The primary reason for the development of Equido (R) is to educate people, from basic to advanced horsemanship, in a method that is sympathetic to the needs of the horse. Equido (R) has been accredited by LANTRA for over ten years and in that time there have been over 500 students who have studied the system. The premise for writing this book is to show people another perspective in working with horses. Within these pages you will see vets, farriers, bodyworkers and trainers going about their day-to-day work as a result some of the pictures show horses coming in from the field. What you see is an honest representation of work carried out on a yard. We also wanted to show that it is not just the trainer who is involved with the horse but a team of highly skilled equestrian professionals. In reading this book our hope is that you find information that is beneficial to you and your horse and perhaps this will be the start of your journey of discovery along the path of least resistance.

There are many books and DVDs devoted to the technical training of horse and rider - how to perform movements correctly, clear obstacles, communicate efficiently, and in other ways attain the idealised image of an athletic partnership that results in competitive success. But this book is different: its focus is how the rider and trainer can make it easier for the horse to perform optimally. This includes improved understanding of what are reasonable expectations for a particular horse at a certain level of schooling, how to improve his fitness (including strength and conditioning), as well as background on how injuries may develop as a result of interaction between internal and external factors, such as genetics, conformation, management, and training. Relying on her veterinary background, in-depth research, and dozens of interviews with top riders and trainers from around the world - including Beezie Madden, Carl Hester, and Pippa Funnell, to name just a few - Lonnell provides guidelines for nurturing a happy, healthy equine athlete. With special focus on conscientious pacing when building the horse's physical capability over time, diversification of schooling practices, detail-oriented management and care, and putting the horse's needs above competitive ambition, readers are given a solid grasp of what it takes to truly reach the pinnacle of equestrian sport - and remain there - on a consistent basis. Throughout, gorgeous colour photographs of world-class horses and the people who work with them visually demonstrate the success of these methods.

This color book was created to give children another fun way to learn about ponies. The illustrations are those used for the book, Why Pony Why. It is my hope that children and parents will enjoy the pages together. We invite you to visit our website at www.whyponywhy.com; you can also find us on Facebook.