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The Black Stallion #14
The Horse-Tamer
While waiting for a delayed airplane, old Henry Dailey, the Black's trainer, tells young Alec Ramsay a story of his own youth, travelling with his brother, Bill. Bill Dailey's talent as a horse-whisperer was unmatched in the days before the automobile and young Henry tells of an unscrupulous con-man who mistreats horses into behaving temporarily. Bill is determined to show that the man is a fraud, but can he unmask the con without getting hurt?Walter Farley experimented with many genres of writing and here, in his only foray into historical fiction, he weaves a fascinating tale of life when horses were the primary means of transportation.
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1958
22 people are currently reading
1123 people want to read
About the author
Walter Farley
169 books1,044 followersWalter Farley's love for horses began when he was a small boy living in Syracuse, New York, and continued as he grew up in New York City, where his family moved. Young Walter never owned a horse. But unlike most city children, he had little trouble gaining firsthand experience with horses-his uncle was a professional horseman, and Walter spent much of his time at the stables with him.
"He wasn't the most successful trainer of race horses," Mr. Farley recalled, "and in a way I profited by it. He switched from runners to jumpers to show horses to trotters and pacers, then back to runners again. Consequently, I received a good background in different kinds of horse training and the people associated with each."
Walter Farley began to write his first book, THE BLACK STALLION, while he was a student at Brooklyn's Erasmus Hall High School and Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania, and
finished it while he was an undergraduate at Columbia University. It was published by Random House when he was 26. He used his first advance to go traveling and after that hardly stopped longer than it took him to write another book. He traveled and lived in Mexico, Hawaii, the South Seas, most of the South American countries, the Caribbean Islands, and Europe.
The appearance of THE BLACK STALLION in 1941 was hailed by enthusiastic boys and girls all over the country. An avalanche of mail urged Mr. Farley to write more about Alec Ramsey and the Black. But World War II intervened. Mr. Farley went into the US Army, where he spent the next five years. Most of the time he was assigned to Yank, the army weekly magazine, and he was also trained in the Fourth Armored Division.
After the war Walter Farley resumed the adventures of Alec and the Black with THE BLACK STALLION RETURNS. This was followed by SON OF THE BLACK STALLION. Then Mr. Farley tried his hand at a story about a new boy, Steve Duncan, and a new horse, Flame, in THE ISLAND STALLION. Mr. Farley's readers were just as delighted with this book as his others.
Mr. Farley went on to write many more stories about the two stallions, and about other horses as well. Children of all ages have found Farley titles to enjoy, since many of the later stories were written for Mr. Farley's own children when they were too young to read his Stallion novels. And older readers and adults have been gripped by his fictionalized biography of America's greatest Thoroughbred, Man O'War. Walter Farley's titles reached a grand total of 34. The 21 Black Stallion and Island Stallion stories are still in print and selling steadily. His readers respond with passion, writing him thousands of letters and emails every year. In May 1949, the first Black Stallion Club was founded, in Kentucky. Mr. Farley designed a membership button for it; the button was in constant demand among his readers for years. The Black Stallion books were so popular in the late 1940s and '50s that they York Times annual list of best-selling children's books. Three nationwide Black Stallion contests were held. Walter Farley's books have been published abroad in more than 20 countries, including Austria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, England, Israel, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaya, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, and Switzerland, as well as in the United States and Canada.
All his life Walter Farley remained a keen spectator of the racing scene, and he enjoyed nothing more than hobnobbing with horse trainers and other professional horsemen. It is thanks to these people that his books are so full of authentic details of raising and training horses. When not busy working or traveling, Mr. Farley liked to ride dressage and high school Lippizaner horses. He also sailed and sometimes raced his 35-foot auxiliary sloop "Circe."
Mr. Farley and his wife Rosemary, had four children: Pam, Alice, Steve, and Tim, whom they raised on a farm in Pennsylvania and in a beach house in Florida. In addit
"He wasn't the most successful trainer of race horses," Mr. Farley recalled, "and in a way I profited by it. He switched from runners to jumpers to show horses to trotters and pacers, then back to runners again. Consequently, I received a good background in different kinds of horse training and the people associated with each."
Walter Farley began to write his first book, THE BLACK STALLION, while he was a student at Brooklyn's Erasmus Hall High School and Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania, and
finished it while he was an undergraduate at Columbia University. It was published by Random House when he was 26. He used his first advance to go traveling and after that hardly stopped longer than it took him to write another book. He traveled and lived in Mexico, Hawaii, the South Seas, most of the South American countries, the Caribbean Islands, and Europe.
