good riding school should do.
The next part deals with Pit Ponies. Basically, like Circus Horses, this is out of date, as there are no Pit Ponies in the UK. Again, this is interesting from an historical point of view.
The next part deals with the Police Horse. I suspect that has hardly changed, as the ideal police horse has to be unphased by smoke, cars backfiring etc. It details with the extra things that are generally not taught to horses, and what sort of horse is suitable.

The eighth (and penultimate) chapter is called "How Horses Were Trained". This details with the history from the early Greeks (aroundd 400-350 years B.C.) to (at the time) present day. It also details (albeit briefly) on how the Romans, Saxonse etc had an influence on the (British) way horses/ponies were handled and ridden. It is interestign to deals. It also details, again, briefly, about the former roles of the hores as (save for show purposes) horse are not used for pulling mail coaches and for ploughing.

The nineth (and final) chapter is called "Advice to Would-Be Trainers". This details with what people should have (in terms of experience) before breaking a horse or pony. It also details do's and dont's.

There are also a couple of photos/drawings included in this book, one of Josephine riding a horse called Rosebay.

This book on the whole is still basically sound, though a little bit dated in places. A lot of it is due to changing attitudes and methods over the years, for example join up. For me, it was disappointing that it did not cover Western Riding. It is perhaps best used as an informal guide, with more up-to-date information out there. Of course this is terribly subjective, even horse care books written in the 1980s are how out of date. This fortunately on the whole has not dated as much when compared to other books that were around in the 1960s. The easy readability of this, though meant to be an instructional book, is not dull or boring, but is largely down to Josephine herself. This is because generally (her fictional) book are full of knowledge and are a wealth of information, but you get so absorbed in her story, that you hardly notice that you are getting a lesson too. Though the language in some places is a little old fashioned the book is still readable. Had it been written by a less able writer, then this book would have been better off on the history shelves.

Review: JOSEPHINE - Proud Riders

Proud Riders is this week's book. It was first published in 1973, and really is an anthology, the extracts are chosen by Josephine, rather than written by.

The blurb reads:-

A superb book for everyone interested in horses, a collection of stories and verses, fact and fiction, about horses and ponies and their riders at work; in the wild and at play, all over the world. Josephine Pullein-Thompson, famous for her own stories about horse, has brought together writing from all sorts of authors, who include Shakespeare and Tolstoy, Mark Twain and John Betjeman, Siegfried Sassoon and W H Hudson, Gordon Richards and Conan Doyle.

The book is illustrated by two sections of photographs which add another dimension to the whole theme of horses and their riders and their place in life.

The first extract is from More Ponies for Jean by Joanna Cannan, the second is from Roughing It by Mark Twain, the third is from Bengal Lancer by F. Yeats-Brown, the fourth is Memoirs of a fox-hunting man by Siegfried Sassoon, the fifth is a poem by John Betjeman, the sixth is from Sir Nigel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the seventh is from The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo, the eighth is from Animal Stories by Ruth Manning-Sanders, the ninth is from True Stories About Horses by Lilian Gask, the tenth is a poem called Equestrian Courtship by Thomas Hood, the eleventh is from A Galloway Childhood by Ian Niall, the twelfth is from The Horse by Seigfried Stander, the next one is a song called A Cowboy's Life by Anon., the fourteenth is from Far Away and Long Ago by W.H. Hudson, the fifteenth is a rather long poem from The Collected Verse of A.B.Paterson, the sixteenth is from Sporting Print by G. March-Phillips, the seventeenth is from My Story by Gordon Richards, the eighteenth is a rather long poem called The Worn-Out Pony by Anon., the nineteenth is from The Unvarnished West by J.M. Pollock, the twentieth is from Strider by Leo Tolstoy and the final bit is a poem from Venus and Adonis by Shakespeare.

It also begins with an introduction by Josephine Pullein-Thompson.

The quality varies. Some are quite enjoyable, others are not. I really enjoyed the extract from More Ponies For Jean by Joanna Cannan and also Memoirs of a fox-hunting man by Siegfried Sassoon. Some of the extracts include different styles of riding (such as Western) which some people. Also, An African Foal (from The Horse by Siegfried Stander) deals with another country (and continent) entirely, which again is not for everyone.

Of course this is all subjective, of course people will enjoy bits that others won't. But at least this (apart from the cover) does not date, the trouble is that with some anthologies (particularly by Christine) is that they include references to famous horse riders of the day, or horse care which is now out of date. But anthologies are a subject of love or hate themselves, some people hate them, some people love them. Personally I am in the hate category. But on the other hand, if you hate a book at least you are stuck with only one chapter rather than wasting a whole chapter.

Still, at least the quality of the extracts Josephine has chosen are of high quality and this is one of the better anthologies out there. Some anthologies do contain poor quality extracts, and this one does not. The best thing is if you find a cheap copy is to try it yourself.

