Teenage girls and horses

The early teens can be a tricky time for girls – and for their parents – as hormones kick in and intensified emotions accompany physical changes. I grew up in the New Forest and I'm still in touch with my best friend from those days. Surrounded by New forest ponies, we quickly became pony-mad teenagers.

We've both since had daughters and talking it through the other week, we reckoned that a strong interest in horses and ponies can stave off some of the more difficult aspects that hormones bring with them – by as much as two years!

Well, it worked for us. Our theory would probably hold for any strong interest or hobby, but horses do seem to fire up the imagination for many teen and pre-teen girls.

The big problem with an interest in horses is of course the cost. Riding lessons are expensive and even if you can afford them, many riding schools are closing down in the current financial climate.

I discovered by chance that many teenagers are quietly pursuing a passion for horses by looking at pictures of then on the internet. Check out any advert for a good-looking horse for sale on the internet and you'll probably find it's had 5,000 or so "hits". Yet only a few people actually enquire further. I looked into this a bit more when a friend was trying to sell her pony. A huge proportion of those viewing the pictures were clearly teenagers with no hope of being able to afford to buy a pony.

I thought back to the fabulous horses Jean and I used to watch on TV – Roy Rogers' Trigger, the Lone Ranger's Silver, Mister Ed the talking horses and all four horse stars in the Western soap Bonanza. And that's when I got the idea for Lights! Camera! Gallop! The Story of the Horse in Film.    

Lights! Camera! Gallop! is an eBook which tells the story of the horse in film and television, from simple means of transport through character parts to glamorous film star, from the silent films through swashbucklers, comedies and Westerns to present day films. It's illustrated with sixteen fabulous photos of horses from a range of films.

Aimed at all who appreciate the beauty of horses but especially at pony-mad teenagers it includes celebrity-style briefings on the horses in star roles in film and TV and even their make-up secrets. 

Lights! Camera! Gallop! The story of the horse in film is available  from Amazon or Apple's iTunes bookstore.

For more information on Lesley Lodge