The appearance of THE BLACK STALLION in 1941 was hailed by enthusiastic boys and girls all over the country. An avalanche of mail urged Mr. Farley to write more about Alec Ramsey and the Black. But World War II intervened. Mr. Farley went into the US Army, where he spent the next five years. Most of the time he was assigned to Yank, the army weekly magazine, and he was also trained in the Fourth Armored Division.
After the war Walter Farley resumed the adventures of Alec and the Black with THE BLACK STALLION RETURNS. This was followed by SON OF THE BLACK STALLION. Then Mr. Farley tried his hand at a story about a new boy, Steve Duncan, and a new horse, Flame, in THE ISLAND STALLION. Mr. Farley's readers were just as delighted with this book as his others.
Mr. Farley went on to write many more stories about the two stallions, and about other horses as well. Children of all ages have found Farley titles to enjoy, since many of the later stories were written for Mr. Farley's own children when they were too young to read his Stallion novels. And older readers and adults have been gripped by his fictionalized biography of America's greatest Thoroughbred, Man O'War. Walter Farley's titles reached a grand total of 34. The 21 Black Stallion and Island Stallion stories are still in print and selling steadily. His readers respond with passion, writing him thousands of letters and emails every year. In May 1949, the first Black Stallion Club was founded, in Kentucky. Mr. Farley designed a membership button for it; the button was in constant demand among his readers for years. The Black Stallion books were so popular in the late 1940s and '50s that they York Times annual list of best-selling children's books. Three nationwide Black Stallion contests were held. Walter Farley's books have been published abroad in more than 20 countries, including Austria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, England, Israel, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaya, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, and Switzerland, as well as in the United States and Canada.
All his life Walter Farley remained a keen spectator of the racing scene, and he enjoyed nothing more than hobnobbing with horse trainers and other professional horsemen. It is thanks to these people that his books are so full of authentic details of raising and training horses. When not busy working or traveling, Mr. Farley liked to ride dressage and high school Lippizaner horses. He also sailed and sometimes raced his 35-foot auxiliary sloop "Circe."
Mr. Farley and his wife Rosemary, had four children: Pam, Alice, Steve, and Tim, whom they raised on a farm in Pennsylvania and in a beach house in Florida. In addit
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
August 3, 2024
This book walked so that Nicholas Evans' The Horse Whisperer could run. Like most of these books, the ending was legitimately exciting, but that did not make up for the absolutely atrocious editing. In keeping with The Black Stallion Mystery, the phrase "the big man" was used 25 times, sometimes twice in one page. The editing in these books leave a lot to be desired. However, I did love the illustrations in the copy that I read. They were very nostalgic.
January 6, 2018
At one time horses were the way people got around, did their work. Many people owned or worked with horses and didn't know much about them. Horses know this and develop bad habits as they don't want to work hard, if they don't have to.
Bill Dailey was a horse whisperer of sorts. He went around solving people's problems with their horses and tried to teach them how to avoid future problems.
This book is part of the Black Stallion series and does tie to the Black. It is a novel and has a problem other than breaking horses' bad habits for Bill to solve.
This is an easy book to read. It does have some interesting insights into horses for the horse person. Even the non horse person will enjoy the story as Bill faces problem horses that would send me running for the exit.
Bill Dailey was a horse whisperer of sorts. He went around solving people's problems with their horses and tried to teach them how to avoid future problems.
This book is part of the Black Stallion series and does tie to the Black. It is a novel and has a problem other than breaking horses' bad habits for Bill to solve.
This is an easy book to read. It does have some interesting insights into horses for the horse person. Even the non horse person will enjoy the story as Bill faces problem horses that would send me running for the exit.
July 30, 2011
Bill Dailey is a horseman. He tames the wildest horses brought before him. Horses no one else can touch. Horses that bite and kick and have been locked in their stalls for years. And he does all this in a matter of minutes.
But he doesn’t use tricks. Doesn’t sell potions. Or whisper in the horses’ ears. Or turn his lessons into a show.
And when Finn Casperson threatens Bill's morality, it may be the greatest challenge either has ever faced.
My final Black Stallion book (sigh—how sad!). I skipped over this one growing up because it wasn’t about the Black, or Alec, or horse racing. But Walter Farley always has a knack for building suspense. And Bill’s many face-offs made The Horse Tamer a quick, exciting, and engaging read.
But he doesn’t use tricks. Doesn’t sell potions. Or whisper in the horses’ ears. Or turn his lessons into a show.