Non pony works and more

I finally found Josephine's They Died In The Spring, so that means that I should be able to do it. I badly behind. My original plan was to do all of Josephine's at the end of the year, but it looks unlikely. This blog is very time consuming - the main problem is that I have to read the books.

A couple of weeks ago I lost my cat, and that messed things up. Mainly to do with concentration.

I have also decided (at some point, I need to do the pony books) to do the non pony books. Josephine I have already covered: she only wrote one, which is A Place With Two Faces. Christine was (not surprisingly) the most prolific: she wrote 30 non pony books. There is a possibility of her writing another: amazon list one, which is not listed on the British Library's catalogue. Certainly none have shown up to date. Diana wrote 9 books (three under her married name of Diana Farr), though I had only 7 on my want list. This is because two of them are political related (one of those is an autobiography) and frankly it bores me to tears. Even worse than The Pennyfields, I think.

I have 17 of Christine's books on my want list (excluding the one that may not exist) and 6 of Diana's. The majority of Christine's seem to be written in the 1960s and the same goes for Diana.

One of (Christine's) I got was this week: No-One At Home. It was written in the 1960s, though I got an 1976 reprint. Nothing wrong with that: except it clearly states that it was made from recycled paper. I thought that recycled paper books began in the 1990s: clearly not. Obviously Hamish Hamilton started to be environmentally aware, which was quite remarkable for the time, as all their (the PT's I mean) other pony works did not come from recycled paper which date from around the same time. I have seen on pony books "war economy standard" on books dating from WW2, but I thought that meant it was from lesser quality paper, and lower print runs.

Anyway, that turned out rather interesting. Generally, CPT's non pony work tend to be for an younger age, I have 3 in front of me. No-One At Home states it is for "about six to about nine years of age" and Giles And The Greyhound states it is "ideal for the 7- to 10-year-old". The Boys From the Cafe has no age range stated, though I suspect (though not having read it) it is for the 7 to 10 years range. I have no idea about Diana's works, though I suspect Choosing (published under her married name) is for adults.

Review: JOSEPHINE - A Place With Two Faces

OK I am cheating here. First of all I have misplaced They Died In the Spring, hence the lack of updates because I cant continue with the (Chief) Inspector Flecker series until I find it. Because of the rarity of the series I cant borrow/buy another one easily. If I don't find it soon, I will find another Josephine book.

Secondly, recently I have decided to purchase all of Christine's and Diana's non (fictional) pony works, and therefore I will be reviewing them at a later date. I want to get review the pony books first. Also, because of the rarity (in comparison) of their non-pony works, I need the complete series.

Because I touched on A Place With Two Faces before in a previous post, I have now decided to give it a proper review. All 3 sisters decided to publish under a different name (Diana published 3 books under her married name - Farr and Christine published 2 books under the (possible) pseudonym of Christine Keir). This book fades into some relative obscurity, mainly because it is hard to find, and not many people are aware that she wrote it. I was pointed out last year to a book called Who's Who, which lists many notable people, and in it, it has a complete bibliography of her works. (Diana is not listed, however her brother Denis Cannan is.) If you are interested in reading it, it is to be found in your reference section of your local library, however many libraries subscribe to Know UK. In Know UK, you can search Who's Who. Go to your local council's website and they will tell if you if you can access KnowUK. You do need to be a member of your local library, as Know UK does require you to enter your library card number.

A Place With Two Faces is quite a departure from her usual style. I am not sure why she wrote it under a pseudonym, maybe because she was so well known for her pony books during the 1970s (this one was published in 1972) that she did not decide to confuse parents as this is definitely not for children. Or alternatively, if she did not want to write any more of this style or it flopped (perhaps it wasnt a best seller due to it's rarity) then nobody would know who Josephine Mann was (or rather is). Or maybe, because it is such a wild departure that she wanted to distant herself, and her way was writing it under a pseudonym. You decide.

I say it is not for children, as it is described as gothic terror novel; certainly it is not "cosy" reading and it is definitely not instructive. It has drug and sex references for a start: though it does not go into great detail, they arent subjects for horsey loving kids. The religion Wicca is quite a predominent feature in the book, although it is not shoved down your neck. The blurb (of the first image) reads:-

'Darksome Night and shining Moon,
East then, South then West then North,
Hearken to the witches' run,
Hear I come to call thee forth -
Earth and Water Air and Fire...'

Fleeing from a broken romance, Jenny Maxwell came to Kilruthan in search of work and an escape from here past.

The large double-house set on the edge of the moors offered her a fresh start, and Mrs. Shaw, an eccentric author, seemed a hospitable employer. But from the moment she entered the house she was struck by the ominous echoes of fear that haunted every room. Strange accidents began to occur and she realised, with horror, that someone or something was out to kill her.

