Sporting Life: 10 majestic images that give a unique perspective on the immutable bond between Man and Horse

A new book sheds a wonderful light on the unique relationship that people have with their horses.

Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi
©Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi
(Image credit: Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi)

Equine Journeys: The British Horse World was put together by Persian writer Hossein Amirsadeghi, who spent a year travelling across Britain meeting and photographing a huge variety of people whose lives revolve around the care and enjoyment of these magnificent beasts.

From vets and stable lasses to top-class trainers and Olympic medallists – the latter categories including include the likes of Nicky Henderson, King and John Whitaker – a massive range of society is covered. There are also, of course, all manner of different horses, from lithe-limbed racing beasts to immensely powerful shire horses.

We've collected here some of our favourites from among the 340 pictures from this beautiful collection.

Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi is published by TransGlobe with Thames & Hudson, priced at £35.


Monty Roberts leads a troubled Arabian mare to the proverbial water during one of his demonstrations of horse-wizardry

Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi

From Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hoosier Amirsadeghi
(Image credit: Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi)

Grizelda Cowan (seventy-five) with her granddaughter Emma Hooley (thirteen) enjoying a blustery afternoon ride along the beach at Rudder’s Point near the village of Lower Largo in Fife, Scotland

Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi

From Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi
(Image credit: Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi)

Despite its massive size, the Shire is a thing of beauty to many horse lovers

Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi

From Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi
(Image credit: Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi)

Cable Bay, Highclere’s prize stallion, displaying his personality in the grounds


Polo ponies work out during daily practice on the Cowdray Estate, Ambersham

Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi

From Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi
(Image credit: Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi)

Dartmoor ponies range freely without human interference

Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi

From Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi
(Image credit: Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi)

Only the English, one might say, mix royal pageantry, Shetland ponies and donkeys together in one continuous, eccentric display of old and new

Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi

From Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi
(Image credit: Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi)

Lady St John of Bletso grooming Dani, an English warmblood gelding

Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi

From Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi
(Image credit: Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi)

A Dutch-bred gelding named Kalypso Du Buisson Z, welcomes a tiny intruder: a new chick on parade

Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi

Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi
(Image credit: Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi)

Yearlings in a field

Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi

From Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi
(Image credit: Equine Journeys: The British Horse World by Hossein Amirsadeghi)

Astleys Amphitheatre - the original circus

How a horse-mad Englishman pioneered the modern circus

Roll up, roll up! The tricks, flicks and show-stopping stunts of the modern circus owe their existence to the vision

lucinda green

Lucinda Green on the bond that has bound Man to horse

If you treat a horse with love, respect and consistency, it will do great things for you. Former eventer Lucinda

Credit: ©Richard Cannon/Country Life Picture Library

The Queen's rocking-horse maker: ‘Many clients commission replicas of favourite horses’

Tessa Waugh meets Marc Stevenson of Stevenson Brothers rocking horses.

Aimé Tschiffely was denounced as a

Aimé Tschiffely was denounced as a "lunatic" when he set off in 1925 to ride 10,000 miles from Buenos Aires to New York. Not only did the Swiss Long Rider complete the journey, but his book, Tschiffely's Ride, has inspired seven generations to follow his example. In 1999 the Argentine Congress passed a law celebrating the 20th September of each year the "Dia Nacional del Caballo" (National Day of the Horse) in honour of the day Aimé rode into New York. Photo courtesy of Tschiffely Literary Estate.
(Image credit: Photo courtesy of Tschiffely Literary Estate.)

The greatest horse rides ever, as chronicled in a ‘unique treasury of horse and human wisdom’

Jon Hare takes a look at an exhaustive new book chronicling some of the greatest rides ever taken on horseback.

FENYX8 Silhouetted dressage horse and rider training in field at sunset

Dressage: How 'horse dancing' evolved from ancient, deadly beginnings to modern Olympic glory

There can be no short cuts to success in dressage. The Ancient Greeks’ sympathetic methods of training horses, which were


Toby Keel

Toby Keel is Country Life's Digital Director, and has been running the website and social media channels since 2016. A former sports journalist, he writes about property, cars, lifestyle, travel, nature.