Like many girls, I caught the horse bug early. My big sister started horseback riding lessons when I was 7 or 8, and I started shortly afterward. I didn’t get my first horse until I was a teenager, so the time in between I spent obsessing over horses any way I could. Breyer and Grand Champion model horses, asking Santa for a horse, and the game Herd Your Horses.

This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you click on it and make a purchase I’ll receive a small commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. For more information, please check our Privacy Policy and Disclaimers and Disclosures.

Herd Your Horses is actually a few different games in one: Mustang Escape, Rancher’s Round-up, and Rancher’s Revenge are for 2-4 players, while A Herd in Danger, Horse Doubles, and Corrals are single-player. Each of the games has a distinct rule set and gameplay is clearly explained in their rules.

Game components consist of the board, ranch horse cards, mustang cards, ranch adventure cards, mustang adventure cards, a regular 6-sided die, and stallion playing pieces. The different games use these different components in different ways, but the basic premise is you start at “start” and move through the paths on the game board toward Green River Valley with a goal to collect as many horses along your way as possible. Along your path, you will encounter different danger spots, adventure card spots (which may be good or bad), and spots allowing you to draw another horse card.

Herd Your Horses is perfect for the horse-crazy child, though reading is required. Many of the horse cards contain horse facts and all contain breed, coloring, and marking notes. In addition, there is even more information in the back of the instruction booklet. This makes Herd Your Horses the perfect addition to any unit study on horses.

The game does not come with any cooperative rules, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t be developed. No real secrecy of cards is required; they are kept spread out on the table so everyone can see them. So if you have a child who is not reading well yet, that’s okay; other players can help them. Herd Your Horses is a great choice for any group of up to four horse-obsessed kids!