1 comments about Concise Guide to Navicular Syndrome in the Horse (Concise Guide series).

1. This book offers a very solid and clear explination of the diagnosis of navicular syndrome. It explains why this syndrome is often overdiagnosed and how the diagnosis is made. This book is easy to read and engaging. I highly recommend it for all horse owners as it teaches the reader crucial information about equine hoof anatomy, sources of lameness, diagnosis and treatment options. As a horse owner with a "navicular" horse, I read all I can about the syndrome and I've learned more from this book than any other source of information I've read.

2 comments about Dressage: Begin the Right Way.

1. I have read Lockies book over and over. He was also my trainer for many years until he recently passed on. This is a book any one and everyone should read. I loved it.... Thanks Lockie



2. A good introduction to Dressage. I found it an easy read when i was 12 and still enjoy it. HOwever there are a few major flaws- ie the shoulder in developing past 3 lines of travel to four-. I found most of the dressage to be more based off eventing dressage levels. And the photo's were very eventing based. GOod boook though.

No comments about Through the Heart of Afghanistan (Equestrian Travel Classics).

No comments about Happy Trails: Your Complete Guide to Fun and Safe Trail Riding.

3 comments about What Horses Teach Us: Life's Lessons Learned from Our Equine Friends.

1. This book reflects how creative and unfathomable our Creator God in Heaven really is! The fact that all living creatures have the same Creator God shows how intrinsically and uniquely designed each species is to clearly represent itself.
   
   As humans (we're not animals - Thank God!:), this book represents the fact that we are able to read, think, reason, feel, make intellectual decisions, love and be loved. Animals, on the other hand, can only represent themselves in the station of life they have been created for - they are the handiwork of our imaginative God who allows animals to be blessings which we may thoroughly enjoy and appreciate.
   
   Saturate yourself with the sweet sentiments of this endearing book...take a quiet moment to reflect on what the pages represent. A picture is worth a thousand words. Allow God to reveal Himself through His Creation just as He promises He will in Romans chapter 1 (take a look at the Holy Bible) and be renewed by the goodness He has toward us! Enjoy...



2. The previous reviewer who said the book had no content...was just pictures is definately off base with their evaluation. The disappointed reviewer was probably expecting one of those horse psychology books. Yes, there are mostly just pictures, but they are wonderful, humerous affirmations of animal behaviour from which we as human animals can be reminded of our own wisdom and folly and our connection to the animal kingdom and the oneness of all living things. The pictures make you wonder how long the photographer sat around waiting for the animal to do that. And the lessons and commentary for the pictures fit perfectly. I love all the books in this series..What Cats, Dogs, Horses, etc. Can Teach Us, and highly recommend them. They make wonderful gifts for animal lovers and are great to have handy to pick up for a good chuckle or a warm fuzzy emotional pick me up.



3. There is no content. It's just pictures with captions. I want to return it, but when I try on line, it tells me the book is not returnable. I just received it yesterday.

No comments about Degen and Me.

No comments about The Horseman's Spanish/English Dictionary/El Diccionario De Espanol/Ingles Del Equitador.

3 comments about The Irish Draught Horse: A History.

1. Dairy farms operated by my near and distant relatives dated from the late-1800s to the mid-1900s, with their farms resting in a small geographical location on U.S. soil. Because many relatives were first and second-generation Irish Americans, I assume their farming methods imitated those in Ireland. Horses on the farms were big, especially by my small-tyke standards. Work horses they were called, not Irish Draught horses, but they did the same thing and looked just like the horses in our book. Maybe their sires and dams emigrated from Ireland. I'll never know. The horses and relatives are gone. When my father was young, work horses pulled the plow and pulled the wagon to church on Sunday, which is what the Irish Draught did. These recollections provided enough impetus to pique my interest in McGrath's and Griffith's book.
   
   So we're off on a journey to acquaint ourselves with the noble Irish Draught horse, whose lofty perch in Ireland's cultural history rests up there with the leprechauns and fairies, the thatched roof and the clover. For the Irish Draught was and is a focus of myth and folklore, with names of Celtic pagan gods frequently deriving from equine creatures. The husband of goddess Aine boasted the name Echdae, meaning `horse-god.' Enya herself pays instrumental tribute to the Celtic horse-goddess Epona, and those old enough to remember Stevie Nicks singing Rhiannon probably don't recall that she honored a Welsh name identifying the same mythical Epona.
   
   The Irish Draught horse---breed or a type? To answer, McGrath and Griffith begin with a roll call of other Irish horse breeds, among them the renowned Irish hobby. The hobby `possesses a fine head and strong neck, a well cast body, strong limbs, is sure of foot and nimble in dangerous places, and tough in travel.' Standing about twelve hands high, the hobby was sought by royalty and wealthy classes all over Europe. The hobby probably began its existence in Spain and was subsequently imported to Ireland.
   
