1945 1st illustrated edition in slipcase; The Viking Press publishers; Illustrated throughout by Wesley Dennis. Beige cloth over boards with blue border around the front panel gilt lettering on the blue background on the spine and a glued on illustration of a colt on the front board. All page edges tinted dark blue. Illustrated inside covers front and back. book in very good condition; slipcase good with minor edgewear and minor ageing; previous owner Ex Libris sticker.
 
Description -
Raised on a ranch in northern California, Jody is well-schooled in the hard work and demands of a rancher's life. He is used to the way of horses, too; but nothing has prepared him for the special connection he will forge with Gabilan, a hot-tempered pony his father gives him. With Billy Buck, the hired hand, Jody tends and trains his horse, restlessly anticipating the moment he will sit high upon Gabilan's saddle. But when Gabilan falls ill, Jody discovers there are still lessons he must learn about the ways of nature and, particularly, the ways of man.