Showing & Training

Clinton Anderson's Downunder Horsemanship: Establishing Respect and Control for English and Western Riders

Tug of War: Classical Versus "Modern" Dressage: Why Classical Training Works and How Incorrect Riding Negatively Affects Horses' Health

What Your Horse Wants You to Know: What Horses' "Bad" Behavior Means, and How to Correct It

Listen to and communicate with your horse-successfully

"This is a book for everyone who has ever looked at the constantly increasing list of methods and systems marketed as 'horsemanship' and wondered which of the many possible approaches would be most suitable for a particular behavior problem. Gincy Bucklin has distilled her many years of experience with horses and riders into a very useful, step-by-step, hands-on book. Bucklin's writing is smooth and easy to read, and no matter where you open this book, you'll find that her deep respect and affection for both equines and humans shines through."
-Dr. Jessica Jahiel, author of Riding for the Rest of Us

"Gincy Bucklin uses her decades-long experience with horses to answer that most frequently asked question: 'Why did my horse do that?' And she comes up with creative solutions that weave together traditional horse handling with the best of modern horse training, including my own personal favorite, clicker training."
-Alexandra Kurland, author of Clicker Training for Your Horse and The Click That Teaches video lesson series

It takes time for a horse to learn everything we want him to know. If we don't make our intentions clear to him in ways that he can understand, or if we don't listen to what he wants, problems may result. Featuring easy-to-follow, step-by-step advice, What Your Horse Wants You to Know reveals how to communicate effectively with your horse to create an atmosphere of mutual cooperation.

What Your Horse Wants You to Know focuses on improving your horse's behavior on the ground, so you can develop relationship and communications skills without the more challenging problems that arise once you're on his back.
* Use your entire body to communicate with your horse
* Show your horse that you respect his needs and feelings
* Be patient and consistent with your horse while having fun
* Understand your horse's fears and overcome them
* Respond appropriately to physiological or nutritional problems
* Use praise to make your horse feel confident and successful

Horses Never Lie: The Heart of Passive Leadership

In "Horses Never Lie," acclaimed horse trainer Mark Rashid breaks new ground by challenging the longstanding belief that a person must become the "alpa leader" in order to work with horses. Instead, "Horses Never Lie" teaches you how to become a "passive leader"—a reflection of the kind of horse other members of a herd choose to be around and to follow. It's a must read for all horse owners who care about their horses and the kind of relationship they have with them.

As he did in "Considering the Horse" and "A Good Horse Is Never a Bad Color," Rashid writes about his experiences with real horses, always featuring his sense of humor and an overriding compassion for the horse. His instructive anecdotes reach back to when he was a youngster under the mentorship of the "old man," and continue to his experiences today as a horse trainer and a popular clinician who has traveled the world to teach his remarkably effective methods to enthusiastic horse owners.

John Lyons' Bringing Up Baby: 20 Progressive Ground-Work Lessons to Develop Your Young Horse into a Reliable, Accepting Partner

Ride the Right Horse: Understanding the Core Equine Personalities & How to Work with Them

A compatible personality is the most desirable quality in a horse, yet it is much harder to assess than gait or conformation. All horses have distinct personality traits that make them more or less suitable for various riding styles and disciplines. Riders and trainers who understand how to work with, not against, a horse's temperament will be rewarded with a happier, more successful human/equine relationship.

Dressage trainer Yvonne Barteau describes the four basic equine personality types — social, fearful, aloof, and challenging — and the different clues to identify a horse's primary personality. Often the dominant personality type is complemented by a secondary trait, creating, for example, the aloof-challenging or fearful-social horse. Using clear signals and readily identi-fied behavior patterns, riders can determine any horse's type and then use this book's tips and techniques to improve training sessions.

Fun and enlightening as it is to analyze equine characteristics, it's just as important to understand how the personalities of both the rider and the trainer affect each horse. Barteau includes a self–evaluation quiz to help the reader determine what her own riding and handling preferences are and how she can use that knowledge to work more effectively with her current horse or to shop smarter when selecting a new equine partner.

Fascinating case studies, stories, and profiles of famous horses and their riders offer readers real-life examples of how compatible personalities work together to achieve great things!

The Man Who Listens to Horses

Monty Roberts is, as they say, the real horse whisperer--even if he does revile the last third of Nicholas Evans's romance. Yet Roberts also makes clear from the start that listening and close attention have more to do with gentling an animal than soi-disant whispering. As far as he's concerned, silent communication can "effectively cross over the boundary between human (the ultimate fight animal) and horse (the flight animal). Using their language, their system of communication, I could create a strong bond of trust. I would achieve cross-species communication." And achieve it he does. After one short session, he has even the wildest stallion nickering with ungulate abandon.

Roberts's descriptions of "joining up," as he calls it with horses--as well as with the deer who cavort on his California farm like so many hyperintelligent Bambis--are inspirational in the best sense of the word. Surprisingly, though, it took him long years to persuade most of the humans in his life that pain and punishment are not the way to go. Indeed, the author expends many a page on past mistakes and disasters, familial and professional. Yet The Man Who Listens to Horses remains a powerfully positive document--and not just for Mr. Ed. Best of all, when it comes to his life's work, Roberts is far more practical than mystical. Instead of portraying himself as Equus's messiah, he'd rather share his hard-won knowledge. Having overcome years of rejection and ridicule, the author is certainly not short in the self-esteem department, as some passages in this book demonstrate. No matter. He always checks his ego before entering the corral. --Kerry Fried

"It all dates from those summers alone in the high desert, me lying on my belly and watching wild horses with my binoculars for hours at a time. Straining to see in the moonlight, striving to fathom mustang ways, I knew instinctively I had chanced upon something important but could not know that it would shape my life. In 1948 I was a boy of thirteen learning the language of horses. . . ."

Stretch Exercises for Your Horse: The Path to Perfect Suppleness

Bombproof Your Horse: Teach Your Horse to Be Confident, Obedient, and Safe, So Matter What You Encounter

Teach Your Horse Perfect Manners: How You Should Behave So Your Horse Does Too