This book focuses on the impact of monetary policy and food price volatility and inflation in emerging and developing economies. The tendency for food price volatility to blot inflation forecasting accuracy, engender tail dynamics in the overall inflation trajectory and derail economic welfare is well known in the literature. The ability of monetary policy to exact stability in food prices, theoretically, has also been well espoused. The empirical evidence, however, is not only in short supply, but also the studies available have dwelt on approaches that underplay the volatile behaviour of food prices. This book focuses on inflation targeting in emerging economies such as Chile, Mexico, Turkey, Brazil, Hungary, Russia, Colombia, South Africa, Indonesia and Ghana, as these are economies with considerable proportion of the consumption basket occupied by food. The book provides the means to understand at first hand the correct way to model food inflation, account for the related policy responses to deviations either in the short or medium to long term, and in market conditions that are subject to excessive variability. Strong evidence is presented that captures deviations of food prices from their trend and the accompanying monetary policy effect in stabilizing such variabilities across distinct frequencies. The novel approach in this book addresses the burgeoning puzzles of asymmetry in monetary policy effect on food prices at high, medium and low episodes of food inflation. In doing so, this book presents a powerful tool for researchers interested in understanding not just the transmission mechanism, but also the magnitudes involved, and to policymakers whose existing tools have failed them. Future studies will do well to deepen the evidence and seek new grounds to which the phenomenon manifests beyond and below emerging markets. This book will be of great interest to students, scholars and policymakers involved in agricultural economics, financial economics, food security and sustainable development.

The book brings out an encyclopaedic picture of the potential areas of transformative Indian agriculture through innovations in science, technology, institutional and policy affairs directed in building a self-reliant India (Atmanirbhar Bharat). The book has addressed the challenges to make India free from hunger, poverty and undernutrition, and suggested interventions with focus on all-inclusiveness and sustainability, peace and prosperity, and resilience to climate and other volatilities. Most of these propositions are analogous to the Sustainable Development Goals - Agenda 2030, which India has committed to achieve. The book especially covers critical needs for development on different fragile ecosystems such as coastal, desert, hill, ravine and other marginal ecosystems. The book will act as very useful guidance for the policy makers, and development communities, and a reference document to academicians as well. Note: T&F does not sell or distribute the hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. This title is co-published with NIPA.

Covers wide range of concepts, investigations, and technological advancement in metagenomics at the global level. Highlights the novel and recent approaches to analyze microbial diversity and its functional attributes. Features range of chapters that present an introduction to the field and functional insight of various ecosystems.

This book explores different aspects of entrepreneurship from both an academic and a commercial point of view. The first chapter the university culture is considered. The nature of the technology or service is important. Some technologies are adaptive, in that they are developing products that are already in the marketplace, and these fit easily in academic institutions. Other technologies are disruptive and new products must be developed. These fit less easily into university structures since a commercial entity is required. Chapter 4 considers the important requirements of conflict of interest (COI). Either the university culture or COI can hinder or aid entrepreneurial faculty. The second chapter deals with the reasons why an individual faculty might wish to become entrepreneurial. In many cases, a faculty member wants to see their technology in practice and not just a publication in a scientific journal. If a technology is disruptive, then a commercial entity is probably essential. If so, then funding must be obtained. There are "valleys of death" (1) where scientific discoveries to useful products and (2) the development, production and marketing of a commercially viable product. Chapter 6 deals specifically with methods of funding start-up companies. Chapter 3 describes several innovative programs in biology. These include genetic approaches, plant management systems and the author's own program that deals with microbial approaches to sustainable agriculture. Chapter 5 describes the crucial areas of agreements, contracts, regulatory affairs and patents. These legal documents are critical components of entrepreneurial efforts and must be understood and pursued correctly. Finally, this book could have been entitled "things I wish I had known when I first started commercial activities." It is my hope that it can make the path of fledgling entrepreneurial smoother and more successful.

