Robin Oakley brings alive the colourful world of those who ride and train jumping horses. With elegant production and gripping images The History of Jump Racing chronicles the social and economic changes which have brought the sport's ups and downs-like the development of sponsorships and syndicate ownership, the near loss of the Grand National, the growing domination of the Cheltenham Festival and the growth of all-weather racing to meet the bookies' demands for betting shop fodder. Pace and colour is provided by stories of the horses who have been taken to the heart of racing crowds, like the Irish-trained hurdler Istabraq and Best Mate, the three-times winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup for England. Famous rivalries and memorable races are re-lived and key victories revisited in portraits of and interviews with the owners, jockeys and trainers who have dominated the sport. The emphasis will be largely on the past fifty years-from Arkle to Tony McCoy-but a significant introduction by Edward Gillespie encapsulates the past history of what was previously known as 'National Hunt Racing' and sets the stories in context.

Billions of people around the world embrace the practice of yoga. Its lessons in breath control, simple meditation, and specific bodily postures are widely regarded as a means to achieving health and relaxation. Yoga teacher and horsewoman, Cathy Woods, says that's not all: she believes the meditative, mindful breath-work and lifestyle aspects of the tradition, as well as the postures can be profoundly helpful in our interactions with horses. Over the course of her 30-year career, Woods has created teachings that are accessible to everyone - new and experienced yogis, and riders of different levels and disciplines - giving them life changing-benefits, including empowerment, confidence, connection and feel. Her unique programme is presented here in the form of highly illustration instruction, guiding you through the steps to achieving present moment awareness; finding body, breath and energy awareness; breathing through challenges; listening to your inner voice; slowing down; and developing balance and symmetry in the saddle. All of these are key to better communication and improved partnership with our horses. In addition,Woods shares specific stretches for strength, flexibility, and balance, as well as postures that contribute to rider safety as we age. The result is a book that helps us become more aware and conscious riders while gently correcting our imbalances, resulting in a richer, more rewarding, more joyful horsemanship experience.

It is no secret that riders often neglect their own needs in order to ensure their horses' are met. Countless dollars go toward massages, chiropractic work, and various other therapies that keep our equines comfortable and performing their best. We carefully schedule their training programs to achieve peak fitness at just the right time, and we juggle our personal lives-careers, family, you name it-around it all. But horse sports are a partnership, and if we want our horses to be at their best, then we have to be at ours, and that means paying careful attention to our own athletic bodies. Most riders argue they simply don't have the time to work out and still give their horses the time they need, so certified personal trainer Laura Crump Anderson has written a book that specifically targets the ever-present dilemma of how to fit fitness into a horse-crazy lifestyle. Beginning with explanations of why strength, flexibility, and balance is important to achieve out of the tack, Anderson provides important rules and guidelines for stretching, weight training, and cardio to keep you safe. A lifelong equestrian herself, she then approaches the scheduling issue head-on, helping readers determine where best to fit in the minutes they need in the places they need to be anyway-the tack room, the arena, the barn aisle. Using only basic items you are likely to find around the stable, she keeps equipment needs straightforward, recognizing that the less likely it is you forget something, the more likely it is you'll get that workout in. Readers are then treated to seven original fitness routines, each dedicated to a specific area like the lower body or the core, or designated as a full-body program. Full color photos of top riders, including Jan Byyny, Sloane Coles, and Sharon White, demonstrate how to perform exercises effectively, and step-by-step instructions ensure you get it right. With its clear and to-the-point delivery and attention to the realities of the modern riding life, this book is the perfect way to ensure more active, effective, pain-free years in the saddle.

