By Kim J. Harmon

What better way to teach kids about horses than to make it into a game?

One of the most popular – and one of the only – board games on the market does just that. The Herd Your Horses Board Game, developed and produced by Aristoplay, creates a fantastic environment that not only offers kids (generally, ages eight and above . . . but apparently that is flexible) the excitement of a board game but also the educational background of, say, a good nature show on television.

In Herd Your Horses, two to six horse lovers can get together for a few different types of games. In one, the players pretend to be wild mustang stallions galloping through mountains and valleys, gathering a herd to protect while facing such obstacles as cougars and bad weather. The first player to round up the herd wins.

In another game, players are ranchers rounding up strays and competing to fill out their herds. While they are attempting to do that, the game provides in-depth educational information about horses and the many horse breeds included in the game.

There are actually more than 50 different horse breeds represented, each one is fully illustrated on a large-sized playing card.

Each game also includes four horse playing pieces, 42 adventure cards, the board, and a booklet that discusses the rules as well as provides information about horses.