“All I can say is that there was something – right from the first. A stubby little mare, bright bay with remarkably large ears. A white star on her forehead shaped like Madagascar, and a huge arse...”

This is the story of an extraordinary relationship – and an extraordinary horse. When Barnes buys Dolly Dolores VII, he knows he has got something special. She is feisty, restless, mysterious – sometimes crazily unpredictable. But she is also, to her owner’s delight, a jumper of mesmerising poise and skill; she canters like a ballerina, gallops like a wild thing.
And somehow, they just get on.
Then, one day, Dolly does something so startling, so inexplicable that she brings her owner to breaking point. Barnes
is faced with a terrible decision...
The Horsey Life is about a friendship pushed to its limits; but it is also filled with larks and joy – a book which takes you right to the heart of the world of horses and those that love them.

“Truly illuminating... Simon Barnes understands
what the horsey life is all about.”
Monty Roberts

“The Horsey Life is humorous, life-affirming, touching and enlightening. One for lovers of horses and happy endings.”
Manchester Evening News

“Barnes evokes the roller-coaster emotions of riding, the cocktail of fear and exhilaration, with poetic precision. The realisation that the partnership with the horse is not about domination or power but about trust has never been better described.”
The Spectator

About the author

Simon Barnes is the multi-award-winning chief sportswriter for the Times. He is also a novelist, nature writer and horseman, and the bestselling autho

more about Simon Barnes