Happy Horsemanship

My daughters instructor recommended this for her to read as part of her training, a lot of good information

Great book to give to any beginner or advanced horse-person, including my husband who has never spent time around horses (and now we own a miniature filly). The illustrations are adorable and make it an easy and fun read, and the book is told from a horse's perspective; this is great because horses can't use words to tell us what they want or need, and people should not have to guess what they horse is "saying." The relationships between horses and humans are built on non-verbal communication, so we use various tones in our voices, the touch of our hands, legs and seat, etc. to tell them what we want/need, and this book is helpful in letting us know what the horse will interpret (and therefore how they will react) from our cues. They let us know in various ways using their entire bodies; from directions of their flickering ears, their chewing or tight mouth, supple or choppy movements/gait, and it is vital that we learn how they think and behave, because the only way both horse and human will obtain a higher quality experience is to learn how to effectively communicate WITH each other. Horses make many decisions based on previous experiences, and some behaviors are hard-wired from thousands of years of evolution (i.e. a horse's flight response is to run from predators/danger; they are born with this instinct, it is not learned behavior; their ears tell us what they are focused on...they might be distracted, angry, annoyed, interested, bored, paying close attention to you, etc.). This isn't so much a book about training as it is about what is going on in horses' minds. We love our horses so much and want the very best for them, and this book is helpful for achieving better communication with our equine friends. It takes patience and love to communicate non-verbally, and is entirely worthwhile to learn and pay attention to the details. Horses have a lot to say, and we don't want to add confusion by not learning their "language." Did I mention how cute the illustrations are?? They're the best part!

I ~ as a retired professional show horse trainer of the breed, American Saddlebreds.....I have used this book for many adults & youngsters as a learning tool for their lessons, whether they rode in the academy lesson program or if they rode in the show horse program......or even our day camp summer students. The pictures are a great depiction of "wrong" posture & equitation skills as well as "good" ones. I give this book 5 stars for beginners or adults just learning to ride & "live with horses."

This is THE book for beginning horsemanship. Covers everything to do with horses, along with fun pictures and clever cartoons that will help the reader remember the tips and instructions. I received this book as a gift when I was a preteen. It absolutely prepared me for horseback riding lessons and owning my own horse. I just gave this as a gift to a teenager, and when we went on a trail ride - her first trail ride since she was very little - I could already see her applying some of the tips and info from the book. Highly recommend this book for all ages of anyone interested in learning about horsemanship.

Full of knowledge, easy to read

I read this book over and over as a child, even though I never had a chance to take riding lessons. Now that I have started learning to ride English, I remembered the lessons in this book and how simply they were explained. I don't know what happened to my original copy, so I had to purchase this later edition. I was pleased to find it was still in print. I highly recommend this book for beginning riders at any age. Henderson's own illustrations are whimsical and amusing. Although it's written for children, it's a classic for all ages.

A number of children in our family have enjoyed this book for several generations. A must for promising young riders.

My daughter rides horses and her instructor mentioned this book to get. This is a great book. Helps kids have a better understanding on horses while they are learning to ride. The book is well written and keeps the kids interested in the book. My daughter is 9 and was so excited when it arrived home. This is must have for any child who is riding, thinking to ride or even that loves horses! They would enjoy reading it!!

I can't believe how informative it is and definitely accessible for kids. Great book. It was in perfect condition too.

Perfect introduction to horseback riding

スヌーピーのような絵柄がとてもかわいい本です。乗馬の入門書として良さそう。英語もそれほど難しくはないです。

とても素敵な本です。馬好きには楽しいです。英語の勉強にも使えそうです。