   Another horse, the Byerley Turk, was a warm-blooded Eastern stallion that, commencing in the 1600s, found popularity among Irish breeders. Referred to in lore as a `heroic, high stepping animal with a gleaming coat,' the Turk was among the first Irish of the Thoroughbreds finding a place on the race track and show circuit of the Emerald Isle. At the time, fearing ridicule, a jockey did not dare ride a mare in an Irish horse race.
   
   
   Although horses existed in Ireland as early as 4000 B.C., give or take, forbears of the Draught Horse arrive on Irish shore during the Norman period of conquest, which began, roughly, in 1016 A.D. At the time agrarian Ireland used oxen to till the rocky land, but oxen were slow. With the advent of the harness and plow a natural progression to the use of the horse evolved over the next few hundred years. However, Irishmen required specific attributes from their horses. The farm horse must pull the plow and pull the family wagon to church on Sunday. It must accept the saddle or be ridden without one, whatever economics or preferences demand. The horse, like the dog, must not kick when children walk behind it. Soon the clever Irish began to breed horses for size--which was a desirable fifteen hands high---and to breed for strength, and for gentle disposition. What evolved was the breed of Irish Draught horse.
   
   The Irish Draught Horse book boasts a rich catalogue of lithographs, photographs and paintings honoring the book's subject matter. Much of the depiction of the horse's place in early Ireland's culture is, understandably, captured only on canvas or lithograph. The authors describe the rich colors and human emotions locked in paintings dotting almost every page of their book. Unfortunately, all of the book's paintings and pictures exist only in black and white, so it's a stretch to visualize colors of the horses. In one drawing a merciless landlord sits passively astride a black horse as hired goons evict a hapless family from their farm. A painting shows members of 1850's Dublin Anglo-Irish society riding in horse-drawn carriages. Dressed in their English finery, the ladies avoided the horse-filth lining Sackville Street by stepping directly from the pavement to the vehicle, while a short distance from Dublin native Irish are starving to death in the grips of the Famine.
   
   As with any breed of domestic farm animal, situations arose threatening the Irish Draught. Over the centuries disease took a toll on the Irish horse population, at times almost eliminating the breed. During the Famine horses became expendable when their owners faced starvation. With the rise of mechanized farming and the automobile, less of a need for farm horses became the norm. Further, purebred Draught mares were often mated to Thoroughbred stallions to produce Irish Sport horses---jumpers, steeplechasers, and the like--thereby diluting the bloodline. Ultimately, so few pure Irish Draught Horses existed in Ireland that the breed's number was reduced to 2000. Fortunately breeders stepped in to register the line of remaining purebreds and to arrange for future selective breeding. Today horse enthusiasts worldwide are assured of getting nothing but the real item when they purchase a registered Irish Draught Horse for show.
   
   As previously noted, the Irish Draught Horse is an Emerald Isle icon and an important cog in its cultural wheel. The authors do a credible job of detailing the evolutionary history of the breed and providing a wealth of Internet resources for those interested in learning more about the Irish Draught horse. Also, delightfully, on the Internet you can view these fine animals in color.
   
   
   
   Mary McGrath currently breeds and shows Irish Draught horses. Joan Griffith is an Honorary Life Member of the Irish Draught Horse Association



2. Mary McGrath and Joan C. Griffith's THE IRISH DRAUGHT HORSE: A HISTORY provides an important survey of a horse which is an Irish icon: the Irish draught horse pulled the farmer's plow, helped him hunt, and even pulled field artillery; yet in 1950 over 24,000 were exported for slaughter. THE IRISH DRAUGHT HORSE: A HISTORY celebrates their uses and important in the Irish landscape. While today it's a vanishing working horse, this history assures it won't completely be forgotten.



3. This book is a wide-ranging and excellent history of the Irish Draught Horse in Ireland. Includes interviews with horse dealers, breeders, and includes many old paintings and photos. Quality hardback format. I found it an excellent complement to my Alex Fells book, with surprisingly little overlap between the two.

No comments about Magner's Standard Horse And Stock Book: A Complete Pictorial Encyclopedia Of Practical Reference For Horse And Stock Owners (1893).

2 comments about Barrel Racing: Training the Wright Way (Masters).

1. I have been training and riding barrel horses for 24 years and feel that this is the best barrel racing book I have ever come across. It is a great tool for all levels of barrel racers- from beginner to experienced. I found the chapters regarding barrel horse bloodlines and solving common problems very interesting. This book is easy to read and comprehend and has magnificent pictures to visually display the content. Worth the money!



2. This book covers it all! From selecting certain barrel racing pedigrees, ground work with colts, first rides, beginning barrel work, problems, tack selection and much more. This book contains hundreds of beautiful color photos and is nice enough to be a "coffee table" book (that's where mine is). Ed and Martha even take the time to answer your questions if you e-mail them, first-class all the way...