Trafalgar Square Books

The untold story of the favorite children’s book author, featuring original artwork by Wesley Dennis from some of Henry’s best-known books, as well as over 100 personal photographs, letters, and artifacts.

In certain circles, her name inspires immediate recognition and pronouncements of a committed admiration that has likely spanned decades. As an author, Marguerite Henry was indeed remarkably prolific, with 59 books published, millions of copies sold, and nearly 80 years of her life spent writing them—or responding personally to the stacks of fan mail she received—at her typewriter. Her books, most meticulously researched historical fiction about influential horses and the hosts of fascinating characters who surrounded them—to name just a few, her Newbery Award winner King of the Wind, the book that changed an island Misty of Chincoteague, and the glowingly reviewed Justin Morgan Had a Horse—have had an outsized influence on those who grew up reading them, ultimately leading to writing careers, lives dedicated to riding and caring for horses and other animals, and even fan memoirs describing Henry’s impact.

But despite a professional existence that became profoundly public, particularly after Misty of Chincoteague, published in 1947, became a bestseller and eventually a popular feature film in 1961, Henry’s own life was mostly shielded from view.

With particular purpose to uncover what is little known about the author, as well as superb instincts for illustrating fascinating details that help readers construct the settings in which Henry’s creative mind, intensive historical and scholarly research, and storytelling ability matured and evolved, accomplished journalist and author Lettie Teague has provided a unique biography that is as much a pleasure to read as her subject’s own books. Highlighting over a dozen titles that represent, to Teague, not only the best of Marguerite Henry’s work but help tell the story of Marguerite Henry herself, and following the trail of some of her remarkable collaborators—most importantly, the charismatic and talented artist Wesley Dennis—Teague gives Henry fans what they always strived for through their thousands of letters: personal connection.

Perhaps what Henry would deem less important, but becomes more and more valid as time passes, is Teague’s desire for the author’s legacy to live on. Many of Marguerite Henry’s books are still very much in print, but as time passes, fewer will remember once writing her fan letters, or perhaps think of the author at all. In these pages, Teague ensures that Marguerite Henry the writer will always be considered as every bit as remarkable as the books that she wrote. Featuring original artwork by Wesley Dennis from some of Henry’s best-known books, as well as over 100 personal photographs, letters, and artifacts few have seen, this is a warm and wonderful biography for bibliophiles, horse lovers, aspiring writers, and Marguerite Henry fans, young and old.

First published in 1934, Mary Thomas’s Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches has long been a well-loved favorite of novice and experienced embroiderers alike! The new and redesigned paperback edition of this indispensable handbook includes the internationally-renowned embroiderer Jan Eaton’s revisions to the original text, with an extensive library of stitches arranged by usage, ranging from basic outline and border stitches to more complex detached-filling and pulled-fabric stitches—enabling all needle-workers to master the art of embroidery at every level, with clear, helpful photographs and step-by-step instructions.

• Over 400 stitches explained and illustrated with diagrams and photographs.
• Ideal for those starting out with needlework, as well as accomplished embroiderers seeking inspiration for different stitches and techniques.
• 14 stitch categories, including outline stitches, filling stitches, canvas stitches, insertion stitches, and more.

A sensitive retelling of events that shaped a childhood, a career, and an evolving philosophy on what it means to love something—and for that love to be enough.

“Following a passionate path usually isn’t easy,” writes horsewoman Chelsea Canedy in this uninhibited and deeply thoughtful memoir tracing her experiences in the horse world and how they have impacted her development as a competitor, a teacher, a wife, and a mother. From a gate left open and a herd of horses galloping desperately down a busy road to a sage-burning “clearing space” in a barn; from falls, poor rides, and heart-wrenching divorce to connection, opportunity, and transformative friendships, Canedy digs deep to identify themes that not only tell her unique story but speak to the reader’s own. Writing with the same natural feel she found at an early age in the saddle, Canedy coaxes us to grasp the broader truths that working with horses can so often unveil.

 Reminiscences, both tender and painful, prove a catalyst for deeper exploration of what it is we are really looking for when we pursue a passion—and what it is to be human at every stage of that journey. Canedy’s sensitive retelling of the events that molded her are hewn from the barn and arena, but her perceptive questions about existence, both in its most general sense and its most nuanced, offer any reader valuable lessons in true and lasting personal growth. Canedy bravely shares the painful mistakes she has made with both horses and people, the intense guilt that has accompanied these transgressions, and how learning to accept setbacks and starting over “the best way you know how” is sometimes, maybe, what gets you where you want to go.

 Offering distinct lessons in how to be compassionate, curious, flexible, tenacious, open, aware, and ready to roll with the punches, Canedy’s book is for every reader with a passion they feel driven to pursue, while perhaps questioning its value as the years unfold. “Knowing what it is that ‘fills you up,’” writes Canedy, “in this life, that is enough.”

A quick, concise, fully-illustrated guide to the native butterflies of the Green Mountain State. 

Butterflies are a delight to observe, and a charming reminder of childhood summers. They’re also pollinators, crucial to sustaining Vermont’s biodiversity. This neatly organized, easy-to-carry handbook goes beyond simple butterfly identification. It includes full-color photographs, descriptions, and flying times as well as the ecosystems in which each species lives: their habitats, their host plants, and their favored sources of nectar.

Explore the butterflies that make Vermont their home. Consult quick-reference photo guides to host plants and butterfly species to make an identification at a glance. Deepen your understanding of these beautiful insects with an overview of butterfly anatomy, biology, and behavior while learning how you can help keep butterflies safe and abundant in Vermont for generations to come.

Keys to riding your horse in an optimal, athletic frame for any equestrian sport or activity—without a bit.

In her inspiringly illustrated new book, horsewoman Ali Kermeen, author of The Working Equitation Training Manual, shows readers how it is possible to get a horse soft and round without using a bit, side-reins, or longeing apparatuses. 

For many, riding “bitless”—without a bit in the horse’s mouth—can feel like a leap of faith because of a perceived lack of control. But, Kermeen argues, most of the time, the control a rider has over a horse (who is a thousand pounds of muscle and reaction) has more to do with training and partnership, and less to do with equipment. Kermeen is not lobbying for all horses to be ridden bitless—as she notes in her book, there are bitless bridles that are just as severe as those with bits, and plenty of horses have the mouth shape, understanding, and rider to happily carry a bit. Ultimately, however, she feels the decision as to whether a horse should be wearing a bit or going bitless should be up to the horse. In addition, Kermeen writes, Learning to ride and train horses bitless has made me a better rider with the bit.” 

To be successful at transitioning a horse from bitted riding to bitless riding, you can't just “trade out the equipment and hope for the best.” Over years of working with horses and competing them without a bit, Kermeen has developed a series of exercises that she uses for all horses, regardless of their likely sport or activity. Her method sets horses up to understand how to be soft and round. A soft horse and rider produce a picture of harmony and understanding. They work as a partnership. A horse that can carry his own body in a round frame, without being forced, is able to be athletic and is in an ideal position to be influenced by the rider. In these pages, learn:

• Important groundwork skills to set your horse up for success.
• Valuable comparisons of different kinds of bitless bridles.
• Expert recommendations for choosing and fitting a bitless bridle.
• Ridden exercises for connecting the groundwork basics under saddle, without a bit.

Kermeen explains that learning to be an effective rider without a bit has made her a better rider when she uses a bit. And her easy-to-use, approachable guide is for anyone who wishes to improve their own performance, as well as being aware of and proactive about their horse’s health, comfort, and well-being.

The terrifying mystery of a lost girl and her mother’s ghost haunt Alma and her friends at horseback riding camp.

When Alma discovers a date etched into the side of her bunkbed one night at riding camp, Lexi, daughter of the camp owners, shares the chilling story of the family who had been on the farm before hers—the mysterious disappearance and death of the young girl who had lived there, and the tragic spiral of the girl’s mother, as she went crazy trying to find the daughter she loved. The date in Alma’s bunkbed? It was the dead girl’s birthday.

It is Alma’s birthday too.

Alma and her best friend Adriana are transfixed by Lexi’s story, almost as much as Adriana seems to be transfixed by Lexi’s fancy riding clothes and perfect skin—oh, and kissing boys. Alma doesn’t understand why Adriana suddenly wants to talk about kissing boys more than she wants to talk about horses. Alma would much rather talk, and think, about horses. Especially the sensitive, complicated, beautiful Blue, who Alma has been given to ride at camp.

When Alma also finds her birthday carved into a tree, a real fear begins to take over. Is the dead girl’s ghost haunting her? Is the dead mother stalking her? Or is Lexi just playing a cruel joke, doing whatever she can to come between Alma and her best friend Adriana?

The Girl in the Cave is a gripping middle-grade novel about coming of age, friendship, horses, and betrayal—and it all starts with the date 2010-9-10.

A uniquely successful approach to overcoming anxiety, imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and self-sabotage.

Almost every rider has felt fear at some point while working with a horse. Fear is a normal reaction to a frightening situation, and as long as the emotion subsides, it isn’t necessarily a problem. However, when apprehension starts to monopolize our thoughts while in the saddle, and when our interactions with our horses are dominated by panic or dread, we need to make a change.

But what if the fear doesn’t want to go away, but you really don’t want to give up your relationship with horses?

Certified hypnotist Nicole Weber aims to give you unique tools to successfully manage the kind of fear that negatively impacts the pleasure you get from horses and riding. Her goal is to enable you to enjoy your partnership with your horse. It is not that you will never feel fear again if you use her techniques, because in situations that are actually dangerous, you should still feel fear. It is just that you will have the ability to control the emotion at the times when you are truly safe, but your brain is telling you a different story.

Weber begins by covering the theory around fear and how it takes hold of us—how fears arise, what causes them, and why horses mirror our emotions. Then she provides everything readers need to know to empower themselves to turn away from fear and toward enjoying your horse life: step by step photographs, links to videos, and guided audio lessons teach you the art of self-hypnosis and Weber’s own method, which she calls Equihypnosis. These safe, effective lessons can change not only the way you manage riding, but the way you manage your life outside the barn, too.

No matter how long your fear has existed or how old you are, Equihypnosis can liberate you from confining beliefs for good. This surprisingly practical, confidence-inspiring book is for every horse person who wants to make sure she never misses a minute of barn time or a day in the saddle.

An extraordinary follow-up to the bestselling memoir In the Middle Are the Horsemen.

He thought he had it made. Dream farm. Amazing wife. Wonderful kids. Clear and present purpose.

Horses.

But then he began to wonder if he was doing it all right enough…if maybe he’d been doing it for long enough. He began to wonder if it was right at all. 

When midlife appeared before horseman Tik Maynard, he had plenty of past adventures to cite and no shortage of future possibilities. But his own questions about his life as a horse trainer and equestrian competitor began to overwhelm the joy of all he had accomplished and discovered. It suddenly became imperative that he reconsider his path and open himself to alternatives—and a course that might drastically differ from what he’d always thought he wanted. 

When an invitation to participate in Road to the Horse, the World Championship of Colt Starting, was offered, Maynard immediately saw an opportunity to learn, to expand his world beyond what in some ways felt too “complete,” to reboot the passion that had always driven him. And so he took a chance on himself and an unknown, unbroken colt, and said, “I’ll do it.”

In these deep, considered, and painstakingly articulated pages, Maynard chronicles a year of reading, traveling, asking questions, and trying new things, as he, supported by family and friends, threw himself into the preparation he knew he needed to have 265 minutes in front of a live audience be something positive for both him and a horse he did not yet know. The reader travels along as Maynard meets some of the leading figures in the world of animal behavior and training, examining the ways humans can successfully communicate with other species from a multitude of entry points, both “traditional” and “out of the box.” With dialogue that sweeps you into each fascinating expert’s space and time, he shares his struggles with the philosophical and ethical side of his life’s pursuit, and thoughtfully illustrates the conversations that helped him construct a system of beliefs and understanding that supported his natural abilities and lifetime in the saddle, while at the same time challenging everything he thought he already knew. Readers are offered the opportunity to grow alongside Maynard, not only as horse lovers, but as people, as he tries and tests and fails and finds—and eventually, chooses which direction to take in the second half of his life.

With a diligence and intelligence that is unique to the genre of “books about horses” and extends well beyond the barn to the broader questions faced by the human race, Maynard has again given us a unfailingly honest telling of one life and the pursuit of fulfilling it. Starting in the Middle is for anyone wondering “what’s next” and trying to be brave enough to go out and look for it.

A new edition of the classic dressage how-to text referenced by the pros, with over 75,000 in print.

Beginning with the three golden rules of dressage training—clarity, consistency, and kindness—dressage legend Jane Savoie walks you through her four stages of dressage education.

Stage One is an introductory course in the basics, and Stage Two covers the "nuts and bolts" of training, including transitions, school figures, and movements. By the time you finish Stage Two, you'll have a happy, responsive horse that understands going forward and being straight; accepts contact so you can communicate with him through the reins; moves in a regular rhythm and a steady tempo in all three gaits; and is proficient in transitions, circles, backing up, lengthening his stride, and goin sideways.

In Stage Three, Savoie translates the secrets surrounding the half-halt, enabling you to put your horse "on the bit," and adding a whole new dimension to your training. You'll even be ready for “the big time" in Stage Four, including collected, medium, and extended gaits; advanced lateral movements; and flying changes. Don't worry, everything in this book is well within the capacity of most horses, whatever their breed, sport, or activity.

With a time-tested, expert-vetted, and supremely easy-to-follow system, this book is for anyone who aims to improve the horse’s body and mind so he is healthy and happy in whatever activity you choose to pursue.

Concrete steps toward forging a strong partnership and clear stream of communication with your horse.

True bonding is the key to happiness, in both human and horse. We are both social creatures who are instinctually drawn toward getting involved with each other, and finding ways to not only create deep trust in another (your horse) but also experiencing it (yourself), creates this kind of bond. In these pages, Anne Krüger-Degener, founder of a systematic approach to communication called HarmoniLogie®, provides a practical guide to how you can build or repair these bonds. Part of this formula is a solid foundation of understanding built from a sense of empathy, benevolence, and compassion. The other part is a clear and unambiguous exchange of information, and this requires more than just love for your horse. It needs a training system ensures a smooth exchange of information between you.

