3 comments about Stable Smarts: Sensible Advice, Quick Fixes, and Time-tested Wisdom from an Idaho Horsewoman.

1. I purchased this for my girlfriend who has been a horsewoman for over 30 years. She has been very happy with the ideas presented and has used several already.
   
   My only complaint is not with the book but with the ordering process. When I originally placed my order there were several in stock items grouped together. This book had a note that said in stock normally ships in 5 weeks. So I split my order to second day shipping so everything would arrive as soon as possible for Christmas. This book that wasn't going to arrive until after the first of the year showed up the same day as everything else. I was glad to get it but would have been even more glad if I'd not been tricked into paying extra for shipping.



2. Wow..nice to know that someone will actually share their ideas. Amazing all the things you can do w/ a disposable diaper. She is an incredible woman; I wish I could spend a summer with her. Thank you Heather for sharing your ideas w/ the rest of us. I am constantly picking up your book time and time again.



3. Heather Smith Thomas's Stable Smarts: Sensible Advice, Quick Fixes, And Time-Tested Wisdom From An Idaho Horsewoman (1580176100, $18.95) comes from a woman who raises horses and cattle in Idaho and goes far beyond your usual horse management book. Here are hints on how to tell and purchase the best quality hay, making a makeshift hackamore, preparing homemade pest repellents, and fixing fences and more. Virtually all the equipment associated with a horse and ranch, from trailers to leads and bedding, are revealed in a book packed with practical tips and insights.

5 comments about Riding Logic.

1. As a rider, a student of biomechanics and dressage judge, I have my copy of Museler and do not regret purchasing it. I do understand that it is a classic publication. However, if you have limited cash, you would do much better to purchase the platinum standard book for the independent seat of dressage, AN ANATOMY OF RIDING by Heinrich and Volker Schusdziarra (father and son medical doctors). They wrote their book after being given a copy of Museler. In order to settle discussions about dressage riding by referring to Human Anatomy, they found fundamental problems with the Museler account. These problems include Museler's invention of "sacral muscles" which do not exist. They also shed light on Museler's term, "bracing the back," which can lead to problems with the dressage seat. Their critique of Museler is sensitive and detailed, with much clearer diagrams. My copy of Museler has such tiny illustrations that they are hard to make out. On second thought, you may wish to purchase both the Museler book and the Schusdziarra book and make up your own mind. I fervently hope the second Schusdziarra book "Reitergesprache: Der Weg zum unabhängigen Sitz" (Conversations with Riders: The Way to An Independent Seat) will be translated soon, as it continues the ideas from "An Anatomy."



2. This is the best primer for riding that I have read. It is the only book that I have read that explains the kinesthetics of riding and explains why certain actions cause a result. There is a lot of excellent advice for improving your riding skill and improving your horse. This is the only book that I buy for people who like riding and want to learn the mechanics.



3. This book is an excellent book, and explains collection in clear terms. Collection is so often misunderstood as simply bringing the horse's head down into position, instead of learning how to get your horse to shift his weight into his hindquarters, really push with his back end, round his back, and lift his forehand. This book is a must-read for any rider in any discipline, english or otherwise.



4. Mueseler of the German School writes a useful text in understanding dressage & riding in general. It has long been a classic & should be considered a must-read.



5. This book is super for anyone who truly wants to become a good rider. It has helped me numerous times to understand what my trainer was trying to tell me. A simple, logical explanation is given for the horses' reactions to my actions. I find myself referring to it regularly and understanding something new each time.

No comments about Tales of Teams: Heartwarming Memories of Hardworking Horses and Mules.

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.

5 comments about The Truth About Horses: A Guide to Understanding and Training Your Horse.

1. Nothing new here. I was disappointed to say the least after shelling out my bucks for this book I just expected more. Certainly nothing to write home about.
   
   Try this book instead: Equine Behaviour: Principles and Practice



2. For those of us familiar with behavioural training this book has been a long time in coming. So many times you are stuck between the traditional 'leg on, leg on, leg on' (where's the release??) training school or NH which has it's own achilles heal - continually activating the natural flight response and for most practitioners a total lack of understand of what positive reinforcement is.
   
   For those looking for a more extensive explaination of the actual training methods he has written a second book "Horse Training The McLean Way
   " however this one is meant to provide an introduction into behavioural training and then an overview of the types of exercises and horse 'problems' that they deal with. The book is well written and should be easily accessible to anyone interested even if they are not science-minded or well versed in behavioural psychology.
   