'After all this time Frankie Dettori still ranks amongst the all-time greats of the sport' LESTER PIGGOTT 'An autobiography as gripping as any Dick Francis thriller' YORKSHIRE POST 'Endearingly honest... a fastpaced, funny autobiography' COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE Legendary jockey, Frankie Dettori, shares his remarkable life story in this astonishingly intimate autobiography. When Lanfranco 'Frankie' Dettori arrived on British shores in 1985, aged just 14, he couldn't speak a word of English. Having left school just a year earlier and following in the footsteps of his father, he was eager to become a stable boy and apprentice jockey, willing to do everything it took to make it. This was his first, but certainly not his last, leap of faith. Despite his slight size, Frankie's impact upon the British racing scene was immediate and significant. Brimming with confidence, charisma and personality, and with what was clearly a precocious talent, in 1990 he became the first teenager since Lester Piggot to win over 100 races in a single season. By 1996, Frankie was already established as a celebrity in the sport and an adopted national treasure, but it was his extraordinary achievement of winning all seven races in a single day at Ascot that cemented his reputation as the greatest rider of his generation. Nearly 25 years later, and having won the Longines World's Best Jockey for three consecutive years running, Frankie has demonstrated an unparalled level of longevity at the pinnacle of his sport. But his story is not simply one of uninterrupted success, but also of personal anguish, recovery and restoration - both in and out of the saddle. Now, Frankie compellingly reveals the lows to his highs; the plane crash that nearly killed him, the drugs ban that nearly made him quit the sport, and the acrimonious split from Godolphin that threatened his future. But Leap of Faith is also a story of love - for the sport he continues to dominate to this day, the great horses of his era (Stradivarius, Golden Horn, and of course Enable), and most importantly for his family, who have supported him every step of the way. Heartfelt and poignant, this is not simply a memoir, but a celebration of perseverance and defying the odds.

When barefoot running guru Christopher McDougall takes in a neglected donkey, his aim is to get Sherman back to reasonable health. But Sherman is ill-tempered, obstinate and uncooperative - and it's clear his poor treatment has made him deeply fearful of humans. Christopher knows that donkeys need a purpose - they are working, pack animals - and so when he learns of the sport of Burro Racing or running with donkeys, he sets out to give Sherman something worth living for. With the aid of Christopher's menagerie on his farm in rural Pennsylvania, his wife Mika and their friends and neighbours including the local Amish population, Sherman begins to build trust in Christopher. To give him a purpose, they start to run together. But what Sherman gains in confidence and meaning is something we all need: a connection with nature, the outdoors, with movement. And as Christopher learns, the side benefits of exercise and animal contact are surprising, helping with mental and physical health in unexpected ways.

Pet, show-ring competitor, pasture companion, driving partner, patient therapy horse - the Miniature Horse does it all. But whether you dream of winning ribbons or just hanging out, it is vital to have a solid understanding of safe handling and proper stabling; grooming needs and feeding requirements; general care and management essentials; special health and wellness concerns; and basic training how-tos. In these pages experienced Miniature Horse breeder Kendra Gale of Circle J Miniature Horses provides the most complete Miniature Horse resource available. You not only learn the ins and outs of making a Miniature Horse a part of your life, you gain invaluable professional insight when it comes to buying and breeding, registering and showing, training and handling, and so much more.

This study of a unique social world probes beneath the thrill and spectacle of horse racing into the lives of the "honest boys," the "gyps," the "manipulators," the "stoops," and the "Chalk eaters"--the constituents of race track society and the players of the racing game. With scientific precision and journalistic vigor, Scott describes the everyday activities--the objectives and strategies--of those whose lives are organized around track proceedings and who compete with chance and one another.

The players in the racing game range from track owners to stable boys, from law enforcers to lawbreakers, and from casual sportsmen to pathologically addicted gamblers. Considering the self-interests, the normative and operational codes, and the interactional relationships among the major types and subtypes of participants, the author defines the components of strategic movement within the framework of rules and resources to show how a player's relations to the "means of production" governs his behavior.

The fruitful application of sociological theory and method to an unusually interesting social context makes this particularly useful still for courses in social problems and the sociology of organizations and of leisure.

Although it has only been thirty years since the first female jockey rode onto the then male only turf of thoroughbred horse racing, they have since made their mark on the racetrack and in the winner's circle. Great Women in the Sport of Kings, the first book to consider the phenomenon of female jockeys, takes an indepth look at their lives. Through the oral histories of ten top female jockeys, the authors offer intimate portraits of how they overcame personal and professional obstacles to rise to the top of thoroughbred horse racing. In her Introduction, women's sports historian Mary Jo Festle explores the larger issues of women in sport, sexism in horse racing, the struggles female jockeys face, and the significance of their success. The jockey's include: Diane Nelson, Julie Krone, Paula Keim-Bruno, Jill Jellison, Gwen Jackson, Darci Rice, Rosemary Homiester, Jr., Donna Barton, Kristi Chapman, and Dodi Duys.

