Black Beauty’s earliest memories are of living an idyllic life in a meadow with his mother, Duchess, and several other young colts. While the other colts like to play rough, Duchess tells Black Beauty to never kick or bite, even in play—he’s a better horse than that, and he should always behave impeccably. At one point in his first years, Black Beauty and his companions witness a foxhunt that passes through their meadow. Two horses and one man die after fumbling a difficult jump, and Duchess and the other adult horse in the field insist that foxhunting is senseless and dangerous.
When Black Beauty turns four, Squire Gordon expresses interest in purchasing him from Farmer Grey. Farmer Grey breaks Black Beauty himself, which means teaching Black Beauty to be ridden and to pull a carriage. Throughout his training, Black Beauty follows his mother’s advice and does his best to learn and behave. When he’s learned enough, he moves to Birtwick, Squire Gordon’s estate. There, he meets a pony named Merrylegs and a chestnut mare named Ginger, who was abused by her previous owners. The horses at Birtwick all know they’re extremely lucky to live in their current home, as Squire Gordon doesn’t believe in using bearing reins on horses. They’re proud to be owned by people who advocate for animals’ rights and dignity, and they regularly discuss how cruel some people are to animals. Gradually, with the kind treatment, Ginger relaxes and stops biting people. She and Black Beauty become close friends.
Some time after Black Beauty comes to Birtwick, his groom, James Howard, receives an offer to become the coachman at one of Squire Gordon’s friend’s estates. The coachman at Birtwick, John Manly, spends weeks preparing James. One of James’s exercises is to drive the Gordons 50 miles away to a friend’s estate. When they stop for the night at a hotel, the barn catches fire, but James is able to save Black Beauty and Ginger from the burning building.
A small boy named Joe Green takes James’s place when James leaves. He’s inexperienced, but he has a good heart. When Mrs. Gordon falls seriously ill and Black Beauty is selected for the very long run to the doctor, Joe is on his own when Black Beauty returns sweaty and shaking. Because Joe doesn’t know how to properly cool Black Beauty down, Black Beauty falls seriously ill. But Black Beauty recovers, and Joe grows confident in his abilities over the next year.
Mrs. Gordon’s illness means that the Gordon family must leave for continental Europe. Squire Gordon sells Black Beauty and Ginger to a friend, the Earl of W, where he believes the horses will be treated well. The earl’s coachman, York, knows how to care for horses, but he has no choice but to use the bearing rein on Black Beauty and Ginger. Working with the bearing rein tight is painful, and after only a few months, Ginger angrily lashes out. A young man named Lord George begins training Ginger for foxhunting, while Black Beauty continues to pull the carriage. When the earl and Mrs. W leave their estate for several weeks, the young Lady Anne begins riding Black Beauty—something Black Beauty loves, as she’s an exceptional rider and very kind. But one day, she insists on riding a nervous mare, Lizzie, and suffers a serious fall when Lizzie runs away with her.
Since York is with the earl and Mrs. W, a groom named Reuben Smith is temporarily in charge of the stables. Smith is known for occasionally drinking and getting in serious trouble while drunk. One night, he gets drunk and ignores that Black Beauty’s shoe is loose. He gallops Black Beauty on rough roads, which causes Black Beauty to lose his shoe and gallop through immense pain as his hoof starts to split. Eventually, Black Beauty stumbles onto his knees and throws Smith, killing him. Black Beauty’s character is cleared and Smith is ruled to have been at fault, but Black Beauty’s knees heal poorly and with bald blemishes. He and Ginger spend a few weeks together healing in a meadow (Sir George strained Ginger’s back, and she needs a year of rest). Then, the Earl of W sells Black Beauty.
Black Beauty briefly works as a “job-horse,” pulling carriages for various people—many of whom don’t know how to drive a horse well. He witnesses many horses suffer injuries caused by careless driving. Eventually, Mr. Barry, who wants a horse to ride for pleasure, purchases Black Beauty. But the two grooms he hires cheat him and neglect Black Beauty, the first by stealing Black Beauty’s food and the second by not cleaning Black Beauty’s stall, which results in a painful fungal infection in the horse’s hooves. When Black Beauty’s hooves are healed, Mr. Barry sells him at a horse fair.
A London cab driver named Jerry purchases Black Beauty and rides him to London. Jerry isn’t wealthy, but he’s kind and generous, and he believes in treating his horses very well. He owns another horse named Captain, who tells Black Beauty about his youth fighting a war in Crimea. It was all fun and games, he says, until he saw horses and men brutally killed during the fighting. The cab work is extremely difficult for the horses, but Jerry makes it as easy and pleasant as possible. He refuses to work on Sundays, insisting that horses and people are all entitled to a day of rest. Jerry also never pushes his horses too hard, unless there’s a compelling reason to do so.
Black Beauty learns, though, that his and Jerry’s experience of cab work is not the norm: many cab drivers work for bosses who charge them exorbitant rates to rent a horse and cab each day. Those drivers, such as one named Seedy Sam, work 16-hour days, seven days per week, and drive their rented horses to exhaustion and death just to earn a little money. Seedy Sam dies suddenly of bronchitis brought on by the hard work, something that disturbs all the cab drivers. In the following weeks, Black Beauty encounters Ginger pulling a cab. Her owner is one of the men like who Seedy Sam drove for, and her previous strains and injuries mean that she’ll be driven until she drops dead. Ginger has lost all her spark, and she hopes for death so she can stop suffering. Not long after, Black Beauty sees a dead chestnut horse on a cart—he believes and hopes that it’s Ginger. Captain is also euthanized after being injured while working; his replacement is a young horse named Hotspur.
Over the holidays, Jerry’s cough becomes worse. On New Year’s Eve, after waiting in sleet for gentlemen at a card party, he falls dangerously ill with bronchitis. He survives the illness, but his doctor insists he must leave London and never drive a cab again. Another cab driver purchases Hotspur, while Jerry sells Black Beauty to a baker as a carthorse. Carthorses still wear bearing reins—and after a few months, Black Beauty is in too poor a shape to pull. A man named Skinner purchases him; he’s the same cab driver who Ginger and Seedy Sam worked for. Black Beauty does his best for several months, but he eventually collapses when his driver overloads him. The farrier convinces Skinner that since Black Beauty is just overworked and not injured or ill, he could rest him for a few months and then put him back to work—or sell him and let someone else take on the expense. Skinner chooses the latter option, and a kind gentleman farmer named Mr. Thoroughgood and his grandson, Willie, purchase Black Beauty.
Black Beauty is allowed to recuperate in a meadow for several months and then, in the spring, Mr. Thoroughgood begins driving Black Beauty in a light chaise. Black Beauty feels young again thanks to the rest and good food, and he does his work to the best of his abilities. In summer, Mr. Thoroughgood presents Black Beauty to a household of ladies who want a safe horse to drive. They agree to take Black Beauty on trial. Their groom, who fetches Black Beauty from Mr. Thoroughgood is initially upset that Mr. Thoroughgood is selling his employers a horse with “blemished” knees. But he comes around when he recognizes Black Beauty, and he tells Black Beauty that he’s Joe Green. With Joe to convince them of Black Beauty’s safety and good character, the ladies agree to purchase Black Beauty and keep him until he dies.
