Book excerpt: This book explores the "invention" of specific breeds of horse in the context of imperial design and colonial trade routes. Divided into two sections, it deals respectively with the introduction, invention, and use of the horse in the Philippines, Thailand, and southern Africa, as well as examining its roots and evolution within Indonesia. The study is supplemented by a discussion of the colonial trade in horses within the Indian Ocean and by introductory and concluding sections that discuss the historiographical and methodological problems associated with writing a more species- or horse-centric history.