The sun is starting to peak out from behind the clouds and there is a hint – just a hint – that spring may be on its way. That means horse people will be heading outdoors to hit the trails and prepare for the spring and summer competitions.

For those seeking new resources, there are many new equestrian books set to his the bookstores in the next few months and below – from the Horse Owner’s Essential Survival Guide to Funny Cide: How a Horse, a Trainer, a Jockey, and a Bunch of High-School Buddies Took on the Sheiks and Bluebloods – and Won – are some of those books (with descriptions from the publishers).

Read on …

Horse Owner’s Essential Survival Guide (©2004 by Susan McBane, F&W Publications, 160 pages, $29.99) – Anyone who owns or cares for a horse or pony knows how expensive and time-consuming it can be. But your four-legged friend doesn’t have to take over your whole life – it’s just takes a little planning and budgeting.

With Susan McBane’s years of experience as a working horse owner, this book offers invaluable advice on all aspects of horse care. It explains how you can cut costs and save time while maintaining a high level of care for your horse. This book discusses the advantages and disadvantages of horse sharing, keeping your horse at livery or managing on your own. Budgeting is also explained with advice on forecasting your expenditure and allowing for unexpected costs that may occur during the year. With so many products on the market claiming to help you and your horse, it is easy to overspend on gadgets you don’t need. Susan takes a practical look at some of these products and discusses which ones really are invaluable to a working horse owner. Susan McBane has written many equestrian titles for David & Charles and is the founder of the Equine Behavior Forum.

McBane is the author of The Essential Book of Horse Tack & Equipment.

Schooling for Success (©2004 by William Fox-Pitt, F&W Publications, 160 pages, $29.99) – With William Fox-Pitt at the top of the eventing game, having won at Burghley and Bramham already this season, there is no one better placed to offer advice to competitive riders.

Full of color photographs and montaged sequences taken through this year’s eventing season, Schooling for Success will provide a clear and practical guide for anyone planning to tackle a one-day event with their horse. This book follows William’s career from the early days of riding ponies with his brother and sister, the unknown horses that got him noticed through to his current string of top rides. William offers excellent and unique advice on how anyone keen on eventing can work with their horse to develop results on the big day. He starts with flatwork – by improving the basics at home, you can earn a few extra points in the dressage phase – often the more difficult discipline for event horses. Next show jumping, where William explains how he works his own horses to ensure they are careful over light show jumps. And finally cross country, where William offers his advice, hints and tips on how to tackle the many different jumps or combinations a one-day eventer might encounter. William Fox-Pitt is currently ranked as the world number one eventer, having won Longleat, Chatsworth, Burghley and Bramham this year. William is also short-listed for the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

Bombproof Your Horse: Teach Your Horse to Be Confident, Obedient, and Safe No Matter What You Encounter (©2004 by Rick Pelicano and Lauren Tjaden, Trafalgar Square Publishing, 224 pages, $24.95) – A clearly illustrated manual that shows equestrians how to prepare their horses for the unexpected, turning them into safer, more pleasurable mounts.

Every horse, from the pampered show–hunter to the family pet, is faced at one time or another with an object or situation that is either overwhelmingly terrifying or just downright confusing. Riders, trainers, and owners often simply wait for these situations – and the resulting bolt, balk, or buck – in fear or ignorance, rationalizing such behavior as just “a horse being a horse.” With his systematic approach to “bombproofing,” Sergeant Rick Pelicano of the Maryland National Capitol Park Police demonstrates how to be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to training a horse, whether one is crossing a stream or riding in city traffic. Rick Pelicano is accredited by the American Riding Instructor Certification Program; in 1995, he was named Instructor of the Year.

Top Horse Training Methods: Popular Training Approaches Explored from a Classical Viewpoint (©2004 by Anne Wilson, David & Charles Publishers, $29.99) – Let the experts help you decide what is right for you and your horse with this interview-based comparison of natural, conventional and classical training methods.

Sometimes the equestrian world can be very contradictory and confusing, especially to new horse owners. This side-by-side comparison offers down-to-earth discussion about all of the main training methods, allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions. Many of the chapters have been compiled from face-to-face interviews with the trainers themselves - in fact Monty Roberts, the grandfather of natural horse training methods gives an extremely in-depth and fascinating account of his methods. Anne Wilson took up horse riding at an early age and qualified as a BHS instructor about 25 years ago. She then trained in classical riding with Sylvia Loch and in 1995 became a Regional Liaison Member for the Classical Riding Club. Anne is an experienced author, having published many articles in local horse magazines, the Classical Riding Club newsletter and Equine Behavior Forum magazine.

Funny Cide: How a Horse, a Trainer, a Jockey, and a Bunch of High-School Buddies Took on the Sheiks and Bluebloods – and Won (©2004 by Sally Jenkins, Putnam, $24.95) – In 2003, he became “the people’s horse,” the unheralded New York-bred gelding who-in a time of war and economic jitters-inspired a nation by knocking off the champions and their multimillionaire owners and sweeping to the brink of the Triple Crown. Trained by a journeyman who had been knocking around racing for more than thirty years, ridden by a hard-luck jockey, and owned by a tiny stable founded by a band of high school buddies from Sackets Harbor, New York (population: 1,386), who tossed in a few thousand dollars each and decided to follow their dream, Funny Cide became a blue-collar hero with a bit, his story crammed with colorful characters-only one of which happened to be a horse.

Written with Sally Jenkins, coauthor of Lance Armstrong’s number-one bestseller It’s Not About the Bike, this book tells the whole story – the parts we know and the parts we never suspected – as it follows the group’s emotional ups and downs against overwhelming odds, illness, and even scandal, to capture the imagination of millions. It is a book for the underdog in all of us-a new American classic.

Sally Jenkins is an award-winning journalist for The Washington Post, and is the coauthor of the bestselling It’s Not About the Bike and Every Second Counts, written with Lance Armstrong.