Pets

A modern reference for those who wish to manage horses in ways that improve equine well-being by encouraging a healthy, safe, active lifestyle.

As times have changed, so has our understanding of the social, psychological, and physical needs of the animals in our care. As open spaces shrink, our view of what is required to keep horses as best suits their nature is expanding. The result is a need for guidance when it comes to making decisions related to modern-day equine management best practices. The hard truth is that the creatures who have long been our companions have also long been expected to adapt to living situations created with primarily human convenience and comfort in mind.

With this inspiringly illustrated guidebook, natural horsekeeping expert Iveta Jebáčková-Lažanská hopes to help everyone with horses create sophisticated, functional, equine-centric stable systems, in which horses, nature, and people thrive. Jebáčková-Lažanská demonstrates how, for those who want to, it’s possible to find ways to make outdoor horsekeeping work via a system that has slowly emerged over time that can work for any property, whether small or large. Already, it has been proven to work well by horse owners all over the world, some of whom contributed their knowledge and experiences to these pages. 

Topics explored include:

• Size and type of basic enclosures.
• Dealing with weather- and environment-related challenges, like mud.
• Location of, type of, and materials used in sheds, shelters, and stalls.
• Footing, surfaces, and bedding, both temporary and permanent.
• Water supplies and weather concerns.
• “Horse toilets.”
• Feeder types, locations, and arrangements.
• Fencing, and paddock and pasture management, including rotation, fertilizing, and seasonal concerns.
• Areas to roll, wallow, and play.
• Natural trees, shrubs, and grasses to encourage and discourage.
• Pest control.
• Adjusting for the seasons, and your region and climate.

With success stories throughout to serve as both evidence and inspiration, readers are certain to come away armed with all they need to allow their horses to live life as they were meant to, in tune with their instinctual needs for forage, movement, and choice, and in concert with the natural world.

The only book available dedicated solely to the conscientious preparation of the horse and donkey for routine and emergency medical care.

Equine behavior expert and trained ethologist Hélène Roche provides a practical, fair, and scientifically researched set of techniques to help train your horse or donkey to “cooperate for care.” Specifically, her goal is to ensure that veterinary examinations, treatment administration, and health monitoring are safer, easier, and less stressful for all involved.

Making the decision to prepare your equine to cooperate for care will save you valuable time, as well as improving the quality of your relationship with your horse or donkey (and veterinarian, too!). With small steps that can be regularly incorporated into daily activities, your horse can learn to accept:

• Human touch in sensitive places.
• The taking of vital signs.
• Clipping and bathing, such as that needed before wound treatment.
• Dental care.
• Inhalers or nebulizers.
• Drawing blood.
• Medication administration.
• Eye care.
• X-rays and hoof and lower limb treatment.
• Being weighed on a scale.
• Treatment rooms, stocks, and other care locations.
• Urine collection.

In addition, readers learn how to identify a problem that might need medical care, and how to recognize pain, fear, and impatience in horses and donkeys. With helpful hints on preparing for a veterinary visit, both at your home barn or at a clinic, as well as preparing for hospitalization or long-term stall-rest, this highly illustrated reference is an invaluable starter kit for remarkably better interactions with your horse as you work toward his improved health and well-being.

James Herriot meets Jeff Foxworthy in the real-life adventures of a traveling horse doctor.

Climb into the truck alongside large animal vet Dr. Madison Seamans and race to the aid of horses with wounds, stomach aches, allergies, and bizarre behaviors, as well as those in severe physical distress. Quite by accident, you’ll find yourself familiar with and understanding common equine medical problems and how they are diagnosed and treated, all while marveling at the remarkable situations a country veterinarian can find himself in. Playful yet serious, honest yet tongue-in-cheek, this wonderfully written book is an up-close look at a well-lived rural life that is about as authentic as America gets. No one who cares a whit for the animal kingdom, and the humans who dare enter it, will be disappointed.

Norman Thelwell’s best-loved characters are back in a special edition of a timeless favorite. 

 In the early 1950s, and quite to his surprise, artist Norman Thelwell became popular for his equestrian-themed cartoons. In an effort to satisfy a devoted and growing international following, Thelwell developed a cartoon strip about a particular horse-crazy young lady and her wicked pony called “Penelope and Kipper.” This became a book called Penelope, first published in 1972 and now found bound with other favorites in the popular collection Pony Panorama. Seventeen years later, a second series of adventures found its way to print in Penelope Rides Again. Thelwell’s plucky, pint-sized equestrian was back in the saddle (or, more frequently, out of it) as she braved both showgrounds and countryside with the still-devilish Kipper.