No matter the level of the competition or the skill of the horse, with this dressage training system any rider with basic riding skills can learn the methods that have made Olympian Kyra Kyrklund so successful. Straightforward and traditional, the Kyrklund system comprehensively covers the fundamentals of dressage before progressing into more advanced training. Two-way communication between horse and rider on an emotional level is emphasized throughout to further a solid foundation. This strengthened bond not only unlocks the techniques of one of the world's best dressage trainers, but it also provides greater enjoyment of horse riding on an everyday basis.

"He was the perfect horse, it was said, "the horse God built.""
Most of us know the legend of Secretariat, the tall, handsome chestnut racehorse whose string of honors runs long and rich: the only two-year-old ever to win Horse of the Year, in 1972; winner in 1973 of the Triple Crown, his times in all three races still unsurpassed; featured on the cover of" Time, Newsweek," and" Sports Illustrated;" the only horse listed on ESPN's top fifty athletes of the twentieth century (ahead of Mickey Mantle). His final race at Toronto's Woodbine Racetrack is a touchstone memory for horse lovers everywhere. Yet while Secretariat will be remembered forever, one man, Eddie "Shorty" Sweat, who was pivotal to the great horse's success, has been all but forgotten---until now.
In" The Horse God Built," bestselling equestrian writer Lawrence Scanlan has written a tribute to an exceptional man that is also a backroads journey to a corner of the racing world rarely visited. As a young black man growing up in South Carolina, Eddie Sweat struggled at several occupations before settling on the job he was born for---groom to North America's finest racehorses. As Secretariat's groom, loyal friend, and protector, Eddie understood the horse far better than anyone else. A wildly generous man who could read a horse with his eyes, he shared in little of the financial success or glamour of Secretariat's wins on the track, but won the heart of Big Red with his soft words and relentless devotion.
In Scanlan's rich narrative, we get a groom's-eye view of the racing world and the vantage of a man who spent every possible moment with the horse he loved, yet who often basked in the horse's glory from thesidelines. More than anything else," The Horse God Built "is a moving portrait of the powerful bond between human and horse.

Every equestrian wants to know: what is the difference between the horse that 'dances' when you are on him, and the one that doesn't? According to Visconte Simon Cocozza, trainer and examiner for the La Federation Francaise d'Equitation (FFE), it all comes down to the horse's posture. The horse's ability to use the powerful mechanisms already built into his body relies not upon the strength we can see on the outside but the strength on the inside. This invisible and complex arrangement of internal 'core' muscles control the horse's posture, suppleness, and agility. Their good condition is the key to the dance. Equine core muscles are very difficult to isolate with the traditional training techniques common to horse sports. However, by examining what we do with the human body when faced with a weak core, we can find new methods for conditioning these areas of the equine body. Visconte Cocozza has taken principles of the human practice of yoga and used them to develop novel ways of reaching deep within the horse's body and gently 'unlocking' areas that may be a little "rusty" while at the same time improving core fitness. In Core Conditioning for Horses, he provides step-by-step instruction explaining easy mounted exercises that enhance the horse's posture, and boost his confidence in his body and movement, making him easier to ride, and ultimately, the dance partner you've always imagined.

This volume studies the formative period of racing between 1790 and 1914. This was a time when, despite the opposition of a respectable minority, attendance at horse races, betting on horses, or reading about racing increasingly became central leisure activities of much of British society. The author challenges many of our preconceptions about racing. He shows the importance of racing and betting to many of the middle classes in Victorian Britain; the very early commercialisation of the sport; and the limited power of the Jockey Club before the late 1860s. He explores the value of racing to the working classes, the gentry and aristocracy, tracing the sport's development in an age of technological change and the growth of the popular press.

Big Cat Phonics for Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised has been developed in collaboration with Wandle Learning Trust and Little Sutton Primary School. It comprises classroom resources to support the SSP programme and a range of phonic readers that together provide a consistent and highly effective approach to teaching phonics. Find out all about sled dog races in this fast-paced non-fiction book. Pages 14 and 15 allow children to re-visit the content of the book, supporting comprehension skills, vocabulary development and recall. Reading notes within the book provide practical support for reading with children, including a list of all the sounds and words that the book will cover.

