5 comments about The Miniature Horse: The Complete Guide to the Fascinating World of Miniatures.

1. One of rare books on the miniature horse.
   It was very pedagogic, and easy to read.
   A good beginner's book.



2. This book is a well written easy to understand book. For the first time horse buyer, it is exactly what I wanted. The author not only tells you what you need to know about miniature horses and how to care for them, she also gives you ideas of how she raises her horses.



3. It is the best book I have found about miniature horses.It is very detailed and gives you alot of very important information you need in the care of mini's.I would highly reccomend this to anyone who is considering a miniature horse.



4. Just a wonderful book..It helped me with my 31 miniature horses and gave me alot of wonderful info.......I also go a similar book for my 15 regular sized horses.



5. I just got done reading this book. It is a very good "broad" overview of the world of miniature horses, but I am a little disappointed because on many of the aspects such as care, showing, conformation, etc. etc. the author instructs the reader to read "other" books that go into more detail. I feel that if you have never owned a horse before, and are interested in minis, it's a good book for you. But if you are like me, and already have knowledge of equine behavior, this may just be a simple review of what you already know. Definitly a good book for the novice, but the more experienced horse-person will not gain a whole lot.

2 comments about The American Cowboy: A Photographic History.

1. If you're a Cowboy and Western History enthusist you might be disappointed in how slim Mr. Collins' volume is - it is one of those wonderful books that make the reader wanting more.
   
   Still he captures the essence of the American Cowboy in that brief period between the end of the Civil War and the beginning years of the 20th Century. Using archival photos by Charlie Belden, L.A.Huffman, and others, and coupling it with a splendid but terse essay, Collins adequately captures the life and the spirit of the American Cowboy; the cattle drives, the chuckwagon, the campfires, the loneliness,the ranch life, the joys and sorrows,including the extremely sad photo of a large group of cowboys surrounding the gravesite of a dead pardner. This last photo is even more poignant when one considers that even when that photograph was taken, the time of the individualistic cowboy riding the open range itself was coming to an end.
   
   A beautiful coffee-table book for anyone who loves the history of the cowboys or for those who wanted to know what it was like back then between the opening of the trails and the closing down of the frontier. Mr. Collins' book, coupled with renowned photographer Jay Dusard's works of contemporary images of cowboys, would make an awesome two-pack gift for all who wished they could be a Hoppy, Gene, Roy, or Teddy Blue Abbott and Andy Adams.



2. There are 110 pages of vintage photographs in this oversize book, by a half-dozen or so early photographers working with bulky equipment out on the plains during the years of open rangeland. Most of the photographs chosen for this book date from 1885 into the first decades of the 20th century, with a few as recent as the 1930s.

   Besides herding, driving, and working cattle and horses, which have become familiar images over the years, the editor has included shots of meal-time and preparation of food at the chuckwagon. Some of these are nights shots, lighted by the campfire.

   There are shots of cowboys with fiddles and guitars, one a younger man on a cot in a cabin, the photograph rich with details: the layers of worn blankets on the cot, the cowboy's big white hat, the two shirts he's wearing, the cuffs of his jeans turned up, two pairs of boots (the more beat-up pair shoved against one corner of the cot), a towel hanging against the log wall behind him, and a copy of Liberty magazine lying open on a seat in the foreground.

   There are cowboys on horseback performing the remarkable trick of drinking water from their hat brims. (One of these is on the cover.) There are many groups shots of men lined up to face the camera. Two of them from early 1880s Montana show artist and writer Charles Russell. Another shows over 30 men at a cowboy's funeral, hats off, standing around a patch of freshly turned prairie sod, two of them holding shovels.

   A group of ten trail cowboys from the XIT ranch sit for a portrait shot, two with revolvers drawn in their laps, each of them dressed very differently. There are two studio portraits of individual cowboys from the 1890s, one of them with long, shoulder-length hair, the other a fresh-faced youth, with silk scarf, woolly chaps, leather gloves with wide cuffs, gunbelt, and a monogrammed shirt with big medallion buttons.

   There are a few shots of cowboying in winter, taken in the 1920s and 30s. In one remarkable two-page spread, a cowboy on his horse watches a long, long line of Herefords moving across a landscape totally whited out by snow. Also interesting are shots of early ranch houses and cow camp cabins, one of them against the eroded rocks of the Missouri Breaks.

   The opening essay by Bob Edgar, curator of The Museum of the Old West, Cody, Wyoming, gives a general overview of the period, focusing on the cattle drives and talking briefly about the career of one dedicated photographer, Charles Belden. For more of a historical background to go with the photographs, there is Andy Adams' "Log of a Cowboy," "Cowboy Life" by William Savage, Jr., Ramon Adams' book about chuckwagons and the camp cook "Come an' Get It," and Larry McMurtry's novel "Lonesome Dove." For another book of vintage photographs of the Old West, look at "The Early Days in Jackson Hole" by Virginia Huidekoper.

