1 comments about Equine Breeding Management and Artificial Insemination.

1. This book is a must for any owner or manager of an equine breeding facility. It is technical, but relatively easy to read and complete. Whether you're an expert whose been in the business for years or a novice just getting started, this is the primer you've been looking for. It's one you'll want to keep handy for looking up answers to new questions or reviewing the answers to your old ones. Kudos to the author for a job well done. It's worth noting that no matter what breed of horses you work with, you will still find this reference invaluable.

5 comments about Wild About Horses: Our Timeless Passion for the Horse.

1. Just read - agree with Monika - (review written in '04 (I believe) too much tales of abuse, murder, maiming of horses for my taste. What was this author (compiler) thinking about in getting this stuff together? I wonder how many books this has really sold. I also wonder about the other reviewers who gave this five stars? Lots of info left out - something started then left hanging. "Epic Rides" - terrible, deplorable. Overall not a good effort. Scanlan - how much of a horse lover is he, really? Makes you wonder. Wish I could get my $15.00 back.



2. I couldn't put this book down once I started reading it. Whether you are an expert horseperson or just a horse lover this book is for you! The chapters cover horses throughout history in war, sports, Hollywood, Greek mythology, and even where we get some of our common sayings (pass the buck, lucky horseshoe, getting on your high horse). I will definitely read this book more than once!



3. The author, Lawrence Scanlan, is something of a 'born-again' horse lover, by his own proclamation. He admits that for much of his life he failed to see the overwhelming appeal that many people find in horses. But as an adult, in preparation for his job as co-author of "Riding High" with show jumping champion Ian Millar, Scanlan started to take riding lessons. Soon he was hooked. Although he still does not have horses of his own, he now loves riding and spending time in the company of our equine companions. As he read more and more about the equine creature, he became fascinated with the intertwined histories of humans and horses. This is what led him to write "Wild About Horses," a collection of [mostly true, some fictional] stories celebrating this inter-species bond.

   Scanlan does not really have a central thesis, but rather explores the numerous ways in which horses have participated in and impacted humans throughout history and into the present day. His writing is fluid and to the point. The book is divided into ten chapters, each with a slightly different theme, covering such stories as the following (these are not the only stories he addresses, but just a sampling to give you an idea):

   Horses in rituals and sacrifices through history; Pegasus; the Trojan Horse; Scanlan's own horseback trip in Wyoming; the history of mustangs; Wild Horse Annie; the evolution of the horse; the domestication of horses; horses as a food source; Xenophon; Native American horsemanship; trainer John Solomon Raney in the 1850s; trainers Monty Roberts and Tom Dorrance; Alexander the Great and Bucephalus; the history of warhorses; the Huns and Mongols; Medieval knights; the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; Comanche and the Battle of Little Bighorn; Napoleon and Marengo; Wellington and Copenhagen; Roy Rogers and Trigger; Eadweard Muybridge's motion photography; the Lone Ranger and Silver; the books "Black Beauty," "Misty of Chincoteague," "My Friend Flicka," and "Smoky the Cow Horse"; the movie "National Velvet"; author and former jockey Dick Francis; equine athletes Ruffian, Northern Dancer, Secretariat, Phar Lap, Man O'War, Big Ben, Halla, and Arkle; cattle drives; Scanlan's own stay at a working ranch; A.E. Tschiffley's 10,000 mile ride across the Americas; Barbara Whittome's 2,500 mile ride across Russia; Welsh Pony breeders Dick & Adele Rockwell; the Pony Express, and Buffalo Bill Cody; Snow Man, a horse rescued from slaughter that went on to become a champion jumper; Marocco the 'dancing horse'; Clever Hans; horse psychic Fred Kimball; and the bonds horses form with other animals.

