This unit study consists of four downloads. The first is an introduction to the study, which explains how the study works and provides lesson plans. The lesson plans, which are adaptable to any age, provide for 29 actual days of lessons, but these can be expanded or reduced according to your needs. If this study is used to its maximum potential, I believe it would be reasonable to complete it in one quarter of the year. The Brandenburg company provides other unit studies like this, and I intend to use four this school year, one per quarter.

The second download is the text of the study. It is very well written and has beautiful illustrations and links to various sites on the web where more information can be found. Different lessons cover riding styles, grooming of horses, horse anatomy, horse history, different breeds of horses, etc. Just to give you an example of a lesson, the pony lesson shows several pictures of ponies and tells a little about them. Then there are links to click for more information which include: Dale Ponies Jigsaw Puzzle Fun, Dartmoor Ponies, The Exmoor Pony, Connemara Pony, Shetland Ponies, Welsh and Cob Ponies, Chincoteague Ponies, More on Chincoteague Ponies, and About the Annual Chincoteague Pony Swim. If you click on the Dale Ponies Jigsaw Puzzle Fun link, you get a site that shows you a picture of the pony and makes it into a jigsaw puzzle that you can work online. You click a button to scatter the pieces and then you drag the pieces back into the puzzle to complete the picture. I'm guesstimating that there were at least 60 pieces of the puzzle if not more. There are a lot of "how to" links (e.g., "how to bridle a horse" and "how to "muck" a stall"). Another link farther along in the lessons is a video on how to train barrel racers. We enjoyed the video of baby miniature horses playing. One of my favorite links is to a "Mr. Ed Scrapbook." This probably won't mean much to the younger set, but back when I was a kid, we enjoyed watching Mr. Ed (the talking horse) on TV.

Section 3 has information on compiling your notebook for the study and contains handouts that can be used. For the notebook project you will need:

• A 3-ring notebook (1/2 to 1" thick)
• Tabbed-dividers (15) with labels
• Internet access
• A printer (color is preferable)
• A glue stick (or glue, tape, etc)
• A fine-tip black marker

There is a page on how to draw horses in this section and lists of suggested books and videos that will enhance the study. There is also a bulletin board project that you can use.

The last section is quizzes over the material. There are several quizzes and also the answer sheets for grading them.

This was very well planned out and put together. My granddaughter, who loves horses, is thrilled with this study and has been very impressed with how much information has been provided.

Product review by Christine Hindle, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, November 2009