   For all the dressage riders with horses that buck instead at tempi-changes or rear instead of piaffe - reading this could make you understand that these are your problems not the horse! and save your dressage mount (and your competition career)



3. I have been a rider/trainer and instructor for the past 30 years. I have ridden with and trained with some of the top trainers in the world. I have read hundreds of books on the training of horses and been to dozens upon dozens of clinics with all of the "horse whisperers". After reading Andrew McLean's incredible book, I immediately went out and bought 10 copies to give to friends and trainers. I will agree with one of the reviewers that the book might be better appreciated by someone with a background in psychology and that Andrew does presume a certain knowledge level from the reader. Apart from that it is one of the most amazing books on training that I have ever come across. I began using many of Andrew's principles on our new green pony as soon as I finished the book and was simply floored by the simplicity and efficacy of the methods. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.



4. Maybe I expected more of this book. Its good, but it feels like Andrew McLean tried to say too much in too short of time, so he tells you a little bit about a lot but leaves you with questions.



5. A fantastic book that utilizes the authors research into animal behavior and training. His concepts were well explained and improved my understanding of horse training. I would certainly read another book from this author.

No comments about Rodeo & Western Riding.

No comments about Dictionary of Horses and Ponies.

4 comments about Dressage: The Art of Classical Riding.

1. This book has beautiful color pics in it..and the information is from the past to the present..This is a very special book..B.W.



2. Dressage, isn't that just a bunch of horses being ridden around in circles? How could a book about it possibly be interesting, especially if you don't ride that way? If that is what you think, read on... Sylvia Loch has written a masterpiece in a style that does far more then just talk about "Dressage". Her book has topics of interest for virtually every dicipline, from western to jumpers. Sylvia has put together more history, more people, and more horse breeds then it would seem to be possible. She has artfully presented it in a way that makes it resonate to virtually everyone by showing how they are all connected through history. Better still, she has done it in a way that is fascinating and contemporary to read. I found her style eloquent and conclusions insightful. Reading this book will contribute to any riders understanding about where the modern horse has evolved from, and more importantly, how current teaching methods relate to historic methods. By reading the title of the book I might have put it last on my list, after reading it, I have put it FIRST!



3. This book is truly a work of art, not to mention dedication in its fine summary of the history of dressage from early Greek history on to modern times. The knowledge I gained from this book is immeasurable. It has improved my riding, my understanding of dressage, my appreciation of this fine art of horsemanship, and most of all the incredible athletic ability, generous nature, and humbleness of our equine partners.



4. As the nature of horseback riding has changed from the original, practical purposes to being a recreation and past-time, riding styles have changed from what is best for horse, to what is most expedient for the casual rider who wants to "enjoy" horses. An example of this phenonema from US-style western riding is the "sliding stop". When a horse is very responsive, it should be possible to stop quickly in order to change direction, and sometimes the horse is going so fast he slides to a stop. Unfortunately, "responsiveness" is difficult to judge, and sliding is dramatic, so an original practical ideal of being able to change a horse's direction has turned into a contest to see how far a horse can drag itself by the front hooves while letting the back hooves drag on the ground. A similar corruption of purpose and technique has played itself out in almost every riding discipline as those activies have become more removed from any practical purpose.

   This is one of the only books that attempts to place riding in its proper context in history. Its points are illustrated with many rare color and black & white prints of historical paintings and photographs that are invaluable in learning how to ride. The major riding masters of history and what they discovered are all presented in a way that makes one want to learn more. Anyone wishing to increase their understanding of riding past past what is currently fashionable should own this book.

5 comments about The Incredible Little Book of 10,001 Names for Horses.

1. Gave this to my trainer for Christmas. It's got tons of great ideas for names. It also is divided up in chapters with names for horses based on color, personality traits, size and a few other categories.



2. After getting tired of hearing the same horse names over and over, I thought I would give this book a try for naming our foals. I used this book more for inspiration than actually taking a name right off the page. For instance, I would use Moonlight in a name like "Moonlight On My Shoes". But it would be very hard to register a foal as just Moonlight in a large registry like AQHA. It is a good resource for barn names, nicknames, or arena names but I would not strongly reccomend it as a resource for coming up with a registration name.



3. I loved this book because it gave me tons of ideas on naming my new horse. I took several names and mixed them around to come up with the best name: Ultimate Party-Goer. He is a handsome bay with lots of chrome and does well on the A-circuit. Thank you!



4. In respond to the person from WI, i dont know what book they were reading but i dont think it was this one. This is a guide for horse names, not a triple crown story.but maybe i missed some part of this book............?
   Anyway this book gave some good advice for naming your horse. Some names really weren't that pretty or creative, but the majority of names were pretty accurate and good. I would recomend this book.



5. I very much loved this book. It makes you want to get horses.The book is about a girl named Asliegh and her grand-daughter. Her grand-daughter Alisa saved a horse from dieing. The horse then goes on to training. He has some proublems in the training but goes on to be the Kentucky Derby, Sant Anita Handecapt, and the Triple Crown. This book is a lot like me because I am so much like Alisa. I recommend this book to all horse lovers.

1 comments about FOUNDATION DAMS OF THE AMERICAN QUARTER HORSE.

1. The best, and one of the few treatments of Quarter Horse dams. A must have.