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[Jimler]

Around the mid Fifties I had a book which contained an illustrated story about a wild horse herd. In the story, one of the horses, (who I think was called "Bunty"), was involved in some kind of a dash through the woods, and eventually collapsed. It was drawn in a "realistic" mode, rather than "comical", and in black-and-white. I think the book also had other children's stories/comics in it as well.

I know that's extremely sparse information to go by, but if it rings a bell, I'd love hear from anyone who recognises it and knows its name

The second one I recall was a small book, about A2 size, iirc, and printed in one colour, dark sepia. It was about a kid who had a toy mule on wheels, which he would pull along behind him when he went for walks, (I think on some coastal hills somewhere, probably England).

Somehow, the mule turned into a real mule, and I forget what happened after that. Sorry, that's pretty vague, eh?

Anyone who can give me any info about those two books will earn my undying gratitude. 

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[paw broon]

Hi Jimler,   the story could have been from any number of books, but probably an annual and a fair chance it was a book/annual for girls.  Unless one of our members recognises it right away, this might be really difficult to uncover. 
The second comic you're asking about doesn't make sense. You say small, A2,  but A2 is huge.  If it is small, could you give me the dimensions please? Also, is it landscape as there were a few series of small landscape comics in the '50's and '60's.
There were also pocket size comics, portrait format.  I'd need to do some digging which might come to nothing.  When was Sunny Tales about? I'll check. Did Muffin the Mule have a title or strip mid '50's? My memory is terrible.

[Jimler]

Thank you for your reply, Paw. Yes, I was wrong about the dimensions of the second book. It was actually A5, which is 210mm X 148mm, and in landscape format. Glossy cover and pages.

I don't know if its title was typically "cutesy", like most comics. I seem to remember its tone was a bit low-key, (even though it was about a toy mule/donkey that became real).. And it was printed in monotone dark sepia, so not especially aimed at littlies. More likely for school-age kids.

The first book with the horse story might well have been a girl's Annual, as you suggest, although my sisters rarely allowed me to read their books, haha. On the other hand, that story was pretty intense, in that the main horse ran himself to exhaustion. And come to think of it, he might have had a person tied across his back??? Or maybe that's a false memory.

Anyway, I'll wait and see if anyone recalls it. Thanks again for your interest. This is a wonderful site and I've recommended it to some friends already. Please keep up the good work. 

[paw broon]

I've been skimming through Girls Crystal Annuals, Girl Annuals, Swift Annuals and found horse stories and strips to last a lifetime but nothing that seems to be your horse tale.
In one annual there was a character called Bunty and the following story was about a horse but nowhere near your description.
Getting cross eyed here  

[Jimler]

I can say with certainty that it wasn't in a Girl's Crystal album, Paw. My sisters used to get those but they kept them under lock and key! 

I'll keep trying to remember more details. I must have been mistaken about the horse's name being Bunty. The "Bunty" I'm thinking of, (if that was his name), was a wild horse and the story was about the herd.

Thanks for your help, though.

Cheers.