The book covers Indian agricultural development from the colonial to the present period. It examines how ruling class political ideology determined the agricultural policies from colonial rule. It considers both quantitative and qualitative aspects in all periods: colonial period to pre-green revolution phase, post-green revolution phase (early and late stages) and post-globalisation phase after 1991. India has achieved the ability to maintain food security, through enough food grain buffer stocks to meet the enormous public distribution system. But, with India's entry into WTO in 1994, euphoria has been created among all types of farmers to adopt commercial crops like cotton cost-intensive inputs. Even food grain crops are grown through use of costly irrigation and chemicalised inputs. But they lacked remunerative prices, and so farmers began to commit suicides, which crossed 3.5 lakh. Government of India attributed this agrarian crisis to the technology fatigue and gave scope for second green revolution (GR-II). GR-I was achieved by public sector enterprise, whereas the GR-II as gene revolution is a result of private sector enterprise/MNCs. There is fear that opening up of the sector may lead to handover of the family farms to big agri-multinationals. GOI's proposal to double farmers' income by 2022 is feasible only when the problems, being faced by small, marginal and tenant farmers, are addressed in agricultural marketing, credit and extension services. Now, it is time to go for suitable forms of cooperative/collective agriculture, as 85 percent of total cultivators are the small and marginal farmers. This book is co-published with Aakar Books, New Delhi. Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the print versions of this book in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

-- Covers the most relevant production and distribution channels of aquafeed and the ingredients used commonly as sources of proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates. This will help the industry understand how to position itself to meet the challenge of securing aquafeed to sustain aquaculture. -- 20 chapters cover different aspects of aquafeeds, from the market to cutting-edge technologies, including nutritional aspects and the impact of aquafeeds on climate change. This enables aquafeeds to be approached from different perspectives. -- Up until now, aquafeed-related issues were addressed as secondary subjects in undergraduate textbooks, being part of books covering a broad spectrum of subjects. Other book focus on processing techniques with aquafeed products mentioned in a tangential manner. This means a book focused on aquafeeds, covering different aspects of their production and commercialization chain, is a real necessity. -- Interdisciplinary chapters, with collaborations between academic researchers and industry professionals, cover not only technical aspects but also market analysis.

This book reviews up-to-date knowledge on the biology and aquaculture of tilapia, with special focus on the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Tilapia are a group of fish species that have become one of the most cultured worldwide, currently having a big economic impact on both developed and developing countries. The first 12 chapters of the present book cover different aspects of tilapia biology such as genetics, nutrition, osmoregulation, pathology, reproduction and development. Each chapter includes both basic knowledge and its application to tilapia culture. The last 3 chapters are devoted to cutting-edge techniques for the industry of tilapia aquaculture. Experts from both academia and research institutes provide their expertise on the present book.

In her quest for global leadership in science and technology, the People's Republic of China has attained top ranks in the number of scientific publications, "hot papers," or national and international patent applications. However, analysis of the underlying structures and mechanisms is hindered by the sheer flood of data, stringent government control of all media, and ambiguities inherent in translation from Chinese. This book overcomes these difficulties and provides a concise picture of biotechnology-related research and development in China. It begins with brief accounts of China's geography, people, political and administrational structure, economy, finance, infrastructure related to science and technology, and educational system. It presents succinct accounts on structures and developments in biomedicine, diagnostics, agriculture, fermented food, bioindustry, and environmental biotechnology, with reference to government, industry, and academia. Finally, it predicts the next steps in Chinese biotechnology for the national agenda and, in view of China's ambitious global development strategy, the Belt and Road Initiative.

Globally climate-induced disasters have been impacting marginalised communities' lives, livelihood and gendered relations. This book explores the effects of Cyclone Aila (as a result of climate change) in 2009 on the rural livelihoods and gendered relations of two ethnically distinct forest communities - Munda, an indigenous group, and Shora, a Muslim group - dwelling near the Sundarbans Forest in Bangladesh. Examining the cyclone's medium- to long-term impacts on livelihoods and comparative aspects of gendered relations between these two contrasting communities, this book addresses a gap in current critical development studies. It adopts an ethnographic research design and analyses the alterations to livelihood activities and reconfiguration of gender relations within the Munda and Shora communities since 2009. The study primarily contends that post-Aila, livelihoods and gendered relations have been substantially transformed in both communities, making the case that the improvement of local infrastructure, as an important part of the geographical location, has noticeably progressed the living conditions and livelihoods of some members of the Munda and Shora communities. Connecting climate-induced changes with the construction and alteration of gendered livelihood patterns, the book will be of interest to a wide range of academics in the fields of Asian Studies, Sociology of Environment, Social Anthropology, Human Geography, Gender and Cultural Studies, Human Geography, Disaster Management and Forestry and Environmental Science.

