February 21, 2025 
Most horse lovers know a bit about the horse, and his long history with people. Without question, for humans, the horse is the most important animal in history.
Still, most of what people know about horses and humans has a distinctly Western flavor, starting as far back as Xenophon’s 2,400-year-old book, On Horsemanship.
What’s been mostly forgotten is that the horse was extremely important in other cultures, as well. That’s why, when I was given a priceless manuscript about horse medicine in Japan from several hundred years ago, I became curious.
The difficulties in reading and understanding the old Japanese in the manuscript became simply an obstacle to overcome—the beauty of the drawings in the manuscript need no language to describe them.
Thus, after a few years of effort and research, and with a lot of help from museums and researchers in Japan, and all over the world, I’ve published my book, Lost Traditions: Horses and Horse Medicine in Pre-Modern Japan.
For lovers of horses, the book shines a light on a world of horsemanship that has largely been unknown. For lovers of art, the book is filled with seldom-seen treasures, showing the many ways that the Japanese found to work with and live with their horses.
For lovers of medical history, the book discusses medical approaches long-since abandoned (for good reason) but still offers insight into the interactions between people and the horses they care for. Lastly, for lovers of Japan and Japanese culture—like me—the book offers a glimpse into a world that had all but been forgotten.
Dr. W. Puck Brecher, a Washington State University Professor of History specializing in early modern and modern Japanese social and cutural history, read the book and wrote:
“David Ramey’s Lost Traditions: Horses and Horse Medicine in Pre-Modern Japan is an encyclopedic exploration of the roles of horses and equine care in early Japan. Anchored by a previously unstudied 15th-century manuscript on equine medicine, the volume is divided into three parts: a historical examination of horses and their roles in early Japan (Part I), a transcription and translation of the manuscript (Part II), and an in-depth discussion of traditional Japanese equine medicine (Part III). The latter offers especially fascinating insights into topics like ‘demons, deities, and protectors of animals’ and ‘sickness and Sino-Japanese cosmology.’
“This beautifully crafted volume will appeal to diverse audiences. For horse-lovers and Japanophiles, it offers a remarkably detailed mosaic of facts about Japanese horses that opens fresh perspectives on the medieval and early modern periods. For students of early Japanese texts, the hand-brushed manuscript is transcribed into printed classical Japanese and translated into English, offering an accessible yet authentic engagement with the original.
“Lavishly illustrated with full-color images and printed on high-quality paper, this unique book also invites readers with no prior knowledge of Japan or horses to explore a world that is both exotic and richly detailed.”
