Found it!
Horseplay: A Novel
The “people who bought this…” list at the bottom has a lot of the same titles suggested in this thread. I may have to go book shopping.
“Horse Play”! Excellent book. I wish she would write more! There was another one, had an elephant in it, that she wrote that was fairly good. And maybe a sequel to that one? But as far as I know, that is it.
Sheilah
Not fiction but “My Racing Heart” by Nan Mooney is a good one.
[QUOTE=IdahoRider;7906747]
“Horse Play”! Excellent book. I wish she would write more! There was another one, had an elephant in it, that she wrote that was fairly good. And maybe a sequel to that one? But as far as I know, that is it.
Sheilah[/QUOTE]
NOT the same author! :lol: Sara Gruen wrote Riding Lessons, Flying Changes, Water for Elephants. All of which I think are sentimental badly researched drivel.
Judy Renee Singer wrote Horseplay, which is hilarious. I wish she would write more.:yes:
Horse Heaven by Jane Smiley is my absolute favorite book… and Jane Smiley is my absolute favorite author. A Year At The Races is also great.
Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon was really good.
I just recently read The Reivers by William Faulkner and enjoyed it thoroughly. While not about horses per se, the entire plot revolves around a horse race.
I still like The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans even though many horse people couldn’t stomach the inaccuracies.
[QUOTE=pAin’t_Misbehavin’;7906801]
NOT the same author! :lol: Sara Gruen wrote Riding Lessons, Flying Changes, Water for Elephants. All of which I think are sentimental badly researched drivel.
Judy Renee Singer wrote Horseplay, which is hilarious. I wish she would write more.:yes:[/QUOTE]
There was a sequel to Horseplay about elephants, too 
http://www.amazon.com/Judy-Reene-Singer/e/B001IOH2V2/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1418501190&sr=8-1-fkmr2
LOL! Totally the same author:
http://www.amazon.com/Inconvenient-Elephant-Judy-Reene-Singer-ebook/dp/B003SE76BQ/ref=asap_B001IOH2V2?ie=UTF8
and
http://www.amazon.com/Still-Life-Elephant-Reene-Singer/dp/B0041T4O7G/ref=asap_B001IOH2V2?ie=UTF8
Judy Reene Singer is on a much higher level than Gruen. I would never confuse the two. I take my reading too seriously to do that!
Sheilah
[QUOTE=Bristol Bay;7906625]
My favorite is The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss.
I read one Jilly Cooper novel, based on all the COTH love. It was really trashy. I will never recover the brain cells I lost reading it. But it was my jet lag book for the last time I went to Europe, so I had nothing else to read.
I read one a few years ago that was about an adult working student fleeing a bad marriage who gets a job at a dressage barn. I can’t remember the title or author, but it was hilarious light reading.[/QUOTE]
I’m so glad you mentioned The Hearts of Horses. In many ways it’s my favorite horse book, too. It’s such a humble book but the character of the girl wrangler/trainer get so deeply into so many different horses and people and helps them. Plus it’s so honest about the hard work in all sorts of weather that working with horses involves. I love that book and have read it several times.
[QUOTE=Frosty M;7906882]
I’m so glad you mentioned The Hearts of Horses. In many ways it’s my favorite horse book, too. It’s such a humble book but the character of the girl wrangler/trainer get so deeply into so many different horses and people and helps them. Plus it’s so honest about the hard work in all sorts of weather that working with horses involves. I love that book and have read it several times.[/QUOTE]
Have you read the “sequel”, “Falling From Horses”? I have it on my TBR pile, waiting for Christmas break.
Sheilah
Kim Ablon Whitney writes nice and realistic horse fiction. A Perfect Distance has been out a while, and “Blue Ribbons” which is ebook only was very good too. She has a brand new release (as in it came out Monday) that I’ve purchased but not read yet, “Summer Circuit.”
Barbara Morgenroth is another author I consistently like.
“Trophies” by Ainslie Sheridan is now in ebook.
“Ride A Dark Horse” and “Chance Meeting” by Laura Moore were pretty good
Some other authors to check out that may or may not be e-bookable would be:
Jean Slaughter Doty
K.M. Peyton
I’ve read every book mentioned so far :eek:
If you love horse books and aren’t pretentious (i.e., don’t care if it isn’t exactly great literature), this one about showjumping is a must:
The human characters are so-so, but I fell in love with the horses.
I thought the “Lord of Misrule” too pornographic for my taste, I have no idea why the author put that in the book at all unless it was just for sales.
I always enjoy the Scorpio Races. Fantastic setting, interesting characters and myth all rolled into one!
[QUOTE=poltroon;7906917]
Kim Ablon Whitney writes nice and realistic horse fiction. A Perfect Distance has been out a while, and “Blue Ribbons” which is ebook only was very good too. She has a brand new release (as in it came out Monday) that I’ve purchased but not read yet, “Summer Circuit.”[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the heads up, I just downloaded “Summer Circuit”!!!
Does the Clan of the Cave Bear series count? In the second book Ayla tames a horse…
[QUOTE=kookicat;7907039]
I always enjoy the Scorpio Races. Fantastic setting, interesting characters and myth all rolled into one![/QUOTE]
Love this book. It was optioned for a movie, and I am curious to see if they follow through on making it or not…
[QUOTE=costco_muffins;7907401]
Does the Clan of the Cave Bear series count? In the second book Ayla tames a horse…[/QUOTE]
It counts up until Shelters of Stone, because there is certainly no book after that one worth reading. LOL. 
Traveller by Richard Adams
Not a novel but I really enjoyed Horse People: Scenes from Riding Life. It was very funny and frank. It does involve life from the perspective of the wealthy, which I found very amusing but apparently makes a lot of amazon reviewers feel they can’t relate. But no matter now much money you have, things always go comically wrong when you own a horse farm. He has a wry sense of humor, though, so avoid if that isn’t your thing. Or if you get really worked up about other people’s marriages.
I love Dressage Chronicles. For anyone, especially those who ride Dressage, so correct. And not for tweenies.
Mature writing but really puts you right in the mix!
I am reading the second one now!