Cash crops are grown and sold for monetary gain and not necessarily for sustenance. They include coffee, tea, coconut, cotton, jute, groundnut, castor, linseed, cocoa, rubber, cassava, soybean, sweet potato, potato, wheat, corn and teff. While some of these crops have been improved for realizing yield potential, breeding of many of them is still in infancy. Crops that underwent rigorous breeding have eventually lost much of the diversity due to extensive cultivation with a few improved varieties and the diversity in less bred species is to be conserved. Over the past years, scholars and policy makers have become increasingly aware of the short and long-run impact of climatic factors on economic, food security, social and political outcomes . Genetic diversity, natural and induced, is much needed for the future generations to sustain food production with more climate resilient crops. In contrast, crop uniformity produced across the farm fields in the form of improved varieties is genetically vulnerable to biotic and abiotic stresses. Thus, it is essential and challenging to address the issue of compromising between maximizing crop yield under a given set of conditions and minimizing the risk of crop failure when conditions change. Cash crops are grown in an array of climatic conditions. Many of the world's poor still live in rural areas. Many are subsistence farmers, operating very small farms using very little agricultural inputs for achieving marketable outputs. Conserving the diversity of these crops and addressing all issues of crop culture through modern tools of biotechnology and genomics is a real challenge. We believe the focus of this book is to fill an unmet need of this and other grower communities by providing the necessary knowledge, albeit indirectly via the academics, to manage the risks of cash crops breeding through managing genetic diversity.

1.Covers important fields of algae right from biomass production to genetic engineering aspects of algae. 2.Useful for people doing research Algal biotechnology, Aquaculture, Marine micro and Macrobiology, Microbial biotechnology, Bioprocess technology 3. Focuses on therapeutic and nutritional areas of algae

Water Environment Modeling covers the formulations and applications of mathematical models that simulate water flow and chemical transport in rivers, lakes, groundwater, estuaries, coastal, and ocean waters. These models are used to evaluate the response of water environment to human interventions and serve as useful analytical tools for water pollution control and resource management. Simple and comprehensive modeling techniques and their practical applications are presented with examples and exercises, most of which are derived from actual case studies. In general, simple models can be solved analytically and comprehensive models require numerical solutions. While simple models are usually adopted for preliminary assessment of a particular water environment, comprehensive models are used to provide detailed spatial and temporal variations of pollutants in complex environments. The system-based models in the forms of integral equations are introduced as an alternative modeling approach. This textbook is ideal for advanced undergraduate students and graduate students in civil and environmental engineering and related academic fields. It is also suitable as a reference book for practicing engineers and scientists. Authors: Clark C.K. Liu is Emeritus Professor of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of Hawaii and former Environmental Engineering Director of US National Science Foundation. Pengzhi Lin is Professor of State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering at Sichuan University. He is the author of Numerical Modeling of Water Waves (CRC Press, 2008). Hong Xiao is Professor and Vice Director of Hydroinformatics Institute of the State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering at Sichuan University.

It highlights the synthesis, classification, biological function, medicinal applications, and an overview of the recent advancements for the enhanced production of novel secondary metabolites in plants. It overviewed the role of induced mutation, salinity stress, Brassinosteroids impact to increase the secondary metabolic contents in plants and suggests increase in enzymatic activity in plants could be due to various point mutations which in turn could play a role at transcriptome levels. It discussed the significant role of endophytes to enhance the contents of plant secondary metabolites. Alternatively, it also suggests urgent need to set up the standard operating procedures using hydroponics system of cultivation for significant enhancement of secondary metabolite contents. It enlists various in vitro techniques to enhance plant secondary metabolites contents using plant tissue culture approaches. It systematically overviewed the state of art in biotechnological tools viz. CRISPER Cas9, and RNAi to enhance the plant secondary metabolite contents and recommend CRISPER Cas9 technology over the RNAi, ZFNs and TALENs because of its relatively simple and high precision method with easily programmable tool by changing the guide sequence of the sgRNA to any DNA sequence of interest with its capacity to recognize multiple targeted genes with very low off-target effects due to reduced CpG methylation.