Everything you know about riding and the horse's movement isn't what you think it is! Did you know that: - On a functional level, traditional ways of teaching rider position and horse movement do not actually work with the biomechanical system that is horse and rider? - Use of the inside rein does not encourage the horse to bend to the inside? - Training exercises and lessons that claim to be simple cannot be as easily applied as it might seem? In these pages, physical therapist and equine movement specialist Stefan Stammer uses a startlingly unique collection of color illustrations to make movement patterns in the horse visible to the human eye, in order to help riders better understand the principles of energy and motion happening within the horse. By forming new mental images for the rider, Stammer's goal is to profoundly impact the rider's daily work with her horse so that it is harder for her to make common mistakes or interfere with the horse's natural mechanisms. With his hind end as his engine, the horse generates kinetic energy (the energy his body possesses due to its motion). For optimal movement and performance, this energy should flow through the horse's body to the horse's mouth, where it is fine-tuned with the rein aids before cycling back to the hind end. However, this movement flow is often unintentionally disrupted on its way through the horse by the rider. When, however, the cycle of kinetic energy within the horse is supported through the correct understanding and application of biomechanics-the mechanical laws relating to his and his rider's movement and structure-the outer shape of horse and rider together achieve "positive tension." This is the rhythmic stimulation of all the neuromuscular functions necessary to perform harmoniously and at peak ability. Most importantly, once the rider understands the basic principles of the biomechanics of a horse in movement, her "feeling" in the saddle will improve. Better "feel" is an integral building block for the small and subtle steps of progress, which should accompany a rider for her entire life with horses. This smart, fascinatingly composed book is for any horseperson looking to limit riding and training mistakes, grow an understanding of how the horse best functions, and optimize equineability and performance.

Riding, training and caring for horses are visceral experiences that require the immersion of both body and mind. This book provides an in-depth understanding of human-horse relationships and interactions as embodied in equestrian sport and leisure. As a closely focused ethnographic study of the horse world, it explores the key themes of partnership and collaboration in human-horse communication, the formation of individual and collective identities performed through involvement in the horse world, and human-horse interaction as an embodied way of being. This book argues that encounters between humans and horses can reveal the ways that human society has been and continues to be structured through intersection with nonhuman others. Equestrian sport and leisure provides an apt context for considering how such concepts of interspecies communication and collaboration are negotiated, managed, (mis)understood and performed, resulting in a uniquely embodied way of knowing and being in the world. Human-Animal Relationships in Equestrian Sport and Leisure is fascinating reading for anyone interested in equestrianism, human-animal studies, theories of embodiment, the sociology of sport, or sport and social theory.

This book advances current literature on the role and place of animals in sport and society. It explores different forms of sporting spaces, examines how figures of animals have been used to racialize the human athlete, and encourages the reader to think critically about animal ethics, animals in space, time and place, and the human-animal relationship. The chapters highlight persistent dichotomies in the use of and collaboration with animals for sport, and present strategies for moving forward in the study of interspecies relations.

Professional horseman Sean Patrick's now legendary Countdown is the most clear, thorough, "doable" system of horse training available. Quite simply, you begin at Lesson Number 33 and count your way down through the basic exercises-the "primary education"-every horse needs. And when you get to Lesson 1, you've done it; you've prepared your horse for advanced work in any number of equestrian disciplines. You can't get lost along the way. There's no room for confusion. The happy result? Sean trains you to be a trainer. Whether your horse is a foal or five, green or educated, well-started or lacking fundamentals, he will benefit from the Countdown-a true "foundation" program, serving to prepare him for the endless variety of activities and "jobs" horses perform today. From indispensable handling, "sacking-out," and tying exercises, to how you, the rider, can control the different parts of the horse's body from the ground and the saddle; from mounting on both the left and the right to performing flawless flying lead changes, you'll be amazed at how effective and efficient this program is. In this book you'll find: - Explanations of the "conditioned response," the Five Control Points, and how to recognize and use a "give." - Advice for building the horse's confidence, knowing when to "push" but most importantly, how to be fair. - Lessons in conscientious use of the round pen for teaching movement, turning, and inviting the horse in. - Progressive steps for preparing for first rides and having them be successes. - Tips for developing the back-up, "whoa," and seat stops without stress. - Exercises for achieving a correct and soft collection. Because you are the one teaching your horse, you also have the opportunity to build your own skill set. Sean promises that by the end of the Countdown, readers will have a deeper understanding of how horses learn; an improved ability to gauge the pressure necessary to communicate with the horse and pace teaching accordingly; a capacity for recognizing behaviors (both good and bad); and an intuitive understanding of the root of a problem and the steps to take to work on it. In essence, he helps you become self-sufficient and ready to take your horse that next step, whether along the rail, down the trail, or into the show pen.

