Do you have a little one who loves, loves, loves horses? I was that child, and to this day I love horses. Here are my favorite picture books old and new which capture the beauty and spirit of this special animal.

One of Jan Brett’s lesser known books, but still a charming story with lovely illustrations. Fritz is a short, ugly pony that the people say is unworthy to carry the children. But when the beautiful horses shy away in a crisis, Fritz is there for the children.
Buy it through my affiliate link: Fritz and the Beautiful Horses
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The Perfect Pony is another pony story about looks being less important than a sweet nature. Katie dreams of a beautiful, prancing horse, but finds that her wise mother is right that the perfect pony may be different than she imagined.
Buy it through my affiliate link: The Perfect Pony

Who doesn’t love Marguerite Henry’s Misty of Chincoteague? In Five O’Clock Charlie, Marguerite Henry tells a memorable story about a winsome old draft horse named Charlie. Love the Wesley Dennis illustrations.
Buy through my affiliate link: Five o’clock Charlie
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This gorgeous Jane Yolen and Ruth Sanderson story makes a gentle bedtime story about mother love.
Buy it through my affiliate link: Hush, Little Horsie

This touching historical fiction story set in 1843 tells about little Gretchen, separated from her wagon train, and The White Stallion who saved her life.
Buy it through my affiliate link: The White Stallion
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Two sisters remember their mother telling them that the Carousel horses waking to life in early spring. They go on an imaginative journey which brings them healing after the death of their mother (trigger warning: mother has died). Gorgeously illustrated by Jim LaMarche.
Buy it through my affiliate link: The Carousel

Once upon a time, there was a boy who “loved horses more than anything else in the world”… The Billy and Blaze series are classic adventures about a boy and his pony. A little lengthier than other picture books, these are also great for young readers.
Buy through my affiliate link: Billy and Blaze Collection
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In this Caldecott Winning story, a Native American girl cares for her tribe’s horses and eventually becomes a horse herself.
Amazon affiliate link: The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses
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A sleepy child learns from her grandmother how to visualize imaginary Sleep Ponies carrying her away to sweet dreams.
Amazon affiliate link: The Sleep Ponies

A little girl longs for a horse more than anything, but her parents carefully explain why buying one isn’t possible. Instead, she uses her imagination and drawings to fly through the stars with her dream pony.
Amazon affiliate link: My Pony
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Cowboy Small and his pony Cactus explain to little cowpokes how to take good care of a pony and what a cowboy does every day.
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Alice and Martin Provensen’s whimsical story about their farm animal perfectly captures the memorable personalities of their herd of horses. This has been one of my favorite books for 25 years.
Buy it through my affiliate link: Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm
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Virginia Lee Burton of Mike Mulligan fame wrote and illustrated this hilarious story about Calico the Wonder Horse. Calico not only outsmarts a band of ornery bad men but convinces them to reform.
Buy through my affiliate link: Calico the Wonder Horse
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For more of my favorite picture books for children, check out my Book Lists!