   While I did enjoy reading this book, I have a few criticisms. First and foremost, Scanlan seems to have borrowed heavily from the book "The Man Who Listens to Horses" by Monty Roberts (for which Scanlan wrote the introduction and afterword). He has used material both from his own contributions to the book, as well as Roberts's own writing, often using identical phrasing. This parroting was especially evident since I have only just finished reading Roberts's book, and was somewhat disappointing. The sense of repetition is also furthered by the fact that most of these stories are very common ones, and I've heard about 75% of them before. They're not bad stories, but I do wish Scanlan had dug a little deeper for some less commonly heard-of accounts to include.

   Furthermore, Scanlan's coverage is not balanced. He leaves out vast areas of the horse world. The book has plenty of material on riding horses and ponies, but almost nothing on draft horses. The "Sport Horse Legends" chapter focuses almost entirely on Thoroughbred racehorses. There are a few jumpers thrown in, but no Western horses at all. When he talks of horse trainers, he talks a great deal about Monty Roberts, and a little bit about a couple others, but does not even mention many of the most influencial trainers of the last few decades. At times I also questioned the author's analytical skills, particularly when he dismissed a story as false on the basis that the horse involved, reported to be a palomino, had a Spanish name that translated to Cinnamon (which he said was too dark a color for palomino). However, this does not seem so far-fetched to me, as my father once owned a small black dog named Big Red...

   And finally, his writing is not completely focused on the supposed subject of the book - why humans love horses. He has included an overwhelming number of stories about horse abuse, and most don't even lead into more uplifting stories. In the "Epic Rides" chapter, he even commends several long-distance riders known for riding horses to death. Even more strange to me was the fact that, although much of the first chapter talks mildly and even respectfully about the ways horse skins and heads were used to adorn ancient holy spots, Scanlan later launches into a tirade against equine taxidermy and condemns horsemen such as Roy Rogers, who chose to have Trigger preserved and mounted.

   However, despite its faults, I did like the book. It was not perfect, but it was enjoyable. I did find some of the stories to be new and quite interesting, and Scanlan's extensive list of recommended further reading has lengthened the list of books I plan to read. If you're a connoisseur of horse lore, "Wild About Horses" may not hold any surprises for you, but it is nevertheless a nice collection. It's easy reading, and the text is interspersed with many black-and-white photographs. This would be nice for a personal treat or a gift for a friend.




4. My mother bought this book for me when she worried that her online purchase "The Tao of Horses" might not arrive on time (It did! Amazon.com always comes through!) This was the only book on horses in the entire used book store where she loves to shop... so she was apologetic about having to get me 'any old horse book' as a substitute for the one I'd wanted.

   I'm so happy she found this book.. I might never have found it on my own. I find it extremely easy to read, and quite informative in its' historical pieces. I love 'horse lore', but if it is written tediously, I don't often have the energy left to read it after a long day of teaching.

   This book is a delight!




5. I gave "Wild About Horses" four stars instead of five because I'd already heard or read most of the stories in my fifty years of being 'wild about horses'. They're good stories though, and well worth repeating. Scanlan reports a variation on 'The Pacing Mustang' (one of my all time favorites): the wild stallion who threw himself off of a cliff rather than endure capture by men. He includes a chapter on 'Epic Rides' which made me want to just saddle up and go (one of his riders, A.F. Tschiffely rode 10,000 miles from the tip of South of America to Washington D.C. in two and a half years. Anyone game for a trip from Texas to Alaska?).

   'Wild About Horses' would be an excellent book to give to your horse-crazy teen-ager. It's all about relationships (between horses and humans, in this case) and is written in a laid-back, New Age style that is easy to read. Scanlan talks about his own experiences with horses, and if you're a beginning rider you'll empathize with him!

No comments about Horses and Horsemanship (Ensminger, M. Eugene. Animal Agriculture Series.).

No comments about How Your Horse Works.

5 comments about Arabian Legends: Outstanding Arabian Stallions and Mares.

1. I really like this book. It's a very informative about some of the most important sires in Arabian horse breeding.
   As an Arabian horse owner, I wouldn't want to be without this book in my collection.
   I very much enjoy reading about the horses behind the the famous names and show results, the REAL horses, their special hallmarks and what their owner/trainers remembers about them. Special memories.
   And being from Sweden, I am of course very proud to see one Swedish bred stallion, Alladdin, among the legends!
   I just wish there would have been colored pictures, that would have made the difference to a five star rating.
   I highly recommend this book!



