Whoa! Don't get on a horse until you read this book.

Boost your self-confidence and get the most for your money with this one-of-a-kind companion guide to riding lessons.

Getting the Most from Riding Lessons gives you all the information you need to communicate effectively with your instructor and advance your riding skills outside of lesson time. Following the easy, step-by-step instructions, you'll learn how to:

-- Warm up and condition key riding muscles

-- Brush up the basics

-- Perfect the use of the aids

-- Improve control and coordination

-- Master diagonals, evasions, and collection

-- Advance to jumping and showing

Give your horse a gorgeous look! Charni Lewis provides step-by-step instructions for 30 mane and tail braids for both casual outings and specialized events of all riding styles. Full-color photographs and detailed illustrations bring every twist and turn to life, while also clearly demonstrating proper hand positioning. Get inspired and experiment with a Scalloped mane braid or a Four-Strand Weave for the tail. Not only will your horse look great, the time you spend braiding will help develop that special bond between you and your horse.

The Complete Guide to Polo is the perfect resource for anyone interested in finding out more about this exciting game, especially those new to the sport. It discusses the history and evolution of the sport that we know today and its migration from India to Asia to Europe, and finally the Americas. It describes in detail the equipment used by both horse and rider, and offers advice on choosing one kind of equipment over another. The Complete Guide to Polo covers the horsemanship skills needed to excel in the game, and breaks down the swing into bite-sized chunks for analysis. It looks at basic polo strategy, explains the finer aspects of the rules of the sport, and compares the differences between the US and UK rule books. All in all it offers a great foundation for the beginner or intermediate player, the patron, or the spectator.

A guide to stable design - practical and full of inspiration and advice. Among the detailed topics discussed are: * Basic requirements of a good stable * Planning a yard - optimum layout and planning permission * Constructing and kitting out stables - flooring, drainage, roofing, walls, doors, windows, stable fittings * Key yard constructions - e.g. feed rooms, tack rooms, rug storage areas, washing-down rooms * Turnout, schooling and training facilities - e. g. lungeing arenas, outdoor and indoor schools * Services, fire precautions and waste disposal - drainage, electricity and water supply, muck disposal, safety * Converting existing buildings, and maintenance and repair The basic principles of good stable design are relevant for all horses and ponies - so whether accommodating an Olympic equine athlete or a family pony, any horse or pony in your care should be housed in a safe environment which caters adequately for his needs - and this book shows you how

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.

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.

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!

This book is dedicated to the protection of horses, ponies and donkeys and is based on first-hand international experience from a lifetime spent with horses - hunting, racing and welfare - whether with The Pony Club, The Jockey Club or international horse charity. It covers all equines to the highest levels of performance - racing, show jumping, eventing and endurance riding and encourages all owners to care for their animals. Horses are beautiful animals that can work with their owners to the best effect; it is only right that they should all be cared for with respect so that the partnership is equal, one of working together and free from abuse. Christopher also looks at the world of working horses, donkeys and mules in the developing world, where they are often the only means of transporting people and goods, provide the only power to work the land and are essential for their owners' survival. He calls for them to be given closer attention and care and that training is given to the owners who may not be aware of how to care properly for their animals. He also writes about people in equestrian sports both nationally and internationally and the work of the major charity World Horse Welfare of which he was chairman, calling on his role as a leading regulator and lifelong horseman. He held one of the highest profile jobs in the Jockey Club, steward in charge of enforcing the rules of horse racing - and provides an insight into the high stakes world of racing where winning is everything. But whatever the activity or level, readers will be aware that horses are the real stars.

Over time, horses (like people) acquire postural habits, compensate for soreness and injury, and develop poor movement patterns. This limits performance ability, causes unsoundness and health issues, and ultimately undermines the horse's overall well-being. Jec Aristotle Ballou has made a name for herself advocating for the horse and providing sensible instruction in his schooling, conditioning, and care. Her bestselling books and popular clinics are designed to enable any horse person to correctly apply proven principles that bring measurable progress while avoiding boredom and confusion. In her latest collection of mounted and unmounted corrective exercises, Ballou demonstrates how we can actively work to improve the horse's posture and movement, whether he is an active performance or pleasure mount, an aging or older horse that benefits from gentle exercise, or one being rehabilitated following injury, illness, or lack of conditioning. Ballou's positive cross-training techniques are free of shortcuts, and her guidelines for analyzing the horse's posture and way of going help readers gain a new awareness of the equine body. Applicable for all disciplines, this is an integral collection that optimizes how the horse uses his body and helps ensure he stays sounder and healthier for more years of his life.

Francelia Clark finds and follows two of the oldest trails in New Hampshire's Monadnock region into history-on horseback. Along the way she studies the cellar holes and rock remains of houses, wells, and walled cow paths, as well as old journals, to illuminate for readers the lives of the early settlers who made them.

It is an often-forgotten fact that horses played an important part in Winston Churchill's life. They were his escape in childhood, his challenge in youth, his transport in war, his triumph in sport and his diversion in old age. Renowned author, broadcaster and former jockey, Brough Scott, follows in Churchill's hoofprints from galloping his pony in Blenheim Park, to topping the riding class whilst army training at Sandhurst, taking part in a famous cavalry charge in Sudan, playing polo in India, hunting foxes in Leicestershire and breeding racehorses near his home in Kent, after a minor interlude out of the saddle to tend to the historic task of winning the Second World War.

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.

Libby Riddles wanted an adventure. At the age of 16 she left home for the snowy frontiers of Alaska, the Last Frontier. There her love of animals drew her to the sport of sled dog racing. When she entered the Iditarod, the famous marathon from Anchorage to Nome, she was just another Iditarod Nobody. Twelve hundred miles later, having conquered blizzards, extreme cold, and exhaustion, she and her dogs crossed the final stretch of sea ice, miles ahead of the nearest competitor...and suddenly she realised: I will be the first woman to win the Iditarod. This is the story of a courageous woman and her heroic dogs. This is the story of Libby Riddles's adventure.

Christoph Hess, a Federation Equestre International (FEI) "I" Judge in both dressage and eventing, is highly respected around the world as a teacher of riding and the development of the horse according to classical principles. Here he collects some of his very best riding and training tips along with well-honed insight related to the topics that he finds most often challenge equestrians and their equine partners. Ride Better with Christoph Hess provides thoughtful, easy-to-apply advice when dealing with issues with the gaits, in particular the walk and canter; high-headedness or the horse that is "too light" in the poll; inconsistency of performance; leaning on the bit; falling out; lack of straightness; and much more. In addition, Hess breaks out particular skills and movements that often need specialized attention when in the dressage or jumping ring, and when going cross-country. Throughout Hess emphasizes that a rider must always strive to improve, for the simple reason that you can always do better for your horse. While competitive and training goals do, of course, bring a certain satisfaction, it is having an equine partner who is contented in his work and happy in your company that rewards most. This lesson, and all Hess's tips and solutions, are invaluable to equestrians of every level - everyone can walk away from this book a better rider.