And when Finn Casperson threatens Bill's morality, it may be the greatest challenge either has ever faced.
My final Black Stallion book (sigh—how sad!). I skipped over this one growing up because it wasn’t about the Black, or Alec, or horse racing. But Walter Farley always has a knack for building suspense. And Bill’s many face-offs made The Horse Tamer a quick, exciting, and engaging read.
September 19, 2018
"It only takes a little nerves and a lot of kindness to win the respect and confidence of most horses."
I've definitely said it before, but it's weird reading a Black Stallion book without The Black. BUT I did enjoy this one more than some of the Flame stories (especially the one with the aliens. What the heck was that about?!)
It's almost entirely flashbacks about Henry's brother and how he comes to be horse-tamer. It's interesting to see these methods since I'm sure a lot of them were common at the height of horsemanship. Reminds me a little of The Horse Whisperer
I've definitely said it before, but it's weird reading a Black Stallion book without The Black. BUT I did enjoy this one more than some of the Flame stories (especially the one with the aliens. What the heck was that about?!)
It's almost entirely flashbacks about Henry's brother and how he comes to be horse-tamer. It's interesting to see these methods since I'm sure a lot of them were common at the height of horsemanship. Reminds me a little of The Horse Whisperer
January 13, 2026
This book is about Henry's older brother Bill and how his understanding of horses led him to become a professional horse tamer. These days, you'd probably think of him as a horse whisperer.
The idea is that even when many people owned horses, not a lot of folks really understood them. A horse owner and a horseman are two different things. Not a lot of people thought about equine psychology and Bill's empathy for horses allowed him to figure out what horses' bad behavior spring from and how to fix that behavior. In a time when Black Beauty was written to protest the inhumane treatment of so many horses, this was unusual and IMO necessary.
There has to be a plot to go along with these ideas about horses, so Bill runs across a slick saleman who wants to use Bill's ability to make a lot of money. A lot of his shady ideas about how to turn a profit end up turning Bill's stomach, so the two go their separate ways. When Bill hears how this guy is now styling himself as a horse tamer too and using trickery to pull off his "taming", Bill decides to teach him a lesson. And that's how the zebra comes in.
The idea is that even when many people owned horses, not a lot of folks really understood them. A horse owner and a horseman are two different things. Not a lot of people thought about equine psychology and Bill's empathy for horses allowed him to figure out what horses' bad behavior spring from and how to fix that behavior. In a time when Black Beauty was written to protest the inhumane treatment of so many horses, this was unusual and IMO necessary.
There has to be a plot to go along with these ideas about horses, so Bill runs across a slick saleman who wants to use Bill's ability to make a lot of money. A lot of his shady ideas about how to turn a profit end up turning Bill's stomach, so the two go their separate ways. When Bill hears how this guy is now styling himself as a horse tamer too and using trickery to pull off his "taming", Bill decides to teach him a lesson. And that's how the zebra comes in.
February 13, 2023
This is a long-time favorite that I hadn't reread in a while. If you're familiar with the Black Stallion stories, this story is being told by Henry about some time he spent living with his older brother, back in the days when horses were the #1 mode of transportation. However, this book can easily be read as a standalone separate from the rest of the Black Stallion series. It's a fun tale about young Hank and his brother traveling around helping people with horses that have bad or even dangerous habits. The more adventurous part involves a shyster who is doing the same thing as a big, money-making production, but uses cruel and unsafe methods, so Hank's brother is determined to expose him for the fraud that he is. It's a kid's story, so don't expect too much from it, but it's still a fun read and one that I absolutely loved when I was younger.
December 2, 2022
The Black Stallion series is such a wonderful series, and I love all the books, but I prefer Alec and The Black over Bill and random horses. Still, I recommend this book.
Summary:
While Henry, Alec and The Black are waiting on a plane, Henry starts lecturing Alec about when he was young. Henry is over seeing his older brother, Bill, who is a stagecoach manufacturer. It turns put Bill is an excellent horse tamer, and a new friend of theirs encourages him to travel around and tame people's horses. When Bill turns against his friend, Finn, Finn sets of assuming he can train horses twice as well. But Bill faces him with the challenge of training a wild Zebra who is perfectly capable of killing, he fails.
