HUMANS shape the lives of horses. Yet horses, too, guide the lives of people towards triumph, enlightenment and, sometimes, tragedy. No animal has been more influential outside its own realm than the racehorse, workhorse or equine messenger in popular entertainment.
In a new book—Nicky Henderson: My Life in 12 Horses—the author Kate Johnson describes in intimate detail one of the great National Hunt trainers and his relationship with some of his sport’s finest champions. Jockeys, stable staff, owners and friends reveal the interactions that turn horses into winners. At the heart of the tale beats Mr Henderson’s intuitive understanding of the animals in his care and what it takes to make them want to race. ‘A horse can’t talk, but he gives you a signal and signs a horseman can read that other people can’t,’ jockey Eddie Ahern tells Miss Johnson. Mr Henderson is a master of this psychology.
However, in the stories of transformational horses, some break free of their human controllers and convey a bigger message about Nature, war, friendship, love and loss. For that reason, Black Beauty,
