Loved this book. Mark Rashid's books are an easy read and filled with interesting stories that you can use in your own horsemanship growth. He causes you to think and specifically consider your horse, what they need, what they are telling you. Really stretches your mind. I would recommend anything he has written. I haven't been disappointed yet!
Being a good horseman doesn't mean you won't have any problems with your horses. Even the very best horsemen run into problems. It is the manner in which they approach and solve these problems, and prevent new problems from developing, that makes them good horsemen. As the title suggests, this book is about considering the horse, and seeing the problem from the horse's side. Many problems develop when we forget that we are working in partnership with the horse, and listen only to ourselves, turning the partnership into dictatorship. Considering the Horse covers several common problems encountered when working with horses, and shows you how a different approach, consideration and patience can solve most problems and prevent further problems developing.
The author has placed a lot of emphasis on time and patience. He states that some problems may have developed over a number of months or years, so we cannot expect to solve them in minutes. Often, we lose patience and use force to get the end result as quickly as possible. However, jumping to conclusions will not solve the actual problem and will often make it worse, making the task even harder the next time, both for the horse and the person. If we take the time to solve the problem properly the first time, we will not have to spend more time fixing an even bigger problem in the future.
Considering the Horse is not a book of answers. It focuses on the approach rather than the solution, giving you enough information to form a base on which you can think for yourself, and in doing so, find solutions yourself. Through the many stories of the author's personal experiences, he shows you that there are solutions to most problems-we simply need to look to the horse to find them. Often, the solution to a problem is simpler than we think. Many problems are based around fear or misunderstanding, which we often interpret as deliberate bad behaviour on the horse's part. If we look and listen to the horse's view on the problem, we will be able to pinpoint the cause and consequently find a solution. This mindset will make a better, more considerate horseman, and will enable us to find solutions to other problems not talked about in this book.
Considering the Horse is an excellent training manual, not for training the horse, but for training the horseman. It reminds us to listen to the horse-the other, quieter voice of the partnership which we too often forget to acknowledge.
Helpful and enjoyable reading
I really liked the story-form presentation yet learned so much. It was an easy read.
Easy to read
This book is so easy to read, it tells a story as well as provides lots of useful infomation about handling horses.
good read for horse lovers
This is a good read for the nonprofessional pleasure rider. He describes many common problems and how he addressed them in a variety of ways, what worked well and what didn't. What to check first ..ie, injury in mouth, tack that doesn't fit the horse well, rider error, young horse that needs to find his balance with a rider on top of him, etc. Most riders have ridden horses' with the problems he describes and can easily identify with the authors dilemma in the situation .
This is a book that I will share with friends only if they return it! I enjoyed his stories and wish I could have known the old man that he describes.
