Worthy ode to the ancient bond between horse and human

Farewell to the Horse – The Final Century of Our Relationship by Ulrich Raulff
£25, published by Allen Lane – penguin.co.uk

It is sometimes expounded that racing has lost its appeal to the masses as a by-product of the disappearance of the horse from everyday life. After all, for most of the history of thoroughbred racing those who spectated and speculated at the racecourse arrived there on horseback and were as appreciative of the performers on the track and in the saddle as anyone in the 21st century who has ever kicked a football is aware of the impossible gulf between their own skills and those of a Messi or Ronaldo.

But there is no going back. A world that existed since ancient times was suddenly broken in the 20th century as horses gradually gave way to motorised power, not just as a means of conveyance, but as an industrial tool, as a weapon of war and even as a way to flaunt status.