What Your Horse Wants You to Know : What Horses' "Bad" Behavior Means, and How to Correct It

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Summary: You will like this one. . .
Review: All horsehandlers will appreciate the way Gincy has blended tried-and-true oldtime training methods with the best of the new ideas from Swift, Tellington-Jones, Parelli and others to help anyone create a safe, horse-friendly, stress-free stable environment and nurture your relationship with your horse. Her insight into horse's real motives is enlightening and sometimes startling but always right on the money. Nice to know there really are good, effective ways to deal with bad habits that are kindly and humane (Spare the rod and you WON'T spoil the horse!) Gincy has really put it all together in this book!

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Summary: Not just for horseowners
Review: As an adult novice, this is the best book I've found on understanding horses. I rode as a child, but as an adult, I am very interested in natural horsemanship - not forcing the horse to do what I want, but working in partnership. I have read a number of books on natural techniques, and the introduction to this book is the best material I've read by far. The author gives terrific overviews of 4 relationship-building schools of horsemanship: clicker training, Parelli, round-pen training, and Tteam, and the hows and whys each can be used. Great section as well on communication with a horse. Very readable and highly recommended!

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Summary: Handy,concise and entertaining reference
Review: Back when I had a pony, his behavior both fascinated and baffled me. Too bad I didn't have this book then. We both would have had a lot more fun.
Very well organized, this book is a quick reference for problem-solving and gives specific instructions. Instead of vague "don't let him get away with that" or "show him who's boss" advice, Bucklin tells you what to do in terms you and your horse will understand. Anyone interested in animal behavior will enjoy this book.

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Summary: Finally - someone who knows where problem correction starts!
Review: Gincy Bucklin says that equine problems start with humans and for this alone I applaud her and her fantastic new book. People call animals dumb, but if humans are the ones with the brains, why do we have so many problems with our horses? Shouldn't the "smart ones" be able to fix them?

Bucklin offers a successful approach to solving human-caused equine problems, and it's not only theory. She provides specific solutions that are easy to understand and apply - basically, just about every problem a human has with an equine is human caused and in this one book just about every problem is addressed.

I highly recommend this book for every horseman's book shelf, no matter what your level of experience.

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Summary: Sound advice from one of the best teachers.
Review: I have known Gincy Bucklin via cyberspace for quite a few years. We were fellow subscribers to the Horseman list until it fell into disuse, and when Gincy started her own list (Riding With Confidence) I subscribed immediately.
Gincy is one of the best and most knowledgeable teachers of riding that I know, and she not only has years of experience behind her, but also specializes in helping timid, fearful and/or aging riders who have for some reason lost their confidence. She is uncanny at figuring out physical, mental and emotional problems and resolving rider error and is highly sympathetic to those who are having problems with riding or their horses, so it really came as no surprise that she would write a book to bridge the gap between horse and rider.
This teacher turned writer has greater works yet to come, and this book is the first of such. It is in encyclopedic form, and easy to read and comprehend.
Bravo, Gincy.

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Summary: Great addition to your horse library
Review: The best thing about this book is that the author tells the reader from the beginning (the preface)that any "problem" he may have with his horse is not the horse's fault at all. This sets the tone for the book. If there's something "wrong" with your horse, you must look to yourself to find out what the real source of the problem is. Not communicating in a way that your horse can understand, not knowing how to teach your horse, and being in too much of a hurry are the things we need to work on.

The introduction sets up the ten rules of training. These rules should be posted in every serious lesson barn! There are all kinds of good information included in the introduction, such as how to build a good relationship with your horse, how to use praise, and techniques from TTEAM, clicker training, round pen training, and Parelli. The author is not afraid to "mix and match" techniques from different schools, depending on what the horse needs at the moment. All solutions to the "problems" are non-confrontational and very useful.

Ms. Bucklin then lists "problems" in alphabetical order. This makes it easy to use as a reference book. The format is easy to read and understand. First, she gives an example of the problem, then the all-important, "What your horse wants you to know." Then comes "What to do about it." Finally another equally important part is "What not to do about it." Lots of books have only "What to do about it." To me, it's just as important to know *why* he's doing it and also what *not* to do.

Even though I've learned or figured out a lot of this stuff on my own, I found lots of things I didn't know or wasn't sure about. This book would make a great Christmas present for anyone, but especially for someone just getting started with horses.

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Summary: The most helpful of all horse books
Review: This is the most helpful of any horse book I have found, because the writing is so clear, and the author uses real life examples to illustrate what she means. I have a problem with my horse moving away when I mount, and her advice about mounting on the LONG axis, instead of the short axis, as I had been doing, was terrific. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to get to know their horse better.