This is the first volume in a series of course books for career students and exam candidates preparing for the Stage 1 exam of the British Horse Society. It includes an examination planner, in-text self-assessment questions, BHS syllabus checklist points throughout the text, and examination tips from BHS examiners including common mistakes made. This book deals with the stable management syllabus and the ridden elements of the test.

The juvenile, or two-year-old, racing careers of Colin, Man o' War, Ruffian and Landaluce provide the foundation and focus for discussing the question of thoroughbred greatness and its measure. These four thoroughbreds were arguably the best juvenile runners of the twentieth century. Close on their hooves, pun intended, however, were the colts Sysonby and Secretariat and the fillies First Flight, La Prevoyante and Personal Ensign. The latter five runners are honorably mentioned and also compared in the book. As in The Greatest Horse of All: A Controversy Examined, basic statistics are used informally to provide readers a basis for their own studies in thoroughbred data comparison and evaluation. The author realizes that many people avoid mathematical ideas like the plague. Therefore, he has minimized statistical usage to its most common elements, and he explains these thoroughly for the uninitiated as the book progresses. Only two of the ten chapters use statistics to any degree. The text also includes seven figures and two tables to aid in understanding the statistical concepts. If one feels remotely comfortable with eight-grade mathematics concepts, one will have no problem with this material. Relative to the statistical comparisons, two novel concepts are discussed. These pertain to addressing the so-called era effect. Many racing fans continue to argue that horses from different eras cannot justly be compared. A strong case against this argument is presented from at least two standpoints. First, a device is described and suggested to scientifically test and compare the true relative speeds of two racing surfaces. Second, an inverse use of the well-known 't test' for comparing the differences between two or more data sets is presented. The text demonstrates how using this inverse test can equitably adjust earlier era data so that it may be fairly compared with later era data.

During two short seasons at the track, Ruffian was hailed as the greatest thoroughbred filly of all time. Unbeaten in her first ten starts, she shattered one record after another, dazzling crowds with both her beauty and her brilliant speed. Then tragedy struck on the afternoon of July 6, 1975. Ruffian broke down–on the lead–in the middle of a match race at Belmont Park. Later that night she had to be destroyed.

Ruffian: Burning from the Start is the story of this exceptional filly, a horse so dominating, so powerful, that writer Walter Farley once suggested she was more like the fictional legend, the Black Stallion, than any colt he had ever seen. Beginning with her earliest days in Kentucky, the book follows Ruffian at every stage of her career and through the agony of her final hours– venturing behind the scenes of the racing world and exploring the politics and personalities that came together to shape this extraordinary filly’s fate.

The story of the cowboy strike in 1936 at the Boston rodeo is a well-known bit of rodeo history. It is also no secret that the Cowboys' Turtle Association was the forerunner of the Rodeo Cowboys Association and today's Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. But Gail Hughbanks Woerner charts new territory by telling the whole story about how professional rodeo got it's start. From the men and women who were the pioneers to the behind the scenes struggles to keep the dream alive.

A Big Key To Winning
This book is tightly focused on just one handicapping subject, the Key Race. A Key Race is generally defined as a race from which two or more horses have gone on to win their next races. The idea here is that if two or more horses from this race have gone on to win their next, then the race was unusually competitive. Doesn't it follow then, that many other horses in the race probably ran better that it may appear at first?
A nice idea, but can it produce winning wagers? That's the subject addressed by this book. The book begins by illustrating a few Key Races, but goes on to document real results using this handicapping tool. Finally, it shows you how to identify horses coming from key races and how to use this knowledge to improve your handicapping results.

Horse Talk is a fun, informative, and handy guide, dedicated to helping people understand Thoroughbred racing and training terminology. Over 207 words or phrases defined, explained and used in a creative sentence by the opinion of the author.With the exception of some track conditions, betting terms, and medications.