Many years have passed since Penelope Rides Again was last widely available in print. But now the feisty Penelope and Kipper are back in this special 100th Anniversary Edition in honor of Norman Thelwell’s Centenary. With Penelope’s help, readers of all ages will learn to pick themselves up after a fall, no matter how hard…and laugh about it.

An eye-opening game-changer of a book that sheds new light on how horses learn, think, perceive, and perform, and explains how to work with the horse’s brain instead of against it.

In this illuminating book, brain scientist and horsewoman Janet Jones describes human and equine brains working together. Using plain language, she explores the differences and similarities between equine and human ways of negotiating the world. Mental abilities—like seeing, learning, fearing, trusting, and focusing—are discussed from both human and horse perspectives. Throughout, true stories of horses and handlers attempting to understand each other—sometimes successfully, sometimes not—help to illustrate the principles.

Horsemanship of every kind depends on mutual interaction between equine and human brains. When we understand the function of both, we can learn to communicate with horses on their terms instead of ours. By meeting horses halfway, we achieve many goals.

• We improve performance.
• We save valuable training time.
• We develop much deeper bonds with our horses.
• We handle them with insight and kindness instead of force or command.
• We comprehend their misbehavior in ways that allow solutions.
• We reduce the human mistakes we often make while working with them.

Instead of working against the horse’s brain, expecting him to function in unnatural and counterproductive ways, this book provides the information needed to ride with the horse’s brain. Each principle is applied to real everyday issues in the arena or on the trail, often illustrated with true stories from the author’s horse training experience. Horse Brain, Human Brain offers revolutionary ideas that should be considered by anyone who works with horses.

The only book available devoted to learning and perfecting working equitation obstacles.

Working equitation is a competitive equestrian sport that originated in Europe, with the first European Championship held in 1996. It quickly gained a fanbase for its beauty and its focus on classical horsemanship ideals and developing handiness under saddle. In 2004 the World Association for Working Equitation (WAWE) was established, and today, many countries have their own national organizations for governing working equitation competitions, including the United States—the USAWE was formed in 2020. Heralding the advent of a brand-new way to pursue and demonstrate horse-and-rider connection, working equitation competitor and trainer Ali Kermeen has written a much-needed reference for preparing both horse and rider to participate.

The Working Equitation Training Manual provides a one-of-a-kind progressive training system to those new to the sport. Lessons focus on developing confidence with the obstacle phases of working equitation while incorporating dressage principles. The elements of each obstacle are broken down and then brought back together in step-by-step exercises that:

• Prepare horse and rider to perform an obstacle properly.
• Introduce horses and riders to competition obstacles.
• Help improve and polish an obstacle's execution.

With clear diagrams and color photographs, a helpful glossary of terms to help those unfamiliar with working equitation terminology, and variations and benefits for every exercise, readers are provided an appealing introduction to an exciting option for adding diversity to daily training, as well as showing and competing in other sports. “I started teaching these skills to all my students, regardless of their riding discipline,” says Ali. “These working equitation exercises help my riders excel at dressage, endurance, trail riding, pony clubbing, eventing, jumping, gaited horses, groundwork, Cowboy Dressage, and breed shows.” The Working Equitation Training Manual promises to do the same for you.

The most complete guide available to understanding the horse's language, knowing how to “talk” back, and to using Horse Speak® principles in any training system.

In 2016 Sharon Wilsie's Horse Speak: The Equine—Human Translation Guide broke new ground for anyone who works with horses, providing a practical system to “listening” and “talking” to horses in their language instead of expecting them to understand ours. Now Wilsie has provided the most complete guide to Horse Speak ever. Those familiar with Wilsie's work will find novel ideas that have developed since the first book was released, and those new to Horse Speak will be supported with fundamental lessons that will allow them to start having authentic “conversations” with their horses during their very next trip to the barn. With a focus on how horse training methods in general can be improved with certain small changes in movement and mindset, Wilsie has once again created a resource of immense value across the equestrian spectrum.

• Solidify basic language skills—General Horse Speak fundamentals, plus new discoveries. 

• Observe the horse's environment and movement signals—The “Chessboard of Life” and how horses negotiate it. 

• Know the Buttons and what they do—The 15 communication centers on the horse's body, plus new connections and Conversations. 

• Understand herd dynamics and your horse's type—Personality and energy types to assist you in understanding the role your horse is playing in his daily interactions. 

• Explore the circular nature of horse Conversations—How the Four Gs and IINN help you remember where you are in a Conversation with your horse. 

• Start the Conversation outside the box—Safe and effective ways to initiate connection and source breakthroughs from a distance and in environments other than arenas. 

• Invite the horse to come with you—Best practices for haltering, leading, and backing up in hand so it is less challenging and a more rewarding experience for both you and your horse. 

