1 comments about Successful Jumping: Training Your Horse with Gridwork.

1. I am new to jumping horses, but a very experienced rider. My trainer introduced me to and loaned me her copy. I found it to be very helpful in teaching me excellent techniques to train the green horse (my interest is in field hunters and polo horses) and also to make me a better, more confident jumper. However, this is a reference work, even though small, and I need to return my trainer's copy to her. That I want to go purchase the book after I have read it tells you all you might need to know. Perhaps an experienced hunter/jumper might not need this book, but for the novice, I think it is excellent.

No comments about Endurance Riding: From First Steps to 100 Miles.

1 comments about Anatomy and Physiology: Book 1 Anatomy & Physiology (Essential Equine Studies) (Bk. 1).

1. I purchased this book searching for another anatomy book to add to my collection, but was disappointed to find that it is about 90% physiology. I feel it is incorrectly titled as an anatomy book, but seems to be very thorough in physiology. This book will appeal more to those studying for an in-depth equine science or veterinary degree, and not for an equine artist or layperson just interested in furthering their knowledge of equine anatomy.

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2 comments about The Anatomy and Action of the Horse (Dover Art Instruction).

1. I didn't even keep this book....it was so confusing to find the muscles etc he was talking about through the photos that I gave up ......a good book would have the muscles on the same page and or section of the book and a clear way to find them......then there was the so and so is here...and at the bottom the drawing lists colors that are not on it................I think I wasted money on this book and put it in recycling...



2. It's so difficult to find a book that illustrates horse anatomy in action. This book discribes action and shows the basic illustrations of anatomy the same as the rest, motionless. These are also poorly done. May be ok for a horse buff but this book is not so wonderful from an artist's perspective.

5 comments about Such Is the Real Nature of Horses (Evergreen).

1. Stunning photos, endless information into the true behaviors of horses. If you want to learn about how horses truly behave, think and act, this is the book you need to read.



2. No one else photographs the horse like Robert Vavra and this book provides you with a double dose of wow factor - beautiful photographs and excellent text and photographic stories.

   There are several books out there claiming to tell you about horse social structures and body language but this is the classic (I've had my copy for at least 15 years now) and the best. Vavra writes and photographs with a naturalists eye for detail and information while allowing the photographers art and ability to display beauty to shine through in the finished plates.

   The book follows the lives of several bands of horses on the Carmargue providing an enthralling insight into the lives of feral horses, which easily translates to our domestic companions.

   The book is formatted so that various behaviours and traits such as aggression, play, vocalisation etc etc are put into chapters with photos and explainations showing the variations of each behaviour between adolescents, babies and adults or mares, bachelors and stallions for instance.

   A brilliant coffee table book, an excellent guide for horsemen and women interested in equine behaviour and body language.




3. I'm quite sure that Vavra was a horse in another lifetime. His photos are to horses what Herb Ritts' were to Janet Jackson and the countless people Ritts immortalized on film.

   Robert, if I weren't married, I'd run away with you just so I could be there when you see what you see through your lens. For horse lovers, nature lovers or photography lovers, nobody captures the power and majesty of these creatures like Vavra.
   Give this book to someone you love and wrap it in the finest paper and tie it with a velvet bow. It would be a treasure to receive this or any Vavra book.




4. "Such is the Real Nature of Horses" was a surprise 12th birthday present from my uncle - the first "grown up" horse book I ever owned. I treasure it still. It has survived 23 years of love and appreciation. Not only are the quality of Vavra's images awe-inspiring, capturing the grace and majesty of the horse; but the book is well titled. It has taught me many valuable things about equine behaviour. Watching any group of horses interacting freely, I see so much more than if I hadn't owned this book. Get it... you have to.



5. "Such is the Real Nature of Horses" was a surprise 12th birthday present from my uncle - the first "grown up" horse book I ever owned. I treasure it still. It has survived 23 years of love and appreciation. Not only are the quality of Vavra's images awe-inspiring, capturing the grace and majesty of the horse; but the book is well titled. It has taught me many valuable things about equine behaviour. Watching any group of horses interacting freely, I see so much more than if I hadn't owned this book. Get it... you have to.

4 comments about Horses and Their Women.

1. After completing their two previous books, "Dogs and Their Women" and "Cats and Their Women," authors Cohen and Taylor set out to put together this third compliation. After submitting ads to equine journals requesting that women send in their stories of their experiences with horses, they received over 300 responses. 58 were selected for inclusion in this book.

   Each vignette is unique - some are only a few sentences in length, others take up a whole page, and the content of each is as widely varied as the length. Contributors include owners, riders, trainers, children and adults, amateurs and professionals, a mounted police officer, an equine photographer, a Standardbred racehorse driver, a veterinarian, and more. Topics covered range from stories of healing, horses as an escape from and balm for life's problems, a child's first horse, memorials for favorite horses that have passed on, lessons learned from horses, obstacles overcome, goals made and reached, or simply a description of a favorite moment with an equine friend.

   My two favorite stories were one by a woman whose two horses were stolen and sold for slaughter, and the miraculous way they were rescued and returned to her; and a second by a woman who had adopted a Mustang whose previous owner had abused her, and the journey of trust-building and healing they have gone through.

   Each vignette is accompanied by a beautiful full-page photograph of the contributor and her horse. The black and white photography gives the book a classic, elegant, timeless feel, and captures each horse and woman in a crisp, beautiful portrait shot. Some of the shots are posed, others candid, and this too adds to the variety of the book.

   This book is heartwarming, fun, and uplifting - an alternate title could easily be "Chicken Soup for the Horsewoman's Soul." I would highly recommend it to any female horse lover. Buy it for yourself - it's great for either the bedside or the coffee table, or buy it as a nice present for a friend. Or both! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a sequel.




2. This is really a very sweet book. It would be a perfect gift for a young girl in her early teens that has been bitten by the horse bug. It has over 100 pages, with a large black and white photo on one side, and an essay on the other. Some of the essays are short, some are boring, and some make you wonder why you bought this book. But then you read the ones that bring tears to your eyes and you know why. This book shows us women and the horses they love, and in their own words they tell us a little about themselves and their horse. It's not a glorious coffee table book like GaWaNi Pony Boy's is, but it is a charming book to read and pass along to other women, or our daughters who share our love of horses.



3. Scores of small essays about the special horse(s) in various women's lives. A big black and white photo on one page is complemented by the story right beside it. There are no color photos. Some of the "essays" are only two sentences long! Some of the stories are hilarious, some heartbreaking, some just silly or sappy. Still, there is a genuine love of horses here, and no male-bashing like the title might suggest. If you love horses, real horses, not just fictional or perfect horses, than display this book proudly on your shelf



4. This is the kind of book that makes you wish you could have someone else drop the kids off at soccer and ballet lessons so you had time to slip into your jeans and head out to the stable. Lots of photos and stories of girls and women alike who have accomplished that dream. By Claire

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