Fine Tuning Barrel Horses, by champion barrel racer and barrel horse trainer Jessi Mead, is for every horse owner wishing to produce a top-level barrel horse. This detailed manual based on Mead's thirty years as a champion barrel racer and trainer outlines such training and fine-tuning techniques as determining the horse's training needs and meeting them; developing barrel turns, measuring barrel pockets, marking pocket points, teaching the horse collection and controlled speed. Every element of the barrel pattern is explained in clear diagrams using math, physics, and science. The chapters on rate and turn, detecting and correcting problems, and information on all phases of competition are essential. Her unique use of visual aids for horse and rider enhances the training and learning process, increasing the accuracy and consistency of barrel runs. The most thorough and informative manual available today, and a must for everyone involved in barrel racing.

This is the fourth and final volume in this excellent series of textbooks prepared for college students on equine degree courses. Dealing with the business management side of working in the horse industry, readers will find advice on subjects such as: marketing and market research, preparing a business plan, raising finance, meeting investors, taxation and insurance, employing staff, finance management, VAT accounting, health and safety, and how to expand their business.

Reprint 1961 edition. p.224. Sonora Carver was an American entertainer, most notable as one of the first female horse divers. Carver answered an ad placed by "Doc" William Frank Carver in 1923 for a diving girl and soon earned a place in circus history.Her job was to mount a running horse as it reached the top of a forty-foot (sometimes sixty-foot) tower and sail down along the animal's back as it plunged into a deep pool of water directly below. Sonora was a sensation and soon became the lead diving girl for Doc Carver's act as they traveled the country. In 1931, Sonora was blinded, a retinal detachment, due to hitting the water off-balance with her eyes open.while diving her horse, Red Lips, on New Jersey's Steel Pier, the act's permanent home since 1929. After her accident Sonora continued to dive horses until 1942.

In "Sixty Years of Welsh Champions," breed expert Dr Wynne Davies presents a complete record of equine champions from the Royal Welsh Show, 1947-2007. Arranged chronologically, each year lists the female and male champions from each of the four Sections, displaying their pedigree charts (going back to the great-great-grandparents), and records details of the breeder and exhibitor. Each entry is accompanied by a photograph, some of which have never before appeared in print. In addition, the introduction to the book offers a brief history of the show, detailing the changes in the Section classes and the story behind the fluctuation in the number of entries. Both a beautifully presented book with numerous stunning photos, and an exhaustive record of the event at the heart of the Welsh breeders calendar, this is a must have for every Welsh Pony and Cob enthusiast.

Top Secret Tips Unveiled Within!
This work is geared towards the occasional handicapper looking for help, but takes you through the entire process, so, beginners can use it, too.
The entire process is clear and concise with plenty of examples and worksheets to guide you.
If you are going to play the horses, you need to read this!

The most important tool for a cowboy is a rope. What he has done with it in the last 200 years is amazing. The evolution of the cowboy from taking care of cattle on the range to his competitive, top-level professional roping is all covered here. Why did calf roping replace steer roping? What kind of rope is best for each roping event? Since ranch cowboys have been team roping forever, why has it just become so popular? What makes a good roping horse? The answers to these questions and many more are in these pages, as are the stories and lives of ropers, and some of their mounts, from every era. As J. Frank Dobie once said, ?Facts are stubborn things.??but they do make a good read!

The BHS Complete Manual of Equitation is the official handbook for all those learning to ride and/or train horses and also for teachers of riding. It is based on the hugely successful BHS Manual of Equitation which was first published nearly thirty years ago and which was updated and reprinted many times. The Complete Manual retains core material from The Manual and this has been updated and new chapters have been added by leading specialists, all of whom are Fellows of the BHS, on The Historical Review, The Scales of Training, The Training of the Dressage Horse, Jump Training and Cross-country Riding. The BHS Complete Manual of Equitation is a complete, authoritative training guide for horse and rider both on the flat and over show jumps and cross-country fences, based on sound classical principles that have stood the test of time.

