The first horse set foot in Australia on 30 January 1788, one of seven aboard the First Fleet's Lady Penrhyn, which also carried a cargo of female convicts. From then on, horses carried explorers who opened up the country to settlement. They carried Aboriginal mounted police, trained as ruthless killers of their own people. Horses, often fine stolen animals, carried bushrangers who ruled the roads and bailed up townships: 'gentleman' Matthew Brady, 'brave' Ben Hall and the towering, controversial Ned Kelly. Horses carried men to war. Some 120,000 horses were sent to World War I battlefields: only one was brought home. Horses helped build the nation, marshalling the great flocks and herds, helping to create its myths. As they have since the early days of the colony, they carry our bets and, like the mighty Phar Lap in the Depression days, they have the power to lift our spirits. Cameron Forbes, author of the acclaimed Hellfire and The Korean War, uses the motif of the horse to tell the wider Australian story of settlement, exploration, dispossession and warfare. Australia on Horseback is a masterful achievement, a comprehensively researched and beautifully told history of a developing nation and a powerful tribute to the horse - bearer of men, hopes, fears and dreams.

Life in the saddle - from wild brumbies of the high country to trusty stock horses of the outback and from drovers to dressage riders - a collection of heart-warming tales for horse-lovers.

The Korean War was a 20th Century conflict that has never ended. South Korea, a powerhouse economy and dynamic democracy sits uneasily alongside North Korea, the world's most secretive, belligerent, unpredictable and repressive totalitarian state. Today, tensions simmer and occasionally flare into outright violence on a peninsula dense with arms, munitions and nuclear warheads. Cameron Forbes, acclaimed author of Hellfire, tells the story of the war and Australia's involvement in it in a riveting narrative. From the letters and diaries of those diggers who fought across Korea's unforgiving hills and mountains to the grand strategies formulated in Washington, Moscow and Beijing, The Korean War reveals the conflict on all its levels - human, military and geopolitical. In the tradition of Les Carlyon's Gallipoli and The Great War and Paul Ham's Vietnam, Cameron Forbes has written a masterpiece that will serve as the definitive history of Australia and the Korean War. Winner of FAW National Literary Awards for Best Fiction 2010

Horse Sense provides an in-depth guide to horse care under conditions unique to Australia and New Zealand. It is written in an easy-to-read style to appeal to novices as well as experienced owners and covers all aspects of horse care and management. This new edition provides the latest information on new feeds and supplements, new techniques for handling horses, safe riding, and treating injuries, diseases, worms and other pests. The book also incorporates the latest standards and guidelines for the welfare of horses.

Three sisters and an unforgettable journey to tame New Zealand’s Kaimanawa horses For the Love of Horses is a heartfelt story about a life familiar to many young Kiwis who love horses – the trials and tears of Pony Club, the joy of riding bareback, and the pressures of adolescence and competitive showjumping. It is also the story of an unlikely childhood dream coming true. Every year in the wilderness of the Central Plateau, wild Kaimanawa horses are rounded up and sent to the slaughterhouse. It’s upsetting, but what else can be done? The Wilson sisters decide something could be done. They saw future champions behind the fiery eyes and beneath the shaggy coats. In this touching book, Kelly Wilson tells the true story of how they embarked on a courageous journey to train horses that most people believed were untrainable.

Experience the sheer joy of being one with your horse and one with nature. When you're riding the trails with your horse, you enjoy a refreshing feeling of freedom, the exhilaration of exploration, and an invigorating escape from the demands of the day. You're in control--as long as you can control the 1,000-pound creature you're riding. Trail Riding: A Complete Guide takes you from the basics to more advanced trail riding skills with information on: * How to choose a horse, including basics on conformation * Finding the best trail-riding lessons, tack, and equipment * Feeding, care, grooming, health care, and stable management * Conditioning--for the horse and yourself * Trailering to trails * Advanced trail riding, including information on camping with your horse, how competitive trail riding is judged, and racing on the trail * Tips on how to find the best trails, both locally and around the country This book helps you develop the knowledge and skills that will give you a leg up every time you climb in the saddle. You and your horse will become the perfect pair for relaxing yet energizing adventures off the beaten path.

A rich collection of writing from those negotiating disability in their lives - a group whose voices are not heard often enough My body and its place in the world seemed normal to me. Why wouldn’t it? I didn’t grow up disabled; I grew up with a problem. A problem that those around me wanted to fix. We have all felt that uncanny sensation that someone is watching us. The diagnosis helped but it didn’t fix everything. Don’t fear the labels. That identity, which I feared for so long, is now one of my greatest qualities. I had become disabled – not just by my disease, but by the way the world treated me. When I found that out, everything changed. One in five Australians has a disability. And disability presents itself in many ways. Yet disabled people are still underrepresented in the media and in literature. In Growing Up Disabled in Australia – compiled by writer and appearance activist Carly Findlay OAM – more than forty writers with a disability or chronic illness share their stories, in their own words. The result is illuminating. Contributors include senator Jordon Steele-John, paralympian Isis Holt, Dion Beasley, Sam Drummond, Astrid Edwards, Sarah Firth, El Gibbs, Eliza Hull, Gayle Kennedy, Carly-Jay Metcalfe, Fiona Murphy, Jessica Walton and many more.