5 comments about 101 Longeing and Longlining Exercises.

1. This is a very good book for beginning training a young horse, because it haves a lot of simple exercises that could be done with an untrained horse. It begins with simple exercises and continues with exercises that are harder and harder.
   It is a very good book because with every exercise it explains how to do it and every other thing that horse can do and how to correct this.
   I find this book very useful for me and my horse. I found out what I did wrong and what I have to do to correct this.
   I strongly recommend this book for every one how want to learn more about how to work a horse in hand and for they how don't have a trainer.



2. Only new to the horse training realm and this book with it's well laid out structure and diagrams has been invaluable. It is also easy enough for my 12 year old daughter to understand and use.



3. I can never get enough of books with exercises that challenge both my horse and I. This book is one that every Equestrian should have, whether for training purposes or just getting back in shape. Half of the Exercises are really basic and a waste for an intermediate to advanced rider, but then again I guess all horses can use a few lessons in the refresher courses. The last 30 Exercises focus on long lining which I use on all my younger horses. They advance from driving a horse in a yin yang pattern to change direction to Figure 8s and Lazy 8s (just a flatten figure 8). Eventually the horse graduates to haunches in and shoulders in. I find that even more advanced school masters benefit from these exercises.



4. Spice up your ground work with this educational guide and develop a better relationship with your horse in the process. There are often days when we perhaps don't have the time to ride, but instead of just longeing around on the circle we could be more constructive - this book can help you. I find this book particulary useful when starting young horses.



5. I thought this book is very helpful in teaching people to use the longline.

4 comments about Beating muscle injuries for horses: [25 common muscular problems, their cause, correction, prevention].

1. As a three year old, my horse was kicked by another horse. Her right foreleg was unusable and she was practically paralized. We decided to put her down, but she wanted to live, so a therapist gave her laser treatment. She is still with us, now almost 11 years old. Two years ago she developed severe back problems, had a shortened stride and went lame. Last year she could almost not walk anymore and has severe muscle problems. Several therapists tried to help her, most of them could not not. Shiatsu helped her a little, but the only one that showed spectacular progress after just one treatment was a therapist practising the Jack Meagher method. I wanted to know more about the method, so I bought the book. It is great!



2. Wonderful Teacher! Much to be learned using the simple rules and calculations that Jack explains in depth. Only downer is the fact that the book is only available as a combed binder issue and not a hardcover bound publication.



3. This is a fabulous book that every horse owner should have. It has saved me hundreds of $$$ in chiropractic and massage therapy bills. I have recommended it to owners, instructors, and trainers complaining about horse performance issues. In every case the book helped.



4. I read this book over 15 years ago. I wanted to see if I could get another copy as mine was stolen (it was so good). Helped me a lot with horses. As I heard that Jack Meagher died last week, I thought I would look for it. I think I only paid $15 for my paperback copy years ago and would not suggest anyone pay $70 for this book but it was very good. The price is so high I think because of recent demand due to the author's death. I will keep looking rather than purchase a copy here.

2 comments about 101 Horsemanship & Equitation Patterns: A Western & English Ringside Guide for Practice & Show.

1. This book is very comprehensive. There are enough "lessons" to
   get the beginning instructor and the beginning-intermediate rider through a geat year of riding and teaching.



2. This is an excellant book for anyone practicing for shows or just wanting to improve their riding skills. It has patterns for beginning, intermediate, and advanced riders. It also explains how to work the patterns. I strongly recommend it.

4 comments about Designing Speed in the Racehorse.

1. This book has a lot of good info in it, by the author's style is horribly rambling.
   As the other reviewer said, could have benefitted by tighter editing or a more outlining style.
   
   Really hard to read because of this!
   
   On one page he says Almahmoud was the source of speed in Horse A. Another page he says Horse A has speed because of Native Dancer.
   
   Thus, is it BOTH horses, or which had more influence? He does not say his opinion or explain why.



