While online and console games featuring horses are hugely popular primarily in connection with the sporting and amusements industry, many may be surprised to know that a wide range of equine-themed board games also exists that are mostly on the opposite end of the gaming spectrum. From old-fashioned wooden horse racing games to games of luck and diplomacy, not only are many horse board games entertaining and beautifully designed but are educational as well.

Below are some of the most popular and best rated horse board games you can find on Amazon.com:

FINENI - Horse Racing Board Game

Price: $87.95
One of the oldest types of board games in the history of gaming, this classic Horse Racing Board Game from FINENI combines the unpredictability of chance with the excitement of racing. Just roll the dice to gallop towards the finish line! The dice roll determines which corresponding horse moves forward, with each horse having the same probability of winning. A great gift idea for a housewarming party or a birthday present for that special bachelor in your life, this game features luxurious wood and metal game tools made with detailed finishings.

Features:
21 x 12 x 1 inches/6.04 pounds. Its premium peg horse racing board is specially-crafted using high-quality pine wood with all lines meticulously etched into the wood for long-lasting gameplay. Meanwhile, its classic metal horse miniatures come in 2 designs and 2 colors (5 Black & 6 Silver) which can also be used as decorative figurines for home or office.

TaliCor - Herd Your Horses Board Game

Price: $21.83
Loaded with facts, adventures, and beauty, TaliCor’s most popular award-winning game allows players to experience life as a ranch hand or as a member of a wild herd as they move along an adventure-filled game board. For ages 8 and up, 2 to 4 players, the game provides loads of challenges, whether playing with friends or parents. Furthermore, young horse enthusiasts will enjoy learning more about horses and horse breeds via the included educational booklet. In the first game, players pretend to be wild mustang stallions galloping through mountains and valleys, gathering a herd to protect while facing such obstacles as cougars and bad weather. The first player to round up a herd wins. In the two other games, players are ranchers rounding up strays and competing to fill out their herds.

Features:
10 x 10 x 2 inches/15.8 ounces. It includes a 55 full-color deck of fully illustrated and colored jumbo horse cards, each with the name, breed, color, markings, and biography of a fictional horse; 4 horse playing pieces; 42 solitaire adventure game cards for solo play; game board and die.

Late for the Sky – Horse-opoly Board Game

Price: $17.49

Horse-opoly is an equine-themed property trading game for 2-6 players from 8-years-old to adult. Containing all the fun and thrill of the world’s favorite property trading game Monopoly with your favorite horses, the goal of the game is to collect bales of straw and trade them in for full-fledged barns. Choose between Standard Play or One Hour Version. As you play, you turn over the "deeds'' for the horses to learn interesting facts about each breed. Sounds like fun, but beware of getting thrown by a bucking bronco, paying the farriers fees, or getting locked into the trailer!! The board features different breeds of horses, while each property deed teaches players a little about that breed of horse. Players can choose their favorite piece—a bale of hay, saddle, horseshoe, horse trailer, a bag of oats, or a boot. Then buy and sell while trying to become the richest player in the game.

Features:
15.38 x 10.63 x 2.06 inches/1.94 pounds. Includes game board, 10 deed cards, paper money, and 6 wooden play pieces.

Fantasy Board Games – Fantasy Ranch Board Game

Price: $42.95
Fantasy Ranch lets you live out a horse lover’s fantasy: collect a huge herd of beautiful horses, build your dream ranch, and pay for it by showing horses! In the game, you’re fully in charge of your own destiny—what you do on your turn is totally up to you!

The only thing the roll of the dice determines is your luck at shows, but, as everyone knows, horses can be unpredictable!

Fantasy Ranch offers 3 Levels of play to make it easier to learn how to play the game. “The Greenhorn Level” is the most basic version of the game: a quick, fun race to see who can collect the most horses; “The Wrangler Level” adds Twist of Fate cards and Trophies, which add more depth to the game experience; and “The Boss Level” adds Employees and the Ranch Community for the full Fantasy Ranch experience!

The set also includes a bonus “The Trail Ride” game for ages 6-12 (10-30 minutes playtime). Move along the winding Trail doing activities you land on. Race your friends from the trailhead to the camp spot and collect as many horses as you can along the way!

Features:
11.6 x 11.6 x 3 inches /4.19 pounds. it includes: 6 Double-sided Ranch Tiles offering 12 different luxury home styles; 12 Guest Ranch Player Mats; 57 Horse Cards (15 disciplines represented, 33 breeds, 28 colors, and 8 foals); 57 custom printed Wooden Horse Figures in 5 different colors and patterns; 16 Show Cards; 4 Twist of Fate Cards; 4 Sets of Dice and Ownership Tokens; 1 The Show Grounds game board; Carrots & Boots Resources Tokens; 5 Employee Tokens; and two colorfully illustrated Rule Books (Fantasy Ranch and The Trail Ride).

Whatever your age, if you’re a lover of horses and want to learn more about them while enjoying hours of chance and strategic gameplay at the same time, then the above top-quality horse board games on Amazon.com are a great way to indulge your equine racing passions or your horse ranch dreams!