Once a year the public fix their gaze and risk pounds or pence on a race that better than any other reminds us of the grace and courage of the jumps racehorse. The racehorse could have no finer ambassador than Tiger Roll. There is not much of him but he makes every bit count, just as Red Rum did. He was an icon of the turf. So is Tiger Roll. He is this generation's Red Rum and now merits being ranked among the all-time greats of the sport. A horse who wins two Grand Nationals and four times at the Cheltenham Festival deserves nothing less. Horseracing's best writers tell the Tiger Roll tale, a story of overachievement, a story of exceeding expectations, a story of a little legend.

Experience the sheer thrill and joy of national hunt racing as an American novelist follows a select group of leading horses and their Irish trainers on their annual pilgrimage to the Cheltenham Festival, in this evocative book on the jumps and the Irish love of horse racing. The last thing Bill Barich expected when he left California for a holiday in London was to fall in love - and yet he did, with a charming Irish woman. This led to Dublin becoming his home from home. 'I had friends who thought I was being rash or just plain foolish,' he writes, 'but trust and conviction grow if real love is in the mix.' His leap-of-faith left him slightly unmoored, adrift in a new city; so to anchor himself he began visiting the local betting shops to play the horses. Barich came to share Ireland's passion for the National Hunt. He even felt a kinship for the chasers and hurdlers who 'hang for a half-second in a cloud of uncertainty' every time they jump. That passion revealed to him a great deal about Irish culture, immediate and unvarnished, beyond any touristy stereotypes. So Barich wanted to go deeper. He spent a season - the season of Best Mate's third Gold Cup bid - with the leading Irish trainers, jockeys and horses, charting their progress on the road to their annual tilt against the British at the Cheltenham Festival. Here such major players as Jessica Harrington, Michael Hourigan, Paul Carberry, and Barry Geraghty are captured as never before, with Barich following the caravan from the humble races at Thurles to the glories of the Hennessy at Leopardstown. Here, too, are the big horses - Florida Pearl, Beef Or Salmon, and the quirky Moscow Flyer, who never loses except when he beats himself. A Fine Place to Daydream is a beautifully written elegy to a vanishing way of life. It will reveal an Ireland that is largely hidden to visitors, and will be a timeless account of what promises to be a vintage racing season.

One of racing's best loved families, opens up about life in the sport. Michael Scudamore, the patriarch of a racing dynasty, rode in 16 consecutive Grand Nationals including the 1957 renewal, which he famously won on Oxo. Peter Scudamore was a record-breaking eight-time Champion Jockey and now assists his partner Lucinda Russell, with whom they trained 2017 Grand National winner, One For Arthur. Tales from the saddle in the 50s and 60s from Michael make remarkable reading especially interspersed with those from the 80s and 90s from Peter. Tom Scudamore, one of the current leading jockey's, brings experience of riding today and together with stories from his father and grandfather, a fascinating new light is shed on the National Hunt game. This was a unique undertaking involving a unique family and will be a joy to read for every jumps racing fan.

Learn all there is to know about horse riding, from horse care and show jumping to mastering dressage. Suitable for both novice and advanced riders, and for equestrian fans of all ages, this book will guide you through every stage of the riding process from the first time in the saddle to advanced riding skills. Featuring all of the latest techniques and equipment, this comprehensive and fully updated edition covers everything you need to know about basic horse training, dressage training, and mental and physical preparation - for both horse and rider - as well as how to find and develop your ultimate horse. Dive deeper into this brilliant book about horses: - llustrated in full colour throughout, with specially commissioned photographic sequences and artworks that show every riding technique with unparalleled clarity. - Includes detailed, updated sections on dressage, showjumping, cross country, and young horse training as well as how to find and develop your ultimate horse. - Combines a practical approach to technique - including illustrated troubleshooting sections - with a deep understanding, and invaluable analysis, of horse behaviour. - Presents standard riding methods in a fresh and imaginative way with overlapping "action" photo sequences. - Explains the symbiotic relationship between horse and rider that is at the heart of all successful riding. Presented in spectacular visual detail, it is the ultimate guide to perfecting your equestrian skills. Featuring tips from internationally renowned horse trainer William Micklem, Complete Horse Riding Manual is a truly thoroughbred guide that is a must-have for any horse lover.

