The Christmas Horse Treasury

A richly illustrated Christmas collection for horse lovers, history readersand anyone who still listens for hoofbeats in the snow.The Christmas Horse Treasury brings together original short stories, classicand commissioned poetry, equestrian history, winter folklore, reflective essaysand beautiful works of art in one atmospheric gift book.Travel the old coaching roads when every winter journey depended upon thestrength and judgment of horses. Enter a stable by lantern light on ChristmasEve. Discover the traditions of the Welsh Mari Lwyd, the mysterious belief thatanimals speak at midnight, the horse customs of St Stephen's Day and thepractical reason sleigh bells once rang across snowy roads.At the heart of the collection are evocative new stories about courage, hospitality, loss and responsibility. A riderless horse returns to an inn carryingthe secret of what happened on the road. Two sisters receive a troubling wintervisitor while sorting their father's possessions. A posting-house keeperwelcomes one final traveller as the age of horse-powered transport draws to aclose. During a difficult Christmas-night foaling, a young groom learns thathope is inseparable from duty.Alongside the fiction are intimate reflections on hoofprints, old stable rugs, ageing ponies and the particular grief of remembering horses. Social andcultural histories reveal the unseen labour behind romantic winter scenes, fromfrozen water buckets and harness care to posting stations, sleigh racing andChristmas race meetings.Illustrated with historic paintings, prints and carefully chosen stablephotography, this handsome Christmas horse book celebrates the animals whocarried travellers, worked through winter and transformed ordinary acts of careinto lasting memories.A distinctive equestrian Christmas gift for horse owners, riders, folkloreenthusiasts and lovers of beautifully illustrated books. It is a treasury to display, revisit every winter and give to anyone who has ever paused at a stable door tolisten.