2. I was disappointed with this book. It is obvious that the author is very knowledgable but I found his style extremely rambling. The book could have done with much tighter editing with key points highlighted



3. I tried to take notes of the highlights but gave up after almost rewriting the book.



4. Absolutely excellent, detailed review of why pedigrees are important. Especially helpful were the sections on elite broodmares and why certain nicks work. Mating suggestions are not based on limited number of recent matings but true mating nicks that have been proven through many successful matings. Since buying this book two months ago I have read and studied it countless times. This book should be a connerstone in any one's library who is interested in breeding or racing thoroughbreds.

5 comments about Long Reining: The Saumur Method.

1. Such a simple and straight forward approach. I know that if I take a patient approach, these tools, as outlined by Phillipe Karl, will take myself and my horses far!
   Tres Bien!



2. This book does a great job of getting to the point and letting you know what you need to do and what you should expect form your horse. There isn't any fluff that you need to short through to know what to do, and Karl doesn't skirt around training issues. Since he wrote the book in a nice progression of exercises any level of horseman can use this book and learn from it. I would recommend this book for those who are wanting to learn this technique of training your horse.



3. If you're working with a young horse or are unable to ride and want to keep up with your dressage training, buy this book. Although the book is short, the pictures and text are very clear. Karl teaches basic lunging and driving all the way to passage and piaffe. His methods are gentle to the animal. Lots of diagrammed arena exercises. The troubleshooting was great. I taught my mare shoulder-in on 3 and 4 tracks in one hour. I had to stop riding due to pregnancy but I have been able to keep up with my training.



4. This book focuses exclusively on long-reining, and what a treat it is. Lavishly illustrated with color photographs throughout (all taken in France), beautiful, fit horses are worked through various exercises by Philippe Karl, impeccable in his uniform and coveted golden spurs (which have to be earned) of the Saumur, so the reader sees a master at work.
   
   The first major chapter sets the stage for all work in dealing with the gymnastics of the horse, how he moves, his anatomy, sequence of footfalls, balance, bio-mechanics, all of which are well-diagrammed with line drawings. It is supported with quotes from many well-known masters of the past (de la Gueriniere, Raabe, Licart, Kerbrech, D'Auvergne, L'Hotte).
   
   Equipment is dealt with in the opening chapters, and one thing the Europeans have over there which we don't are surcingles with the rings further down the side of the horse for a lower placing of the lines. Everything is clean, simple, and workmanlike, of quality.
   
   Not only do we see basic work on the long reins, but also innovative exercises as well, with clear line drawings illustrating the movements described to break the monotony of the work and to develop the horse's agility and sharpen his response to the aids.
   
   The Europeans believe in introducing horses to jumping as well, feeling that it produces a more all-around athlete, and in this book as well, a section covers work over fences fully illustrated with those beautiful photographs.
   
   While the main focus of the book is the long reining, there are many photographs of mounted work with which to compare to the photographs of ground work so that the reader sees how each enhances the other and how the pieces fit together.
   
   The piece de resistance is the end of the book, the dessert of the work, the piaffe(r) and passage in hand, as well as pesade. With Philippe Karl's detailed description of how to execute the exercises, I feel that I could teach my horse to do them, too.
   
   While this book is a unique and valuable training tool, it is pretty enough to be a coffee table book as well. The photographs alone are enough to make the reader salivate, and I would go so far as to say some are works of art in themselves.
   
   This book came out in 1992 and did not remain in print very long, but fortunately it has been reprinted.



5. Every lover of horses should read this book if they want to understand the art of perfect equine fitness. I am using it to help me train a mare recovering from a long illness. She cannot bear the weight of a rider on her back yet, but she can benefit greatly from the exercises shown in this book. The author is clear and direct; a very talented author and teacher. The photos are excellent. I have purchased many books on long reining, and this is by far the best.

5 comments about Beautiful Jim Key: The Lost History of the World's Smartest Horse.

1. Am a little shocked to find such harshly negative reviews of the book; this is easily one of the best animal books ever written. Arguably one of America's first media "superstars", Beautiful Jim Key toured the country for many years performing and was a major catalyst for both animal rights and human rights as well. It should also be stressed that the horse's act was minutely scrutinized by reporters and a team of professors from Harvard, who found no secret coaching or cues were given to the horse - he really could do everything it was claimed he could do, although the book only lightly touches on how long and arduous a process teaching him must have been. Any animal lover and/or history buff will fall in love with this book and never want it to end.