This practical book helps you interpret and connect the physical signals that horses display in response to their environment. These signals are evident in the everyday actions, gestures and attitudes that horses communicate to each other, but are often so subtle that they can go unnoticed by humans. This book aims to rectify that, offering horse lovers and equine professionals an opportunity to gain a unique insight into their 'horse's world'. Key features: includes detailed description of language signs of domestic horses, with a special emphasis on calming signals includes 275 pictures to visualize various language signs, calming signals, behaviour sequences and facial features presents communication ladders to show how a horse responds to incentives in his environment, and what signals he uses at certain moments contains tips on the use of the communication ladders and calming signals to improve the socialisation, training and wellbeing of your horse considers equine psychological stress from an environmental perspective, providing a valuable alternative to the current common clinical perspective. After reading this book you will be more astute in spotting calming signals, displacement activities, stress signals and distance-increasing signals, and better able to see which stimuli your horse can handle and which he cannot. This means you will know what to do to calm your horse before his stress rises to an unmanageable level. Language Signs and Calming Signals of Horses is both fascinating and important reading for any equine veterinary practitioner, student or nurse, as well as horse owners and trainers.

Anneli Drummond-Hay's autobiography is a fascinating insight into the making of an equestrian champion through her struggle for survival.

It is a heart-warming story of a war baby with aristocratic connections, who grew up with very little money and even less love. She never went to school, she had no friends growing up, but she did have a gift with the horses in which she sought solace.

The big love story of her life was one particularly special horse, Merely-AMonarch. He was invincible in eventing, but as female eventers were not permitted to compete in the Olympics in that era, Anneli switched to show jumping. She came so close to going to three Olympics but was foiled at the last moment each time, despite winning just about everything else in the sport.

Besides her wonderful horses, Anneli gives an amazing account of the people she met - from Harvey Smith to the Queen, in front of whom she was asked to lend her horse for the British Olympic effort, and refused; to her asking a favour, in person, of Colonel Gaddafi.

The jet-set life of an elite show jumper may be glamorous but there are more lows than highs, whether it's her top ride being stolen, a potential plane disaster above the Alps, or the sudden death of a star horse.

As The Princess Royal so rightly says in the foreword to this book: 'Thank goodness Anneli decided to write her story.'

In this book, Jim Masterson, Equine Massage Therapist for the 2006 and 2008 and 2010 USET Endurance Teams, and for equine clientele competing in FEI World Cup, Pan American and World Games competitions, teaches a unique method of equine bodywork, in which the practitioner recognizes and follows the responses of the horse to touch to release tension in key junctions of the body that most affect performance. This practical book: contains step-by-step instructions, photographs and illustrations; is ideally suited to accompany you to the barn, where you will practice the Masterson Method techniques on horses; includes chapters with tips & techniques, anatomical explanations and examples from Jim's practice help deepen your understanding; has a quick reference section that will point you to exercises that are specifically suited to your particular discipline--dressage, endurance, eventing, show jumping, barrel racing, or others in the vast realm of horse sports. By using these techniques, and knowing the responses to look for, you are able to: achieve a release of accumulated stress in deep-seated key junctions of the horse's body that affects mobility, comfort, attitude, training and performance; restore muscular and structural balance, and natural alignment; enable your horse to perform optimally and respond to your training without stiffness and pain and, finally, achieve new levels of communication and trust with your horse that spill over into other areas of interaction.

Learn the underlying principles of speaking both "horse" and "human" from an internationally acclaimed horseman. Life Lessons from a Ranch Horse describes celebrated horse trainer Mark Rashid's experiences with one special--and especially challenging--horse named Buck. Mark finds that Buck's unique personality teaches him a wealth of information about how to build a strong relationship with what may initially seem like a difficult horse. During his time with Buck, Mark not only trains Buck but also observes how Buck "trains" other horses in order to maintain a stable and respectful group. Mark comes to understand that there are six underlying principles to both Buck and Mark's most successful horse training techniques: non-confrontation, planning ahead, patience, persistence, consistency, and "fix it and move on." The second half of the book is devoted to demonstrating how horse owners can apply the six principles to their own experiences in horse training. Mark Rashid is unique among writers of horse training books for his skill at teaching trainers to lead by example rather than by force, using clear and consistent methods. In the afterword, Mark Rashid reflects on what he has learned since first writing about Buck, and how Buck's life allowed Mark to dramatically improve his own emotional and physical well-being. Life Lessons from a Ranch Horse is essential reading for all compassionate horse owners who care about cultivating a mutually respectful and satisfying relationship with their horses.