Understanding Your Horse

"Problem" horses are usually horses that are trying to tell their owners that something is wrong and reacting in the only way they know how. Lesley Bayley leads the reader through Richard Maxwell's system of understanding equine psychology and for overcoming some of the natural responses that horses use in situations that frighten or confuse them. Beginning with two chapters on how horses communicate with each other (and with their owners), the authors go on to describe the effects of pain on the horse's behavior. Two chapters on establishing trust with older, difficult horses and with "starting" (breaking in) foals and young horses lead into the final sections on dealing with specific behavioral problems. The authors stress that positive reinforcement of desired behaviors will achieve the desired results, and that understanding why a horse is acting the way it does goes a long way toward getting it to develop desirable habits or toward changing undesirable conduct. This will be an extremely useful adjunct to all of the how-to books on riding and horse care. Nancy Bent