Horses and women have always shared a bond. Why else do little girls plaster their schoolbooks with pony pictures?  Why do women spend weekends devotedly mucking out paddocks? Or willingly go out in public wearing tight, unforgiving, pale jodhpurs? How is it that otherwise fastidious females cheerfully fill their cars with hay, their nails with dirt and their boots with mud, while turning out gleaming horses, with barely a tail-hair out of place? It seems that in days when urban sprawl is overtaking paddocks and trails, and country life seems so far away, little girls (and big ones!) still dream of horses.

HorseDreams explores the beautiful, intense and often funny relationships between women and horses – creatures that carry their female friends through life, offering strong, silent companionship, and the chance to escape, if only in their imagination. Humour, devotion, warmth and enthusiasm shine through tales of scruffy childhood ponies, sleek brave thoroughbreds and even the occasional donkey, seahorse or carousel steed.

Contributors include: Marge Piercy, Caroline Taylor, Rebecca Gorman, Jenny Barnes, Di Gatehouse, Julie Copeland, Tatyana Mamonova, Pat Hodgell.