Krüger-Degener knows that horses and humans often “talk past each other.” She helps readers learn to observe horses like a biologist, “listening” with all their senses, and reading not only what is there, but also what is not there. When in doubt of what a horse may be telling us, she guides us toward slower, friendlier, quieter questions, ensuring that we prioritize compromise over dominance in the relationship.

Inspirational case studies of students and horses are shared as readers are taught how to:

• Analyze spatial changes when working with horses.
• Work with activation and defense zones.
• Recognize geometric patterns in communication.
• Resist the urge to speak “gibberish” to horses.
• Translate the bonds built on the ground to the work you do under saddle.
• Build intervals into training that accommodates natural performance curves.
• And much more.

With sensible advice that still puts the horse first, above all, Krüger-Degener’s fundamental keys to making your horse happy are integral pieces to modern-day training and competing, ensuring progress not only as performers, whatever your sport, but as partners in life.

A clever means for accomplishing practical training goals through fun games that engage both horse and handler.

For years, Nancy Bailey toured the East Coast with her Morgan Horse Clifford, bringing him to senior centers, libraries, and hospitals to connect with people of all ages. His natural tendency toward performance and playful personality provided a means for teaching him tricks, and he was a hit, providing comfort and a laugh, wherever he and Bailey went. 

Along the way, Bailey noticed how common horse tricks are useful for building bonds with horses. Many tricks have practical applications, such as Playing Fetch, Posing, and Coming When Called (help prepare your horse for being caught); Standing Still, Lowering Head, Bowing (important lessons in ground manners to keep you safe); Waving Flag, Hugging, Counting with One Foot (keeping serious lessons light); and of course Housetraining (if you are inviting your horse inside a building—imperative)! Now, in these pages, Bailey shares the achievable techniques—using tricks to improve understanding and behavior—that have worked so well for her throughout her career training horses and dogs for movies and commercials. 

With a focus on Clicker Training tools and methodology, Bailey walks us through the basic steps for teaching any horse your favorite tricks, using positive reinforcement and general enjoyment to keep the horse (and you!) interested in learning more. Instructional photographs and clear directions bolstered by Bailey’s warmth for the subject and penchant for silliness ensure that this is the perfect guide to have on-hand, whatever your age, and whatever your preferred breed or riding discipline, as long you want working with your horse to be fun.

A compassionate, fact-based examination of the incredibly complex and extraordinarily divisive issue of too many horses, not enough homes.

Any horse, but for a change of circumstances, can become unwanted.

The unwanted are racetrack rejects, excess ranch stock, foals that did not live up to their breeder’s expectations. They are aged Amish cart horses, horses with chronic lameness issues, the pony a child outgrew. They are show horses, pleasure horses, the pretty horses and the plain. They come in all colors, sizes, and shapes. 

The US equine industry consistently produces more horses each year than the number of appropriate homes, leaving thousands of animals with nowhere to go. Recently, as many as 150,000 of these horses have shipped annually to equine slaughterhouses in Canada, Mexico, and abroad. Others are sold at auction, given away, starved, abused, and abandoned. Just over 1,000 rescues and municipal organizations across the country equipped to handle horses at risk report they are consistently close to or at capacity. Most are stretched to the breaking point when it comes to finances, material resources, and human power. 

Horsewoman and journalist Christina Keim, a veteran of the equine industry, believes the unwanted horse crisis urgently needs our collective voice and attention. Solving it, she suggests, requires a sea change in the face of not just fundamental values and beliefs, but also hard economic realities and deeply held cultural attitudes. In her meticulously researched study of this devastatingly real and present problem so many choose to ignore, she travels the country, bringing readers to livestock auctions, rescues, and therapy centers, describing work and life behind the scenes, and the animals who find themselves there. Keim interviews industry experts, including veterinarians, lawmakers, welfare advocates, and shelter workers, and reviews published data to help separate unwanted horse facts from fantasy. She works to dispel common myths and misconceptions surrounding the “slaughter pipeline,” without taking away from the harsh reality horses face once “in it.” And perhaps most importantly, she showcases the work of many dedicated individuals and groups who are collectively helping to carve out a new niche for the horse that both honors his heritage and can help to preserve his future. 

The Unwanted asks all of us to examine our unconscious and deeply held beliefs about horses, while suggesting ways to better understand how that perspective shapes our opinion about how they—and other non-human animals—should be treated. For there to be hope for a restorative and harmonious solution to the unwanted horse crisis, Keim professes, we must be ready to come to the table well informed, open-minded, and prepared to work for the horse’s best interests, rather than our own.

In this soulful sequel to the crowd favorite Liberty Biscuit, a young teenager learns that no dream ever came true without believing it would.

Katherine Pearl Baker—“Kip” for short—has just gone from being the only child on her family’s rural peach farm to becoming a big sister. As her world and the people in it change in order to welcome a tiny new family member, Kip finds herself afloat, wondering if the place she’s carved out in life is the right one for her, after all. 

While wandering one day in the woods she loves, Kip finds an old fence post bearing odd marks that appear to be symbols from a time long ago. Her discovery leads her to once again uncover a family secret and stories as yet untold about the ones she loves. What she learns tests her cherished relationship with her grandfather, as she recognizes a certain kind of loneliness within him for the first time and then must face what the resolution of that loneliness might mean. 

Adding a starving horse named “Pearl” to her herd of rescued horses and beloved donkey Liberty Biscuit provides Kip a needed purpose, and the barn becomes her refuge as she struggles with her own uncomfortable secret. Desperate to tell her parents but embarrassed and unsure of how, it takes the return of a boy she trusts for her to finally admit that her path might be different than others planned it would be. The trouble is, Kip isn’t sure she can be brave enough to put her voice to her thoughts and share them.

As the sweet-natured Little Pearl gradually regains her strength and beauty through Kip’s thoughtful care, and the wary and distant Raven begins to trust Kip’s presence and her touch, Kip feels the flame of a new dream flicker to life. With the birth of this dream, a level of understanding grows, not only of her horses, but of her grandfather, and eventually, of herself. 

An exquisitely personal exploration of the often painful process of facing down tradition while putting down roots of a whole new way of viewing and doing things.

“If we train and work with our horses without any tools or food rewards,” says horsewoman Elsa Sinclair, “they have the freedom in every moment to tell us how comfortable it is for them. If it’s not comfortable, they simply walk away.”

The idea when working with horses is we can develop our feel and timing “within the comfort zone of the horse.” Allowing the horse the freedom of choice is at the core of Sinclair’s Freedom Based Training® method. The techniques she uses and teaches were first developed as she spent a year with an untouched Mustang mare, seeking to discover whether, without any ropes or halters or treats or sticks, she and her horse could develop a language and a way of deciding to do things together—a collaborative effort rather than one that plays by the rules of horse training tradition. 

Sinclair’s exploratory project with her Mustang Myrnah became the documentary film Taming Wild, viewed by thousands from around the world, and opening new avenues for Sinclair to share her discoveries. 

But Sinclair’s journey began 30 years before Taming Wild, and the lessons and contrasts and hard questions she faced as a lifelong rider and a talented horse trainer, which she bravely shares in these pages, are rich in value for all those considering their own life with horses. Sinclair dares to show how—despite her successes and her ability to make a living and her constant search for different means of handling the inevitable conflicts that arise when two species struggle to communicate—the way things “were done” just didn’t sit right. She dreamed of something else, something different—for some other way for humans to be with horses. 

Sinclair’s style is to teach through storytelling, and the result is the reader walks away from these pages with not only an understanding of why a quest for a more insightful, more collaborative training method was needed, but also how to begin to incorporate the basics of Freedom Based Training in a modern life with horses. Sinclair knew when she started her project with Myrnah that their story might potentially be bigger than just the two of them. Taming Wild, the movie, began a movement, and now her book continues it. Together we will move the needle of horsemanship closer to an ideal, where human expectations are in step with the horses we ride, rather than the other way around. 

Creative concepts and exercises that fundamentally improve your riding foundation, enabling you to excel in any training system or discipline.

When horsewoman and certified personal trainer Joyce Kramer discovered that the riders most committed to fitness were not reaping the benefits of their improved athleticism on horseback, she abandoned the standard protocol for developing strength, endurance, and stability. Her background in the study of movement and holding patterns enabled her to develop her own unique approach to physical training capable of improving riding function and performance in such dramatic ways, it can bring out what she calls the “inner elite rider” in everyone.

Using phenomenal hand-drawn imagery and engaging photographs of her own students at work, Kramer begins her book by clarifying the four most important ingredients to riding in harmony with an equine partner, as well as the aspects that nurture a sense of “feel” in the rider:

• Alignment
• Centering
• Grounding
• Positive Tension

The second part of the book focuses on rider position, deconstructing the body’s sections and again using imagery to enable readers to connect all their “parts” into one cohesive, breathing, supple “whole.” An optimal position allows the horse to carry the rider comfortably and efficiently, promoting performance to the very best of his ability.

Finally, Kramer takes the reader on a journey to the “deep core,” which she has identified as key not only to limiting extraneous movement of the exterior body visible to others, but also to the energy exchange at the most exciting level of connection with a horse. Bones, internal organs, and spinal stabilizers are engaged on the ground and in the saddle, using sound cues, proprioceptive props, and imagery, with mind-blowing results.

With hundreds of images, tips, and exercises that can be modified according to age and ability, and an excitingly fresh perspective, this book can be the key to any rider reaching the next level in the saddle—whether that means excelling in a whole new division of competition, or recovering or rebuilding after time away from the sport. Every page is full of fun, engaging answers to your riding questions, ideas for clearing your stumbling blocks, and the endless promise of pursuing an activity you love in the company of your horse.

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.

<b>Kinesiology taping on human athletes is all the rage: widely used by physical therapists, chiropractors, and personal trainers, we see it on Olympians, runners, basketball players—on amateurs and professionals.</b>

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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. Our equine athletes can benefit hugely from taping techniques, and this terrific guidebook provides the ultimate reference for understanding both the uses of kinesiology tape and its numerous applications. With hundreds of color photographs and step-by-step instructions for the do-it-yourselfer, equine physiotherapist Katja Bredlau-Morich explains the following forms of kinesiology taping:

• Muscle
• Lymphatic
• Scar
• Fascia
• Space
• Hematoma
• Stabilization
• Tendon
• Cross

In addition, numerous case studies demonstrate how taping can change your horse's life, keeping him pain-free and performing his best for years to come.

A decorated Olympian shares her tips for incorporating training outside the arena and on the trail for happier, healthier equine athletes.

Gold medalist Ingrid Klimke has long encouraged competitive equestrians to spend time riding outside the arena or typical fenced or covered training area. Klimke learned to love trail riding and working outside the ring from her father, the admired dressage master Reiner Klimke, who insisted it be a regular part of their weekly schedule.

While Klimke notes that the most important part of “riding out” is for horse and rider to enjoy it, there are also many training and conditioning benefits for the horse. It:

• Promotes relaxation in mind and body.
• Provides variety to everyday training.
• Boosts motivation when under saddle.
• Builds fitness in diverse ways.

In these pages, Klimke provides top-level guidance to making riding outside a regular and rewarding experience for you and your horse. She discusses:

• Equipment considerations when moving from arena to trail.
• Riding with others and best group formations.
• How to stay safe on the trail and in open spaces.
• Riding through water.
• Jumping small obstacles.
• Making specific improvements in a horse’s fitness, stamina, and strength.

Klimke strongly advocates for regularly riding dressage horses out on the trail and in open spaces, outside the “sandbox.” Here she provides ideas for safely making use of the energy a horse gains when schooled in open country. Readers will discover suppling exercises to improve forwardness and focus in the arena, and techniques to help horses develop a calm and unflappable frame of mind.

Chock full of gorgeous photographs of Klimke’s world-class horses demonstrating their own love for being ridden outside the arena, Riding Out is for every horse person in search of ways to increase their connection with their athletic partner while improving the ridden horse’s general welfare. This is professional guidance in a fundamental way to make training more enjoyable and more well-rounded—Klimke’s own astounding successes in international competition prove its incredible value.

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.

An autobiography that captures a young athlete’s battle with a devastating diagnosis and the courage and perseverance that has propelled her to the top of a Paralympic sport.

For seven years, Sydney Collier enjoyed the life of a happy, active child, with caring, supportive parents and siblings. She ran through sprinklers and played with neighborhood friends. And she fell in love with four-legged animals—especially horses. Her mother encouraged her to ride, and Sydney was good at it, finding herself at home in the saddle.

Then a routine eye exam changed everything.

Sydney had the incredibly rare Wyburn-Mason Syndrome, a congenital birth defect that causes arteriovenous malformations where the veins in the brain’s arteries don’t separate as they should from the capillaries. The resulting “clumps” of veins and arteries have increased blood flow and a high risk of aneurysm, and they tend to affect the brain, eye, and facial structures. Fewer than 100 cases of Wyburn-Mason Syndrome have been reported, according to the National Institute of Health, and its rarity means treatment remains controversial and prognosis uncertain. Most diagnoses in infants have been confirmed by pathologists after death.

Wyburn-Mason began to take an immediate toll on Sydney’s body, first with its effect on her vision, and soon severe physical debilitation and excruciating migraines. Over the next eight years, as she and her family tried treatment after treatment, seeking some sort of hope, the only place where Sydney could escape the almost-constant pain for just a little while was on the back of a horse.

During a risky brain surgery in 2009, Sydney suffered a devastating and massive stroke, which inflicted a new level of disability, putting her in a wheelchair. Determined to ride horses again, Sydney entered a rehabilitation center and refused to give up on her goal of one day riding at the high-performance level for the United States. A year later, on a trip with her mother to the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, Sydney had a chance to watch the sport of Para Dressage, and that moment helped finally turn what seemed an overwhelming tide of loss and suffering. A new goal was born: to become a competitor in the Paralympics, and to do it in partnership with the only thing that brought her peace and happiness—horses.

This is the story of a brave young woman’s journey from the doctors’ offices to medal podiums, in her words. Anyone looking for a reason to believe that dreams can be realized, regardless of the odds, will find inspiration in these pages.

A remarkable follow-up from the author of Riding Home: The Power of Horses to Heal 

If you were asked to make a list of all the people you love, how long would it take until you put yourself on the list?

Years ago, when asked this question, Tim Hayes didn’t have an answer. But today, after working with horses for more than 30 years, he not only puts his name on the list—he puts it first.

