1 comments about Cup of Comfort for Horse Lovers: Stories that celebrate the extraordinary relationship between horse and rider (Cup of Comfort).

1. I ordered this book because it contained an essay authored by a very dear blog buddy. I also thought it would make an excellent gift for my horse loving spouse. I am not particularly enamored with horses so my own expectations were measured.
   
   Today I received the book and hurriedly opened it to find my friend's contribution. I expected it to be excellent and it was. But the reward of reading that single chapter was even greater than I had hoped.
   
   I returned to the front and began to read from the beginning and was surprised to find myself more than half way through when I finally took a break.
   
   There are horses in this book just as there are people. But they all become individuals with personality and character and they collectively experience the entire spectrum of emotion. The wonderful writing certainly contributes. But it is the raw emotion that adds the vivid color. There is a genuineness in these stories only possible I think because they are so intensely personal and related from experience.
   
   Kudos to Colleen Sell for a wonderful compilation.

1 comments about Train Your Young Horse with Richard Maxwell.

1. I enjoyed this book, it tells you how to get your horse to obay you and not to be rank. Carefully written instructions on how to do each exercise is the key to getting your horse to preform each exercise properly.

5 comments about Imprint Training: A Swift, Effective Method for Permanently Shaping a Horse's behavior.

1. After owning horses for several years, I began breeding my mares last year. One was born on my farm and one was born at my trainer's farm. My friends who also breed mares told me that I needed to "imprint" my foals as soon as they were born. They vaguely explained the process, but I wanted to know exactly what to do step by step. I searched on amazon for help and found this title. IT IS EXCELLENT! TO ME IT IS A PRICELESS TOOL THAT EASILY SHOWS THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHS AND TELLS IN SHORT EASY TO UNDERSTAND DIRECTIONS EXACTLY WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR NEW FOAL TO IMPRINT THEM. My first colt was born on our farm and I imprinted him exactly as the book said. My first filly was 2 1/2 hours away and I did not get to imprint her. The difference in their personalities and handleability is so remarkable that I hired a teenage rider to babysit my mares in case either foaled while I was out of town. My 16 year old sitter imprinted the filly using the book with outstanding results! It is also a good reference to have on hand if you are an old pro at imprinting to make sure you don't forget any steps!



2. A friend of mine has a foal and asked me to help her with it. Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to imprint the baby as soon as it was born, but with the help of this book, inside a few weeks, we were able to quickly socialize and bond with the filly. She is very friendly and confident around people. She comes when she's called and loves all the attention. It's a kind and gentle way to introduce all the concepts the baby will need to know to be a willing partner in any equestrian discipline. There are lots of photos and the instructions are very clear. The whole process has been very rewarding thanks to Dr. Miller's book.



3. This book took me step-by-step through the imprinting process. Very well written.



4. I love this book. Miller's indepth descriptions of the initial bonding, desensitization and sensitization of newborn foals is incredible. He describes in great detail how to teach a foal that humans are "the boss," how to desensitize a foal to stimuli that it will experience all its life (i.e., the farrier, the vet, etc.), and how to teach a foal early on to react to other stimuli positively thus learning to lead, back up, move laterally, and even load into a trailer before it is 2 weeks old. I have used these techniques for the past several years with great results and will be using it again this year. The foals are easy to handle, stand well for the farrier, and even accept the bit and saddle without incident once they are three. Bottom line: this technique creates horses that trust humans rather than fear them.



5. The name of the book suggests Robert Miller's distinct lack in the understanding of behaviour. True imprint training would involve the foal looking upon the human, which is carrying out the technique, as its mother.

   Miller writes that his technique is based on the foal being submissive to the human, by nature horses will challenge a dominant figure in order to progress up the pecking order- this could be very dangerous when the foal has grown if it starts to attack humans. Miller also recommends that the first part of the technique being carried out in the first 45 minutes of the foals life, before it has even stood up, which involves repeatedly (50 times is recommended) sticking fingers in the foals ears, nose, anus and rubbing hands and clippers all over the body. Within this time the foal should be finding its feet and the mares teats for its first feed of colostrum in order to give it immune protection.

   The video shows Miller entering the stable of a mare and her 12-day-old foal. The foal had been pushy for the past five days and Millers way of rectifying this was to kick the foal until it stopped reacting to the kicking. Are we really to assume that the foal will connect this beating administered while he was quite in the stable with his mum, with his bad behaviour in the past few days? I find this unlikely and am more inclined to think that the foal will associate humans coming in his stable with pain. Is this something we really want to achieve with our foals? Miller's explanation for this punishment is that, in the wild, stallions will kick pushy foals to put them in their place. This again demonstrates Miller's lack of understanding of equine behaviour as the mare is the one who puts the foal in its place and always immediately after the undesired behaviour has occurred, the stallion has little to do with the foals.