2. As a reader from NZ, I found this book readable, informative and full of wonderful and interesting pictures. The "human interest" stories about breeders finding their "hearts delight" form part of the text - and as one scrolls through the book, the role of the owner in the fate and fame of each horse is revealed as the true catalyst in their journey to immortality. A very interesting book, but the quality of the binding is poor. GJMD NZ South Pacific



3. This book is an important "who's who" of the Arabian horse world. Twenty-two of the most influential stallions are profiled. Of special interest are the the only two mares profiled, Bint Sahara and *Sanacht. Bint Sahara is the dam and granddam of three stallions featured - Ferzon, Fadjur, and Khemosabi. The combination of *Sanacht and Bint Sahara through the blood of Fadjur created one of the greatest breeding and show horse dynasties of the Arabian world. An invaluable resource book for researching potential purchases of horses and stud services. The stories of the people involved with these horses are fascinating. One of my favorites is the story of two great breeders, Frank McCoy of California and Dr. Eugene LaCroix of Arizona, meeting halfway in the desert near Indio, California. In one trailer was Dr. LaCroix's stallion Aarief, and in the other trailer was McCoy's Bint Sahara daughter, Fersara. They took them out, bred them, put them back into their trailers and went home. The result was another of the breed's great stallions, The Real McCoy.



4. A good review of important sires. We especially enjoyed the chapter on the Kales and *Muscat.



5. Khemosabi, Bask, Fadjur, Nazeer, Naborr, and other great Arabians are covered in this nice-sized edition. If you are interested in breeding, bloodlines, and the lives of the individual super stars of the breed, this is the book for you! Great photos, nice insight into the lives of the stallions. I believe the only mare covered is Estopa, the Spanish Egyptian mare. This book may not satify the advanced breeder, since it covers the legends and not the lesser-known stallions who have been good influences, although not as gigantic. Fun to read.

No comments about Feeding to Win II.

3 comments about The Spirit of the Horse: Photographs and Written Reflections of the American Horse.

1. I personally have both books by editor Tammy LeRoy and photographer ROBERT Dawson. They do, indeed, have absolutely beautiful photographs and Tammy is a gifted writer/editor that helps those photographs be appreciated even more by her words.
   
   If you have an opportunity to pick up these books, they are well worth the investment and make wonderful gifts to everyone -- horse lover or not.



2. Richard Dawson's pictures are beautiful, but the whole book is brought down by the hopeless drivel that is written by LeRoy. She is obviously an uneducated writer who would be better suited to producing bad greeting cards rather than ruining the work of this excellent photographer. If you decide to purchase this book, pick up a Sharpie marker too. Black out all of the text and you will have a reasonably enjoyable time paging through the photographs.



3. Robert Dawson's photographs are so moving. He captures moments that are truly beautiful. His books (Along the Cowboy Trail and this one) make wonderful gifts for those horse lovers and cowboys/cowgirls!

1 comments about Dressage: A Guidebook for the Road to Success (Masters of Horsemanship Series, Bk 1) (Masters of Horsemanship Series, Bk 1).

1. This book gives a very well organized presentation of how to progressively train a dressage horse. If you have ever wondered how a shoulder-in is different from a haunches-in and why we teach the shoulder-in first, this is your book. Most chapters are organized by exercise, from the easiest (e.g. leg yield) to the most difficult (e.g. piaffe). The chapter on flying changes is especially informative, giving several methods for teaching this movement to the horse and solutions to common problems. Many nice line drawings support the text. This book is short and easy to understand. It would be an excellent reference for the serious dressage rider.

No comments about Backyard Horsekeeping, New and Revised: The Only Guide You'll Ever Need.

1 comments about Real Life Dressage: Training Advice from Novice to Grand Prix.

1. The book came within 2 weeks of ordering, was what I had ordered and was in excellent condition. They put their books in good packaging that ensures that the book doesn't get damaged.