When humans learn to love themselves, they become more compassionate. They become better parents, children, husbands, wives, partners, and coworkers. In fact, they have more successful relationships in general.

Over the course of his career learning about horses and horsemanship, and eventually teaching it to others, Hayes gained an understanding of the profound social skills evident in horse relationships. This is known by many as herd dynamics and includes what he names as 10 specific qualities:

• Acceptance
• Tolerance
• Patience
• Understanding
• Kindness
• Honesty
• Trust
• Respect
• Forgiveness
• Compassion

In Horses, Humans, and Love, his follow-up to Riding Home—the book Robert Redford called “A beautiful volume of healing and love between man and nature” and Temple Grandin said was “Essential reading”—Hayes explains how and why when humans emulate these 10 qualities of herd dynamics witnessed in horses in their own human relationships, they naturally express and thus demonstrate the true altruistic meaning of what we call “love,” both for others, and for ourselves. 

Through his personal journey and inspiring stories of those he has worked with through the years, Hayes reveals how horses can teach us all how to compassionately reconnect with our shared global humanity and put an end to self-created, antagonistic, superficial human differences such as race, religion, nationality, wealth, and ideology. He shows us how horses have the ability to instantly remind us that we all share the same world, share the same fears and desires, and more than anything else, desperately desire to get along with each other.

In his thoughtful descriptions of his own experience and research, Hayes illustrates his spiritual and philosophical struggles to understand the state of the world today and how we each can work in simple yet impactful ways to make it better. His conclusions, having reflected upon and shared what he has learned through the horse, leave readers with an infectious optimism one might even call hope. His book, a gentle treatise for change from a remarkable horseman, will be enjoyed by all those seeking to improve their own lives and that of our global community.

A memoir of building a life around hospitality and horseback riding, and the delicate dance of creating happiness for others and finding it for oneself.

Starting out with nothing but a tent, a couple of dogs, five horses, and a lot of energy, Sheila Greenfield and her husband Robert Lee set out to build their dream: a company that provided high-end horseback riding vacations, based in the Lower Alentejo, along Portugal’s idyllic southwestern coast. The couple bought an ancient and run-down farm in a remote area of the region’s nature park and worked to transform it into a popular lifestyle hotel—a horseback rider’s paradise.

In her debut memoir, Greenfield tells the story of their unique business’s genesis and its heyday as it became a favored European travel destination, with repeat visitors returning every year. From high-speed gallops through the surf to free-spirited parties under starlit skies, readers will be entranced by the stunning natural world Greenfield’s uniquely sensitive prose brings to life. With honesty and vivid reflection, she captures the unglamorous realities and daily challenges of life as a host, entertainer, employer, and caretaker. It is a story of endurance and discipline, but also of camaraderie and communion as guests had the chance to experience life-altering partnerships with Greenfield’s herd of 35 exceptional pure or cross-bred Lusitano horses, the breed native to Portugal. Along the way, readers meet the horses and learn their backstories, benefitting from the remarkable lessons the animals with both their day-to-day caretakers, and the visiting riders who knew them only for short but intense periods.

Determined to promote the most natural methods of horse care, Greenfield found conscientious tools and practices that promoted her horses’ well-being while enhancing their natural versatility, endurance, courage, and generosity. The result was fit, happy, independently minded horses who gave their all to their riders. And it was this that became the heart of their company’s successful business model.

But all was not smooth sailing, as any interweaving of lives, human and animal, brings to the fore questions, insecurities, complexities, and injuries. After all, no life is simple. With a tenderness of word choice that embodies the author’s own emotional investment in her singular story, Greenfield shares the heartbreak of a young staff member faced with the hardest of life choices, and admits her own uneasiness and uncertainty when confronted with her evolving relationship with Robert and the demanding life they have chosen together. The result is a beautiful book, daring in its richness of detail and generous in its authenticity, certain to be enjoyed by all those who love adventure, or travel, or horses, or profoundly unique stories of coming together and coming undone.

Concepts and skills from the French equitation system, joyfully distilled for modern equestrians and the horses they love to train.

For three decades French Riding Master Cyril Pittion-Rossillon has lived and worked alongside American equestrians and their horses. He has learned from what he calls a “beautiful cultural exchange,” where the riding and training styles from each place, rich in their own history and evolution, informs the other. In this, Pittion-Rossillon’s first book, he illustrates what he has found in his years of education, experience, and this “cultural exchange” to be most helpful to the horse and most enlightening to the rider.

The French tradition of horsemanship is characterized by three principles: 

• Harmony
• Lack of constraint
• Respect for the horse

The result is what Pittion-Rossillon calls “a love letter from France to equestrians worldwide”—a way to approach connection and partnership with the horse that is both humane and successful. With simple, timeless explanations of these principles and practical exercises that encourage readers to explore them, The Horse Is Always First brings ideas to light that Pittion-Rossillon believes will help horses and riders of all levels, disciplines, and performance goals. His years of experience teaching adult equestrians help him frame his knowledge in a way that is highly approachable, and his passion for horsemanship and creative expression ensure an immensely enjoyable journey, from the book’s thoughtfully crafted words to its unique, hand-drawn illustrations.

Designed especially for browsing and beginning with the lesson or exercise you need most, The Horse Is Always First seeks the well-being of your horse before any other goal. This is the heart and soul of the French tradition of riding. Let it be yours.

This is a book for all equestrians interested in increasing their understanding of classical riding theory and technique, and improving their horses’ performance in fair and just ways.

The only book available on creating and managing professional-grade rings, pens, arenas, and tracks for riding and competing horses.

One of the secrets to keeping horses sound, reducing injuries, and enabling them to reach peak performance, whatever their discipline, is careful consideration of the surfaces on which they are trained and conditioned. Intentional steps must be taken to create the ideal conditions with the biomechanics of the horse and specific demands of the sport in mind.

The good news is that decades of study and millions of dollars have been put into the development of best practices at the highest levels of Western, English, and racing competition, and in this meticulously researched book, horse industry veteran Abigail Boatwright boils it all down into a set of guidelines that anyone can use to improve their ground at home. Whether you're starting with an empty field or renovating an existing arena, the expertise Boatwright has gathered will help you make sure the riding and training space you have is the very best it can be: safe for both horse and rider, functional and correct for your chosen equine activity, and prepared to help rather than hinder the development of your horse's performance.

Insight, tips, and advice from leading arena builders and maintenance tool creators supplements expertise specific to a wide range of Western and English disciplines, as well as racing, along with both indoor and outdoor training spaces. Readers find clear instructions in how to:

- Plan your own arena, from the ground up.

- Choose footing materials appropriate for your climate, your horses, and your activities.

- Select arena maintenance tools that are worth the investment.

- Properly prepare and care for your arena to the specifications your sport requires.

- Problem-solve issues with moisture or lack of, footing composition, fencing and kickboards, and so much more.

With professional color photographs and diagrams to illustrate the concepts, as well as hundreds of tips and ideas on how to preserve the horse's health and longevity through proper arena preparation and care, this is not only a great reference book, it's an invaluable insurance policy.

In this fresh look at the fundamental skills needed when training and riding a horse, career educator and lifelong horsewoman Anne Buchanan provides crucial keys so the everyday horse enthusiast can:

Decode how the horse functions.

• Become aware of crucial technicalities of riding that are often overlooked or bypassed.
• Grow a toolbox of training ideas so that every ride has meaningful and attainable goals.
• Easily recall what to do, when, during any ride. 

With the understanding that many riders yearn to be productive with their horses, Buchanan empowers them with well-researched and time-tested answers to the question, "What should I do with my horse today?" She also addresses the building blocks that must be in place so that this question can be answered in many ways, and all of them successful. These include: 

• The “Ground Rules”—essential groundwork and communication skills.
• The six “Nonnegotiables” for good riding—Go, Get Connected, Stay Connected, Transitions, Flexion, and Half-Halt.
• Guidelines for learning on your own—how to carry on and grow your knowledge and skillset, independently when necessary.

In addition, “Study Guides” throughout the book serve as easy-to-use “formulas” so readers can reconstruct what they’ve learned at any time. Buchanan employs mental tools the human brain uses to make sense of information to help readers engage with the material and: 

• Familiarize them with the terminology, concepts, and skills needed for riding.
• Develop the confidence necessary to implement these concepts and skills when working with their horses.
• Help develop day-to-day and long-range plans to reach training and riding goals. 

Buchanan endeavors to translate the experience of riding into words so that readers can think like good riders think, feel what good riders feel, and do what good riders do. The result is the ability to recognize what is working, what isn’t, what you need to do, and whether you achieve it—even when you are riding and training on your own. With engaging illustrations and links to helpful instructional videos throughout, this is both a go-to reference and a launchpoint for every amateur hoping to grow her horsemanship abilities while doing right by her horse.

Today horses are thought of as family members, athletic partners, and patient teachers and therapists. Most of us do our very best to give them all the benefits that contemporary domestic life can offer: comfortable stalls; carefully prepared and regular meals with vitamins and supplements; top-notch veterinary and hoof care; even regular bodywork.

So why do so many horses struggle with health, behavioral, and training problems?

In her groundbreaking book, the first on the subject written specifically with horses in mind, animal enrichment specialist and zookeeper Amanda Goble shows readers exactly what’s missing from the modern horse’s life: enrichment and boredom-relief. By giving equines back the crucial natural behaviors, stimulation, and enriching experiences they crave, we can truly change their lives—and ours as their riders, trainers, and caregivers—for the better.

Far more than a simple list of toys you can buy, No Bored Horses explains why unique equine behaviors matter to horses, and how today’s style of equine care can actually make it impossible for horses to behave like horses, resulting in vices and behaviors that are in essence a cry for help. Goble believes that equestrians can benefit from what zookeepers like her already know: enrichment is more than just fun and games for animals—it is essential for their mental and physical health. The companion animal world has already embraced forms of enrichment as a powerful tool for reducing behavior problems and improving pet-owner relationships. But the equestrian world has lagged behind, without resources or information on how to give their horses the same level of love and care.

Until now.

Leveraging her passion for horses and animal behavior with a zoo professional’s knowledge of enrichment techniques, and coupling them with a strong background in education and the creative space, Goble breaks complicated topics into accessible, punchy bites of content that make sense. And as a lifelong horse owner, she can help us overcome challenges from the ground up—because she’s been (and maybe still is) in our shoes.

Chock full of fantastically engaging original illustrations, diagrams, and charts, plus color photographs and instructions for more than 30 toys, puzzles, and experiences attainable

for all equestrians, regardless of level of experience or size of budget, Goble’s book promises every horseperson can afford to make her recommended changes and ultimately improve a horse’s life. Plus, alongside plenty of inspiration for everyday fun, readers will also find valuable advice for the most challenging situations, like extended stall rest and quarantine.

No Bored Horses is for every desperate equestrian whose horse is going stir-crazy, and for the owner of the horse with behavioral problems that she just can’t seem to fix. And it is for every one of us whose aim is to give our horses the experiences and opportunities that create true well-being in our company.

Over the past few decades, an evolution in how we go about training horses has encouraged horse owners to spend more time handling their horses on the ground in order to achieve good behavior, mutual trust, and a healthy partnership, before they ever think about getting in the saddle. In addition, horses are being discovered as ideal companions by many individuals who may have little interest in riding at all, but who do enjoy pursuing activities that are fun for both human and horse. These changes have created a generation of horsepeople eager to pursue the competitive and social benefits of Horse Agility, the first internationally recognized, competitive horse sport dedicated to those who most enjoy working their horses from the ground. In this terrific handbook, Founder of the International Horse Agility Club and horse trainer Vanessa Bee, shows you all you need to know to try it for yourself.

Like the hugely popular Dog Agility classes enjoyed by countless canines and their handlers, all over the world, Horse Agility involves a colorful obstacle course and subtle directions from a handler. The horse learns to complete the course because he chooses to—not because he is constrained, forced, whipped, prodded, or bribed. Bee explains there is no reason the horse cannot enjoy your time together so much, he will choose to "play" with you—over, under, and through obstacles, without a lead rope, even when loose in a large, grassy pasture. 

With The Horse Agility Handbook you can try Horse Agility today. Learn how to:

• Understand Horse Agility goals
• Get the equipment you need
• Read your horse’s posture
• Direct your horse’s feet
• Practice beginning agility movements
• Increase “softness” in your horse
• Become your horse’s “guide”
• Work your horse “free” (at liberty)
• Negotiate agility obstacles
• Build agility obstacles
• Plan agility courses
• Organize competitions and “play days”
• Start a Horse Agility club near you

With succinct, clearly explained lessons in everything from horse handling and body language to directions for obstacle and course construction, plus full color photographs throughout, this is the ideal introductory book for anyone interested in giving the sport of Horse Agility a try, or for those looking for out-of-the-box training ideas to keep horses interested in learning and happily engaged in all their interactions with you.

A clearly illustrated guide to the best exercises for suppling the horse's body and relaxing the horse’s mind.

The goal of a relaxed and willing horse crosses disciplines. Whether striving toward competitive goals in the show ring, working long hours on the ranch, or simply enjoying a leisurely trail ride, a horse that is supple in body, relaxed in mind, and light in the hand will be better able to perform, and stay sound and healthy while doing it.

The exercises in these pages are a classically correct and horse-friendly starting point to building a routine you can rely on to prepare your horse in the best way possible for training or performance, or to cool him down afterward. The author has organized them in three categories:

• Exercises to relax and supple the horse from back to front (longitudinally).
• Exercises to relax and supple the horse from the circle and other arena tracks and figures.
• Exercises to relax and supple the horse from side to side (laterally).

 Addressing both general training targets and specific issues, the relaxation exercises include:

• A summary of their benefits.
• Explanations of what they are not likely to accomplish (their limitations).
• Prerequisites that ensure the exercise is done safely and correctly.
• Instructions on how to begin and complete it.
• Troubleshooting—an idea of where things are likely to go wrong with either the rider or the horse.

With lovely photographs for inspiration, and explanatory illustrations and diagrams to help instruct readers in the practical application of each lesson, this is a fundamental book for all riders who desire a healthy, happy equine partner who can perform his very best with ease and comfort.

A young woman’s struggle with marriage and motherhood on some of the most remote ranches in the American West.

Jolyn Young grew up in the “real” northern California—the forgotten area at the tip-top of the state with small towns, extreme poverty, and about 40 miles to the Oregonian mountains. In a childhood defined by a subdivision, she decided she wanted to be a cowboy, and two years out of college, she saw that dream through, taking a job at a Nevada ranch in the search for a lifestyle subsisting of horses, cattle, and the wide open range.

Falling in love was never part of the plan.

Jim Young was tall, strong, and could ride a bronc and rope a steer like no one’s business. And before she knew it Jolyn found her cowboyin’ dreams overtaken by a new and intoxicating cowboy reality. With long days side by side in the saddle, nights sharing a bedroll, and the deep satisfaction that came with hard physical work in a place filled with natural beauty, it seemed life was all a strong-willed young woman might want it to be.

But when a baby-to-be suddenly spun her wild romance into a very practical marriage, and one decrepit ranch trailer home led to the next, Jolyn found her young family desperately seeking stability in what is by definition a transient lifestyle that moves with the seasons. Often hours from the nearest grocery store and half-a-day from the closest hospital, pregnancy, childbirth, and illness required a do-it-yourself mentality. With days, sometimes weeks on her own as Jim worked the farthest reaches of whatever ranchlands they currently called home—and first with one child to care for…and eventually with three—Jolyn fought profound loneliness, finding comfort in writing and company in her camera.

As the cowboy lifestyle pulled them further toward the brink of civilization and Jim’s drinking became a liability, losing him jobs and sending them packing, again, to yet another, different, distant cow camp, Jolyn struggled with the knowledge that she was choosing a life of scrubbing filthy mobile home floors and bunkhouse bathrooms in order to keep her family together. It would take leaving it, and Jim, for her to determine whether a world built on risk could coexist with the responsible mother she had needed to become.

With a memoir that is brave, honest, and heartbreakingly funny, Jolyn Young has written the story of every young adventure-seeker, every new mother, and every partner who has loved an alcoholic in a whole new light—that of a campfire, on the edge of the desert night, miles away from cell phone reception.

For six decades, Lynn Palm has been a mainstay of the horse training, showing, and clinicing industry. Her successes in diversity in training and the development of willingness and ability across disciplines are unparalleled. She has four Superhorse Titles—a prize awarded to a horse that demonstrates a broad skillset and proficiency in multiple sports. In these pages, Lynn shares the eight keys to her success in training and competing, and how you, too—whether you’re eventing or team penning—can shape a horse with a good attitude, correct movement, healthy biomechanics, and top-notch conditioning. A “Superhorse” will take you farther for longer, and you’ll enjoy every minute of it.

Readers will learn how:

With a rich mix of stories curated from years of horse adventures, practical ideas you can put to work in your own arena, and exercises to incorporate in your daily practice, Finding Your Superhorse is the rare inspiring read that teaches. Throughout, Lynn’s warmth of character and intense commitment to horses, horse people, and improving the industry that has given her a life and a livelihood shine through, guiding us all toward what’s possible and the “super” in every horse.

The ultimate guide to the “complete” riding horse—whether a performance, working, or “just for fun” prospect. 

Professional horseman Sean Patrick’s now legendary Countdown is the most clear, thorough, “doable” system of horse training available. Quite simply, you begin at Lesson Number 33 and count your way down through the basic exercises—the “primary education”—every horse needs. And when you get to Lesson 1, you’ve done it; you’ve prepared your horse for advanced work in any number of equestrian disciplines. You can’t get lost along the way. There’s no room for confusion. The happy result? Sean trains you to be a trainer. 

Whether your horse is a foal or five, green or educated, well-started or lacking fundamentals, he will benefit from the Countdown—a true “foundation” program, serving to prepare him for the endless variety of activities and “jobs” horses perform today. From indispensable handling, “sacking-out,” and tying exercises, to how you, the rider, can control the different parts of the horse’s body from the ground and the saddle; from mounting on both the left and the right to performing flawless flying lead changes, you’ll be amazed at how effective and efficient this program is. In this book you’ll find:

• Explanations of the “conditioned response,” the Five Control Points, and how to recognize and use a “give.”

• Advice for building the horse’s confidence, knowing when to “push” but most importantly, how to be fair.

• Lessons in conscientious use of the round pen for teaching movement, turning, and inviting the horse in.

• Progressive steps for preparing for first rides and having them be successes.

• Tips for developing the back-up, “whoa,” and seat stops without stress.

• Exercises for achieving a correct and soft collection. 

Because you are the one teaching your horse, you also have the opportunity to build your own skill set. Sean promises that by the end of the Countdown, readers will have a deeper understanding of how horses learn; an improved ability to gauge the pressure necessary to communicate with the horse and pace teaching accordingly; a capacity for recognizing behaviors (both good and bad); and an intuitive understanding of the root of a problem and the steps to take to work on it. In essence, he helps you become self-sufficient and ready to take your horse that next step, whether along the rail, down the trail, or into the show pen.

Does a family mystery stand in the way of saving Kip’s best friend? 

Katherine Pearl Baker—“Kip” for short—is the only child on her family’s rural peach farm. She longs for a pet to ease the loneliness. Unfortunately, her father has an angry opposition to all animals—horses in particular. Why he dislikes them is a confounding mystery. 

Hiding in the woods on the Fourth of July, Kip encounters a bedraggled donkey with one eye and a floppy ear. Immediately smitten and compelled to protect him, she feeds him biscuits and takes him home. When it is discovered the donkey fled an abusive owner, Kip’s father finally relents, reluctantly allowing him to stay. 

Kip is elated when her grandfather agrees to help her foster the donkey, who she names “Liberty Biscuit,” along with two emaciated horses removed by the local sheriff from the same home, as the cruelty case goes to court. While caring for the animals, Kip’s happiness is overshadowed by a shocking discovery in a trunk in the family farm’s hayloft—a faded photograph of her father as a boy that reveals secrets long kept. 

A court order to return the horses, and even worse, Kip’s beloved Liberty Biscuit, to the owner who had starved and beaten them, throws Kip’s world into turmoil. She knows she must find a way to keep them, or she will have betrayed the best friend she has ever had. But saving the animals means risking the complete unraveling of her family as she exposes the long-buried truth about a tragic accident and a hurt like she’s never known before. 

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.

One day in 1983, Annemor Sundbø of Kristiansand, Norway, became the owner of a "shoddy mill," a facility designed to process rags, scraps, and other discarded fabric into reusable material. However, Sundbø wasn't interested in running the mill; she was drawn instead to the store of thousands of mittens, gloves, and other knitted castaways, bundled into a warehouse on the mill's grounds, awaiting their turn. These well-used discards were in fact a treasure trove of traditional Norwegian patterning and technique, and the beginning of her life-long effort to document, preserve, and reconstruct classic Norwegian designs—dozens of which are assembled here in a timeless collection, now available for the first time in paperback.

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.

Discover how to increase the effectiveness of the time you spend in the saddle, whether you are a beginning hunt seat rider or a seasoned competitor. Geoff  Teall—noted judge, trainer, and clinician—helps you put together an unbeatable package, including:

• Setting riding goals.
• Finding the right horse and instructor.
• Developing confidence and facing your fears.
• Dressing for success in and out of the show ring.

Geoff then demystifies the jumping course, showing you how even the most challenging, demanding patterns can be simplified and easily practiced at home. You’ll discover the secrets of:

• Walking any course.
• Seeing distances.
• Single jumps and straight lines.
• Jumping from a turn.
• Angled jumps and end jumps.
• Combinations, in-and-outs, and more!

Whether the first step on the road to a medal, or a tool to revitalize an experienced rider’s passion for the sport, Geoff Teall on Riding Hunters, Jumpers and Equitation will help put the pieces together for that perfect, polished round.

The best of Nina Granlund Sæther’s designs, drawing on a wealth of traditional Norwegian patterning.

Nina Granlund Sæther—the best-selling author of Mittens from Around Norway, Socks from Around Norway, and Knits from Around Norway—is a fan favorite of knitters worldwide for her attention to detail, her engaging color combinations, and her talent for breathing fresh life into Norwegian textile history. Now, she’s brought together a selection of her personal favorites from her previous titles, plus a handful of brand-new patterns, in this one-of-a-kind collection of two-of-a-kind projects: over 40 patterns for both mittens and socks, inspired by traditional designs from every corner of Norway.

• Discover tips and tricks for casting on, binding off, heel shaping, working multi-color stranded knitting, finishing mittens and socks successfully, and more
• Explore a wide variety of techniques and stitches, including ribbing, lace and openwork, cables, two-color knitting, and braids
• Learn about handcrafting traditions and patterns from all over Norway

Every movement of the rider’s body starts in the brain. In these pages, Olympic competitor and coach Marc Nölke explains how to direct the specific areas of the brain that control stability, sense of rhythm, precision of movement, breathing, and vision. With his unique brain-focused exercises, riders learn how to change the input sent to their brain to get healthier, more athletic output, which can include intentional and unintentional movement, and functions of circulatory, hormonal, or immune systems.

The brain decides how you ride and how you feel when you ride based on the input you send it. Traditionally equestrians have worked to improve the brain’s output (riding skills) by training the output (riding skills). Nölke’s innovative “Neuro-Rider Program” is based on achieving better output (better riding skills), not by endlessly practicing the movements, but instead by changing the input—what you send to your brain for it to process and interpret.

In a series of over 40 unique exercises, Nölke helps riders improve the signals they send to their brain from the:

Regular practice will improve the rider’s overall performance as well as address specific issues, such as:

In time, Neuro-Rider training will make you feel lighter on horseback, help you follow the horse’s movements more naturally, increase your relaxation in the saddle, and enable you to become more effective overall. With options to perform exercises on or off the horse, this book offers a practical way for any rider—regardless of age, ability, discipline, or time—to steadily improve in distinct and profound ways.

Is it possible to be simultaneously passionate about winning in an equestrian sport and about the welfare of horses?

Professional polo player Adam Snow and sport horse veterinarian Shelley Onderdonk answer this undeniably twenty-first-century question with a resounding, “Yes!” They have spent a lifetime together, nurturing Adam’s astounding career at the top of his sport (he is the last American polo player to achieve the perfect 10-goal handicap) with the artful, conscientious care and training of the equine partners he needed to be the best. And Shelley’s twenty-five years as an equine veterinarian have been spent helping sport horses compete at the highest levels in other disciplines, as well—including reining, racing, eventing, show jumping, and dressage—while always prioritizing long-term health and well-being.

In these pages, Adam and Shelley share the keys to their success…and the struggles and celebrations that taught them along the way. Through the lens of their disparate and yet synchronous experiences in the intense realm of world-class equestrian sport, they explore topics of concern and those worthy of consideration, including the:

• Role of natural training methods and horse-human communication

Smart, engaging, and honest, this book is the answer to the online debates and the boardroom arguments. With intelligence and experience, the authors provide the much-needed antidote to the dark side of horse sports. “Our story is an explicit acknowledgement that doing good for the horse is good for results in the competitive arena,” they write. “Our task is to explain our method, and yours is to prove that it can be replicated.”

A favorite storyteller sheds new light on the never-ending process of becoming better for the horse.

Over 30 years ago, renowned horseman and popular storyteller Mark Rashid’s first book, Considering the Horse, was published. In it he shared his experiences with horses and people, subtly delivering practical lessons in horsemanship and life in a conversational style that resonated with audiences around the world. Now Rashid considers all that has happened in the years that have passed since that first book was published—the transformative moments and impactful individuals who have helped shape his philosophies and methods since then. With his distinctive voice, he shepherds readers through topics of relevance in the equestrian industry while telling more of his life story, resulting in an engaging memoir-style read that remains rich in nuggets of wisdom that you can put right to work in your daily interactions with horses.

In For the Love of the Horse, Rashid explores:

• Ways he tried to find his own way of being with horses without actually knowing what he was looking for.
• How the art of aikido, and the teachers he had, changed his ideas about life and relationships outside the dojo.
• How it feels to be soft (and how it feels to not be), and how Rashid learned to stay true to the principles of softness as he understood them, regardless of the situation.
• How he broke out of the pattern of assigning human emotions and comprehension to horses.
• The impact neuroscientist Dr. Steve Peters had on Rashid’s understanding of the horse’s behaviors and responses and how they correlate to what is actually going on in the horse’s brain.
• The power of observation and learning how to be still, even in the midst of activity.
• The difference between trying to connect with the horse versus allowing the horse to connect with you.
• How over time Rashid has shifted from trying techniques that alter a horse’s behavior, to adjusting his own thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in order to help the horse feel safer.

In his familiar way, Rashid takes readers on a journey that rewards with both adventure and education, finding new inroads in our attempts to become better company and fairer caregivers to horses. With his thoughtful lifetime of study leading by example, we are all encouraged to consider how far horsemanship has come and how bright its future might be.

Van Hargis grew up in the saddle on an East Texas ranch, training his first horse at age 12 and eventually making a living starting cutting and reining colts, many of which would leave his hands to become champions. Naturally outgoing (labeled a “talker” by teachers in grade school), Hargis shared stories and lessons from his work with horses early on. Here, in his first book, he reaches out to readers with a collection of down-to-earth, highly relatable tales—experiences that, over the years, have impacted his own horsemanship and life in significant ways. Readers absorb fundamental knowledge of horses skillfully embedded in genuine anecdotes straight off the ranch:

• How Grandma's cross-stitch laid the groundwork for more patience when starting colts and trailer loading.
• How a daughter's temper tantrum helped perfect timing of the release of pressure.
• How the way Mom worked the gate when sorting cattle taught you to look for what the horse really wanted to achieve.
• How playing on championship football teams provided the understanding of true partnership between rider and horse.

With easy-to-remember quotes to anchor what readers learn and practical tools that can be used in the arena or on the trail, by Western or English riders, The Horse Is My Teacherimparts the principles of great horsemanship while also inspiring each of us to apply those same principles to further our own personal growth and success.

A third volume of imaginative, adventuresome mitten and sock patterns from hip, young Finnish knitwear designer Lumi Karmitsa.

The highly anticipated third installment of this popular set takes knitters on a brand-new and freshly exhilarating journey, filled with color and imagination: roaring tigers, cunning foxes, wide-eyed fawns, whirling flowers, and so much more! With Lumi Karmitsa's creativity, inventiveness, and unforgettable color combinations coming to life on every page, this is an endlessly charming collection full of design delights no knitter will want to miss.

The first complete reference to help equestrians make the changes needed to ensure social license and the ability to ride and compete horses for years to come.

Renowned wild horse ecologist and equine behaviorist Mary Ann Simonds provides a practical soup-to-nuts manual for understanding how horses think, feel, learn, communicate, and interact with each other and with humans. Integrating over 30 years of field research, identifying functional social behaviors in wild horses with her lifelong professional practice working with equestrians solving equine behavioral issues, Simonds helps readers gain a strong foundation into the emotional and cognitive lives of horses and explore various horse-human relationships. She provides numerous tools for assessing personalities, communicating with horses, and understanding how horses learn, with an emphasis on improving care and reducing stress in competitions and sports.

In three parts, each introduced by top researchers and scientists in the equestrian field, readers will: 

• LEARN the natural history and social ecology of free-roaming wild horses.

• UNDERSTAND the instincts, learned behaviors, gender differences, social roles, and social bonds that are the driving factors in horse culture.
• DISCOVER how adaptable horses really are, and how that makes them an ideal species to share their social lives with humans.
• FOCUS on horse-human relationships applying the knowledge from Part One to reduce equine stress and improve communication in the management and training of all horses.
• EXPLORE how to better assess the horse’s personality and emotions, understand his learning style, and use various communication channels to establish trust, improve friendship, and enhance performance.
• ADDRESS the ethics of horse sports and ask the questions needed to ensure horse welfare in all the disciplines.
• CONSIDER dozens of changes related to horse management and competition recommended by respected industry professionals.
• BE EMPOWERED to be an influencer to improve the lives of horses, whatever the profession, breed, or sport.

Filled with hundreds of color-coded tips and beautiful photos, and backed by science, personal stories, and unique insights, readers have multiple ways to quickly find useful information and apply it to their own horse-human situations. Whether preparing for a horse show, working with young stock, riding on the trails, adopting a wild horse, running a rescue, or just hoping to improve your communication and relationships with all horses, this book is a catalyst for much-needed change in the equine industry. 

Invite light, warmth, and the freshness of spring into your home in time for Easter! Designer Thea Rytter, a fan favorite for her beautifully subtle color palettes and undeniable creativity, is back with a brand-new selection of decorations, ornaments, and more—including both well-known Easter classics such as colorful eggs and fluffy hares, and fun, festive springtime designs for flowers, feathers, and a sweet, soft friend or two. Welcome the season in style, with cozy, charming, characteristically Norwegian Easter knits.

• Start small and work your way up: quick single-color patterns keep it simple for beginners, and wrapped-yarn projects like birds and feathers are perfect for kids
• Once you've mastered the basic patterns for eggs, flowers, and miniature birds—shake things up with color changes, beads, embroidery, and more!
• Step-by-step instructions, full-color photographs, and additional guidance for techniques like short-row shaping, to guide knitters who've never tackled them before

While working with ground poles is not new to most riders, incorporating them in training with creativity and regularity may require a little inspiration and guidance. Enter Ann Katrin Querbach and her positive and persuasive ideas for developing the horse’s body and movement in healthy and correct ways over poles. With progressive exercises at all three gaits, on the longe line and under saddle, she provides a basis for building a strong foundation, step by step. Or, just as easily, the reader can cherry-pick the exercises best suited to resolving a particular issue or improving a certain quality.

Readers will find exercises that focus on:

• Rhythm and tempo

• Forwardness

• Straightness

• Transitions

• Collection and lengthening

• And building the horse’s abs, legs, and hind end

Pole work develops coordination, balance, and concentration in both horse and rider. It helps the rider develop a feel for a “correct” trot, active hindquarters, and lifted back in the horse. The rider learns to maintain “positive tension” (“engagement”) in her body, while still remaining relaxed enough to follow the horse’s movement. The horse must lift his hind legs significantly higher than usual in order to clear the poles, developing the coordination of the dorsal and ventral muscle chains, lifting the horse’s back and engaging his neck. He is encouraged to build muscle in a manner that’s both systematic and correct. This collection of exercises seeks to provide all these benefits and more, not only for the dressage rider seeking to correct or optimize the elements judged in competition but also for the recreational rider wishing to keep her horse fit and sound over a lifetime.

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.

Janet Foy’s expertise, fundamental solutions, good stories, and good humor are destined to bring out the best in dressage riders and their "not-so-perfect" horses everywhere.

Thousands of riders pursue the sport of dressage across the globe, and the majority do so on a budget and with the horse they already have, or quite simply, the one they can afford. This means riders daily face the challenge of mastering one of the world's most esteemed equestrian pursuits on horses that may not be bred specifically for the task, or even if they have been, may not be top prospects for any number of reasons—behavior quirks, conformational impediments, age or soundness, you name it.

International dressage judge, clinician, and riding coach Janet Foy has ridden many different horses in the course of her riding and horse training career—different size, shapes, colors, and breeds—to the highest levels of dressage competition. 

Now she has compiled her best tips for training and showing the horse you have (or the horse you love, despite his “faults”) through the levels. With lists of common “imperfections and evasions” experienced when riding movements—from simple transitions and leg-yield to zig-zags, tempi changes, and piaffe—followed by training tips and creative ways to “perfect” the “imperfections.” Riders are bound to discover countless ways to apply Janet’s advice to their dressage pursuits. 

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.

New from Scandinavian knit designers Heidi and Pia Johannesen, this classic selection of holiday designs evokes the spirit of the season with compelling simplicity: red and green, black and white, plus a touch of gold and glitter to bring the magic of Christmas to life. From bells and hearts to elves and stockings, everything you need to crochet yourself a quintessential Christmas is right here at the end of your hook.

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 proven rider training system to sharpen position and vastly improve skill in the saddle.

Whether competing in the show ring or riding at home on the trail, every rider wants to be more secure and balanced in the saddle and effective with their aids. This innovative guide uses highly effective exercises to develop your athleticism on horseback so you can say goodbye to common rider problems, such as:

• Swinging lower legs.
• Stiff arms.
• Trouble balancing over the horse’s center of gravity.
• Half-halts that go unanswered.
• Incorrect mechanics, on the flat and in the jumping position.
• And more.

Division I collegiate riding coach Sally Batton has spent over 30 years perfecting her methods specifically designed to refine and polish riders, whatever their level. In her work with hundreds of varsity team athletes, she found that trouble with position and lack of specific horsemanship skills happens for two reasons: First, riders may not have an understanding of the biomechanics required to maintain the correct position. Second, they may not have attained the suppleness and strength required to maintain a fluid, elastic position on the horse.

Her secret to combatting these difficulties won her teams dozens of championships and awards through the years. Here you learn both her time-proven warm-up and her exciting “Equicize” routine: a series of progressive exercises similar to aerobics on horseback. Batton’s recommendations help you build and strengthen the major muscle groups used by equestrian athletes, and all exercises can be customized so you can raise or lower the intensity as needed to suit your age, level, and riding style. Plus, readers find dozens of creative training “hacks” that will get them on their way to greater levels of riding proficiency in no time at all.

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.

Favorite lessons from the pros to improve your horse’s adjustability, connection, and performance over fences.

This modern-day quick reference to more than 50 grids and jumping exercises brings the best of top international training and instruction into your home ring. Build your skillset and your horse’s confidence and conditioning with a fantastic selection of lessons you can use to:

• Diversify your training routine.
• Sharpen your horse prior to competition.
• Address specific problem areas.

Within these pages you’ll have regular access to the tips and tricks that have brought some of the most accomplished riders and trainers professional success. Amateur eventer Margaret Rizzo McKelvy has compiled an unparalleled collection of exercises for any jumping discipline—eventing, show jumping, hunters, and equitation—by tapping the expertise of a remarkable group of top equestrians never before found together in one instructional book, including Olympians Anne Kursinski, Phillip Dutton, Kim Severson, Ingrid Klimke, and Boyd Martin. Plus, you’ll find:

• Easy-to-follow diagrams and clear explanations make it a snap to recreate the lessons at home.
• Workouts are easy to modify for smaller or larger arenas.
• Recommendations help you adjust exercises as needed relative to the experience level of riders and horses.

This one-of-a-kind resource is not only a fabulous addition to any rider’s training toolbox, it is invaluable to coaches and instructors looking for ideas and inspiration to help keep their students engaged and growing as riders and educated horsepeople.

Celebrate the season with handmade traditional Scandinavian decorations.

Christmas markets and celebratory feasts, elves and bells, mulled wine and gingerbread—the holiday season in Scandinavia is steeped in traditions long honored. Now you can welcome that feeling, along with friends and family, into your own home, with this collection of hand-crafted accessories for the tree, the windowsill, holiday place settings, and more. Over a dozen designs inspired by Nordic customs and the natural world are worked in beautifully coordinated colors that can suit any interior. From classic stars and Christmas balls to glittering trumpets and miniature stockings, these wonderfully quick projects are satisfying to make, to hang, and to gift to others.

Inside, you'll find:

• Instructions for all special techniques and stitches, guiding you through increases, decreases, short rows, and more.
• Suggestions for embellishing with embroidery, beads, and shimmering metallic yarns to make every pattern shine its brightest.
• Full-color photographs illustrating every project with ideas for decorative holiday looks and festive arrangements.

Your key to success in the hunter and equitation ring, from one of the sport’s classic judges and competitors, completely revised for today's rider.

Revised and updated with the most current USEF rules and tests, Judging Hunters and Hunter Seat Equitation is the world’s favorite book on how to judge hunter show competitions, and understand exactly how they are judged. This must-have resource gives anyone competing in or judging hunter or equitation classes the edge, with professionally reviewed and approved sections that examine:

• Conformation: structural composition; physical defects versus blemishes.
• Hunters Under Saddle and Over Fences: length of stride, frame, and straightness; rhythm, transitions, impulsion, and bending; locomotion and form faults; honest and dishonest horses.
• Equitation on the Flat and Over Fences: rider position; cadence, collection, and lengthening; approaching fences and in the air; USEF tests.

Written with both the aspiring judge and the avid competitor in mind, the book offers invaluable explanations of what judges look for as well as the training methods necessary to accomplish the desired results. More than 100 color photographs with top equestrians in the tack demonstrate correct and incorrect positions in both horses and riders, sharpening the reader's eyes while also providing an unparalleled foundation of knowledge that makes self-correction in the saddle possible. In addition, readers will find a primer on both understanding and completing the Judge's Card, with explanations of numerical scoring, terminology, abbreviations, symbols, comments, and general impressions. This remarkably complete two-in-one reference can be the difference in your success, whether in the ring or in the judge’s box.

A smart, funny memoir exploring the evolution of a man and his relationship with his daughters as they grow up in the grips of the equestrian life.

When Chad Oldfather found himself the parent of a toddler who, out of nowhere, became obsessed with horses, he had no idea what awaited. With his younger daughters similarly afflicted, Oldfather was soon enmeshed in the consuming subculture of barns, riding, and horse shows, learning not just about the animals that so inexplicably drew his girls, but also about the people and personalities that populated the spaces around them.

A book for parents, whatever their children's interests, and for equestrians, who know what it's like “on the inside” (but maybe not what it's like on the outside, looking in), A Man Walks into a Barn is a wise, witty, and, at times, critical look at both the light and dark sides of youth sports, and equestrianism in particular. Readers find themselves rooting for Oldfather as he struggles to be the best dad he can, supporting a child's dreams in the face of long odds and extraordinary expenses. He writes about his parenting choices and the strange world he finds himself in with humor and honesty, critically examining riding's high cost and the inaccessibility and inequality that results. Aware of the flaws and dangers of youth athletics, as well as the benefits, he strives to protect his girls while supporting their ambitions the best ways he knows how.

Filled with the joys, heartbreaks, and life lessons that come from training, competition, and time in the company of horses, this is mostly a book about family, and the strong bonds that can form when parent and child join hands and pursue a passion together.

A delightfully honest look at the realities of starting out with horses…when you're getting older.

Are you a woman at midlife or beyond? Have you just discovered you have a passion for horses? Or maybe you've now found time for them after years devoted to a job and family? Surveys show that riders over the age of 40 are the fastest growing segment of the equestrian world, with those age 65 and above seeing the biggest jump—so you are far from alone!

With carefully curated guidance collected over years of horsing around, rider and writer Fran Severn wants to embolden and empower you with tips, lessons, and advice as you begin enjoying a life with horses in it. In these pages, you'll find options for:

• Riding…and not riding (but still having horses in your life).
• Finding an instructor and being a good student.
• Coming to grips with what your body can and can't do in terms of fitness, weight, and fear.
• Understanding the realities of arthritis, menopause, and changing vision, hearing, and breathing.
• Knowing the rules for buying, leasing, and boarding horses.
• Dealing with family and horse-related finances.
• And much more.

Riders of a Certain Age provides an important reference to any older individual who craves the companionship of a horse and the sisterhood that can go along with it.

A hilarious comic treasury from the popular online equestrian series “The Idea of Order.”

If there is one thing that equestrians have learned to do over time, it is laugh at themselves.

The horse world is a crazy, wonderful, ridiculous, awful, beautiful place, and horse people know it. We spend an inordinate amount of money on insanely fragile animals with a well-recognized ability to get hurt just enough to be out of work most of the time and eating and sleeping all of the time. We dress ourselves, and our horses, in silly outfits, obsess over diet, exercise, and footwear (for the horse), and invest in regular massages, chiropractic work, acupuncture sessions, and pedicures (again, for the horse).

Morgane Schmidt knows all about the madness that comes with the equine territory, having owned and competed horses in eventing and dressage for years. A lifelong fan of the classic equestrian cartoons penned by internationally renowned artist Norman Thelwell, she began her own comic series in 2011, sharing deftly funny reflections on life with horses with an avid online fanbase. Ten years later, her witty observations and fabulously rendered characters have been brought together in one immensely entertaining collection. Featuring both viral favorites and never-before-seen comics created exclusively for this book, Life with Horses Is Never Orderly offers endless laughs and on-point commentary about the equestrian world and those insane enough to fumble along within it, knowing full well absolutely nothing is within their control.

With plenty of evergreen humor that always applies, hot topics and seasonal hits, and cartoons inspired by current events in the “outside world” that some equestrians are willing to admit actually does exist, readers will find hundreds of reasons to feel good about all the bad decisions they’ve probably made because they “love horses,” and a whole lot to laugh about

Ever since her ground-breaking book Viking Patterns for Knitting was published, Elsebeth Lavold has been recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on cabling. It was within the pages of her international bestseller—described as “an indispensable milestone in 20th century knitting literature”—that Lavold first introduced the world to her own innovation: using lifted increases to create interlace patterns, and bringing new life to the ornamental heritage of the Vikings as adornment on modern knitwear.

In the years since, Lavold has sought new ideas and “design cousins” to Viking patterns to explore with her needles, and has undertaken a fascinating journey through archives, museums, libraries, and the internet. In more than a decade of continued research, she has studied cultures from all over the globe in search of similar types of ornamental expression, creating the foundation for this exciting new book: a glorious collection rich in imagery, history, patterns, and designs.

• Dozens of different sources of inspiration, catalogued and placed within their cultural and historical context, from all around the world.
• Complete, step-by-step instructions for an abundance of fresh and stunningly beautiful knit designs, presented in the book with full-color photographs.
• Lavold’s own painstaking analysis of a huge number of interlace motif types, displayed in both swatch and chart form, to allow you to compose your own patterns based on her research.

An intensely moving memoir of a young man who left heartbreak in Maine to seek healing Out West in the company of horses.

Growing up in a small Maine town, Chris Lombard had never ridden a horse—never even touched one. But on one fateful night, as what he’d thought was a happy twenty-something life full of love and possibility fell suddenly apart, he met two horses and looked into their eyes. What he saw inspired him to leave everything he had, and everything he didn’t have, behind, and go in search of what was missing.

With the little he needed packed in his ten-year-old Pontiac Grand Prix, and little more to go on than a belief that someone would give him a chance, Chris headed west to find work on a horse ranch. His journey took him first to the mountains of Colorado, then the Hollywood Hills of California, and finally, the wild borderlands of Southern Arizona. The settings changed but the same lessons came in quiet moments, movingly captured in these pages: watching horses, reaching out to them, swinging upon their backs. Chris learned new meanings for words—presence, connection, softness, and balance—the elements of good horsemanship feeding a deep hunger he didn’t know he had. But learning to ride a horse, learning to communicate with him, to teach him things, these required qualities Chris was only beginning to cultivate. Human nature plans; it pushes and it rushes. And it would take a terrible accident to awaken a whole new awareness for time and space, and Chris's place within it, beside a horse.

In the austere beauty of the Sonora Desert, Chris met a cowboy whose intense love for life on the back of a horse held a deep sadness at bay, but only for so long. Their brief time together, working land and livestock, would bring Chris to the realization that the richly fulfilling new life he’d found held all the answers he sought, but only if he could ultimately leave it behind.

Evocatively written, interweaving the author’s growing understanding of horses and how we connect with them with his deeply personal experiences, Land of the Horses brings to life a young man’s transformation alongside the horses, people, and dramatic landscapes of the American West. Healing heartbreak, falling and getting back on, searching for something true—this is a story that is in all of us. And it shows we are all capable of creating the life we truly want to live.

Roy Rogers and Dale Evans made their first movie together in 1944, and so began a dazzling partnership with a devoted public following that lasted 52 years. In this charming photographic biography, readers meet the talented young man and woman who would eventually become the royal couple of B-rated Westerns, a reign that would last more than a decade. The dynamic pair, adored by fans for both their acting and their singing abilities, costarred in 29 movies and recorded more than 200 albums together, eventually parlaying their fame to the small screen with a half-hour television The Roy Rogers Show, as well as a comic book series and a long list of merchandise (including clothes, boots, and toys), bearing their names.

In these pages, rarely seen personal photos and striking publicity shots capture all aspects of Rogers’ and Evans’ life, including:

• The rise of their stardom, from the box office to Broadway.
• The mutual friendship that evolved into a proposal of marriage, delivered from the back of Roy’s famous Palomino horse, Trigger.
• Trigger himself—the “golden boy” of the horse world.
• The nine children they adored, and the heartbreaking loss of three.
• Their time spent visiting children in hospitals and orphanages.
• The strong faith that held them together through the years and the challenges they faced, professionally and personally.

With a complete list of filmography for both stars and a look back at the artifacts once visible to the public at the Roy Rogers—Dale Evans Museum, this book transports nostalgic readers back to a time when the good always save the day and lovers ride off together into the sunset to the now-famous tune written by Evans that would become the couple’s theme: “Happy Trails.” It is both a classic reminder for aficionados and a beguiling introduction to new fans, demonstrating how even when both career and family are in the limelight, they can still be well-lived.

Following the 1953 publication of British artist Norman Thelwell’s first pony cartoon, his name became synonymous worldwide with images of little girls and fat hairy ponies. In 2017 Thelwell’s Pony Cavalcade, featuring many of the earliest Thelwell cartoons, was re-released in North America, reviving the artist’s fervent fandom and initiating calls for more. Now, in this second hilarious collection, readers are treated to three additional Thelwell classics:

• Gymkhana
• Thelwell Goes West
• Penelope.

Those new to Thelwell will fall in love with his uniquely irreverent-yet-informative view of the equestrian world, while long-time enthusiasts can indulge in a delightful dose of equine-friendly nostalgia. Sure to please anyone with a pony-littered past or a horse-crazy present.

An authentically honest and self-reflective promise of how a life lived with purpose and passion can yield greatness.

“The gates to brilliance are surrounded by a cloud of sweat and tears.” That is what Olympic dressage rider and coach Robert Dover’s mentor, the revered Swedish equestrian Colonel Bengt Ljungquist, told him. It is a lesson that stuck—only with great passion and determination can one achieve success, and just maybe, happiness, too.

In a fascinating book that reads like a potent elixir, three parts memoir and one part inspirational self-improvement guide, readers are ushered through 15 “gates to brilliance”—keys that Dover discovered as he made his way through his own life, from gawky, horse-crazy child to influential Olympic coach and entrepreneur. Sharing deeply personal stories that were fundamental to his evolution, Dover is candid about the path he took on his way to becoming one of the most successful equestrians in the world. Readers learn about abuse he suffered as a child, and his formative years as the only Jewish kid on Grand Bahama Island. He writes frankly about his father’s alcoholism, his parents’ divorce, and his unwavering devotion to his mother. The book delves into his fear of coming out, explores love and loss, and examines the perfectionist tendencies that have at times held Dover back, while at others, have helped him rise to all new heights.

In addition, readers hear stories from the barns, arenas, and show grounds where Dover built his career, from his days as a wild Pony Clubber to his struggles in Germany under the tutelage of some of Europe’s great riding masters. We meet the horses and people he partnered with along the way as he offers a glimpse behind the curtain at the pomp and politics of international equestrian competition.

Throughout, Dover’s dedication to self-betterment and belief in living a life with purpose stands front and center, softened by his humor and willingness to cast a critical eye on himself. With countless moments of searing honesty bound to fundamental life lessons from which he hopes we can all learn, Dover assures us the road to success is there for the taking. The ultimate goal, though, is to emerge on the other side of whatever comes next a brighter, more compassionate, happier person—that is brilliance.

An easy-to-implement framework proven to grow rider confidence, tested by the world’s leading equestrian athletes.

Without confidence, achievement in competition is unattainable. When confidence is lacking in any sport, equestrian included, chances are your career will be short. Renowned performance coach John Haime has written the book to counter this challenge, providing the mental tools riders need to be better under pressure of all kinds and consistently succeed.

Equestrian sport is a partnership: there’s an equine athlete, and there’s a human athlete. Haime notes that often, there is an investment in world-class training for one partner (the horse), but not the other (the human). This compromises the potential effectiveness of the horse-and-rider team. It just makes sense for equestrians to develop their own skills—mental and physical—and bring more to the partnership.

Haime explains that there is what he believes is a crisis of confidence in modern equestrian sport. This has a variety of causes, including: a lack of fundamental mental/emotional structure and development, the presence and prominence of technology in the rider’s life, and the constant comparisons inherent in social media and a technically “connected” existence. Addressing this crisis enables equestrians of all ages and abilities to: communicate better with their horses, both in day-to-day interactions and competition; absorb more in valuable learning situations, such as lessons and clinics; and perform their best when the stakes are high, as when heading into the jump-off or approaching the last fence on the cross-country course.

Haime invites readers to dive into three clear and informative areas of exploration:

• The Confidence Base: Firm up the fundamentals.
• The Confidence Builders: Systems and tips to help you build confidence.
• The Confidence Threats: An inside look at what to watch out for in riding and in competition.

Throughout, those who have reached the highest levels on horseback in a number of disciplines share their stories, including Michael Jung, Beezie Madden, McLain Ward, Laura Tomlinson, Harry Meade, Oliver Townend, Mattias Tromp, Casey Deary, Beth Underhill, Fred Mannix, Jarred Zenni, Beth Underhill, Jonathon Millar, and Kelly Soleau-Millar. These Olympians, champions, and medalists explain what they do in the saddle and how their techniques for performing under world-class pressure might help other riders develop a similar kind of confidence. Perhaps even more valuable are the struggles these top competitors share, giving readers the rare opportunity to see how even “the best of the best” are human, too.

The way riders develop confidence in their equestrian lives is transferable to everything they do: a confident rider can be a confident business person, confident worker, confident spouse, confident parent, and confident friend. In this way, Ride Big!™ instills a skill of worth and promise that extends far beyond the show ring.

An eye-opening book leading equestrians into a brave new horse world, where we train horses their way, not ours.

For years, Andrea Kutsch filled stadiums with spectators as she demonstrated remarkable transformations in “problem horses” using the Natural Horsemanship training methods she'd learned from leaders in the field. But something was bothering her—a feeling that had been with her since her childhood days, watching Icelandics in a field and coming up through a traditional German riding system. Despite the strides made in improving the horse's well-being through the worldwide adoption of Natural Horsemanship techniques, she knew that the methods were still missing something.

They still trained horses looking at every situation from the human perspective and were dependent on a trainer's natural feel. This meant that, for the horse, there was stress involved in the training process. In addition, positive results gained by a professional often couldn't be replicated by a horse's owner; what the horse learned from one person wouldn't transfer to others.

Kutsch set out to find the next stage in the evolution of horse training. She studied the results of methods she used with thousands of young horses at The Lewitz Stud in Neustadt--Glewe, Germany, the renowned farm owned by European champion Paul Schockemöhle. This provided the basis for what she calls Evidence-Based Equine Communication™ (EBEC), a means of reading the horse and understanding the world from his point of view. Here she introduces EBEC and how it can take our relationship with horses and their ability to perform as our partners to a whole new level. Inside find:

Certain to provide ideas for improving every interaction with horses, whatever your experience or discipline, From the Horse1s Point of View is a conversation-starter for all those looking to take their horsemanship to a whole new level.

All the inspiration and instruction you need to crochet stylish clothing and unique home accessories is at your fingertips. From scarves to sweaters, shawls to skirts, plus pillows and throws, these vivid and exciting patterns cover a variety of crochet techniques and stitches, and every level of difficulty: relax with something small and straightforward, or stretch yourself with something a little more intricate. With detailed photographs, diagrams, and descriptions to keep you on track, you'll be hooked in no time.

Coach Daniel Stewart, author of the hit mind-and-body equestrian workout Fit and Focused in 52, is back with new plans to power you up, bolster your confidence, and supply you with the mental tools you need to be all you can be, in and out of the saddle. With Coach Stewart’s infectious optimism and indomitable sense of fun, readers will find themselves embracing exhilarating changes in their outlook and their abilities. The evolution from “good enough” to “better” begins with:

• Understanding the attributes that create success.
• Comprehending the four stages of competence.
• Improving mindfulness of actions and reactions.
• Identifying good stress and bad stress—and handling both.
• Eliminating pressure as a threat.
• Managing nervousness, hesitation, and doubt.
• Overcoming failure and perfectionism.
• Removing limiting beliefs.
• Moving beyond expectations and comparisons to others.
• Becoming a good “mirror” for ourselves and others.
• Beating blind spot biases—beliefs you’re not aware of that harm you.
• Mastering memories and how the brain processes information.

Infusing his words with energy and compassion, Coach Stewart offers everyone a chance of attaining self-fulfillment and joy when working with and riding horses. His concepts are friendly, fun, and easy to implement, making his book chock full of potential—just like you. Bolder, Braver, Brighter is for every rider seeking improved performance in the saddle and partnership with the horse.

Dr. Ina Gösmeier leads the horse world in her area of specialization. A classically trained veterinarian, she supports her Western medical practice with knowledge gained through the study of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). This handbook provides a basic introduction to the guiding principle of determining a horse’s type before making decisions about handling, care, training, or treatment.

According to TCM there are five horse types, assignments that are based not only on the horse’s behavior, but on his build and body conformation, as well as diagnosis of his tongue and pulse. By determing the horse’s type, you learn:

• How to understand and partner with each individual equine in the best ways possible.
• Appropriate choices related to training and handling techniques.
• Insight related to how a horse travels and what can keep him comfortable and healthy on the road.
• Why one horse learns quickly, why one always needs more rest, why another needs to be motivated with variety, and why some are fine alone while others need a friend at their side.

A TCM type description helps the horse owner and rider assess the horse more accurately, promote the horse’s training and well-being in a targeted manner, and troubleshoot existing and potential rideability problems. This book shares 11 case studies of horse types “in harmony” and “in disharmony” to demonstrate how the five horse types can be applied on day-to-day basis as well when treatment for injury or illness is necessary. Basic instructions for DIY acupressure and herbal therapy for health maintenance over the long term are also included.

In no uncertain terms, this book asks what it means to be a responsible rider, and whether, in today’s society, it is indeed possible for equestrians in any horse sport to put the good of the horse first and foremost, and above ambition and fame.

With vibrantly clear illustrations of the horse’s anatomy and how it is impacted by various riding techniques, Balancing Act presents proof that, although some steps have been taken to prevent the use of forceful and cruel techniques, many sport horses still perform in pain and discomfort. With detailed, practical information on horse physiology and multiple examples of poor riding in pictures so that the reader can avoid similar pitfalls, Dr. Heuschmann gives all of us reasons to examine ourselves and those around us through the lens of the horse’s welfare. As a veterinarian with thorough knowledge of the working equine’s body, Dr. Heuschmann ultimately intends through his exposé to show how bad horse-training methods can be eradicated in favor of far more humane ones.

Readers will also find five chapters full of researched and proven recommendations for retraining horses with behavioral or biomechanical issues related to poor training techniques, including:

• The tense horse.
• The rein-lame horse.
• The horse with gait deviations.
• The hyperflexed horse.
• The unbalanced horse that is off the aids.

Creating rag rugs has enthralled weavers for over a century. Now you, too, can recycle your favorite fabrics and transform them into unique rugs that will bring a striking personal touch to every room in your home. From stripes, checks, and rosettes to mosaic, twists, and diamond twill; from soft to sturdy, and subtle to statement-making, Tina Ignell's superb selection of rag rugs provides you a wealth of inspiration, conveniently paired with practical instruction. Inside, find:

• Six technique-based sections with 45 designs by 20 professional weavers
• Charts, illustrations, and color photos of finished projects
• Creative use of unusual materials, like lambskin, straw, and leather
• Specialty patterns, such as a round rug and a runner for a spiral staircase
• Instructions for finishing, including fringed and woven edges
• A bonus section of five different rugs woven on the same warp
• Resources and supplier contact information

Beth Baumert’s first book, When Two Spines Align: Dressage Dynamics, was a popular and critical success. Lauded by Olympian Carl Hester as the book he most frequently quotes at clinics, it examined the ways the physical bodies of horse and rider work together—the physics behind riding in balance. In Baumert’s new book How Two Minds Meet, she takes us beyond physical harmony to look at the minds of both horse and rider, each complete with its own set of emotions and mental capabilities. Readers will explore:

• How the mind of the horse works.
• The rider’s “two minds”—the analytical mind and the sensory dimension of the mind (with which the horse more readily identifies).
• Specific ways to get into the “non-thinking place” where the best communication between horse and rider takes place.
• Principles of Learning that enable riders to improve the use of the traditional, knowledge-accumulating part of their brains.
• Nine ideas for boosting your ability to learn, retain, and apply knowledge that’s useful in training horses.
• Methods for organizing and “filing” information so it can be best utilized.
• How to ensure the horse is physically comfortable (balanced) under saddle to allow for a meeting of the minds in the first place.

Not only does Baumert explain how to optimize the use of the “thinking mind” in order to become a better learner in the saddle, she provides techniques for maximizing mental and emotional harmony with the horse, a state of unity that feels so good, Baumert calls it the “charming addiction”—once a rider has it, she wants to attain it again and again. Feeding this addiction is possible, says Baumert, with the thoughtful, practical insight she shares in these pages.

He has hundreds of thousands of followers on Facebook and a surging presence on Instagram. Each day, he and his diverse group of friends share their mishaps, their successes, and their innermost thoughts with the world. He is seemingly ageless, looking even better now than when his ascent to fame began. Who is this intriguing Internet celebrity? Fergus the Horse (Equus hilarious), the creation of artist Jean Abernethy, has been entertaining audiences—young and old, in print and online—with his comedic adventures for the past 20 years. His rise to fame was documented in the epic equine comic collection The Essential Fergus the Horse, and now, Abernethy celebrates his age—and the wisdom that should come with it—with an all-new selection of horsey humor, including many cartoons fans have never seen before, created exclusively for this book. With a genuine appeal that crosses boundaries of breed, discipline, and geographic location, Fergus unites anyone with an eye for a horse and a need for a laugh. Readers of all ages—from 5 to 95—will be delighted by his wit, honesty, and profoundly funny observations on horses, humans, and the life they strive to live together.

A rare insider's look at the life of a professional sportsman as he tries to reconcile the passion that drives him with livelihood, family, and aging.

Known for his wit, irreverence, and whip-smart observations on equestrian sport and its participants, three-time Olympian Jim Wofford's writing is as legendary as his performances in the saddle. Now he again brings his immense talent for telling tales—all of them (mostly) true—to the page in his autobiography.

Growing up on a Kansas farm that shared a border with Fort Riley, home to the U.S. Cavalry School from 1887 to 1949, and the son of a sporting Army-man who rode in uniform in the 1932 Olympics, Wofford shares his wholly unique perspective on horsemanship and the history of equestrian competition in the United States. We track his ascendancy from one-room schoolhouse, to Culver Military Academy, to the United States Equestrian Team headquarters in Gladstone, New Jersey, during its heyday. Along the way, Wofford introduces some of history's great horses and the people who loved them as he strives to reach the top of the international eventing scene. Fascinating stories from his many adventures around the world contribute to this honest, funny, poignant read certain to entertain and educate every horse person.

The adorable avian knitting collection from Arne & Carlos—now in paperback!

Birds of a feather ... knit together! With their trademark style, clarity, and humor, let Arne & Carlos guides you on a journey into a delightfully vivid knitted bird kingdom. Inspired by nature at home and abroad, as well as far-off fantastical places, this is the ideal guide for knitted bird lovers, whether creating with decorative purpose or just for fun.

Inside, you'll find:

• Characters from Arne & Carlos's home garden in Norway, including the characteristic bullfinch, chickadee, wagtail, and more

• Charming cold-weather birds worked with traditional Norwegian sweater motifs—keep them warm with bird-sized wool hats and scarves

• Brilliant birds-of-paradise, brought alive with embroidery, sequins, and feathers

• Birds featuring vintage Mexican embroidery designs, flower patterns, and so much more

Clear instructions, helpful diagrams, and full-color photographs make it easy for every knitter's imagination to take flight.

A resource of astounding scope illustrating recommended management and retraining practices for horses and donkeys that have been ignored, neglected, abused, or starved.

Whether given a second chance through purchase, adoption, or rescue, the horse in the “wrong” situation should have a chance to find his way to the “right one.” Veterinarian Dr. Stacie Boswell’s goal is to restore health and comfort to every horse in transition, and to help him learn how to function as the horse he is expected to be―from the Thoroughbred off the track to the grade pony from the field down the road. In her unparalleled reference, Dr. Boswell explains:

• Where they come from: The origins of the unwanted, neglected, or abused horse.
• Travel and intake: Safety, regulations, identification, and quarantine.
• Nutrition, dentistry, and colic: Body Condition Scoring (BCS),
• Refeeding Syndrome, nutrition, long-term weight management, colic prevention and treatment, and dealing with gastric ulcers.
• Vaccination and parasite management: Deworming, identifying and treating skin conditions, viruses, and respiratory diseases.
• Hoof care, lameness, and wounds: Evaluating hoof structure and the horse’s movement, trimming and shoeing, abscesses, laminitis, arthritis, and bandaging.
• Birth control: Castration and mare management.
• Foal rescue: The birthing process, working with orphans, halter training, and hoof handling.
• The “down” horse: Identifying and treating underlying problems, rolling a horse, bed sores, slings, and quality of life considerations.
• Working in disaster scenarios: Preparedness, identification, transportation, communication, and first aid.
• Euthanasia: Compassionate guidelines, procedures, and aftercare.
• Unique training considerations: Coming into work according to BCS.
• How horses sense and respond: Equine vision, training principles, and working with the fearful horse.
• Developing a relationship with your rescue: Social integration, developing trust, overcoming fear, handling feet and legs, halter training adult horses, preparing a horse for medical care, groundwork, and riding.

In Dr. Boswell has compiled hundreds of case studies highlighting the areas of concern in the horse “in need,” and in these pages details proactive methods of handling common medical problems and health issues, from nutrition and dentistry to deworming and hoofcare to traumatic injury and emergency rescue scenarios. She explains the ways that, as a new horse is rehabilitated physically, specific training techniques can help him adapt to the positive changes in his care and environment.

In the United States alone, it is estimated that almost 150,000 horses per year are “unwanted.” This number grows exponentially when you consider horses worldwide. Horses that are old, injured, sick, unmanageable, or fail to meet expectations deserve to be treated with dignity and given every chance for a comfortable life in the company of humans. Dr. Boswell’s book helps make this possible.

For 90 days, biologist and horsewoman Vivian Gabor recorded her experiences with Mona, the wild horse that had crossed a continent and an ocean to find a new home. Through words and wonderful color photographs, Vivian shares the ups and downs as she progresses with Mona’s training, discovering new insights about horses and their true nature along the way.

Informational sidebars on the science behind the process of horse training help explain Vivian’s reasoning for the methods she chooses to follow when working with a Mustang. Steps for patiently and naturally introducing groundwork, liberty work, and first rides are vividly illustrated. But it is the resulting friendship between woman and horse that most resonates, providing all readers an opportunity to imagine what it might be like to train a Mustang of their own.

Follow along as:

• Horse trainer and biologist Vivian Gabor picks up a sorrel mare originally from the wild herds in Oregon in Frankfurt, Germany.
• Gabor works with the Mustang, from the very first day at home, through the natural, positive, and science-based behavioral training methods Gabor used to successfully start the young mare under saddle.
• The pair compete at the Mustang Makeover in front of thousands of people.
• Hundreds of wonderful photographs clearly demonstrate the steps along the way, providing an easy-to-use resource for anyone looking to turn a wild horse into a riding horse.

Yoga teacher and horsewoman Cathy Woods explains how the meditative, mindful breathwork and lifestyle aspects of yoga traditions, as well as the postures, can be profoundly helpful in our interactions with horses. Over the course of her 30-year career, Woods has created teachings that are accessible to everyone—those who have practiced yoga and those who have not, as well as riders of different levels and disciplines. From wherever they are starting, her lessons offer readers life-changing benefits, including:

• Increased confidence working with and riding horses.
• A better sense of connection with horses, on the ground and in the saddle.
• Unique ways to enhance “feel.”
• Step-by-step exercises to improve strength, flexibility, and balance.
• Postures that contribute to rider safety as we age.
• Empowerment—with horses and in everyday life.

Cathy Woods’ unique program is presented here in the form of highly illustrated instruction, guiding you through the steps to achieving present moment awareness; finding body, breath, and energy awareness; breathing through challenges; listening to your inner voice; slowing down; and developing balance and symmetry in the saddle. All of these are key to better communication and improved partnership with horses. The result is a book that helps us become more aware and conscious riders while gently correcting our imbalances, resulting in a richer, more rewarding, more joyful horsemanship experience.

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.

German Olympian Isabell Werth has six Olympic gold medals and scores of championship titles to her name—there are few her equal on paper. But an equestrian’s success is wholly dependent on the relationship she has with her athletic partner―her horse―and Werth’s astounding accomplishments would not have been possible without her unique approach to working with the animals she’s loved since childhood.

Even as a little girl, growing up on a farm on the Lower Rhine, it was clear that Werth possessed an extraordinary gift for empathizing with horses and foreseeing how they were likely to react in certain situations. This insight gave her a special ability as a rider and trainer. Here, Werth collaborates with accomplished sports journalist Evi Simeoni―someone who has witnessed and written about her career from the very beginning―to tell her life story.

• Readers will get the inside scoop when it comes to Werth’s accomplishments―and her failures, too.
• They’ll hear her personal thoughts regarding some of the biggest controversies to rock the dressage world: Rollkur and Totilas.
• Perhaps most importantly, they’ll learn about each of the sensitive and talented horses that has impacted Werth’s life, including Gigolo, Satchmo, and Bella Rose.

There is a meme that is popular in the riding community that says, “Two legs move our body, four legs move our soul.” It is this sentiment that Werth feels perhaps best defines her.

Part American road trip, part coming-of-age adventure, and part uncommon love story—a remarkable memoir that explores the evolution of the human-animal relationship, along with the raw beauty of a life lived outdoors.

Melissa Chapman was 23 years old and part of a happy, loving family. She had a decent job, a boyfriend she cared about, and friends she enjoyed. Yet she said goodbye to all of it. Carrying a puppy named Gypsy, she climbed aboard a horse and rode away from everything, heading west.

With no cell phone, no GPS, no support team or truck following with supplies, Chapman quickly learned that the reality of a cross-country horseback journey was quite different from the fantasy. Her solo adventure would immediately test her mental, physical, and emotional resources as she and her four-legged companions were forced to adapt to the dangers and loneliness of a trek that would span over 2,600 miles, beginning in New York State and reaching its end on the other side of the country, in California.

Enchanted by the freedom a nomadic life seemed to promise, the young woman would soon find herself only more deeply connected…to the animals that accompanied her, to the varying and challenging landscapes through which she traveled, and to the people she met on the farms and back roads that crisscross the United States. Chapman's vigilance in detailing the quietest moments of heroism and beauty, as well as the startling and tragic, yields a read that convinces one of both the magnificence of the countryside and the generosity of the people who call it home. A book for the equestrian, the animal lover, and the outdoor enthusiast—or anyone who dreams about one day bringing a longed-for adventure to life.

The only book dedicated to learning to find and ride the ideal jumping distance with fundamental skills and enlightening lessons from one of the best in the business.

Understanding how to count strides helps to develop the rider’s eye and “feel.” Stride control means producing the correct number of strides and quality of stride to jump the jumps at hand—the emphasis is on the quality of strides, not just the number. It is one of the skills that enables the rider to achieve success, whatever the size of the jumps.

Jen Marsden Hamilton has coached countless riders and horses around the world in the striding techniques that brought her success during her own impressive competitive career, and here Hamilton has compiled her knowledge in a concise book of exercises and insightful strategies. Inside you’ll find:

• Detailed setup for specific exercises.
• Connecting flatwork for between ground poles or jumps, such as transitions and serpentines.
• Strategies for completing the exercises and analyzing the outcome.
• Appropriate exercises for the rider’s desired discipline and level.

At 36 Jesse McNeil—at times carpenter, commercial fisherman, dabbler in real estate—decided to buy an untrained horse, make himself into a horseman, and ride all the way across the United States, from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean.

A fiercely independent traveler, Jesse had navigated previous coast-to-coast trips— solo journeys by moped, bicycle, and small airplane. This time, however, he had a partner: a five-year-old Tennessee Walking Horse named Pepper. An inexperienced horseman with an equally inexperienced mount, Jesse would quickly discover the immense challenges of his new undertaking. Over the course of eight months and fourteen states—beginning in Oregon and ending on a beach in New Hampshire—he would be tested many times over as he learned not only what it took to keep Pepper safe and healthy, but the true value of qualities that he had once easily dismissed: patience and companionship.

The generosity of strangers, from helpful ranchers and storekeepers to suburban families, shaped the pair’s journey east. And while at some points the miles didn’t unfold as Jesse hoped, others yielded unexpected events that changed his perspective—and quite possibly, his future. Written with honesty, grit, and grace, On the Hoof captures an arduous voyage that broke a man down and built him back up, with the help of one special horse.

Olympian Anne Kursinski’s acclaimed book on riding horses over fences delivers on-target counsel and the kind of sophisticated, quality instruction you can only get in top barns around the world. Let this medal-winning international competitor show you “how it’s done” with step-by-step descriptions of dozens of exercises to improve your position, your “feel,” and your overall understanding of how to confidently and successfully master a jump course.

Inside, you’ll find a top-notch education in both basic and advanced flatwork and jumping, including:

• Bending
• Adjusting stride length
• Moving laterally
• Riding straight lines and curves
• Jumping without stirrups
• Flying changes
• Flexion and collection
• Counter-canter
• Half-pass
• Ways to perfect distances and count strides
• Tips for riding different kinds of combinations, bigger jumps, and natural fences.

Throughout, Kursinski’s explanations are clarified with hundreds of illuminating photographs, completely reshot in full color for this new edition. Even better, the photos feature Kursinski herself in the saddle, and the text includes her illuminating personal commentary describing what she is experiencing in the saddle during a particular exercise. In addition, this revised edition includes an all-new chapter on riding derby-style courses as well as course walks with Kursinski, to give readers a sense of how she plans a winning ride. This classic references offers time-tested techniques and invaluable skills for every hunter, jumper, and equitation rider.

An engaging book for horse people of all disciplines and experience levels.  You will learn how to earn your horse’s trust and cooperation using methods that are gentle, effective, and make intuitive sense to horses. 

Horses want to feel safe.  When you meet a horse’s need for security, it is easier than you think to create a trusting bond and build his confidence.  This is the foundation of a reliable partnership.  Certified riding instructor Lynn Acton demonstrates practical handling, riding, and training skills using color photos and step-by-step instructions. For less than half the cost of a single lesson, these are some of the many things you will learn how to do:

• Start earning a horse’s trust the moment you meet him.
• Catch an “uncatchable” horse by showing him he will be safe with you.
• Understand what your horse’s body language is telling you.
• Use your body language in ways that horses can easily understand.
• Respond constructively to your horse’s emotions.
• Turn pressure into clear communication instead of a source of stress.
• Engage your horses’ innate intelligence.
• Encourage your horse to seek your guidance when he is anxious.
• Build your horse’s confidence by encouraging curiosity (Investigative Behavior).
• Improve your horse’s reliability with positive experiences.
• Identify underlying causes of unwanted horse behavior to resolve issues quickly.
• Discourage unwanted behavior without punishment.
• Recognize unwanted behavior that is a sign your horse is thinking like a partner.

 These skills significantly improve your connections with horses, reduce horses’ stress and anxiety, and make training more efficient. Lynn refers to this type of horsemanship as Protector Leadership because you are your horse’s Protector.  This leadership approach has been used successfully for centuries by people of all backgrounds and skill levels, with horses at all levels of training.

Lynn combines extensive horse experience and an academic background in social dynamics with in-depth research.  She interprets and cites the scientific findings that explain why Protector Leadership works and offers valuable insights into equine psychology while exposing myths that are sources of problems.  Each chapter ends with a list of “Things to Try”: fun and easy-to-implement exercises that help you engage your horse as a thinking partner.

The narrative also follows Lynn's progress with her own horses, including mistakes and hindsight, and especially the transformation of the book’s "cover girl" Brandy from dangerous to trusting, confident, and reliable.  Clear, detailed photos show the subtle body language of horses and people, and illustrate dynamics that make a real difference in our relationships, communication, and training. 

Join the growing number of readers who are enjoying dramatic improvements in their interactions with their horses!

Naturalist and environmental educator Mary Holland’s visually astounding book Naturally Curious promises a walk in the woods (or a field or wetland) will never be the same. With boundless enthusiasm and a lifetime’s-worth of natural history knowledge, Holland escorts you through the New England seasons, month by month—in sun, rain, and snow; along roadsides and riverbanks; above burrows and under treetop nesting sites. By deftly melding the practical field guide we all need with the kind of book we all want to sit back and read, Holland does New England—and those who live in it, visit it, and love it—an immense service. Adults and children alike are sure to be fascinated by the natural world in this book, in their backyard, and even further afield. Naturally Curious is truly an “into this world” experience.

• Take a guided tour through the seasons a month at a time: begin with March and its early stirrings of life "awakening" after a long cold winter, and end in February as survival becomes the sole focus of all plants and creatures, great and small.
• Dive into hundreds of fascinating “Nature Notes” along the way: bite-size nuggets of fact-based information about a species’ actions in a particular month—whether courting, breeding, singing, burrowing, migrating, or caching food.
• In addition, find pertinent lists of the amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, insects and arachnids, and plants and fungi you might expect to see or hear from as the weeks go by.
• Each month culminates in specially chosen essays, where Holland gets up-close-and-personal with New England plant and animal life and some of their more intriguing peculiarities.
• See the many exciting and varied "worlds" of the Northeast explode on the page, in an unmatched visual display of full-color photographs. This is the region and its inhabitants like you've never seen them before!

Award-winning musical Freestyle designer Sandra Beaulieu has a lifetime’s experience as a dressage competitor and professional entertainer. Here she provides everything readers need to know to enjoy creating Freestyles of their own―whether for fun or for ribbons.

• Learn how to find your horse’s beats per minute (bpm) in every gait.
• Find out how to choose the music that’s right for you and your horse and navigate rules of copyright.
• Discover easy-to-learn ways to edit your music and put together a professional-sounding playlist.
• Review required movements through the levels for dressage and Western dressage Freestyle tests.
• Explore ways to weave together your choreography to highlight your horse’s strengths and downplay the areas you are working to improve.
• Play with ideas for exhibition performances, including ridden, trick, and liberty work, on your own or in a group.
• Have fun making your Freestyle all your own with costumes, specialty tack, and more.

The musical Freestyle has become a form of equestrian display that draws large audiences in horse sports of every kind: dressage, Western dressage, and Cowboy Dressage; reining and liberty; breed classes and training competitions; drill teams and quadrilles. With plenty of advice for practice as well as putting on a crowd-pleasing show, readers are sure to find all they need to get started. Beaulieu writes with infectious enthusiasm and includes advice from 27 Freestyle competitors and performers, including Marsha Sapp, Mario Contreras, Tik Maynard, Lindsey Partridge, Luke Gingerich, and Rebecca Waite.

This book is exactly what you need to become a better rider. It's a smart, honest, on-target kick-in-the-pants, guaranteed to rev your engines as you see how a few changes in your life, a few smart choices and strategic moves, can transform you from a run-of-the-mill rider into a good one.

How does Denny Emerson know what makes a good rider? For one thing, he is one—he is the only rider in the world to have won both a gold medal in international eventing and a Tevis Cup buckle in endurance. Plus, he's been around great riders, and taught those on their way to becoming great, for over 40 years.

How will what Denny knows help you become a good rider?

He's boiled the whole thing down into seven broad "Areas of Choice" that determine whether you are a "gonnabe" or whether you'll be stuck in the "wannabe" category for decades.
• Examine how your choice of riding sport may or may not be the best for who you are and where you live.
• Find out how those frustrating hurdles known as "life circumstances" don't necessarily hold you back like you think they do.
• Learn how to build a strong support team by winning people to your cause and choosing the right teachers and mentors.
• Analyze your physical self (your body, how it is formed and how you care for it) and your intellectual self (your "horse smarts" and how you are adding to them or not) and apply the results to your "gonna-be-good" equation.
• Take a good hard look at your partner—your horse—and think critically about his ability to help you attain your riding goals.
• Discover the nine key character traits of successful riders and how you can learn to call each one of them your own.

Along the way you'll read the stories of 23 of the world's top riders from different disciplines and sports—including dressage, reining, driving, show jumping, endurance, hunter/jumper, and eventing—and how they "got good" despite the same kinds of challenges and setbacks you face in your own day-to-day riding. You'll get an inside look at their path to success, as well as their very best tips for how to "make it" in the horse industry.

World-renowned equine expert Linda Tellington-Jones’ healing equine bodywork and innovative training methods have revolutionized the horse training landscape over the last 50 years. Her unique blend of hands-on TTouch (a collection of circles, lifts, and slides done with the hands over various parts of the horse’s body), combined with humane groundwork and under-saddle exercises, has helped solve training and behavioral problems for horses of every breed, every discipline, every age, and all levels. Her books, including The Ultimate Horse Behavior and Training Guide and Dressage with Mind, Body, and Soul have helped horses and horse people around the globe find better, more humane ways to solve both behavioral and training problems.

Now Tellington-Jones is presenting a thoughtful recipe for starting the young horse without stress, helping to establish the very best beginning, in hand and under saddle. Unfortunately, not all horses have the benefit of the right foundation, which can lead to misunderstanding, mistreatment, and unhappiness for both human and horse. With this in mind, Tellington-Jones also curates her own experience working with older horses ready for a second chance at life, providing the necessary tools for filling in training “holes” and reconfirming lessons that may have been poorly taught or forgotten.

• Full-color photographs and step-by-step instructions clearly explain her methods.
• Guideposts tell you which techniques to use when, depending on the horse you are working with.
• New material interweaves Tellington-Jones’ tried-and-true approaches, creating the most complete guide to The Tellington Method available.

The result is a book with all the right ingredients and its heart in the right place: Whether starting right or starting over, Tellington-Jones’s field-tested, compassionate answers are an excellent way to find connection while ensuring the horse a lifetime of success in the company of humans.

Over 90 percent of the US population seeks help for back pain at one point or another during the course of their life. If you're a horseperson, back pain is of particular concern as it not only robs you of the joys of riding—it threatens your livelihood, as well. From grooming and tacking up, to performing a flawless reining pattern or jumping a clean round, to stacking hay bales or pushing a wheelbarrow, everything we do on and around horses demands a supple, strong, healthy back.

Now, in his unique, easygoing style, Dr. Jim Warson—a neurosurgeon who also happens to be a lifelong horseman—provides all the practical information you need to understand the diagnosis and treatment of back pain—whether caused by equestrian pursuits, outside activities, illness, or heredity. More importantly, he shows readers how to prevent back problems before they have a chance to unseat them. This book includes:

• "Normal" back biology and function
• Congenital conditions, trauma, arthritis, and infection
• Understanding symptoms and pinpointing problem areas
• Tack's impact on the physics of riding
• How your horse's conformation can affect your body
• Traditional and alternative treatments and therapies
• Techniques for saddling and mounting without stress
• Recommendations for pregnant riders.

In addition, Dr. Warson provides a section specifically geared toward improving rider flexibility and strength. You'll find:

• Step-by-step instructions and photo series for 10 stretches and 8 exercises for a healthy, stress-free back, allowing you to not only enjoy your riding but all your day-to-day activities, whatever they may be.
• Over a hundred color photographs and illustrations.

Riding well can be a puzzle. This book puts together the pieces, including:

• How humans and horses learn.
• Striving for partnership vs. dictatorship.
• Early training and developing skills.
• Demystifying equestrian-speak.
• Dressage outside the arena.
• Ground poles for the rest of us.
• Jumping and cross-country tips.
• Solving problems, wherever you ride.
• Competition psychology.
• Being coached and being a coach.

“This book is aimed at riders, coaches, and anyone interested in learning more about how humans and horses interact. I have tried to harness my own experiences when I cover the three main disciplines—dressage, show jumping, and eventing—and how they relate to one another. I look at how those in a coaching position can guide riders to perform better by making their lives less complicated and more fulfilling, and I examine how riders can apply the same principles to training their horses and become self-sufficient.” —Eric Smiley

German rider and equine veterinarian Dr. Gerd Heuschmann is well-known in dressage circles—admired for his plain speaking regarding what he deems the incorrect and damaging training methods commonly employed by riders and trainers involved in competition today. Here, he presents an intelligent and thought-provoking exploration of both classical and "modern" training methods, including "hyperflexion" (also known as Rollkur), against a practical backdrop of the horse's basic anatomy and physiology.

In a detailed yet comprehensible fashion, Dr. Heuschmann describes parts of the horse's body that need to be correctly developed by the dressage rider. He then examines how they function both individually and within an anatomical system, and how various schooling techniques affect these parts for the good, or for the bad. Using vivid color illustrations of the horse's skeletal system, ligaments, and musculature, in addition to comparative photos depicting "correct" versus "incorrect" movement—and most importantly, photos of damaging schooling methods—Dr. Heuschmann convincingly argues that the horse's body tells us whether our riding is truly gymnasticizing and "building the horse up," or simply wearing it down and tearing it apart. He then outlines his ideal "physiological education" of the horse.

Training should mirror the mental and physical development of the horse, fulfilling "classical" requirements—such as regularity of the three basic gaits, suppleness, and acceptance of the bit—rather than disregarding time-tested values for quick fixes that could lead to the degradation of the horse's well-being. Dr. Heuschmann's assertion that the true objectives of dressage schooling must never be eclipsed by simple "mechanical perfection" is certain to inspire riders at all levels to examine their riding, their riding goals, and the techniques they employ while pursuing them.

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.

Survivors of trauma, loss, illness, abuse, stress, and depression can face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. But today, a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that horses play a crucial role in therapy for those struggling with significant psychological and emotional challenges. Inspired by her own childhood trauma when she spent seven days in a coma, awakened to a severely compromised body and brain, and rebuilt her life with the help of a horse, Michelle Holling-Brooks founded Unbridled Change, a non-profit Equine-Partnered Therapy organization that helps match horses to individuals in need. Here she shares amazing stories of the people she’s worked with and the “horse cure” that changed their lives.

• Ashley was locked in closets as punishment, and physically and sexually abused, resulting in an angry and violent child who threatened her adoptive family—until she met Cocoa and Radar, the horses that helped her learn to trust again.
• Brenda was diagnosed bipolar and lived through humiliating domestic abuse, but three horses—Delilah, Wiscy, and Diesel—helped her establish a sense of self-worth, hope for the future, and ultimately, the will to go on.
• Nick was angry, suicidal, and a veteran with combat PTSD, who now says, “Horses literally saved my life.”

The Horse Cure presents an enlightening mix of treatment theory and human interest, certain to educate those involved in or intrigued by the equine therapy and psychotherapy worlds while shedding light on the remarkable hope and exciting possibilities this kind of work offers.