Horses Past and Present

A horse could carry its rider to battle—then leave him to fight on foot. In early England, even the saddle was little more than a pad.

Sir Walter Gilbey follows the horse through English history, from Saxon and Danish warfare to Norman knights, royal studs and the first plough teams. In a land where horses were prized enough to appear on ancient coins, each new demand—from bearing armour to hauling a harrow—helped shape distinct breeds. Kings imported stallions, guarded their supply with laws and tried to meet a growing appetite for strength and service. Yet the horse’s place kept changing with the country around it. How did England’s wars, fields and pastimes create the horses it came to depend on?

With centuries of literature, it's inevitable that some will fall through the cracks. We hunt down public domain works and restore them so they're not lost to the world.

Who are we? We're Cairn Press. Our background is in design, publishing, typography, and technology. These skills fuel our mission to create the highest quality Public Domain eBooks available online, at an affordable price. We give them the treatment they deserve; our proprietary process restores books for a better overall user experience in design, readability, and e-reader compatibility.