Summary:
While Henry, Alec and The Black are waiting on a plane, Henry starts lecturing Alec about when he was young. Henry is over seeing his older brother, Bill, who is a stagecoach manufacturer. It turns put Bill is an excellent horse tamer, and a new friend of theirs encourages him to travel around and tame people's horses. When Bill turns against his friend, Finn, Finn sets of assuming he can train horses twice as well. But Bill faces him with the challenge of training a wild Zebra who is perfectly capable of killing, he fails.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2023
3.5 stars. Usually, I haven't enjoyed books in this series NOT featuring The Black, but within that array of books, this one was pretty entertaining - and blessedly short. Alec and The Black definitely bring the magic for sure.
This was entertaining and a fun read. I had to spend energy ignoring the rampant horse abuse committed during this time, I still find myself liking Bill and young Hank. Finn was more a man of his time rather than him being actually evil, though that doesn't mean I liked him much.
I recommend to fans of the series.
This was entertaining and a fun read. I had to spend energy ignoring the rampant horse abuse committed during this time, I still find myself liking Bill and young Hank. Finn was more a man of his time rather than him being actually evil, though that doesn't mean I liked him much.
I recommend to fans of the series.
March 5, 2022
This book was really interesting to me, as it was slightly different from the previous books in the series. In this one, Alec and Henry are waiting on a plane. To pass the time, Henry tells Alec stories about his life and how things used to be when horses were the primary method of transportation and labor on farms. This was slightly story and slightly historical and I loved both aspects of it. This was a great book.
November 17, 2025
Henry Dailey tells Alec a story about his brother, who was the best horse tamer ever.
3.5 stars but I'm rounding up for nostalgia. I actually didn't remember that I'd read this as a kid until I got to the ending which included 'taming' a zebra. Still fun as a re-read. Someday I'm going to have to revisit the Black Stallion books.
3.5 stars but I'm rounding up for nostalgia. I actually didn't remember that I'd read this as a kid until I got to the ending which included 'taming' a zebra. Still fun as a re-read. Someday I'm going to have to revisit the Black Stallion books.
November 15, 2022
Horse books aren’t my favorite, but this one was pretty good.
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July 26, 2023SKW to BHW
April 28, 2012
First, a note: I will never try to use my Nook to write a book review again. I had written quite a long review - not easy on the Nook's touch-screen, which is not well-laid-out and lacks a number of conveniences which are standard on other Android devices - only to make the slightest mis-touch and lose EVERYTHING. That's incredibly annoying.
That said, The Horse Tamer is part of Walter Farley's Black Stallion series, and it's both charming and memorable. Bracketed by short passages featuring Alec, Henry, and the Black, it's actually a historical novel; Henry's story of his older brother, who tamed horses in the days when horses were the standard mode of transportation. Henry himself plays a small but substantial part in the tale.
Unlike most entries in the series, it's not a racing story. But the story of "problem" horses and how to help them is quite fascinating, as well as exciting. I first read this book as a boy, and it has stuck in my head ever since. I'm glad to be able to buy it for my own son, and for the chance to read it again. It includes the original black-and-white line drawings, which are charming. I strongly recommend this book. One caveat, however: the Nook edition has been formatted with HUGE margins. Even when the text is manually set to the smallest margin size, the margins are nearly as large as the text itself - which means that in portrait orientation, each line of text is only a few words wide. This is somewhat awkward.
I assume that the publisher did it because the book is SO short, only 100 pages. With reasonable formatting, it would have probably been closer to 70 pages long, even with the illustrations - and they may feel that it would be difficult to charge a full-novel price (even a low one) for what is probably only a novella. But it's a really fine story, and any fan of Walter Farley, the Black, or horses would be wise to pick it up. Strongly recommended!
That said, The Horse Tamer is part of Walter Farley's Black Stallion series, and it's both charming and memorable. Bracketed by short passages featuring Alec, Henry, and the Black, it's actually a historical novel; Henry's story of his older brother, who tamed horses in the days when horses were the standard mode of transportation. Henry himself plays a small but substantial part in the tale.
Unlike most entries in the series, it's not a racing story. But the story of "problem" horses and how to help them is quite fascinating, as well as exciting. I first read this book as a boy, and it has stuck in my head ever since. I'm glad to be able to buy it for my own son, and for the chance to read it again. It includes the original black-and-white line drawings, which are charming. I strongly recommend this book. One caveat, however: the Nook edition has been formatted with HUGE margins. Even when the text is manually set to the smallest margin size, the margins are nearly as large as the text itself - which means that in portrait orientation, each line of text is only a few words wide. This is somewhat awkward.
I assume that the publisher did it because the book is SO short, only 100 pages. With reasonable formatting, it would have probably been closer to 70 pages long, even with the illustrations - and they may feel that it would be difficult to charge a full-novel price (even a low one) for what is probably only a novella. But it's a really fine story, and any fan of Walter Farley, the Black, or horses would be wise to pick it up. Strongly recommended!
