ABSTRACT
The Meaning of Horses: Biosocial Encounters examines some of the engagements or entanglements that link the lived experiences of human and non-human animals. The contributors discuss horse-human relationships in multiple contexts, times and places, highlighting variations in the meaning of horses as well as universals of ‘horsiness’. They consider how horses are unlike other animals, and cover topics such as commodification, identity, communication and performance. This collection emphasises the agency of the horse and a need to move beyond anthropocentric studies, with a theoretical approach that features naturecultures, co-being and biosocial encounters as interactive forms of becoming. Rooted in anthropology and multispecies ethnography, this book introduces new questions and areas for consideration in the field of animals and society.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part |64 pages
Commodification and Identity
chapter |16 pages
From Horses to Jesus
chapter |15 pages
Purity, Nobility, Beauty and Performance
chapter |16 pages
From Working to Winning
part |59 pages
Communication and Relation
chapter |13 pages
“Follow the Horse”
chapter |14 pages
My Horse Is Not My Therapist
part |59 pages
Performance, Practice and Presentation