1 comments about My Champion.

1. I bought this book for my granddaughter who loves horses but ended up with two copies - one for her and one for me. It is such a heart warming story about a young girl and her horse and how the girl's vision of her champion changes before her eyes. I highly recommend it.

5 comments about Buying Your First Horse: A Comprehensive Guide to Preparing For, Finding and Purchasing a Great Horse.

1. This book was great, covered all the bases & was really unbias. The author wanted everyone to know how great owning horses is, but also how much work, time and effort must be put into their health and wellbeing. I defienetly feel prepared to own my own horse.



2. This book would be great for a preteen's first book about horse ownership, or for a first introduction to horse ownership. If you have already read anything else on the subject, you will probably find a lot of repeat information. There is good advice, but a lot of it is common sense.



3. If this is the "Best book on the topic...", then it must be the only one! Luckily that is not the case, as there are many really good books available on this subject.

   This rambling work just glosses over each subject that it attempts to address. It doesn't settle in on anything specific. The reader is never able to get a real idea of what they would be getting into when buying their first horse.

   The writers should have made a few assumptions at the beginning, such as this book is for the average person buying their first horse, which will be relatively inexpensive and used for basic riding. Since they did not focus on anything specific, the book has no real direction or purpose. Reading it is like looking through someone else's glasses - after a few minutes your eyes kind of go blurry and start to water.

   For example, there is a table that gives average costs per year of owning a horse, and under the heading "Tack" it gives annual costs from $500 - $10,000! Is this book trying to cover everyone from a 15-year old kid doing 4H to the King of Persia? Plus, don't horses eat? The table on what to expect to shell out in a year for horse costs doesn't even include the cost for feed. The total annual costs are listed as anywhere from $3520 to $25,800.

   Is the average Joe, about to go out to buy their first horse, really going to budget $25,000 a year for a horse? I don't think so. Who is this book written for?

   You start to almost get mad that you even wasted your time once you read this book. Then it gets kind of entertaining, because there are so many mistakes, that I found it hard to believe that I was reading a published work, and not a rough draft. There are sentences that start and then just end in the middle. One sentence had the word "so" when they meant to use "do". There are so many grammatical and typographical errors that it makes you wonder if the authors even read it!

   The last section of the book is entitled "Buyer Beware!" I think that about sums it up. I'm just glad that we got it for free at the library.




4. THIS IS A GREAT BOOK FOR THE FIRST TIME HORSE OWNER. I HAND IT OUT TO ANY AND EVERYONE TO ASK ME ABOUT OWNING A HORSE.



5. as I started to read this book I thought, OK, not a lot of detail but a good overview. The more I read the more obvious it was that the authors were providing some very inacccurate and predjudicial information. Readers of this book are presented with a narrow view of an expansive subject.

   Some of the glaring misinformation: "In the United States, a negative Coggins test is required for any horse bought or sold, raced, shown or crossing state lines." Complete misuse of the terms "linebreeding" and "inbred" as well as comment that purebred horses have "faults due to inbreeding" The term "nuetered" is not used regarding horses. Male or female. Castration is the proper term for explaining the gelding of a male horse. "Stallions. . . are hard to manage and dangerous". "A stallion near a mare in season is dangerous" both comments are grossly inaccurate. A stallion is not a suitable horse for a beginner or first time buyer, but they are not dangerous or hard to manange simply because they are stallions. Similar inaccurate statements were made about mares "in estrous". Also untrue.

   This is the kind of book presented to beginners and first time horse buyers who have no way of knowing better, things as fact that are not, because it is written by so-called experts. My impression of the book is that is was written by someone who pieced together information from other sources and without proofreading by qualified horsepeople.

1 comments about A Step-by-Step Book about Hamsters.

1. WOO-HOO! This is the best book in the whole intire world about hamsters! Except can you please tell me again how you breed hamsters? (making sure they are mating and will have a litter and what you should feed them, ect.) My name is jessica Lee Email me and tell me if you wish!

1 comments about Giant Book of the Dog.

1. i am 13 years old and i first got interested in dogs when i was about...10. i wanted a book that i could learn about all the dog breeds, health care, breeding, what to do if your dog gets injured, etc. well, this is exactly what i wanted! it is hard to believe that someone could fit all that information into one book! it has great pictures. i like to just flip through and look at all the photos sometimes! the book is easy to understand. it is also very well made! it has been in my back pack at school so its went through a lot! i mean, it(while in my backpack) has been thrown, kicked, pulled, and about anything else you can(or can't!)imagine. it still looks great! the corners are a bit worn, but nothing major. i would suggest this informative book to any dog lover!

