Question: "I just bought a horse. What do I do now?"
Answer: "Buy my book, 'What I'd Teach Your Horse.'"

If I had a dollar for every email I get asking "what to do" to make a riding horse out of the mare Uncle Emo just traded for the old RV - or how to retrain a horse that's grown rusty - or some version on either theme, I'd be the world's first gazillionaire. With the publication of this book then, I'm hoping to grab that distinction.

If you broke your horse to saddle and rode it for the first time yesterday, this book (chapter 1) is where you'd start tomorrow. If you have an older horse and you've taught him everything you know and he still don't know nothin', this book is where you'd start, (chapter 2). It's a roadmap to building the foundation every horse needs, regardless of age, breed or background, regardless of what you've got ultimately planned for that horse.

Afterwards, when your horse knows this book back to front, go train for barrels, roping, eventing, jumping or dressage. But today, basics are basics.

Section I is the stuff your horse needs to know. Section II is the stuff (the theory) you need to know. Practice the first handful of chapters in order, as written. Beyond that, you should feel free to mix and match depending on your needs or abilities. Some chapters are dependent upon others - but in those cases, I've spelled out necessary prerequisites.

Contents:

SECTION I
BASICALLY TRAINING YOUR HORSE

- Legs Mean Move (Step 1 if This Is "Day 2" for Your Young Horse)
- Hip Control, Part I
- Hip Control, Part II
- Classic Serpentine
- Train Your Horse to Travel Straight
- Clockwork: How to Teach Anything to Your Horse
- Shoulder Control
- The Reverse Arc Circle
- How to Fix Leaning Shoulders
- Serpentine: Indirect to Direct
- Speed Control
- Slow Down, Part I: Move the Hip
- Slow Down, Part II: Wherein We Train the Brain
- Balky Horses: Comatose One Minute, Hot to Trot the Next
- Crossing Creeks and Scary Stuff
- Teach Your Horse to Lower Its Head While Standing
- Better Back Ups
- Simple Steps to Power Steering
- Diagonal Movement ("Leg Yields Without the Legs")
- Softening
- Getting Leads
- A Fix for Cross-Firing (aka "Cross-Cantering")
- Hips-in (aka "Haunches-in" or "Travers")
- Neck Reining How-To

SECTION II
TEACHING YOU, THE THEORY BEHIND THE PRACTICE

- The First Thing I Do
Here's the first thing you should do with your horse today.
- Each Time You Mount Up, Do This
Here's a small thing you can do to keep your horse's attitude in check.
- How to Pick Up Your Reins Like a Pro
How to pick up, handle, and release your reins
- Training Magic: Release on the Thought
Two days from now your friends at the barn will be blown away by the overnight improvements you've made.
- What You're Feeling For
A trained horse will read your body language and act.
- Learning
When things are going awry, it's often because something small hasn't been taught.
- Reins Tell Direction, Legs Tell Speed
Maybe you're burning out your cues, using them as both a "heads-up" and motivator.
- Talking Horse
Tell your horse exactly what you were looking for when you're riding.
- See Yourself Leading When Riding
One simple change you can make for big changes immediately.
- Perfect the First Time
Here's how to soften your horse quickly.
- Six Easy Ways to Improve Your Training
Here are 6 training tips to simplify your training and make big changes fast.
- Rider Checklists
Here are 3 "Rider Checklists." Together, they'll keep you safer-and accelerate your training.
- Diagnosing Problems
Which cues is your horse ignoring?
Se