2 comments about The Riding Teacher.

1. ***The following is from the dust jacket of the book. I DID NOT write it***
   
   Colonel Alois Podhajsky, former Director of the Spanish Riding School of Vienna and the world's foremost authority on classical equitation, now provides complete step-by-step instructions on how to teach correct riding, from beginning stages through participation in competitions.
   
   There are detailed programs for classes, both individual and group, and specific procedures for training the rider on a school horse or his own horse. The relationship between teacher and student, assessing capabilities of both horse and rider, spotting and correcting faults and bad habits, the choice and adjustment of saddles and bridles, cross country riding, jumping, preparation for competition, and the essentials of judging performances - all are set forth in a clear, precise, consecutively organized manner so that the book can be used as a quick reference as well as a basic guide.
   
   Illustrated with photographs and diagrams, and containing a complete Index, this is a work that instructors, parents, and riders who are teaching themselves will find invaluable.
   
   ***My Review***
   I really can't understand why this book has gone out of print. If more riders and instructors read it then maybe there wouldn't be so many problems in the horse world. I really liked the way that the book dealt with the unsaid rules of the riding academy: how an instructor-rider relationship works, how to work with grooms, and what the necessary qualities of a school horse are. It is also a relief to find an author that reminds people that learning to ride right does take time!
   
   One of my favorite quotes is on pg. 137. It reads "With riding, much more important than recognizing the fault is to find the cause. The teacher should beware of demanding that the exercise be performed strictly according to the clasical rules right from the beginning." If nothing else, the reader will learn WHY certain lessons should be in a specific order and how to know when to do them.
   
   This book is probably one of the best investments an equestrian can buy. Written by a man decades ahead of his time, it will make a positive impact on the way you work in the horseworld. Enjoy!



2. I really can't understand why this book has gone out of print. If more riders and instructors read it then maybe there wouldn't be so many problems in the horse world. I really liked the way that the book dealt with the unsaid rules of the riding academy: how an instructor-rider relationship works, how to work with grooms, and what the necessary qualities of a school horse are. It is also a relief to find an author that reminds people that learning to ride right does take time!

   One of my faorite quotes is on pg. 137. It reads "With riding, much more important than recognizing the fault is to find the cause. The teacher should beware of demanding that the exercise be performed strictly according to the clasical rules right from the beginning." If nothing else, the reader will learn WHY certain lessons should be in a specific order and how to know when to do them.

   This book is probably one of the best investments an equestrian can buy. Written by a man decades ahead of his time, it will make a positive impact on the way you work in the horseworld.Enjoy!

3 comments about Build Complete Confidence with Horses: Beat Fear and Excuses to Attain Your Riding Goals.

1. After suffering a severe liver laceration when kicked(unintentionally)by a fleeing horse, it was difficult for me to regain confidence around our own young horses. Fear and dread would flow through my body as my daughter and
   I drove to the ranch to ride. While reading Kelly Marks' book I began to practice the techniques she recommends to help build self-confidence. Daily
   journal writing of success stories with our horses began to have subtle effects on how I would react on the ground and in the saddle with my horse.
   We became a team and I became a leader within the herd. I have not only regained self-confidence but have become and even better "horsewoman" than
   before the accident. Thank you, Kelly Marks!!



2. Kelly Marks' s new book is most useful and entertaining. Within is an enormous collection of helpful strategies for managing the moments of trepidation that life with equine beings can contain. It is a veritable tool kit of ideas which can just as easily apply to life in general as to life with horses. One of her suggestions was to try singing nursery rhymes, so, to a sometimes obstreporous young Arabian, his owner sings "Mary had a Little Lamb". Great results! We are grateful! Octavia Gooch



3. I have Kelly's other books and enjoy her perspective on horsemanship. This book is not about horsetraining, it is about working on THE HUMAN, so if you are looking for specific horsetraining information, this is not it. However, it is an excellent guide for anyone not achieving their goals, whether it be with the horse(s) in their life, or any other part of their life. There are specific assignments in the book to help the reader - so reader involvement is required. This book would be great for any riding instructor who is interested in non-traditional methods.

No comments about Dressage 2009 Calendar.

5 comments about Right from the Start: Create a Sane, Soft, Well-Balanced Horse.

1. This book is so clear, so logical, and so methodical that the big mystery of dressage is cleared up. Finally, after years of "outside rein, inside leg" someone comes along who can simplify and break it down. He also admits that in the beginning it doesn't look pretty and sometimes you have to "gasp" pull on the reins! Then you refine from that. A must-read for the backyard or serious rider.



