Odds 'n Ends

Jim's eyes stuck out as much as those of the Sawhorse, and he stared at the creature with his ears erect and his long head drawn back until it rested against his arched neck.

In this comical position the two horses circled slowly around each other for a while, each being unable to realize what the singular thing might be which it now beheld for the first time. Then Jim exclaimed:

"For goodness sake, what sort of a being are you?"

"I'm a Sawhorse," replied the other.

Anyone using Google today will have noticed the Wizard Of Oz banner, commemorating the film's 71st birthday. Although they certainly do not qualify as horsey books, they do feature some equine characters (some more, some less), as with Jim the cab-horse and the Saw Horse in Dorothy And The Wizard Of Oz.

Baum, a prolific author, wrote an entire series of books set in Oz. To be exact, he created an entire series. After his death, the series was continued by Ruth Plumly Thompson. Among her books were The Giant Horse Of Oz (1928) and The Wishing Horse Of Oz (1935). The giant horse was a typically strange Oz creation, an immense wooden horse brought to life, but the wishing horse is an actual (if magical) animal.



The World Equestrian Games in Kentucky will feature not only country singers like Blake Shelton but opera star Denyce Graves. I may have to take back my harsh words.

And finally, a clip of a Ringling Bros. Circus horse act, as a prelude to an upcoming review of a memoir by one of the circus's veterinarians. This clip isn't the clearest, but there's something about that bold rush into the spotlit ring which just sums up the appeal of animals in the circus.