Control: Either you have it--or you don't. Two words, "Either Or," are particularly appropriate when describing, owning, and handling the great majority of horses that buck. Either they do it because they're scared or because they're defiant. Either you're the type of person who takes on the challenge with a gleam in your eye or you have a bad stomach over the very idea. Either your barn friends think you should sell the animal because they feel embarrassed for you and your odd excuses for why you exercise it via hand walks and turnout and never a ride on the trail -- or they're pretty sure you don't realize the risk you take each time you hop aboard and they're considering an equestrian intervention. And either you've got a plan to fix it--or you do not. Make that "did not." "Did not have a plan." Because now you do. You've got this guide and so you've got a plan and with it a solution. This book, "Crow Hopper's Big Guide to Buck Stopping," falls into four sections: Section I: Learn the ground work required to begin snuffing out this deep-rooted issue. Given that "you ride the horse you lead," you'll begin your fix with your feet planted safely on terra firma. You'll gain confidence--and control. Section II: Learn to see a buck coming and what to do if it happens, then get back in the saddle for exercise after exercise designed to put you in charge and prevent future problems. Section III: Perform exercises geared to address immediate and specific bucking issues: Bucking into the canter, how to deal with your own fear, crossing obstacles, the horse that crow hops when first introduced to the saddle. Section IV: Training appropriate for every horse and rider--and an absolute must for those schooling the bucking horse. (See the Table of Contents for a complete listing.) Your horse isn't going to buck if you have control. Your task, then, becomes gaining that control, understanding when you have it, knowing when you don't, working to get it. Table of Contents: Section I Ground Training - When You Really Lose It If your horse went ballistic last week, it didn't just "happen." Spot the signals. - Where I'd Start Bucking horse owners, here's something you can do with your horse that advances his training, is low risk, and fun. - Whoever Moves First, Loses (Or, "How to Get Respect") Secure your rightful spot as leader in your "herd of two." - Bridle Work from the Ground Develop control over your horse's individual body parts and gain respect - Reverse of Respect Backing your horse is an excellent way to affirm (or establish) your position as leader - Lungeing a Horse for Added Control With added training for the bucking horse, here is the how, when, and why of lunge-line training Section II Fixes from the saddle and preventative medicine - Your Individual Prescription - Ride Where You Can, Not Where You Can't - Core Exercises (Introduced) - Despooking: Scary Things - Despooking: Scary Moments - Getting Back On: What to Do If the Horse Bucks - Hip Control - Classic Serpentine - Softening - Calm Down Now: Drop Your Horse's Head on Command - Speed Control for Mind Control - Shoulder Control - Train Your Horse to Travel Straight Section III Questions answered: Specific and immediate fixes for the bucking horse owner - Horses that Buck When First Introduced to the Saddle - How Can I Overcome My Fear After Being Bucked Off? - My horse wants to buck or crow hop when going from a trot to a canter. - Crossing Creeks and Scary Stuff Section IV Training for every horse and rider--and an absolute must for those schooling the bucking horse - Each Time You Mount Up, Do This First - How to Pick Up Your Reins Like a Pro - Training Magic: Release on the Thought - Reins Tell Direction, Legs Tell Speed - Talking Horse - Perfect the First Time - How Do I Keep My Horse's Attention? - Is the Cinch Strap Causing the Trouble? - Is My Horse Hard to Train... Because of His Feet? - The Sours: Bu

"There's a line that runs alongside our ordinary lives, just beyond the grind of things. Jason Beem's novel Southbound derails your ordinary life and shoots you into the thrill, rush, and dark brutal truths of gambling and racing. And he doesn't flinch. A glorious and visceral book. I sweat reading it."-Lidia Yuknavitch, author of The Chronology of Water and Dora: A Headcase.

Based on author Jason Beem's own painful journey with a gambling addiction, Southbound follows Ryan McGuire, a horse racing announcer who faces his gambling demons on a daily basis. Just one bet could cost him everything...his job, his friends, his fans, his girlfriend, and even his own life. Despite knowing that all he loves is on the line, he succumbs to his vices and his life quickly spirals out of control. He's on a straight path southbound to rock bottom and only he has the power to stop it.

"A gritty fearless portrayal of a man in the midst of a gambling breakdown. A relapse to end all relapses. It's as horrifying as it is intense and written with a lean sharp eye."--Willy Vlautin, author of The Free and The Motel Life

"Jason Beem's Southbound begins with the drama of a close horse race - and it never lets up from there. Beem has written a smart, perceptive novel - one that is about the difficulties of addiction and recovery - but also about the yearning for love, and the ways people fill the vacancies in their lives. It's saturated with the sensory joys of the race track, and a pleasure to read." -Pauls Toutonghi, Pushcart Prize winning author of Evel Knievel Days and Red Weather

Alfred Pollock knew at age eight that he wanted to race horses. By the time he was in high school, he had already designed a course for sneaking out of Commerce High School on the Upper Westside of New York City. He arrived with binoculars, a racing form, and betting money, but sneaked stealthily down the steps and out the doors to the racetracks. Reviewing his doo-day days-a term from Stephen Foster's famous song, "Camptown Races"-Pollock combines a natural flair for finding the irony and absurdity in each event. Readers will be magnetized by Pollock's retelling of his uproarious, rib-tickling adventures-some raucous, some surreal, many unbelievable. Add to those scenes his ingenious reworking of and commenting on the rich language he encounters, and you have one remarkable personal testimony based on tenacious perseverance.