2. I truly love the concept of starting the horse from the ground but it is not as easy as it looks. The book was very well illustrated and clear. I do think the groundwork lessons should have been in Chapter 1 and progressed from there. As it is written, the groundwork is toward the end of the book which is confusing for a novice like me. I need step-by-step guidance. I still highly recommend this book, especially for the groundwork section.



3. My ex-racehorse was a horrible tongue loller. I bought him for dressage and we know that is not allowed, my trainer told me just to keep riding him like we were and he would come around. This wasn't working because he would lock his jaw, stick his tongue out and go faster(just what he learned on the track). I started Mike's book and read chapeter 18 several times because this was my horse, everything he had to say was about my horse. So we started on softening his jaw, getting him to Soften, Bend and Move into the Hand and it worked. He still has a long way to go but his tongue lolling has decreased(I may add that he goes in a french link German silver Boucher bit). All the rein and leg aids make sense to him now and he can use his body much better. This is the ONLY book that I have yet found that addresses tongue lolling. For all you out there with a horse sticking his tongue and evading the bit try these techniques, it's not a overnight success but you will see a differance with consistent work in hand.



4. This is the best book in my library. I've had it a for a few years and have used it on several horses - one of whom refused to go on the bit for over two years before using this training method. It is clear, concise,and every step make sense and builds on the last. He gives examples and reasons for his methods and they make good common sense. It is invaluable as a tool for creating a strong foundation for a horse and even a rider's training (too often the two are considered seperate topics). I cannot recommend this book strongly enough.



5. I have been reading a lot of books about starting young horses recently and this is by far the best. Aside from the fact that it is well written and easy to follow, I feel that it answers the questions most books skip over and puts simply into words what is difficult to describe. Although there are many books that offer advice on starting young horses, many of them tell you what to do - ground schooling, long lining, lungeing - but don't give any insight on what you are trying to acheive in terms of balance, bend and contact. This book fills in those gaps and more. I also recommend "Dressage in Lightness" by Sylvia Loch (see my reviews).

1 comments about Become Perfect Partners: How to Be the Owner Your Horse Would Choose for Himself.

1. Anyone with a horse should read this book.
   
   Kelly Marks builds on her excellent first book, "Perfect Manners" and has written the amazing guide to getting that special partnership with your equine.
   
   Easy to read chapters on how to choose which horse to buy, develop your ground and ridden training techniques, how to handle common remedial issues and how to gain a deeper understanding of the horse psyche should excel this book into being one of the definitive horsepersons bibles for 21st Century.

5 comments about The Horses in My Life.

1. Interesting reading if you're a Monty Roberts fan. Basically short stories
   of horses he has owned or trained. Not much educational content but an
   overview of his life with horses and fun reading.



2. This book is a set of stories about the horses in Mr. Roberts life, not all of them, but a collection of sixty or so. It starts with the first horse in his life and ends with a horse named Johnny Tivio that he road to win numerous championship event. Mr. Roberts stresses in this book that these are the horses that taught him things.
   
   Mr. Roberts, the author of the best selling 'The Man who Listens to Horses,' clearly loves horses. In this book, that love comes through. Each horse is treated with respect and understanding, perhaps more than you would normally think goes to an animal. Perhaps, but it makes it easy to see why Mr. Roberts has chosen to spend a lifetime with horses.
   
   Knowing that the horses are long lived, there is a bit of trajedy here as each horse goes to his own ending. But that too is part of life.
   
   This is not a book on how to train horses, not even about how to ride horses. This is a life of loving horses.



3. It was fascinating to follow how the different experiences with horses led Monty to become the person he is today. I have seen him work in person and it is truly amazing to watch what he can do. Learning more about what the horses have taught him gave me even more insight.



4. This is a great bunch of stories and such a marvelous perspective on a rich life involved with animals - pure love!



5. Monty says these horses made him the amazing trainer that he is and it is a fascinating journey through the decades of his life. He created a movement that will forever change the way we treat animals - not just horses.
   I read a review by the American Library Association touting this book and they are right on!

5 comments about Reining (Western Horseman Books).

1. I love this book. It is very informative and helped me to keep the whole picture in mind. It takes many steps and the right form to do these exercises properly. Great book!



2. Owned horses for 15 years. Ride in western events, but not reining.
   Was fortunate to be able to purchase a champion reining horse, and needed insights into reining.
   Book was very helpful.



3. Excellent. Written in a clear, concise manner and easy to follow. Not for beginners at reining. If you are with a trainer, or have a pretty good background knowledge in dressage, this book can bring a lot of things together. Highly recommend this book.



4. I think this is a wonderful book to learn more about the horse ,you can never know enough about the horse so , this book has 5 stars from me .



5. I think this is a wonderful book to learn more about the horse ,you can never know enough about the horse so , this book has 5 stars from me .

No comments about 2009 Montana Cowboy Calendar.