   Regular handling of foals and gradually introducing them to different stimuli is important in the creating of a well-rounded individual BUT consider the relationship you want to you want to create with your youngster and whether its to be based on a potentially dangerous dominant-submissive foundation or one of trust. Please think long and hard before further lining the pockets of this man who in my opinion is promoting animal abuse.

No comments about Wild Horses 2009 Calendar.

1 comments about The Equine Body.

1. What a refreshing way to look at the body of the horse. I loved the colour illustrations and the cut and paste diagrams, though a little daunting at first. were much easier to put together than I first imagined and really help to learn about the body.
   I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about how the horse functions or as a wonderful gift to a horse owner.

No comments about Injury, Disease, and Equine Nursing: Injury, Disease, Equine Nursing (Essential Equine Studies).

No comments about A Student Workbook for BHS Stage One (Books for British Horse Society Examination).

1 comments about The Young Horse: Breaking and Training.

1. I'll admit to being a little biased in the review of this book (and also the one by Pippa Funnell, "Training the Young Horse"), in that I'm from England and am familiar with the training methods outlined by these authors. Also, as an event rider I particularly like the introduction to cross-country fences, which I appreciate is not necessary for every rider. This book covers basic ground work, early lessons under saddle, beginning jumping, training cross-country fences, fitness and preparing for your first competition. Obviously since it covers so much material, it doesn't go into great detail. Nonetheless, I think it provides an excellent starting point and a structured program for your young horse. What I like about this book is that it gives a realistic insight into working with young horses, with examples of problem horses and how the training difficulties were overcome. It follows actual horses bred at the Catherston stud and you can see their progression throughout the book. With this book (and Pippa's) you get the impression that this is the program they follow and it works. The international success of both authors is testament to that. On a minor point - I always like a book with lots of photographs, it gives me inspiration for my day dreams.

5 comments about Conversations with Horse: An Uncommon Dialog of Equine Wisdom.

1. Conversations with horse is a great launching pad for a new exploration, not of what we have to teach horses but of what horses have to teach us. Those of us who try to really listen to our horses won't find a lot of new information, but will feel comforted and understood. Those of us who have been too scared to listen and let go of our weak methods of control like bits and stalls might get a gentle jostle to look closer. If you don't buy into animal communication, you probably will find this book to be paper thin. If you do accept animal communication this book with be as rich as a wedding cake. This book isn't about individual horse behavior or training, it is about connecting with the Great Mystery that is behind it all, where we and the horse can experience oneness.



2. While this is a small book, don't be fooled. It is not a quick read, neither is it trivial nor shallow. However, the average "horse person" will probably dismiss it as New Age airy-fairy baloney as it requires one to THINK. Remember: the number of years one associates with horses does not necessarily equate to knowledge or experience . . . there is a much bigger realm than the average mind recognizes. This book delves into the wider universe of co-existence as opposed to domination. It is not a how-to book about horses. It's a how-to book about life.



3. but then if she's psychic she probably already knows what I think of her. Save your money and buy a good book on horse behaviour



4. I was incredibly disappointed by this book. Of course, I have ridden, bred and trained horses since I was 10 years old. However, any fool who has every been around horses should have figured out everything Ms Solisti-Mattelon has to say in this book. That said, there are a lot o fools out there, so I'm sure there is a place for this book. Just don't expect great insight.



5. Just when you thought you've read all the "horse whisperer" books out there. This one finds me. I thought this would be the same as all the others: herd behavior, flight instinct. etc. etc. Well it was, and it wasn't. There were insightful, reassuring methods and so many things that I have never thought about. This book is full of wit and humor and reading it seems to float on a cloud...that may not make sense, but it will once you read it. It's like the whole world is resting on that pretty white pony's back and he's just sleeping and you can hear him thinking. It's amazing. Kate is the greatest.

1 comments about Unlock Your Horses Talent In 20 Minutes a Day.

1. I have read this book from cover to cover and started to implement the exercises, it was easier to follow that I thought and I have started to see good changes in my young horse.
   
   Although it is similar to parelli it isn't as strict and I have found that my horses personlaity is still very much there, but it is working with me now and not against me.