Storey's Guide to Raising Horses: Breeding, Care, Facilities

by Heather Smith Thomas

Raising horses successfully requires good preparation, hard work, and a sincere interest in your animals’ well-being. With in-depth information on all aspects of horsekeeping, including grooming, foaling, housing, diet, exercise, and medical care, this comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know to raise healthy and happy horses. Whether you have one horse or are managing a full stable, Storey’s Guide to Raising Horses shows you how to provide the care your animals need while reducing veterinary costs and improving your operation’s self-sufficiency. 

Genres: Nonfiction, Horses, Animals

512 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2000

About the author

Heather Smith Thomas grew up on a ranch near Salmon, Idaho. She is the author of 20 books and thousands of articles on animal health care. She began writing stories for children’s magazines while still in high school and wrote articles for horse and farm publications to help pay her way through college. She wrote her first book, "A Horse in Your Life: A Guide for the New Owner," during the summer between her sophomore and junior year of college. She and her husband Lynn Thomas have been raising beef cattle and a few horses on their ranch in central Idaho since 1967. Most of her books and articles deal with horse or cattle health care, breeding, or handling. Her goal has been to learn all she can about the care of horses and cattle, and to share this with her readers. One of her books, however, discusses an entirely different subject. "Beyond the Flames" tells about her daughter’s severe burn injury and how this changed their lives.

Reviews

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this is the COOLEST horse book I have ever read. She literally covers everything to do with horses. From pastures and barns to training and grooming. Common health problems, treatments, breeding, foal care, etc. etc. I love love love this book. I need to have it in my collection. I learned a ton! And it's written in a way that's easy to understand while still covering some common medical terms you will hear from your vet. As a horse loving child that read every book about horses I could get my hands on, I would have loved to read this one. It's a great guide to horses and I would recommend it to any horse owners out there looking to become more knowledgeable. Five out of five stars to Storey's Guide to Raising Horses.

[Katherine Hayward Pérez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved horses ever since I rode them at my local therapeutic riding group (RDA) and adored books about horses, I still love everything about horses.

Storey’s Guide to Raising Horses has excellent coverage on everything you need to know to take care of a horse, from grooming and foaling to disease and treatment as well as nutrition and more. This is the updated 2nd edition.

I felt a real nostalgia for my riding days and have always wanted a horse. I can dream....that dream seemed a little closer because of this book. And the images are beautiful too. An all round wonderful book and the depth of the author's knowledge is excellent but the writing style is accessible to all. Highly recommended whether you own a horse or not.

5 stars.

[Patina Malinalli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether you dream of owning a horse, are currently leasing one, own one or are interested in breeding them, this is a book you need on your shelf. It has detailed information on some health issues (for foals and young horses as well as adult horses). I loved the informative descriptions and diagrams regarding barns and fencing. Five stars!

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Posted to my blog on release day: Nonstop Reader.

Storey's Guide to Raising Horses is the third edition of the encyclopedic horse guide. Due out 2nd Feb 2021 from Storey, it's 448 pages and will be available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats.

The first edition of this book is one of the very first books (along with several other Storey's guides) I bought when we were still in the 'dreaming and planning' phase of our smallholding. It's still the first book I recommend to people who are interested in horses.

I think it's vitally important (especially when caring for or interacting with other living creatures) to do the very best we can to give them the highest quality life possible. This is a well written, understandable and accessible reference guide which covers pretty much everything to do with horses in a no-nonsense and scientifically sound manner.

A lot of the information may seem basic to people who have grown up with horses, but for people learning from scratch the information is well explained and built up logically in an understandable way. The first section covers all the basics: facilities, feeding, seasonal care, foot care, and handling.

The healthcare section expands on the basics and gives a very good, factual overview over keeping and maintaining healthy stock and covers everyday problems such as infectious and non-infectious disease, toxic plants, gut health (and what to do when your horse insists on being an idiot and eating something that isn't good for him), first aid, skin health and much much more.

The third section is much more advanced and will not have relevance for every reader - but it gives a good overview over what to expect and look for with breeding stock, selection, genetics, keeping a stallion, breeding, foaling, care of foals and young horses.

Like all the Storey's Guides it also includes a number of excellent appendices including a good basic anatomy guide, glossary, and cross referenced index.

With a brief comparison between this new 3rd edition and my 1st edition, I can say the new one is much more colorful and much better illustrated. There seems to be some new content as well. There's enough of an update that I'm seriously considering upgrading my copy of the 1st edition.

Five stars. Solid info for the smallholder or horse-keeper.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Rev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes I just read books cause I saw them at work and decided to see what was in them. I love horses, and have considered aspiring to own one someday, and this book definitely works as an overview of what to expect when it comes to horse care and particularly for breeding considerations. A full third of the book was dedicated to that. There's plenty of pictures but I also think there's plenty of things mentioned that could have benefited from having a picture to go along with it to make it easier to understand what was being referred to. The information is also laid out in a relatively easy to understand way as well.

Pretty solid book, although I'd definitely do more research through other sources as well.

[Tamara Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good basic overview to horse care and breeding. Its not as in-depth as I would like. There were a few pretty basic things missing, for example there was no discussion on treating arthritis or description of beet pulp and its preparation for example. Both of these topics are fairly commonplace, in my opinion, yet were not touched on. This would be a great book for first time horse owners looking for information on handing, care, breeding and nutrition. There is no discussion of riding, saddlery or equipment so this would not be a good choice if that is your interest. The sections on breeding are excellent. Would be a good resource for broodmare owners.

[Cherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great and comprehensive reference book that covers a lot of what horse people call common sense, but is actually learned skills for those who don't grow up with horses. The pictures and diagrams are clear and helpful, and a lot of very important topics are discussed in enough depth. I think it's a great addition to a horse person's library and would be one you would come to again and again to check on things or read up on first aid information.

I received a free digital copy via NetGalley, but the opinions expressed are my own.

[yojharobed || I have no sword. I don't need a sword. Because I am the Doctor and this is my spoon. En garde! · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWESOME!!!
I got this book from the library and liked it so much that i bought it! It tells you practically everything you need to know about raising horses!
It is not a riding book so don't read it expecting to learn about riding, but it has great sections about breeding, foaling, health, poisonous plants, and more! It is a very good resource for lot of things you need to know i give it 5 stars wholeheartedly!!!!!

[AcademicEditor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really nicely designed guide for the new horse owner or a prospective one. It distills the kind of knowledge you'd get over decades of experience in a very clear way. It would make a great gift.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

[Aqua Horse · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a great guidebook and i learned new things about horses that i didn't already know...impressive

[Nisha Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wealth of information! Covers basic horsekeeping, health care and breeding. A must read for horse lovers.