Today, sports' betting is a big industry for the bookmakers and race organisers. Of all the people who benefit from sports racing the "punters" (or in this case, you), are the last on the list of people who consistently gain.. In fact the greyhounds probably gain more from these races than most punters. Why is that? Well, there are many reasons but most of them centre on these two things: Lack of a proven system and Greed. This book closely examine these two points, and offers techniques and systems for achieving consistant wins.

Increasing numbers of visitors to wilderness have caused resource managers to seek information on good horse-handling techniques and innovative equipment to insure that "the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness" are preserved. This booklet is for those who travel into wilderness by horseback and who are concerned with minimizing man's impact there. Proper stock-handling, lightweight equipment, and good camp etiquette can do much to protect and preserve wilderness. This booklet illustrates how light, compact gear can be used in the horse camp and emphasizes innovative horse equipment for more comfortable, convenient travel with pack stock. It contains equipment ideas and techniques for "minimum impact" wilderness travel developed over many years by outfitters, packers, horse groups, Forest Service personnel, and other horsemen. The appendixes give detailed information on equipment mentioned in the text.

A comprehensive guide to the conditioning, producing, training, and exhibition of the heavy horse breeds. The author gives advice on general care, handling, feeding, shoeing, plaiting, and preparation for the show ring. Harness, handlers, carts, and carriages are examined and the problems of transporting these gentle giants and their vehicles are covered.

Julian Roup's anecdotes begin on the stunning beaches of his boyhood home in South Africa. The stories continue in Sussex as he explains how riding horses and fishing are so much cheaper than attending psychotherapy sessions.

A bestseller for 25 years, now updated for the 1990s, this perennial classic is packed with photographs and sound, practical advice on every aspect of horses, horse care, and horsemanship.

B & W photographs throughout


From the Hardcover edition.

Riding a Dressage Test demystifies the requirements for dressage competition at preliminary, novice and elementary levels. The international dressage judge, David Trott, explains in an easy-to-understand way exactly what the judge expects to see in the different movements of the tests. In addition, an example of each test movement is given, with comprehensive guidelines for riding the movements correctly. This book, together with its stable companion, Preparing for a Dressage Test, is essential reading for both trainers and riders and will help competitors to maximize their test-riding potential.

Designed to help develop a bond between the horse and the trainer, which leads to greater trust and the ability to get the most from the relationship. This book includes step-by-step guides on how to improve the horse's suppleness, obedience and education from the groundwork level. It teaches the trainer how to tune in to the subtle body language of the horse and communicate with it in a much clearer way. It also contains techniques developed and applied by top trainers and equine behaviourists.