3 comments about The Parrot Companion: Caring for Parrots, Macaws, Budgies, Cockatiels and More.

1. This was the first book I had bought on this subject and it was to help me make a decision on what type of bird I was going to get as a pet/companion (I had taken expert advice from a well established aviary and had whittled it down to either a Senegal or an Amazon). Whilst I found this book had a few good tips in various chapters the overall impression I was left with was very negative. I found the author sort of negative towards nearly every breed of bird featured (negative towards keeping one as a companion bird). I completely appreciate that prospective buyers need to understand the huge amount of time, patience and commitment needed to keep both bird & owner happy and I understand that was likely the author's goal but I felt that the book was nearly written to turn people off the idea of getting a bird. Fortunately it has not turned me off and I will still refer to the book for some of the advice on training/caging, etc which I do think will be useful to me.



2. Responsible ownership of parrots means understanding thoroughly how to keep the bird happy and healthy - and THE PARROT COMPANION: CARING FOR PARROTS, MACAWS, BUDGIES, COCKATIELS AND MORE is the item of choice for so doing. Charts offer insights into differences between species so owners can tailor parrot choice and care, while safety tips for parrot and keeper, common behavior and physiological problems, step-by-step training, and more make for a pet owner's reference certain to receive popular attention in any lending library setting.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



3. This has to be one of my favourites in my collection of parrot books.
   Not only is the book up to date, informative and forward thinking, it is full of information on many species it has accompanying stunning colour photo's throughout and beautiful photo's relevant to the information provided.
   For people yet to choose their companion and for those of us who already have our companions the book is a beautiful asset to your library!
   Jan

No comments about Harness: Types and Usage for Riding - Driving and Carriage Horses.

2 comments about Airedale Terriers (KW Dog).

1. I have two Airedale Terriers,male and female. This book does give you the background of the Breed.I never knew the Airedale was a modern dog,being only a century or so old,and that the Otterhound was mated to either the now-extinct Tangrizzle Terrier,or the old Brokenhaired English Terrier to make the Airedale Terrier. I have bought other books on the dog that gives extra information,but this one is a must buy for anyone who owns a Airdale,or any dog.It gives all dog owners helpfull information about caring for your pet,and problems we all experience.



2. This book's first chapter was good. It explained the complete history of Airedales. However, past page 32, they did not even mention "Airedale" (it was only written in the captions). There were Airedale pictures throughout, but they ended in the middle of the book. The rest seemed like an advertisement for Nylabone. In conclusion, if you are looking for a breed specific book about Airedales, I would not suggest buying this book.

3 comments about The Complete Dog Book: A Comprehensive, Practical Care and Training Manual and a Definitive Encyclopedia of World Breeds.

1. I don't own this book, it's just in the library, but I instantly became addicted to it. The pictures are beautiful and colorful, and the info is accurate. I love the book that I can't hold it if somebody else gets the book! I make it a habit to get the book first. Too bad the book was sort of ruined by kids and the librarians won't let anybody read it because they are fixing it. I am still waiting for the book to be fixed!



2. This book is large and describes a wide range of breeds. Its descriptions of the temperments and history of the breeds is entertaining and helpful. The book however is written in British English and its focus is on breeds that the British enjoy and are familiar with.



3. Larkin's book will bring out the dog lover in even the hardest of hearts: the lovable snub-nosed Pug, the jolly grinning Samoyed, and the gentle brown-eyed German Shepherd are among the many friendly faces you'll encounter in this full-color guide to dogs. A section is devoted to each breed recognized by the British and American Kennel Clubs, and all the dogs are wonderfully photographed. Dr. Larkin's summaries of the various breeds are simple and truthful, if a bit brief. Though one should not consult this book alone when choosing to participate in complicated doggy matters such as breeding, grooming, or canine health, it makes a wonderful general reference for those with a love of canines.

No comments about Russell On Scientific Horse Shoeing, For Leveling And Balancing The Action And Gait Of Horses And Remedying And Curing The Different Diseases Of The Foot.

1 comments about The Proper Care of Finches (Proper Care Of...).

1.   

   I found the number of topics covered too numerous and brief to be of any real value. Perhaps one exception is the chapter on Accomodations which introduces several good basic aviary designs. Although for the Finch Fancier there are enough excellent photos of various species to make this little book worthwhile to have on the shelf.