The Perfect Horse is first and foremost a book for horse lovers. While military and political risks abound, it is obvious that leaders on opposite sides of the war saw the greater good in preserving the lives of these coveted but endangered animals, even putting their soldiers in harm’s way in order to do so.

None other than Patton himself, a former Olympian and lover of horses, approves the mission. Hank Reed, in order to preserve hundreds of prized breeds then consolidated at Hostau by the Germans. Hubert Rudofsky, director of Rau’s most important stud farm in Hostau, Czechoslovakia, negotiates with U.S.

In particular, high drama ensues as German Army Lt. While he opposes Rau’s plan to breed the Lipizzaners, he has no say in the matter-Austria is subservient to Germany, and Rau is the Third Reich’s foremost equine expert.Īs the fortunes of war turn against Germany and the Reich comes under siege from the Allies, Letts masterfully recounts the attempts by multiple actors to save a number of the prized horses from certain peril, particularly from the Russian onslaught. Alois Podhajksy, a former Olympic equestrian and Austrian director of the Spanish Riding School, is simply trying to “preserve” the perfect horse-whom he considers the famous performing Lipizzaner-from the horrors of a ravaged Vienna and war-torn Austria. Gustav Rau, master horse breeder for Nazi Germany and a strong believer in eugenics, attempts to “build” the perfect military workhorse by aggressively creating stud farms throughout German-occupied territories and crossbreeding the most valuable continental stock, including Polish Arabians, European thoroughbreds, and eventually the Lipizzaners. A gifted storyteller, Letts uses primary sources and first-person memoirs in The Perfect Horse, the title of which works along multiple lines.

Of course, the tie that binds them together is a love of the equine and Letts convincingly shows that only through a confluence of like-minded adversaries did the Allies effect the dramatic rescue of hundreds of priceless horses from the Third Reich during its waning days. 2nd Cavalry Regiment, Olympic equestrians, and Gen. Mission to Rescue the Priceless Stallions Kidnapped by the Nazis Elizabeth Lettsīallantine Books, New York, 2016, 400 pagesīest-selling author Elizabeth Letts combines her passion for horses together with her deep respect for military veterans in an engrossing tale that includes such disparate dramatic elements as Nazi horse breeders, the Spanish Riding School of Vienna and its famous Austrian Lipizzaner stallions, the U.S.

The Perfect Horse by Elizabeth Letts