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Rating: 
Summary: Way too general
Review: i ordered the book and was so excited when i saw it in the mailbox...two hours later after i had finished the book i was extremely disappointed. i was looking for specifics, and this book was very general. there was a lot of "ask your trainer this...," and "ask your barn manager that...". i was reading the book because i wanted to learn, not because i wanted to know what to "ask my trainer." i'm definately not an expert on horses...but i did know that horses have 4 legs and eat hay. i agree with one of the other reviews that i read (a little late!), that said you feel like they just couldn't make a commitment on their opinion of proper horse care. this book would be fine for a 12 year old that's never riden before.
Rating: 
Summary: Too basic to be helpful
Review: I'm a recent first-time horse buyer and read prolifically before buying. There are a lot of excellent books out there and this isn't one of them! The actual text is only about 150 pages with huge margins, spacing, and too many pics/graphics. This may be a handy little book if priced for less. I find it very interesting that the ratings seem extreme - either very good or very bad...did the authors have friends send e-mails?
Rating:
Summary: Out of focus and poorly written.
Review: If this is the "Best book on the topic...", then it must be the only one! Luckily that is not the case, as there are many really good books available on this subject.This rambling work just glosses over each subject that it attempts to address. It doesn't settle in on anything specific. The reader is never able to get a real idea of what they would be getting into when buying their first horse. The writers should have made a few assumptions at the beginning, such as this book is for the average person buying their first horse, which will be relatively inexpensive and used for basic riding. Since they did not focus on anything specific, the book has no real direction or purpose. Reading it is like looking through someone else's glasses - after a few minutes your eyes kind of go blurry and start to water. For example, there is a table that gives average costs per year of owning a horse, and under the heading "Tack" it gives annual costs from $500 - $10,000! Is this book trying to cover everyone from a 15-year old kid doing 4H to the King of Persia? Plus, don't horses eat? The table on what to expect to shell out in a year for horse costs doesn't even include the cost for feed. The total annual costs are listed as anywhere from $3520 to $25,800. Is the average Joe, about to go out to buy their first horse, really going to budget $25,000 a year for a horse? I don't think so. Who is this book written for? You start to almost get mad that you even wasted your time once you read this book. Then it gets kind of entertaining, because there are so many mistakes, that I found it hard to believe that I was reading a published work, and not a rough draft. There are sentences that start and then just end in the middle. One sentence had the word "so" when they meant to use "do". There are so many grammatical and typographical errors that it makes you wonder if the authors even read it! The last section of the book is entitled "Buyer Beware!" I think that about sums it up. I'm just glad that we got it for free at the library.
Rating:
Summary: Too basic to be helpful
Review: If you need advice like "if you've never ridden before, be sure to take a few riding lessons before deciding whether to purchase a horse" (yes, the authors actually thought it necessary to tell their readers this), then this book may help you out. But if you are looking for tips on evaluating conformation, soundess, suitability, etc. then look elsewhere. Lacking a trainer who could travel to evaluate horses with me, I was hoping to find a "pocket guide" to the issues that are beyond the ken of the average rider who has never owned a horse. I was disappointed to find this book addressed more to the average person who has never ridden. There was almost no information on figuring out whether a given horse is a good match. This book may be best used to convince your horse-crazy offspring that there's more to the undertaking than feeding carrots to a pony . . . but anyone who's seriously contemplating horse-ownership should get far more information before making this important commitment.
Rating:
Summary: full of misinformation
Review: This book was okay, but I would've enjoyed it a little more knowing that I hadn't paid so much for it. I do agree with some people, how the pictures were kinda big and teh margines, well, I'll let you see for yourself. I have never ridden a horse yet I love them and my sister rides everyday. I know a lot about horses even though I have no experience riding. I know that it's kinda hard to hurt a horse while brushing it and that is one of the easiest things for a horse owner. Sugar cubes, apples, carrots, etc are treats, not regular food. So if you didn't know that you SHOULD get this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Good common sense information
Review: This book would be great for a preteen's first book about horse ownership, or for a first introduction to horse ownership. If you have already read anything else on the subject, you will probably find a lot of repeat information. There is good advice, but a lot of it is common sense.
Rating:
Summary: Good common sense information
Review: This book would be great for a preteen's first book about horse ownership, or for a first introduction to horse ownership. If you have already read anything else on the subject, you will probably find a lot of repeat information. There is good advice, but a lot of it is common sense.
Rating: 
Summary: HORSE TRAINER
Review: THIS IS A GREAT BOOK FOR THE FIRST TIME HORSE OWNER. I HAND IT OUT TO ANY AND EVERYONE TO ASK ME ABOUT OWNING A HORSE.
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