A horse animal studies unit for homeschool, worldschool or just for fun.
One of my girls has recently become obsessed with horses so we did a horse week! We learned all about horse breeds, the history of horses and some famous horses and horse people. We even got to wrap up the week with a horse ride.
Printables
All of this week's information in an easy-to-read printable.
On the Dining Room Wall
I found these online and printed them: horse size chart, horse body part diagram, The Horse Fair painting by Rosa Bonheur, Seabiscuit winning a race.
Books
One from each category plus an assortment of picture books is usually just perfect.
Not all book series are as good as the next. Get the scoop on some of our favorites here.
Library Haul
Not all of these books will get read. Most library systems allow you to browse online and put books on hold. They'll round them up for you and deliver them to your local branch. It's a big time saver!
Base Non-Fiction Books:
Read every word or simply flip through and reach what catches your eye.
Top Pick:
Who Was Seabiscuit? (Who HQ Book) An in-depth look at one of the most famous racehorses in history. It was interesting but littles might find it a little too in-depth. Still, it's an easy one to skim through if that works better.
Horse Heroes (Magic Tree House Fact Tracker #27) A good guide to all things horses. You don't have to have read the Magic Treehouse book to appreciate this one. It's great to skim through and get some good horse knowledge.
Other Ideas:
Horses (DK Eyewitness) I find these big reference-type books a little overwhelming but usually enjoy flipping though them once we sit down and crack them open.
Base Fiction Chapter Book:
Some of these books are part of a series but all of them work as standalone books.
Younger Learners:
Any of the14 Horse Diaries books, perfect for older learners too. We've read a handful of these when they've related to other weeks' topics and we love them! Each book follows a particular horse in history through their life, from the horse's perspective. There's a lot of heart in these books and any horse lover will love them.
Stallion by Starlight (Magic Treehouse Merlin Mission #21) We didn't actually read this one because I want to save it for another Greece week but in it, Jack and Annie travel back in time to meet Alexander the Great.
Older Learners:
Black Beauty (By Anna Sewell) A classic that I somehow never read. We decided to read this one and if I had to be honest, I didn't love it. I think any of the Horse Diaries books would have been a better pick.
Other Notable Books
Have more time? Try these too.
You Wouldn't Want to Be A Pony Express Rider! (You Wouldn't Want to Be book) My girls love these books. Lots of entertaining facts and funny pictures while still packing an educational punch.
Get to Know Horse Breeds: The 100 Best-Known Breeds This was a fun reference book to flip through and pick our favorites!
Galloping Through History: Amazing True Horse Stories These stand-alone stories marry fiction and nonfiction to create entertaining stories.
Picture Books
Library inventories vary so much with picture books. Rather than wasting time tracking down specific ones, I like to do keyword searches and just grab what's available.
Search these keywords: Horse, Seabiscuit, Famous Horses, Pony Express.
We liked these books:
The True Story of Zippy Chippy (By Artie Bennett) This is a fantastic book about a racehorse who loved racing but just wasn't very good at it. It's so cute and it never hurts to be reminded that we don't have to be the best at something to still love it.
Wild Horse Annie (By Tracey E. Fern) A great story about real life wild mustang activist Velma Bronn Johnston and her fight for the safety and protection of wild mustangs. A really great story in a really great picture book.
No Horses in the House!: The Audacious Life of Artist Rosa Bonheur (By Mireille Messier) Based on the life of one of history's great horse artists, this tells the story of a feisty French girl who fought for the right to sit an paint horses.
Sergeant Reckless: The True Story of the Little Horse Who Became a Hero (By Patricia McCormick) We first read this book for Korean Peninsula Week and the girls requested that we check it out again for this week. A true story about a unlikely hero in the form of a Korean racehorse turned hero.
The Girl on the High-diving Horse (By Linda Oatman High) This picture book went right along with our movie for the week, Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken. It's about the high diving horses in Atlantic City.
Off Like the Wind! (By Michael P. Spradlin)
Things to Listen to/Watch*
Put a compilation video on in the background of wild horses. There are a ton of these on YouTube, we liked this one.
*Always vet material before watching it with your kids, especially if they are sensitive viewers. I try to note any potential issues but everyone has different parenting thresholds of what they consider appropriate.
Interactive Learning: Crafts, Food, Activities
Visit a petting zoo and meet some ponies.
Find a place nearby to meet or even ride horses!
Make horses out of Legos, Playdough or clay.
Draw some horses! We checked out this book from the library to help us out.
End of Week Movie Night Ideas
There are so many good horse movies out there! Common Sense Media has a good rundown here.
Spirit: Stallion of Cimarron (G, 2002) This movie follows the story of a wild mustang on the frontier and his interactions, both good and bad, with people. It has a lot of heart but be warned, sensitive viewers might be upset by the treatment of the horses in some parts.
Spirit: Untamed (PG, 2021) This is the stand alone sequel to the above movie. It follows the story of a young girl and a wild horse in the wild west. It has adventure, girl power and a classic good versus evil story line that works pretty well. My girls love this one.
Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken (G, 1991) This a a Disney classic about a young girl and her dream to be a high dive horse girl. It might be a bit slow for littles to follow but my nine-year-olds loved it.
Segue Ideas... Wild West Week
Wrap Up
This was a fun week that was a bit of a departure from our normal learning. We ended this unit with a little horseback lesson at a nearby ranch which the girls loved. All of this material would work great for a homeschool horse unit or, in our case, just some fun, extra learning.
Final Moment
Here's a video of the girls' first time on a horse from when we went to visit the monarch butterflies at the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary Sierra Chincua outside of Tlalpujahua, Mexico.
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