Written for riders who wish to extend their horses' athletic lives and make them better, happier performers, this guide defines the practice of collection and explains how to train horses in it. Collection, or self-carriage, involves a horse carrying more weight on its hind legs than its front legs, allowing it to move more easily and perform more beautifully--but it can be difficult to achieve. Exercises for varying skill levels, riding styles, and horses help riders learn what qualifies as collection and how to attain it. Tips on how to avoid the most common bad habits and mistakes are also included in this manual that is beneficial to riders and horses everywhere.Collection is one of the most misunderstood concepts in Western and English riding. Everyone wants it, but few people know how to get it. World-class rider, trainer, and clinician Lynn Palm now offers the one and only book that explains away the mysteries of collection while telling you exactly how to attain it. With 30 years experience riding and training champion all-around performance horses, and a background in dressage, Lynn has perfected an easy-to-use system of exercises that gradually collect any type of horse, regardless of his build, and that are of particular value to stock horse breeds such as Quarter Horses, Paints, and Appaloosas.
Lynn assures us that every horse can achieve and move in a collected frame with time and patience, and learning how to bring him into true collection helps you improve his performance; create a more willing equine partner; extend his physical and mental longevity; and enjoy riding him even more than you already do. Real collection proves elusive because--until now--the instructions for achieving it have been complex, incomplete, or even incorrect. The result (false collection) is often based on a forced headset and little else. This is uncomfortable and unhealthy for the horse, and can lead to behavioral problems and physical breakdown.
Real collection is actually a complete tail-to-nose package of supple muscle and hind-end-generated impulsion: the hind legs step further under the body, the horse's back rounds, he flexes at the poll, and the rider's seat, legs, and hands connect it all. It is with this "frame," as it has come to be called, that the horse becomes more athletic--his forehand lightens, enabling him to maneuver his front end more quickly, his steps become cadenced, and his movement free-flowing.
To achieve this desirable "fluidity," Lynn begins on the ground with in-hand exercises--free lungeing, ground-driving, and lungeing-and-bitting--to gain the horse's trust and improve his responses to cues and commands. She then explains how you start in the saddle with simple transitions--such as halt-walk-halt--and gradually progress through stages that include more difficult transitions between gaits and markers; lengthening and shortening of stride; yielding on diagonal, straight, and curving lines; turns on the forehand and haunches; shoulder-in and shoulder-fore; haunches-in and haunches-out; half-pass; and simple and flying lead changes.
As the horse gains conditioning and increases his strength over time, long-and-low work and stretching down encourage him to "give" to the bit and flex at the poll. This, in coordination with Lynn's progressive exercises and training figures such as loops, figure eights, and serpentines, eventually leads to the beautiful, balanced frame of the responsive, collected horse that every rider dreams of: happy, healthy, willing, and ready to be competitive in the show pen or just simply a great pleasure to ride.

Derry Moore's photographs celebrate the extraordinary beauty in the trappings and traditions of the equestrian world. Offering a privileged glimpse into the lives of jockeys and cavalrymen, Spanish riding schools, and Midwestern rodeos, these pictures take the reader to paddocks, courses, and stables the world over and reveal the customs and passions of equestrian culture. From stablehands grooming before an English country hunt to blacksmiths shoeing showhorses to pull royal carriages in Spain, and from immaculate dressage riders at Chantilly to roughshod jockeys in the dusty fields of India, Moore's photographs offer a profound and romantic insight into the connection that binds us to these animals. With contributions from legendary owners and trainers, this elegant book paints a picture of an entire equestrian world, from the racecourses of Keeneland in Kentucky to the training stables at Newmarket, and from the majestic working Suffolk Punches to Frankel, the most valuable stud in the world. Moore's work-with a unique eye for character, not just in his portraits of the horses but in the details of their surroundings-is a fitting celebration of a lifestyle that continues to inspire.

Master the 40 basic elements essential to all riders in the classic disciplines of dressage, jumping, and eventing with this book and 90-minute DVD showing action sequences for each fundamental. These fundamentals include correct seat, leg, and hand positions for the rider; the three basic gaits of walk, trot, and canter; how to perform halt and half-halt; how to direct a horse's movement correctly and energetically; the stages of the training scale (rhythm, looseness, contact, impulsion, straightness, and collection); and how to perform basic schooling figures in the arena, from circles and serpentines to diagonals. Each fundamental is defined and explained in text and photos throughout the book, as well as in the 90-minute DVD, with an emphasis on how to avoid common errors. The DVD won a Telly Award for excellence in video production.

Women and their horses -- a symbiotic relationship based on trust, camaraderie, friendship, and love. In "Why We Ride," Verna Dreisbach collects the stories of women who ride, sharing their personal emotions and accounts of the most important animals in their lives.
This collection of stories includes the heartfelt thoughts of a range of women -- those who rode as children, those who spent their girlhood years dreaming of owning a pony, and those who have made a lifelong hobby or career out of riding. Each story reveals how horses have made an impact in the lives of these women. With a foreword by best-selling novelist Jane Smiley, "Why We Ride" offers a reflective view on the relationships between women and horses.