• Advance your body language at liberty and on the longe line—Keys to developing the rapport we desire with a horse by understanding his balances and imbalances on the ground. 

• Ride with a new perspective—Take all that you have learned about communicating with the horse on the ground and bring it to your shared experience in the saddle. 

• PLUS, use the one-of-a-kind Dictionary of Horse Speak to find out how to know what your horse is telling you, how to say things in reply to him, and how Horse Speak can help you fix common training and behavior problems.

 With illuminating sections on basic handling, groundwork, and ridden work, Wilsie gives readers everything they need to improve the training techniques they already use by enhancing both horse and human understanding of the process and the goals. The result is improved behavior, enhanced performance, and a happier, healthier equine partner in whatever you choose to pursue together.

A simple system for figuring out and fixing what’s wrong with a horse’s performance.

Former international event rider Eric Smiley has brought along his own top-level horses for decades. Now he taps his immense knowledge to help riders whose horses may not have had "the right start." Every horse comes with his own “baggage”—behavior or training issues, minor or significant, that may be difficult to pinpoint or resolve. In these pages, Smiley addresses the most common problems he has seen over the years in dressage, eventing, and show jumping, including:

Smiley teaches readers how to identify what isn’t working by looking at how things should work. Then he walks us through dismantling and reassembling the issues, providing an easy-to-follow system for determining what's potentially wrong with a horse and choosing sensible exercises for fixing it. He introduces a troubleshooting five-point system: 

Layers and shifts of understanding in horses combined with the physical and psychological challenges of riding can often make solving problems that arise seem complicated, and sometimes it is difficult to know where to even begin. Smiley’s system helps readers find that “start point” and map out a sensible plan for future training. He shows how to determine when something may have become an issue for your horse or your performance, ways to try and avoid it happening in the first place, and of course, offers highly practical solutions to employ when you find you do have a problem. Smiley’s goal is to “always leave people and horses with a positive journey to go on, with the prospect of ‘better to come.’” With its usefulness, cross-disciplinary approach, and optimism, The Sport Horse Problem Solver is all you need to achieve success in partnership with your horse, wherever you are in your journey together.

Eight equestrian-specific workouts to suit any rider's body, age, ability, and schedule.

It is no secret that riders often neglect their own needs in order to ensure their horses' are met. Countless dollars go toward massages, chiropractic work, and various other therapies that keep our equines comfortable and performing their best. We carefully schedule their training programs to achieve peak fitness at just the right time, and we juggle our personal lives—careers, family, you name it—around it all. But horse sports are a partnership, and if we want our horses to be at their best, then we have to be at ours, and that means paying careful attention to our own athletic bodies. Most riders argue they simply don't have the time to work out and still give their horses the time they need, so certified personal trainer Laura Crump Anderson has written a book that specifically targets the ever-present dilemma of how to fit fitness into a horse-crazy lifestyle.

Beginning with explanations of why strength, flexibility, and balance is important to achieve out of the tack, Anderson provides important rules and guidelines for stretching, weight training, and cardio to keep you safe. A lifelong equestrian herself, she then approaches the scheduling issue head-on, helping readers determine where best to fit in the minutes they need in the places they need to be anyway—the tack room, the arena, the barn aisle. Using only basic items you are likely to find around the stable, she keeps equipment needs straightforward, recognizing that the less likely it is you forget something, the more likely it is you'll get that workout in.

Readers are then treated to eight original fitness routines and two stretching routines. Full color photographs of top riders, including Jan Byyny, Sloane Coles, Kaitlin Clasing, Lauren Sprieser, and Sharon White, and USEA Groom of the Year Rachael Livermore demonstrate how to perform exercises effectively, and step-by-step instructions ensure you get it right.

Codependency, a compulsive behavior sometimes known as “relationship addiction,” is often characterized by a dysfunctional, one-sided relationship that is emotionally destructive―even abusive. For years Susan Conley found herself trapped, married to an addict whose health, welfare, and safety she valued far above her own.

Over time, Conley watched as she lost contact with her own needs, desires, and sense of self. But then at forty-two, after yet another crisis came to an anticlimactic resolution that left nothing healed and little to hope for, she decided, having never so much as touched a horse, to take up riding.

Here, with humor and honesty, Conley chronicles her experiences, sharing how her pledge to rediscover herself following her divorce was aided, abetted, and challenged by the horses in her life.

“They were as large a part of my recovery as were any of the self-help books I read, personal development workshops I did, and 12-step meetings I attended,” she writes. “The struggle to heal the wounds of a dysfunctional marriage was actually made easier via the real wounds received from horseback riding.”