Water Environment Modeling covers the formulations and applications of mathematical models that simulate water flow and chemical transport in rivers, lakes, groundwater, estuaries, coastal, and ocean waters. These models are used to evaluate the response of water environment to human interventions and serve as useful analytical tools for water pollution control and resource management. Simple and comprehensive modeling techniques and their practical applications are presented with examples and exercises, most of which are derived from actual case studies. In general, simple models can be solved analytically and comprehensive models require numerical solutions. While simple models are usually adopted for preliminary assessment of a particular water environment, comprehensive models are used to provide detailed spatial and temporal variations of pollutants in complex environments. The system-based models in the forms of integral equations are introduced as an alternative modeling approach. This textbook is ideal for advanced undergraduate students and graduate students in civil and environmental engineering and related academic fields. It is also suitable as a reference book for practicing engineers and scientists. Authors: Clark C.K. Liu is Emeritus Professor of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of Hawaii and former Environmental Engineering Director of US National Science Foundation. Pengzhi Lin is Professor of State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering at Sichuan University. He is the author of Numerical Modeling of Water Waves (CRC Press, 2008). Hong Xiao is Professor and Vice Director of Hydroinformatics Institute of the State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering at Sichuan University.

This new volume offers a multi-pronged perspective on maize science, bringing together important recent research advances from several disciplines. The volume covers maize from origin to biotechnology. It provides an overview of recent world maize production along with technological advancements and green strategies in maize science. The authors cover the background of maize, its origin and domestication, ideotypes, botany, taxonomy, physiology of crop growth, methods of cultivation, production, nutritional functions, biotic and abiotic stress impacts, postharvest management and technology, maize grain quality, and advances in breeding and biotechnology, filling a gap in the literature of maize.

This book explores food provisioning in Colombia by examining the role and impact of the agrarian negotiations which took place in the aftermath of the 2013-2014 national strikes. Most of the research in the field of agrarian studies in Colombia has focused on inequalities in land distribution, the impacts of violent conflict, and most recently, the first phase of the peace agreement implementation. This book links and complements these literatures by critically engaging with an original framework that uncovers the conflicts and politics of food provisioning: who produces what and where, and with what socio-economic effects. This analytical lens is used to explain the re-emergence of national agrarian movements, their contestation of the dominant development narratives and their engagement in discussions about food sovereignty with the state. The analysis incorporates a wide range of voices from high-level government representatives and leaders from national agrarian movements. Their narratives of food provisioning and the broader role of the food industry are reviewed and the key findings show an underlying conflict within food provisioning based on the struggle of marginalised smallholders to develop alternative agri-food systems that can be included in the local and domestic food markets in the context of a state dominated by an export and import approach. Overall, the book argues that the battle ground of agrarian conflicts has moved to the fi eld of food provisioning and using this approach has the potential to reframe the debate about the future of food and agriculture in Colombia and beyond. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of food and agriculture, rural development, peasant studies, and Latin American Studies.

Forage crops are an essential component of livestock's diet. Production and availability of sufficiently good quality forage under diverse ecological dynamics are fundamental to develop an efficient and productive livestock industry. Growers worldwide, especially in developing and underdeveloped countries, face significant challenges in producing sufficient winter fodder. The livestock population is increasing at high rates, and its feed requirement is increasing accordingly. Fodder crops are the leading and cheapest source of feed for livestock; however, the shortage of fodder production is the primary limiting factor for livestock production. This book features an extensive overview of literature providing information on winter fodders used in livestock management. Key features Discusses breeding strategies of winter fodders through conventional approaches and biotechnology. Highlights production, agronomy, and bioecology of winter fodder crops. Provides comprehensive information on the ecological dynamics of winter fodders. Describes the use of precision agriculture for mitigating the effect of climate change on winter fodders. Relays challenges of winter fodder crops on account of microbes, toxins, pests, and diseases. This book is written for researchers and practitioners in agronomy, biotechnology, bioecology and is a comprehensive guide for improving winter fodder production.