2. Jim Key, the horse who did marvelous stunts like talking, counting, and keeping his owner in money, was a part of daily life in times of the depression when performers, human and otherwise, traveled the countryside from one end of the U. S. to the other to sell products or services to the populace. Jim was owned by a black man in Shelbyville, Tennessee, and was the first talking horse recorded up to that time. He was not a mule. He did not keep people who saw or observed him in stitches, amazement, or wondering how he did the tricks. It was typical carnival fare, and Jim was just a mere horse.
   
   Why he was described as beautiful, I was unable to determine. I've seen many more beautiful with coloring and eyes even in our continuous parades. I take photos of them and so I know of which I speak. Jim was not beautiful, nor unusual. His owner used him to get money from poor people who were brainwashed into thinking he was an unusual animal. His dead body was buried in the countryside outside Shelbyville, home of the Tennessee Walking Horse. If they could not talk and count, they sure could walk funny. Jim was ordinary, but Mark Mayfield (not real last name) was gullible to think this was a special horse. Where'd he grow up, not in Kentucky the home of racing horses.



3. This book is in my Top Five to recommend. It was such a great read that I tried not to finish it too fast because I did not want the story to end. It is filled with great background information covering the various World's Fairs to Slavery to the Civil War. It is not just a book about an incredible horse, but of his teacher as well as the mindset of our race and the history being made during that time period. Jim and Bill Keys connection to animal rights were equally facinating. To me this book is in the vein of "The Professor and the Madman" offering an excellent story with welcomed historical information.



4. I hate it when an author takes a perfectly good [true] story and ruins it with a lousy writing style filled with too much preaching and garbage that detracts from the story.
   
   The parts about the horse himself and his intelligent abilities were great.
   
   The rest of the book is not worth reading. I just skimmed over those parts.
   
   It was an easy book to put down except when I was reading about the horse himself.
   
   This story would be great had a different author done the writing.
   
   This author, however, was a terrible choice for such a magnificent story.



5. This is one of the most amazing and entertaining true stories I've ever read. I couldn't put this book down. It is really two stories in one - the man's adventurous life and the horse's almost unbelievable intelligence.

4 comments about World Class Reining.

1. This book is worth it for the photos. The training methods are average, with not enough focus on the subtle and important body language that makes a horse so responsive and collected. The old method of 'using the fence' to turn a horse or stop is I believe on the way out. Nevertheless, reading this book gives some good pointers. I would not recommend it for a beginner without a trainer who can judge and guide the various methods of teaching slide stopping, spins and turnbacks.
   Author of Roses and Locoweed: The Life of a Cowboy's Wife



2. This is a good book to add to your library. It has a little bit of everything in it, from the what is Reining to the how to's. Not sure if it would help the experiance Reiner, but it was a good read.



3. This book was so helpful to me! When it comes to trying to teach your horse to rein, this book helps so much! And it teaches you much more besides the basics of reining! It's a great book i would recommend it for anyone!



4. Terrific book - covers so much more than just riding/training. My husband pinched my copy and I had to order a second copy to keep for me.

1 comments about Everything Horse: What Kids Really Want to Know about Horses (Kids' Faqs).

1. Also available in an inexpensive paperback edition (1559719214, $7.95) Everything Horse: What Kids Really Want To Know About Horses by Mary Crisp is a superbly illustrated introduction for young readers ages 8 to 11 about a horse's habitat, diet, life cycle, and history. The latest addition to Northword's excellent "Kids FAQs" series, Everything Horse answers such fascinating questions as "Do horses sleep standing up?", "Why do horses wear shoes?", "What was the Pony Express", and more. Packed from cover to cover with useful information and fun trivia about horses, Everything Horse is highly recommended for horse loving and curious youngsters, and would make an popular addition to any school or community library's "Pets & Wildlife" collection.

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.

1 comments about Horse Economics: A Personal Finance Guide for the Horse Owner.

1. I really have enjoyed this book. It not only has tons of helpful information like spreadsheets and graphs but its also entertaining to read. I was expecting a dull repetative book but really I've been thrilled that I've purchased it! Highly recommended.