July 26, 2011
The Black Stallion's Sulky Colt
The Island Stallion Races
The Black Stallion's Courage
The Black Stallion Mystery
The Horse-Tamer (all by Walter Farley)
I stepped away from my re-read of this series as I just knew the two books listed first were coming up. Even as a child I never cared for the books without Alec and the Black. These two (Sulky Colt and Island Stallion Races) were even worse than I remembered. I wonder if The Island Stallion Races is what turned me off of sci-fi. The Black Stallion's Courage was one of my faves in the series and I still liked it a lot, even if I found some of it pretty implausible. I actually enjoyed The Black Stallion Mystery a bit more this time around. The Horse-Tamer isn't really part of the series but is about the Black's trainer Henry Dailey as a boy. Kind of bland, really.
The Island Stallion Races
The Black Stallion's Courage
The Black Stallion Mystery
The Horse-Tamer (all by Walter Farley)
I stepped away from my re-read of this series as I just knew the two books listed first were coming up. Even as a child I never cared for the books without Alec and the Black. These two (Sulky Colt and Island Stallion Races) were even worse than I remembered. I wonder if The Island Stallion Races is what turned me off of sci-fi. The Black Stallion's Courage was one of my faves in the series and I still liked it a lot, even if I found some of it pretty implausible. I actually enjoyed The Black Stallion Mystery a bit more this time around. The Horse-Tamer isn't really part of the series but is about the Black's trainer Henry Dailey as a boy. Kind of bland, really.
August 23, 2015
This one was something different, only barely attached to the Black Stallion chronology, and I think that's why I liked it. I was ready for something a little different, and this fit the bill quite nicely.
It has a slightly Marguerite Henry-ish tone, partly because it's not about a 'super-horse', although it's not as charming as her tales. A pretty good little story that breaks up the same-old, same-old routine of the main series.
It has a slightly Marguerite Henry-ish tone, partly because it's not about a 'super-horse', although it's not as charming as her tales. A pretty good little story that breaks up the same-old, same-old routine of the main series.
January 22, 2023
I was having a reading slump where I didn't know what to start and I saw a different Walter Farley book on my ereader and then had a sudden craving to read this childhood fave.
What a delightful, fun read. While I wasn't a big horse girl, I definitely remember reading this book many times as a child and finding all the horse training tidbits so SMART and the characters so GENUINE and interesting!
What a delightful, fun read. While I wasn't a big horse girl, I definitely remember reading this book many times as a child and finding all the horse training tidbits so SMART and the characters so GENUINE and interesting!
January 30, 2015
This book really had nothing to do with The Black Stallion, but was a story about Henry Dailey's older brother. Bill Dailey was a carriage maker and his father sent Henry to stay with him for the summer to learn the craft. What Henry ended up learning was the art of horse taming, as Bill came into his true calling.
April 8, 2017
I enjoyed the characters, and their world and hope I get the chance to read the story again and/or to read more within the series.
My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.
My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.
October 2, 2015
This was a strange interlude in the Black Stallion series. The Black has nothing to do with it -- it's just a really long ramble from Henry. I think this is the only Black Stallion book with illustrations in the paperback version. These "horse-taming" methods seem awful brutal by today's standards.
August 22, 2007
one of my favs.
July 15, 2008
I remember being very reluctant to read this book. It wasn't really part of the Black Stallion series; in fact I think was a biography of sorts. Anyhow, not my favorite.
December 31, 2021
A very good book, the story of Henry’s brother, the Horse-Tamer. Ready to get back to racing though.
March 10, 2009
Farley's autobiographical stories about his older brother, a horse trainer.
April 16, 2009
Not the best for horsey people but drops in some nice period history. I can't imagine a kid even liking this book.
January 9, 2010
I stormed through this series. I made a beeline for the "F" section for a month's worth of library visits, until I had read the whole series.
November 6, 2010
This book was very entrapping. Good read!
August 1, 2011
The first book was the story of a boy and a horse, but the series grows with books on similar themes of overcoming adversity and animal/human bonding. Loved them as a kid.
July 7, 2011
Definately a book to read. It just goes to show that there are ways to train horse's that doesn't involve pain, suffering and abuse. Plus you can rid a horse of bad habits.
May 19, 2016
What's not to like about Walter Farley and my favourite horse series (even now)
November 16, 2015
Reread
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews