(Part 2) Best horse care books according to redditors
We found 68 Reddit comments discussing the best horse care books. We ranked the 54 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
Apparently people did. From A History of the Horse Drawn Carriage: 'The commonest French coach of this time seems to have been the borbillard...such a carriage was hung low, and would have swung from side to side, giving such passengers as were "bad sailors" a fit of nausea.' (from 1652)
So yes, there was motion sickness in carriages, and people at the time compared it to sea-sickness.
Ohooo, prepare yourself - I love them and I will talk about them for DAYS.
They're definitely really special animals. There are a couple mule groups on Yahoo still, as well as a couple message boards like the one I've linked here.
I recommend picking up the book The Natural Superiority of Mules by John Hauer. There are a couple other basic care books out there too that are available on Amazon. They're different to saddle, shoe, feed, and train than horses, and it's really important to spend time bonding with them on the ground- but one that's never been mistreated will seriously love you like a dog and seek you out for attention.
I'm a member of The American Donkey and Mule Society, which I also really recommend if you're looking to get into mules or donkeys. They have a quarterly magazine that they send to all members that's really informative (just not very pretty in terms of printing).
Mules and More Magazine and Western Mule Magazine are also really awesome.
Good luck with finding a long-eared friend! It takes awhile to find one sometimes just because they're not as common as horses, but a good one is seriously worth it's weight in gold.
The MOS existed into early WWII. The last horse TM was issued/published in 1941.
https://www.amazon.com/Cavalry-Horseshoers-Technical-Manual-Department/dp/0944079326
I second Pony Club. Unfortunately the cut-off age is 25. However, Pony Club has some great manuals available that cover everything you will need to know. The manuals come in a set of three, The Beginner Manual (This will be absolutely essential in your case), The Intermediate Manual (This will be nice to have on hand), and The Advanced Manual (And this I wouldn't worry about, but it is a fun read!).
The beginner manual covers everything from basic riding techniques, grooming, tack and tack cleaning, stall cleaning, feeding, anatomy, health, first aid, and more.
Also, most stables cover the basics when you start taking lessons. Obviously they'll teach you the dos and don'ts of handling horses right away, but you'll learn more as you advance. Most instructors will be happy to answer any questions you have about care and management. Any good equestrian knows that is just as important as the riding.
Also, when looking for a stable, try to pick one with a good community of people riding there, and preferably a Pony Club. Knowledgable people are always at the ready to help beginners out. Good luck!
Most dressage resources talk about both the horse and the rider, since there is really no way to progress as a dressage rider without understanding how your aids affect the horse, nor to train the horse without good riding. So luckily there are a lot of good rider-focused resources out there, but be prepared to read a bit about the horse side of things in any dressage resources you find.
Some that I'd recommend are:
Your trainer may have other suggestions and will probably be psyched to know that you're excited enough about your riding to do some brushing up outside of lessons, so I'd recommend asking her/him as well.
It's a tough thing to learn from a book and most of my reading is dressage based but I have flipped through Bill Dorrance's book (I think it was this one) and what I remember of it, I liked: http://www.amazon.com/True-Horsemanship-Through-Feel-Second/dp/1599210568/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1421433622&sr=8-2&keywords=ray+hunt
You could try this Mark Rashid book too: http://www.amazon.com/Considering-Horse-Problems-Lessons-Learned/dp/1616081562/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1421434415&sr=8-7&keywords=mark+rashid
Maybe this John Lyons book? http://www.amazon.com/John-Lyons-Bringing-Baby-Progressive/dp/1929164122/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421434443&sr=8-1&keywords=john+lyons
There are a LOT of snake oil salesmen out there selling natural horsemanship. That's because it's really easy to screw up a horse and so there's a big market of people who love the horses they screwed up but want to make them better. Anyone can hang a shingle out there, publish a 10 part CD training series and charge $100 for it. Nothing substitutes for a real life mentorship with someone who is producing well adjusted, happy, useful horses. The proof is in the pudding.
The natural horsemanship stuff popped up initially as a humane response to a rough around the edges cowboy approach. There are some cruel methods out there but at this point, a lot of the wordless joining-the-spirits-as-one training approaches is just as harmful and consists more of hopeful marketing than anything else. Pat Parelli is the worst offender of this in my opinion and he's made himself an assload of money creating an industry out of it.
Go for no nonsense types if you have to. I like Ray Hunt, Bill and Tom Dorrance, Buck Brannaman and John Lyons. I don't know much about Clinton Anderson but I hear mixed things. Really, cut out the marketing middleman and just look for someone who is consistently producing purpose-bred and trained horses. It's not rocket science if you've grown up in it but it's not necessarily intuitive either. Dressage (or at least the kind I do--the classical folks are their own breed) doesn't buy into most of this stuff, they just back the horse and ride.
>I really don't have much experience with horses, but from the videos I've seen I would not want to do anything that might startle them....
Good instinct. If you are interested in the subject, this is the bible.
Anything by Yampuff!!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1533372365/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_nLnkzbGRTP3F9
It does sound like a great opportunity for you and I'm so glad to hear that you're doing this the right way and looking for information and guidance. So many people would take this opportunity and just go ahead thinking they know best and end up doing more harm than good. Seems like it'll be a very good thing for you and the horse so good job doing it correctly!
You should do a lot of lunge work and pole with him. I dont know how frequently you plan on working him, but every other to every third time should be lunge work over poles. Right now, you don't need to be on him every time. Lunge work shouldnt just be about him going around in a circle at different gates (thats fairly useless other than to tire him out). On the lunge you can do a lot of bending exercises and pole work to get him using his body and going forward and engaging his hind end. If you want me to elaborate on what sort of exercises you can do Id be happy to explain.
Since youre just starting to ride and work him, keep your rides very short and mostly walk with some trot. They should be positive and about getting him thinking and forward. If he kicks off you have to sit back and ride him forward. If he decides he wants to be an ass and run then let him run but dont let him stop until you decide its time to slow down. If youre afraid of him bucking or rearing than spin him in tight circle (inside leg back, outside leg forward, open inside arm at elbow) and do that until he gives and softens and then his reward is to go forward. Tight circles are good bc its keeps them off balance enough that they cant be dangerous but still allows them to go forward so they release the energy and dont get claustrophobic or bouncy.
As for my background, I live in NH so I'm way too far to help you other than via the internet. I'm 25, a vet student, and have been riding for about 15 years, and intensively training dressage for the past 4. Ive spent a lot of time working with young or problem horses and getting them to learn to use their bodies and soften and move forward properly.
Regarding books, these are the three I recommend most and are my favorites. You should also subscribe to Dressage Today.
http://www.amazon.com/There-Problem-Horses-Only-Riders/dp/061812750X
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dressage-Kyra-Kyrklund/dp/1905693249/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337036500&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.co.uk/USDF-Guide-Dressage-Jennifer-Bryant/dp/1580175295
Feel free to ask any questions you ahve and I'll do my best to answer. You're welcome to send me anything you want me to look at as well. I can pm you my email address if youd like as its easier to keep in touch long term that way.
No need to feel like a dick - you at least asked some questions first, which is really the first step to learning. You have to ask questions before you can learn anything.
Start looking into lessons. Start reading books, there's billions on horses. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Horse-Encyclopedia-Elwyn-Hartley-Edwards/dp/1465451439 would be a good place to start.
A great book about horse breeding: Stud- Adventures in Breeding
Thoroughbreds have to be bred by "live cover" (actual mating). All other horse breeding is artificial insemination. The stories about the business are fascinating!
There's a really good book to read: https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Track-Retraining-Thoroughbred-Racecourse/dp/1570764026/ref=pd_cp_14_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=JVCRHZHA34JRBEGE6MAD
I bought this when I decided to commit to buying my mare (OTTB turned broodmare turned jumper). A lot of it didn't apply to me because it had been 10+ years since she had been at the track, but still good to know.
I have been in the same situation, with a horse above my level I mean. It is really important to build the trust slowly. Like Usinuk said just walk and trot. Change it up is the best way to keep him focused on you and not causing trouble. May I suggest trying to find a copy of this book. http://www.amazon.ca/101-Dressage-Exercises-Horse-Rider/dp/1580175953/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346257713&sr=1-1
It will give you lots of new things to try so you don't get bored.
Good Luck, and keep us updated!
I learned it from the man himself but his book is very good!
https://www.amazon.com/Sport-Horse-Conformation-Evaluating-Potential/dp/1570765308
He's got a bestseller on his hands.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Horse-Colouring-Book-Patterns-Relaxation/dp/1530508304/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1474634830&sr=1-1&keywords=horse
Hi Everyone
I have a new book out for all you horse lovers, on the Andalusian Horse, it has many beautiful colorful pictures’. I visited many parts of the south of Spain, for my information to put this book together. I would love you all to give me some feed back, on what you think of this book.
There are so many books on the market today, on how to ride a horse, and how to look after one. I thought I would do some thing different. I focused on one of the oldest pure bred horses in the world, The Andalusian.
I looked into there history, which started on cave walls in 5,000bc. Before I new it, I was writing this book. You can purchase this book on Amazon.com or.uk, or look inside the book before you buy, on the link below.
http://www.amazon.com/History-P-R-Andalusian-Horse/dp/1453814396/ref=ntt...
ISBN 9781453814390
Thank you for reading
I assume you mean the complete horse riding manual? I checked out the preview it looks interesting. Thanks!
I've never taken a class, but I've read this book and keep it nearby for reference if I need it: How to Be Your Own Veterinarian (Sometimes)
Very thorough!