Many Brave Fools explores the ways in which horses enriched Conley’s life, and how the process of making herself into a rider also helped her become the person she most wanted to be: not the “ex-wife of an addict,” but a responsive, confident, even courageous woman, entering the prime of her life.

For years horse trainers and equine experts have sought new ways to tap into that which for many remains elusive: the ability to use the human body, and our often neglected power of intent, to explain to the horse what we want, as well as receive in and understand his answer. From the Feldenkrais Method®, Alexander Technique, and yoga, to Tai Chi, Aikido, and other martial arts, we have used various areas of study seemingly unrelated to horses and riding to gain new insight as to how to achieve a soft, fluid connection with our equine partners.

Now in this fascinating book, dancer and choreographer Paula Josa-Jones examines this age-old conundrum from a whole new angle, combining her two greatest passions: movement and horses. Through stories, strategies, and over 65 meditations and gentle exercises, Josa-Jones shows us how we can develop greater somatic awareness away from the horse, as well as how being with the horse can help this consciousness continue to evolve. The result is we not only have a closer, more intuitive connection with our horses, we are more trustworthy, more comfortable in our own skin, and better prepared to act with balance, sensitivity, and kindness in all our relationships.

Improve your dog's movement, comfort, and longevity while opening exciting new doors to better communication and a more meaningful relationship.

We all want our dogs to live pain-free, and we all want ways to connect with them. The Masterson Method® is an interactive approach to animal bodywork that follows and uses responses of the animal to your touch to find and release tension in areas of his body that affect:

A lifelong horse person, Jim Masterson developed his method for the purpose of releasing tension and improving movement in the performance horse. An interesting benefit was that it led to improved communication and trust, and a better overall relationship with the horse. Since dogs go with horses “like peanut butter and jelly,” Jim says, it was only natural that he began to use his bodywork on canines, too.

The techniques used in the Masterson Method rely on reading and following the subtle changes in the dog's body language as you work with him. Once you learn to read his body language, you will be “on the same page” and communication is established. Your dog recognizes that you understand what his body language is saying, that there is no threat to his well-being, and that he feels better when you work with him. In these pages you will learn the steps to incorporating the Masterson Method in your dog's life, bringing happiness to both of you.

By using these techniques, and knowing the responses to look for, you will be able to:

This book includes:

The Masterson Method is practical, easy to use, and results oriented. You see the results in the dog's responses during the bodywork, and in his behavior, comfort, and movement afterward. Beyond Dog Massage is the ideal instructional guide for all those seeking a better quality of life for and deeper connection with their dogs.

A do-it-yourself method of determining when and where your dog hurts.

Keep your dog pain-free and feeling and performing his best! Introducing 23 simple body checkups you can do at home on your dog. This remarkably easy-to-follow book helps you:

• Clear up behavior problems or training issues you may have struggled with for months.
• Become familiar with your dog's normal range of movement so you can prevent minor issues from becoming major.
• Tune in to areas of temporary or chronic discomfort so you can offer relief as needed.
• Solve “mystery” limps, gimps, and lamenesses.
• Save thousands of dollars by avoiding expensive diagnostics that leave you with more questions.
• Captain your dog’s team of veterinarian, trainer, chiropractor, and other therapists with confidence.
• Keep your dog active and happy for more months of the year, and more years of his life.

Clear, colorful anatomical illustrations and how-to photographs demonstrate each body checkup, from nose to tail. Sensible organization allows you to move purposefully and progressively when trying to pinpoint a problem, while also ensuring that it is easy to find what you need, when you need it. With considerations for all canines, of every size and breed, and the goal of optimal health and a vibrant quality of life, this practical book is for everyone who counts a dog as a friend or family member.

Kinesiology taping on humans is now commonplace—it is widely used by physical therapists, chiropractors, and personal trainers. The idea behind taping is that it provides incredible support and stabilization of ligaments and tendons while simultaneously stretching and flexing like a “second skin” to allow full range of motion. It can also activate or relax muscles, depending on its application.

Taping is now also being successfully applied to other animals. Canine and equine physiotherapist Katja Bredlau-Morich, author of Kinesiology Taping for Horses, is a pioneer in bringing the method to the dog world. She believes that dogs can benefit hugely from taping techniques, and even better, dog owners and trainers can learn practical steps to using kinesiology tape themselves. In her terrific guidebook, Bredlau-Morich provides the ultimate reference for understanding both the uses of kinesiology tape and its numerous canine applications. With hundreds of color photographs and step-by-step instructions for the do-it-yourselfer, her book explains the following forms of kinesiology taping:

• Muscle
• Scar
• Fascia

In addition, numerous case studies demonstrate how taping can change a dog’s life, keeping him a happy, active, pain-free companion for years to come.