Siegfried Stander

Prize-winning South African author and journalist. Although his native tongue was Afrikaans, Mr. Stander wrote several well-respected novels in English language. Perhaps best known for his collaborations with prominent surgeon and fellow South African author Christiaan Barnard. He also wrote non-fiction and translated books from Afrikaans into English.

His one horse story was an adult novel set in the wilds of South Africa, in which a horse becomes part of a zebra herd. Like many of his books, it is a harsh and uncompromising portrayal of the African bush. There is an extract from the book (entitled An African Foal) in the anthology Proud Riders by Josephine Pullein-Thompson.

Horse & Pony Books (Adult Fiction):

THE HORSE
(VICTOR GOLLANZ [UK] 1968)
ILLUSTRATED BY VICTOR AMBRUS
First American edition published by World in 1968.
Reprinted in paperback in the USA by NEL
SUMMARY: A grey colt gets lost in the African bush and becomes part of a herd of Zebras. As he grows into a stallion he takes over the herd. But soon the legend of a magnificent 'white zebra' attracts hunters wanting to snare a coveted prize.
PONYMAD VIEW: Although very well written and filled with interesting information about the African bush and its wildlife, especially the zebra herds, the harsh and uncompromising tone of the book may not sit well with many readers. It is a fairly bleak book with little respite in terms of lightness or humour. Also it is questionable how much equine knowledge the author actually had - he makes a huge blooper when he talks about the horse vomiting, and as we all know horses are physically unable to do so! After reading this I lost faith somewhat in the integrity of the story! For older children/adults and less squeamish readers only.
PONYMAD RATING: 3 HORSESHOES

Collector's Info:
The paperback edition is the easiest to find and can be tracked down without too much trouble in the UK and USA. It is usually cheap. The American first edition is also fairly easy to find in the USA. The hardest edition to find is the UK first, although even though it is quite rare, is not usually very expensive.