Back in November, I copied a post from Nicholas C. Rossis’ blog, in turn reblogged from Dan Koboldt, about casting horses in fiction. I subsequently followed Dan’s blog and a while ago he added a further post on the subject, which I’d like to share with you now, as it made me nod my head frantically in agreement.
How to Write Horses Wrong: 8 Red Flags
covers some of the very topics that make me cringe when I read them in books, or see them on the screen
Now Dan’s blog doesn’t allow for reblogging, so I’ve copied the opening, and linked to the rest of it. If you are even considering including horses in your writing, I highly recommend you click on over there and read this article before you make any of the heinous mistakes I see so often…
The Expert: Rachel Chaney
Rachel Annelise Chaney spent her childhood inhaling every scrap of horse information she could find and riding every equine she could climb on. Since adopting an ex-racehorse, she’s ridden, trained or cared for everything from Thoroughbreds to Quarter Horses, Drafts to Arabians, Warmblood jumpers to Paint barrel racers. She recently wrote a wonderful post on matching horses to settings, uses, and characters.
A reader and writer of SFF, Rachel currently languishes in the Eternal Pit of Revision. You should follow her on Twitter. Send coffee. Ignore frustrated screams.
So you’re writing a book with horses in it and want to write the equines right.
Fantastic! Maybe you’ve already done some research, watched a lot of movies with horses or read horsey books.
I’ve got some bad news.
Nine times out of ten, those movies and books are teaching you bad information. The same errors get passed down from movie to movie, book to book, with the creators blissfully unaware of their horse-knowledgeable audience groaning in despair. But you don’t have to follow in their mistake-ridden footsteps!
You want to write your horses right? Watch out for these 8 Red Flags found in fiction.
Carry on reading HERE
deborahjay 
If people would just exhibit a little ‘horse sense’, then we would not have this problem. 😉
I have a whimsical series of adventures set in the mid-1870’s. In book #4, my Sherlock Homes adventure, I am forced to confiscate a Hansom cab pulled by a mechanical horse. It was a four in the floor transmission and I must work my way through a walk, trot, canter, and gallup. In book #8, my King Arthur adventure, I am involved in a really scary joust, and the horse-work played an important part in the battle.
Happy New Year, Deborah!
I hope you get lots of Reading, Writing and Riding this next year.
Cheers!
~Icky. 🙂
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Lol 😀 😀 😀
Thanks for dropping by so regularly Icky,I have your Sherlock Holmes book on my new Kindle, your Hansom cab transmission sounds hilarious! I’ll try to get to it soon.
Happy New Year to you too 😀
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Oh, my Goodness!
Thank you, Deborah!
Congratulations on the new kindle.
Thank you for picking ‘A Study in Temperance’ up and thank you for considering it for a read. It is a very silly book, but I hope that my admiration and respect for the Holmes character comes through.
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😀
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I read ‘Desprite Measures’ some time ago and liked it. I remember a science fiction short story you wrote containing animal/human cross-breeding that I really enjoyed, also. I think I have ‘The Prince’s Man’ on my reader. Is it on Kindle Unlimited? If so, I’ll recommend it to Miss Plumtartt.
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Icky, I’m delighted you enjoyed Desprite Measures and the short story, have you read Sprite Night? That’s a short that follows on from Desprite Measures and its on all platforms for FREE.
The Prince’s Man isn’t in KU, I’m afraid, but its still on sale 99c until Monday…
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I do have horses (well, protohorses–hipparion) in my next WIP. Luckily they’re only cameos so I didn’t have time to make many mistakes. Still I spent a lot of time researching. This should have been where I started.
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😀 Any time you need any horse info, even protohorse, just ask! Modern horse psychology is still a result of the lifestyles of those earlier versions.
Good luck with the WIP, that’s quite a challenge writing in that early a setting – bravo!
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