Summer Horse Reads: 15 Horse Books To Add to Your Summer Reading List

If you’re a bibliophile like I am, then you’ve probably got a summer reading list miles long. After all, with all of the time on your hands from school being out, summer is the perfect time to catch up on all of those books that you’ve been meaning to read, but haven’t found the time to.

And if you’re a hippophile (horse lover) like I am, then you probably want to add some horse books to that list. Fear not, dear readers! This article compiles my fifteen favorite horse books to read in the summer, and will hopefully give you a kickstarter list for your new TBR.

#1 Misty of Chincoteague + The Misty Series

Okay, okay, I know I talk a lot about this series, but honestly, it’s the best summer horse book series. Sand, ponies, and awesome characters? Yes please. This is one of those books that you bring to read at the beach. Or during a stormy day. Any summer reading list requires this book series!

#2 Thoroughbred Series

Need a good bingeread series? Enter Thoroughbred! Exploring a variety of aspects of the Thoroughbred world, these books are short enough to read in an afternoon, and there are enough of them that it’s a guaranteed impossibility to finish the series in a week. The downside is that they are hard to find, but if you want a clean horse book series, this is a gold medalist.

#3 Saddleclub Series

This book series comes a close second in Thoroughbred, mostly because there’s some 12-13 year old boy-girl drama that I could do without. Still, this is an easier book series to find than Thoroughbred, (the first three books are free with Kindle Unlimited) and it’s also quite binge-worthy. Three girls and their adventures at a riding stables? This was the pioneer of that trope. There are also 80+ books and a spinoff series, so plenty of material to read.

#4 The War That Saved My Life

Not going to lie, this was the first book that I stayed up super late (like, until one AM) to finish reading. Set during World War II, this is an intriguing MG novel (although due to topics of abuse, parents should read it beforehand to make sure their kids can be okay with the details it goes into) about a crippled girl who escapes her bad home life with her little brother to find safety in the countryside. I loved Ada’s internal narrative and her slow, but sure beginnings to loving the woman who takes her in.

NOTE: Some of the Amazon reviews say that Miss Smith, the woman who takes Ada and her little brother in, is a lesbian (in the book Miss Smith is mourning the loss of another woman, which some people point out to be her “partner”). I didn’t get that feeling from the book. I assumed she was a good friend, a sister-like figure, that had died. However that is another detail for you to be cautious of.

#5 Smoky the Cowhorse

Another classic! If you love Western stories and horses, then Smokey is a must. A little bit like the first mustang version of Black Beauty, Smokey is best read on a hot day, with something cold to drink and a hammock to swing in.

#6 San Domingo: The Medicine Hat Stallion

A Marguerite Henry classic! When his bargaining father trades his favorite horse, San Domingo, for a thoroughbred, young Peter sets out on a journey to find him. A lesser known Henry book, this is still just as good as her more famous novels. If you want to know how to write excellent historical fiction, Henry is the person to learn from.

#7 A Horse Named Sky

When a drought makes water scarce, a young colt sets out to find water for his herd, only to be captured as a Pony Express horse. While this isn’t my favorite book on the list (some of the events were a little too convienient, and overall it was a slight attempt at remaking Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron) it’s still a worthwhile read, and it has lovely illustrations to boot.

#8 The Hungry Place

Allie, you’ve mentioned this book before! Well, it’s a very good book, especially if you’re a horseless horse-crazy girl. From the POV of a pampered Connemara and a horse-loving girl with no money for a pony or lessons, this is one of those books that you read on a rainy summer day just to have your heart warmed. I related to this book so much.

#9 The Phantom Stallion: Wild Horse Island

A spin-off of Farley’s Phantom Stallion series introduces a new cast of characters set in Hawaii. When Darcy is sent to live with her grandfather, she meets a wild filly who happens to be the sister of her friend Sam’s mustang horse the Phantom. Through their adventures on the island, Darcy and Hoku, the filly, experience the wild and intriguing world of the Hawaiian islands.

Hawaii, summer, horses… yep, this is a summer book read. And there are eleven books in the series.

#10 Ponies of Chincoteague

This is another book series that holds a special place in my heart. Four friends who met online through their love of chincoteague ponies? Lots of adventures as they struggle to navigate school, horses, and friendships? This is like modern-day Saddle Club without all of the boy-girl drama. YES PLEASE.

#11 The Island of Lost Horses

This book gives me nostalgia, because my first ever “to publish” novel (an unspeakable MG book about a girl who gets shipwrecked on an island in Lake Superior) was originally a fanfiction of this book. A young girl living with her marine biologist mother in the Caribbean discovers a herd of endangered horses and a journal linking her to a young woman who lived four hundred years in the past. One of the books that stood as a final plea to save the now-extinct Abaco Barbs, this is a standalone to read with something fruity to drink.

#12 The Riverdale Pony Series

I almost forgot that I ever read this series– until I started writing this article. Poppy doesn’t want to move to Ireland, away from everything she’s always known, but then a mysterious horse begins showing up around her new home. With Connemara ponies, accurate horse informtion, and surprisingly good family dynamics, it’s hard to find this book, but it’s worth the read.

#13 Secret of the Night Ponies

Another book that I almost forgot I read! When a young girl finds a herd of endangered Newfoundland ponies and an abused girl named Clara, she must rise above challenges to get them both to safety.

Another hard book to find, but still very excellent. I’m suprised that I don’t find more reviews about it.

#14 The Black Stallion

Where would the summer be without the classic adventure of a boy and his wild horse? The Black Stallion is an absolute classic that I have stopped loving to read because I begin to get flashbacks of my attempts to imitate Walter Farley’s writing style. Needless to say, prose is NOT the same quality today as it was in the 1940s when this book was published. Still, it’s one of those books that you reread for nostalgia, even if the characters do say each other’s names a hundred and forty times.

#15 The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle

When I moved to the Midwest, this was one of the first library books I borrowed at my new library. An orphan girl who wishes to meet her biking hero takes a road trip from Washington D.C. to California… by bike. While not an explicit horse story, one of the main characters is a bicycle-loving horse, and if anyone ever needs a good summer read, then The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle is an excellent pick.

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And those are my fifteen book recommendations to add to your summer reading list! Which is your favorite out of these? Which will you add to your TBR this year?