The Horse Travel Handbook

Book excerpt: For thousands of years we have travelled on horseback but until now no one has shown us the way.The Horse Travel Handbook, a field guide drawn from its parent edition The Encyclopaedia of Equestrian Exploration, is the most authoritative work of its kind and contains the hard-earned wisdom gained by hundreds of Long Riders during centuries of equestrian travel. The concise, easy-to-use volume covers every aspect needed to successfully complete a journey by horse, including how to organize the trip, plan a route, choose the proper equipment and purchase horses. Traditional challenges such as loading a pack saddle, avoiding dangerous animals, fording rivers and outwitting horse thieves are covered here along with ingenious solutions to modern dilemmas like crossing international borders, surviving vehicle traffic and negotiating with hostile bureaucrats. This handbook covers all aspects of equine welfare including feeding, watering, saddling and health care. Technical details such as daily travel distance, where to locate nightly shelter and ways to avoid cultural conflicts are among the hundreds of specific topics examined. Equestrian explorers have special linguistic needs. Vital words such as hay and farrier are not found in standard phrase-books. A special appendix contains the Equestionary that provides images of objects and situations most likely to be of use when language is a barrier. Created by the founder of the Long Riders' Guild after decades of travel and study, this comprehensive book is filled with the indispensable knowledge needed to resolve problems, overcome hardships and avoid dangers while travelling. Just as importantly, it empowers readers to turn their dream into a life-changing equestrian journey.