Horseman's English/Spanish Dictionary

Rating:
Summary: Ummm... a little racist.
Review: Althought the spanish translation is accurate, I found the voice this book is written in to be somewhat disturbing. Ms. Belknap's views on "the help" are a little troubling. As much as I did need this book for my trip to Mexico for a riding excursion, I certainly would not need it for the asian & american "help" that our cooperative stable employs.

Rating:
Summary: Not Racist--Necessary
Review: Anyone who has horses and runs a barn and employs Mexican laborer, helpers, whatever terminology you want...NEEDS THIS BOOK. This book is great, it not only makes communication possible about every deal of horses and equipment, it gives confidence to the Mexican workers, which in turn gives them encouragement to learn more English, and to communicate more. They live in our country invisibly mostly, many are illegalls with forged documents, and they live in fear, lonley, and top that off with not being able to communicate, their lives are very sad and sometimes desperate.Desperate people do desperate things. To facilitate the simple act of communicating can forge strong bonds, friendships, loyalty and honesty. I credit Belknap's book with doing just this with 3 Mexcian men who have worked for me and.I went from the American gringa to the American amiga, and suddenly tools, eqipment and etc., stopped "disappearing" from my barn, and the work improved greatly because the men felt repsected and had the self-confidence to ask for what they needed, and upon learning, their self-confident went way up and the barn is a much happier place. I would recommend this book to everyone who has Spanish-speaking help in barns and stables, and this is why I'm now ordering more copies! This book is definitely not racist...I think the reviewer who accused Belknap of being racist is loco.

Rating:
Summary: Horseman's English/Spanish Dictionary by Maria Belknap
Review: If you have spanish speaking help at your barn and your spanish is non-existent or rusty,buy this book! It is well organized and concise.The illustrations,though small,are well done and helpful. Because this book pertains to horses and their care,it contains words and references you won't find in other dictionaries.Our barn aides are equally happy with this book.What a relief to be able to finally have needs and questions understood by both parties.Thank you Maria Belknap,my horse thanks you too.

Rating:
Summary: Necessary!
Review: Two new workers at my barn are Mexican. One speaks a little English and the other speaks none. Most of the other workers and boarders only speak English and those that speak Spanish (like me) only speak a little bit. I bought this book and brought it to the barn. Within five minutes the Mexican workers tried to buy it off me - so I am ordering them two more. That's why this book gets five stars from me, it is just a helpful thing to have around and can help you avoid miscommunications.