Caught in Kilruthan's web of evil, Jenny found herself witness to a witches' ritual and a black dance of death - a devil's dance which was to end in a sacred offering. And well she knew, with terror in her heart, that she was to be the sacrifice.

and the other blurb (second image) reads:-

Darksome Night and shining Moon,
East then, South then West then North,
Hearken to the witches' run,
Hear I come to call thee forth -
Earth and Water Air and Fire...'

A broken romance had brought Jenny Maxwell to Kilruthan on the edge of the moor. Here she would forget the hurt she suffered.

But from the moment she entered the house she was struck with fear. Strange accidents began to occur and she realized, with mounting horror, the something or someone wanted her dead.

Caught in an ominous web of evil, Jenny found herself witness to a witches ritual and a black dance of death - a devil's dance that could only end with Jenny herself as the sacred offering!

Both editions are not illustrated.

Firstly, I know nothing about the religion Wicca, so I dont know how true or not true it portrays the religion. But looking from the Wikipedia article, it appears some aspects are true.

In addition to the sex and drug references there is a death at the end of the book of one of the characters, which is highly unusual, as Diana was the one that used to do death in her books, Josephine as far as I am aware of (bear in mind I havent read all her books) doesnt do "death". There is also a romance in it too.

I found this book strangely enjoyable. I certainly forgot it was Josephine who wrote it about a quarter of the way through: however you could tell it was written by a decent author. Maybe if you are used to books by other gothic authors such as Anne Rice (this book also pre-dates any of Anne's works) then you may find not quite up to her standard, but if you want a cosy and loving read, then this is not for you. I found it quite chilling in places.

Still it is worth noting that there is more to the P-Ts than pony books. I have yet to experience either Diana's or Christine's non pony books, but they do come from good writing stock: Joanna (their mother) wrote more novels (including detective) than pony books. I have yet to read them either: but from what I know, they dont feature horses/ponies at all.

Review: JOSEPHINE - Gin and Murder

Gin and Murder is the first one of a series of books. They are less well known than many of her works: though they are horse related, the horses are less of an key element to the books. They are aimed at adults: in fact they are murder mystery books. Josephine is following in the steps of her mother, who was alive when this was published. This book is dedicated to her.

It was first published in 1959, though the image shown is a 1990 reprint. All 3 books are quite hard to find, though not as hard as Mystery On the Moor. The "Linford Mystery Library" editions are easier to find than the first, however they are in large print, making them quite bulky. However they are complete and unabridged, so you do not miss out on any story.

I have added it into 2 series: the series should really be called "(Chief) Inspector Flecker", as he is the character that appears throughout the whole series, and quite a key. However, because of the relative obscurity of the books, it may not be obvious to people, and therefore I am also adding a "Adult Murder Mystery" tag, which makes more sense.

The blurb reads:-

When Guy Vickers died after Commander Chadwick's cocktail party, murder was the last thing suspected by East Wintshire. Murder was something one read about in the Sunday newspapers; it just didn't happen to people like them.

But murder it was. And when Inspector Hollis of the County Police began his rather ham-handed investigations, he found plenty of motives concealed behind those conventional façades.

It took a second murder to stampede the Chief Constable into sending for help from Scotland Yard, and when help came in the person of Chief Inspector James Flecker, he began to wonder whether it had been a wise move...

The horse element is somewhat lesser than her horse books. It is mainly confined to the fact that the book is set against a hunting background. Part of the book dwells on the party of the hunting franiterny, and the politics of the hunt. Apart from a couple of visits to the kennels by James Flecker, and a somewhat minimally detailed hunting day, there isn't much horse related. The majority of the story is taken up by Inspector Hollis' and later Chief Inspector James Flecker's investigations.

Although it is meant for adults, it could be read by older teenagers too. There is a small amount of swearing here and there, so it would definitely not be suitable for children. Also, one of the characters in the book drinks a lot, and therefore it makes it also unsuitable for young teenagers.
If you do not like hunting or want more horses, then perhaps this is not the book for you: then you are better off with Josephine's other (fictional) works.

The books is not too graphic: to be honest, Josephine's other adult book: A Place With Two Faces (written under the pseudonym of Josephine Mann) is more so. But then again, that is a different genre: that is a gothic terror novel. If you dont like hearing (in graphic detail) about how the person died, worry not, apart from the cause of death, there is very little detail about the two people die.

I do not know if this is a good or bad murder mystery book: to be honest, I have yet to read any other murder mystery book. Although her mother (Joanna Cannan) was famous for writing detective novels (Rue Morgue Press compare to her to other famous authors at the time, including a friend, Georgette Heyer), it is probably a decent one. Joanna Cannan herself wrote one book which is along the lines of this (having a horsey background I mean) which is Murder Included, which I will review at a later date.

