O. S. Pratt

author

O. S. Pratt

b. 1835

Best known for practical 19th-century guides on horse training, this little-known author wrote for working horse owners who wanted safer, calmer, better-handled animals. His books mix hands-on instruction with advice on shoeing, remedies, and everyday stable problems.

1 Audiobook

The Horse's Friend The Only Practical Method of Educating the Horse and Eradicating Vicious Habits; Followed by a Variety of Valuable Recipes, Instructions in Farriery, Horse-shoeing, the Latest Rules of Trotting, and the Record of Fast Horses Up to 1876

The Horse's Friend The Only Practical Method of Educating the Horse and Eradicating Vicious Habits; Followed by a Variety of Valuable Recipes, Instructions in Farriery, Horse-shoeing, the Latest Rules of Trotting, and the Record of Fast Horses Up to 1876

by O. S. Pratt

About the author

O. S. Pratt was a 19th-century writer identified in library records as born in 1835. He is best known for The Horse Educator (published in 1869, with a second edition in 1870) and The Horse's Friend (1876), books aimed at teaching horse owners practical ways to train and manage horses.

His work focused on horse education rather than fiction or literary writing. The books present step-by-step methods for handling difficult or "vicious" habits, alongside material on horseshoeing, veterinary recipes, and racing rules, suggesting he wrote for readers deeply involved in everyday horse care and use.

Very little biographical information about his life appears to be readily available in major public book and library records beyond his birth year and his publications. What remains clear is that his books were part of a long tradition of practical animal-training manuals and have been preserved through projects such as Open Library, Project Gutenberg, and the Internet Archive.