Considering the ever-increasing global population and finite arable land, technology and sustainable agricultural practices are required to improve crop yield. This book examines the interaction between plants and microbes and considers the use of advanced techniques such as genetic engineering, revolutionary gene editing technologies, and their applications to understand how plants and microbes help or harm each other at the molecular level. Understanding plant-microbe interactions and related gene editing technologies will provide new possibilities for sustainable agriculture. The book will be extremely useful for researchers working in the fields of plant science, molecular plant biology, plant-microbe interactions, plant engineering technology, agricultural microbiology, and related fields. It will be useful for upper-level students and instructors specifically in the field of biotechnology, microbiology, biochemistry, and agricultural science. Features: Examines the most advanced approaches for genetic engineering of agriculture (CRISPR, TALAN, ZFN, etc.). Discusses the microbiological control of various plant diseases. Explores future perspectives for research in microbiological plant science. Plant-Microbial Interactions and Smart Agricultural Biotechnology will serve as a useful source of cutting-edge information for researchers and innovative professionals, as well as upper-level undergraduate and graduate students taking related agriculture and environmental science courses.

This collection of papers includes some of the presentation given at the International congress of Plant Pathology held in Beijing in 2013 in the session of Recent Development in Postharvest Pathology. Fruit production for human consumption is an important part of the market economy. Any waste during to spoilage and pest infestation, in the field and the postharvest phase, results in significant economic losses which are more pronounced as the losses occur closer to the time of produce sale. Careful handling of perishable produce is needed for the prevention of postharvest diseases at different stages during harvesting. Handling, transport and storage in order to preserve the high quality produce. The extent of postharvest losses varies markedly depending on the commodities and country estimated to range between 4 and 8% in countries where postharvest refrigeration facilities are well developed to 30% where facilities are minimal. Microbial decay is one of the main factors that determine losses compromising the quality of the fresh produce. For the development of an integrated approach for decay management, cultural, preharvest, harvest and postharvest practices should be regarded as essential components that influence the complex interactions between host, pathogen, and environmental conditions. Orchards practices including preharvest fungicide applications can also directly reduce the development of postharvest fruit decay. Among postharvest practices, postharvest fruit treatments with fungicide are the most effective means to reduce decay. Ideally, these fungicides protect the fruit from infections that occur before treatment, including pathogen causing quiescent infections, as well from infection that are initiated after treatment during postharvest handling, shipment and marketing. The implementation of these alternatives techniques often requires modifying currently used postharvest practices and development of new formulation for their applications.

The present chapters deal with the newest report related to postharvest pathology in the world.

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This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. By 2050, human population is expected to reach 9.7 billion. The demand for increased food production needs to be met from ever reducing resources of land, water and other environmental constraints. Rice remains the staple food source for a majority of the global populations, but especially in Asia where ninety percent of rice is grown and consumed. Climate change continues to impose abiotic and biotic stresses that curtail rice quality and yields. Researchers have been challenged to provide innovative solutions to maintain, or even increase, rice production. Amongst them, the 'green super rice' breeding strategy has been successful for leading the development and release of multiple abiotic and biotic stress tolerant rice varieties. Recent advances in plant molecular biology and biotechnologies have led to the identification of stress responsive genes and signaling pathways, which open up new paradigms to augment rice productivity. Accordingly, transcription factors, protein kinases and enzymes for generating protective metabolites and proteins all contribute to an intricate network of events that guard and maintain cellular integrity. In addition, various quantitative trait loci associated with elevated stress tolerance have been cloned, resulting in the detection of novel genes for biotic and abiotic stress resistance. Mechanistic understanding of the genetic basis of traits, such as N and P use, is allowing rice researchers to engineer nutrient-efficient rice varieties, which would result in higher yields with lower inputs. Likewise, the research in micronutrients biosynthesis opens doors to genetic engineering of metabolic pathways to enhance micronutrients production. With third generation sequencing techniques on the horizon, exciting progress can be expected to vastly improve molecular markers for gene-trait associations forecast with increasing accuracy. This book emphasizes on the areas of rice science that attempt to overcome the foremost limitations in rice production. Our intention is to highlight research advances in the fields of physiology, molecular breeding and genetics, with a special focus on increasing productivity, improving biotic and abiotic stress tolerance and nutritional quality of rice.