The characters are well thought out, and the situation is believable. It is neither a heavy read or a light one, it falls in the middle. The action flows along nicely, though the plot is not over complicated. For me personally, I was put off in detective/murder novels because I was worried about the plot and the book being very complicated, and therefore hard to follow, worry not. This is not the case.

Still it has a decent enough ending, and everything is nicely sown up, though the ending has a slight twist in it. Enough to keep most people amused, and perhaps not for everyone, but if you can get past the lack of horses. It is enough to keep people who are perhaps interested in murder mysteries but not horses happy. Quite a good book in all, and a decent enough departure from Josephine's usual style.

Review: JOSEPHINE - Plenty Of Ponies

This week's book is Plenty Of Ponies. It was first published in 1949, making it one of Josephine's earlier books (in fact it was her third book that she published).

The blurb reads (first picture):-

'Quite frankly, I don't think much of you Esmonds' said the colonel. 'You've got some of the nicest ponies in this Pony Club, but you don't seem to take any trouble.'

The Christmas holidays promise wonderful adventures for the five Esmonds - but somehow they always end up in disgrace. They let The Turk gallop through hounds, October has run riot in Mr. Simpson's garden - and now they've brought chaos to the Pony Club rally.

However, there's still the Children's Meet, and the Esmonds are determined to redeem themselves - and give the colonel the shock of his life....

The second scan is of a Collins Pony Library edition, which does not contain a blurb. However both editions contains illustrations. The Collins Pony Library edition are credited to Anne Bullen, which are presumably the same ones as the first edition. The other one (a White Lion edition) does not credit the illustrator, but they are the same ones as in the Collins Pony Library edition (and presumably, by Anne Bullen). The cover has been done by someone else, however.

The book starts out with Professor Esmond pointing out their bad points, of which they decide to "improve their characters". However things do not go to plan, even when hunting on Boxing Day the Master gets cross and a Colonel Howard tells them off.

This book is somewhat slightly stuffy, these days people do not think of "improving their characters". However there is a great deal of (mis)adventures to be read in this book, and this makes up for it. Granted, there aren't so many horse filled incidents until near the end, but the relationship of the children is enough to keep you occupied. Perhaps this is not the ideal book to start off with if you have not read Josephine's books before, as this is not her best work. However, it must be remembered that it is an early work of hers, and that is the reason why.

In some ways that old fashionedness sticks out, there is talk of brandy when someone is ill/has an accident, which is not used today in quite the same way (and certainly not given to children) and also of liver pills (which are not used these days either). Also there are frequent mentions of servants and gardeners, which (unless you are very rich) people don't have these days. Also when there is talk of hanging, it also dates it, as we don't have hanging anymore.

It is a book I am not particularly fond of, but if you can get past the old fashionedness of it, it is not too bad. Like All Change/The Hidden Horse, the ponies are a secondary element to this book.

Review: JOSEPHINE - Save The Ponies!

Save The Ponies is this week's book. It was first published in 1984, making this one of Josephine's later books.

The blurb reads:-

It all began when Mandy, Kate, Jeremy and Fergus met Nico and Sophia on the Greek Island where they were spending their holidays. Together they discover that a horse dealer from Athens is illegally buying up the island ponies to use them in a circus. Even Nico's beloved pony, Vrondi, is in danger.

In desperation, the children embark on a dramatic rescue attempt. They set off on a daring bare-back ride through the mountains determined on one thing - at all costs they must save the ponies!

A couple of notes: this is probably one of two pony books set in Greece; the other is Penny and Pegasus by Primrose Cumming and both authors were British. Secondly, there is an exact titled book by Gillian Baxter, however the Gillian Baxter one pre-dates this, as it was first published in 1971. If you do not own this book, please double check that you are getting the right one. Thirdly this reminds me of a book by her sister Christine called Stolen Ponies, which was published in 1957.

This book starts by Kate and Jeremy being bored, having being made to go with two people (Mandy and Fergus) who they aren't really friends with. They all decide to go for a beach walk (they are already at the island) where they meet Sophia and Nico. They tell them about a pony race happening tomorrow.

They all attend the race, which is rather crude by British standards. But the excitement makes up for it. They find some ponies to hire and it is during these rides that they find out that the ponies are being sold to a circus. But the ponies are involved in a sinister plot and that is where a plan of action comes along.

I felt that this was an ok effort. This is one of Josephine's adventure effort, it is not to bad as far as her stories goes. It is a pleasant, light red, however the unusual location gives it an added in-depth which is missing from other book. However if it is was not there it would not be as strong. The greatest strength really in this book is the detail of the difference of cultures and the way in life, as far as ponies are treated and people's attitude. But as this is supposed to be a pony book, it is a great shame.