Hoofpicks : Photographs of the Horse in Wales

The horse has been central to Welsh history and retains a place of great significance and importance in Welsh society even in the age of car travel and growing urbanisation.

Photographer Bruce Cardwell set himself the task of recording the many ways in which horses still gallop across the country''s physical and mental landscape. His stunning black and white photographs range from the internationally famous Welsh cobs to wild ponies roaming housing estates.

There is the horse at work – mounted shepherds in mid Wales, mounted police in the south. The horse and sport in the form of racing, trotting, and point to point. And there is horse society – markets, fairs, shows, gymkhana – and the people who make it – breeders, riders, farmers, judges, hunters, vets.

Bruce Cardwell has captured the whole world of the horse in Wales, composed of many different worlds all superbly photogenic. This book is a must-have for anyone with an interest in our four-legged friends.