Chapters are authored by leading experts from around the world, including Greece, Chile, Australia, Canada and Australia, while an international Editorial Board ensures continued high quality and rigorous peer review of published articles. The ever increasing interest in work in oceanography and marine biology and its relevance to global environmental issues, especially global climate change and its impacts, creates a demand for authoritative reviews summarizing the results of recent research. This series remains one of the most cited sources in marine science and oceanography.

Modelling Invasive Alien Plant Species: Fuzzy Based Uncertainty presents the application of different fuzzy set theory techniques in developing risk assessment models for invasive plant species- those whose introduction and spread outside their natural range threatens local biodiversity. Invasion risk of species is expressed by biological traits which would be considered as the risk factors accompanied with uncertainty and imprecision. The book considers both quantitative and qualitative inputs in modelling the invasive risk by incorporating different mathematical models based on fuzzy set theory operators, interval methods, and fuzzy linguistic operators. The proposed models can be applied for investigating risk of invasive alien plant species in various regions and conditions. Features: Uniquely merges mathematical models with biological expressions. Presents different factor-based models as a case study on the risk of invasive alien plant species. Explains how users can perform primary-level risk assessment through fuzzy modeling techniques. Appropriate for upper-level students, researchers, and practicing professionals, this book shows how conventional approaches such as probability theory can be of limited use to solve issues of uncertainty, and how they fuzzy set theory plays a better role in understanding uncertain system dynamics, such invasive plant modelling.

The purpose of the book Postharvest Plant Pathology is to provide its readers recent developments and updated comprehensive information on postharvest pathogens & diseases of major crops. This book explicates the fundamental aspects of postharvest diseases of crops and is conveniently divided into ten chapters, providing the latest information on the concept & types of postharvest diseases, economically significant postharvest pathogens & diseases of major crops, factors governing postharvest diseases, storage conditions, food safety issues, quiescence in post harvest pathogens, detailed & recent information on major mycotoxins, various approaches of postharvest disease management, integrated management strategies, biochemical & molecular aspects of postharvest diseases, apart from which, an exclusive chapter for discussing the postharvest nematode diseases and their management is also furnished. Note: T&F does not sell or distribute the hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. This title is co-published with NIPA.

This book represents the first comprehensive compilation of deliberations on botany; genetic resources; genetic diversity analysis; classical genetics & traditional breeding; in vitro culture & genetic transformation; detailed information on molecular maps & mapping of economic genes and QTLs; whole genome sequencing of the nuclear genome and sequencing of chloroplast genome; and elucidation of functional genomics. It also addresses alternate flowering, a unique problem in mango, and discusses currently available genomic resources and databases. Gathering contributions by globally reputed experts, the book will benefit the students, teachers, and scientists in academia and at private companies interested in horticulture, genetics, breeding, pathology, entomology, physiology, molecular genetics and breeding, in vitro culture & genetic engineering, and structural and functional genomics.

Equitation Science together with classical riding is today probably the most humane, effective, and practical way of training and enjoying the horse, competitive or not. To avoid getting involved is to accede to the status quo. Our horses deserve better.~Sharon E. Cregier, Ph.D., FIASH (Hon., Edin.), founding member of Equine Behaviour Forum In precise, practical language, Fine Riding describes how to blend the principles of classical riding with the modern findings of Equitation Science, demonstrating how to put the principles into practice when training and riding horses. The book encompasses the author's lifelong background in authentic classical riding and a 17-year study and practice of Equitation Science. It presents the best of the old with the best of the new, resulting in a unique and rational blend of principles, clearly explained, that enables and encourages readers to train, ride and care for their horses truly effectively and humanely. Applicable to riding of all schools of thought, from hacking to racing, including jumping, McBane's method is more than simply another 'system' of riding. It applies the results of rigorous scientific studies to the historical, classical training and riding of horses in an ethical, humane and effective way, explaining the principles in such a way that readers will feel able to put it into effect themselves. This book will encourage horse owners to serve their horses with renewed understanding and commitment.