Having been genetically programmed from conception to be horse-mad, it’s little wonder I have lots of horsey things. Figurines, stuffed toys, books, photos, paraphernalia and memorabilia from my riding days, stationery, jewellery. If it’s horsey, my brain automatically says WANT.

The other day, while I was searching for something else on the computer, I came across a weird file. What did it contain? Photos of equestrian statues and other horse figures. Because, well, why wouldn’t you take photos of horse statues on your travels?

Doesn’t everyone?

I have a book to write and can’t spend an hour going silly-ga-ga over horse pictures. Except that was kind of what I did, and I excused myself the indulgence by deciding that:

1/. Horses are clearly a writing inspiration and I should look at them often, and that includes photos of stone and bronze ones.

2/. A post featuring a few of these photos would send blog viewers into raptures and everyone would love me and buy lots of my books, and then I could go on more travels and take even more pictures of horse statues.

See? You can justify anything if you try hard enough.

So, given points 1 and 2 above, I’d better get sharing and ensure that my gawking time was not all wasteful procrastination.

Gird your loins and prepare to be wowed. No, seriously. Some of these are brilliant, I promise!

First up, our very own Man with a Donkey memorial in the Gallipoli Memorial garden, near Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance.

Richard the Lionheart in front of Parliament, London. So romantic.

The fellow is outside of the medieval village and abbey of Conques in southern France. Fantastic place to visit.

Hay bale art from the 2012 Lantern Festival at Tarrington, western Victoria. If you’re ever in the area in late November this is a must-see. Huge fun.

Ah, Versailles. Not much more you can say other than it’s stunning.

Horsies in the Tower of London

The Cervantes monument, Madrid, featuring Don Quixote and sidekick Sancho Panza.

The stunning Fountaine Bartholdi in the Place de Terreaux, Lyon, France. Love this.

Superstar racehorse Black Caviar’s compression suit, on display at Equitana in Melbourne in 2012.

Isn’t this statue wonderful? It’s The Young Man and the Horse by Heinz Schwartz, and is located on Lake Geneva.

The Louvre is full of horses. This is just one.

Part of the Millennium Monument in Budapest. The sculptures are amazing.

The 14th century knight Bertrand de Guesclin, galloping on his horse, Caen, France. Fantastic statue.

Jeanne d’Arc (Joan of Arc), also in Caen.

This lovely statue – Amazone by Louis Tuaillon – is in Berlin’s Tiergarten.

And lastly, my absolute freaky favourite, Czech artist David Cerny’s surreal statue of King Wenceslas riding a dead horse, suspended inside the Lucerna Palace in Prague.

Hope you enjoyed this sample of horsey statue photos from my collection. There are many more. A scary amount, in fact. I can’t help it. I just adore these things!

Have you seen any weird or wonderful horse statues? I’d love to know so I can add them to my bucket list.