Reading List

I feel like I used to post book reviews fairly regularly. The Kindle app assures me I still consistently read 80-90 books a year, but for the most part it's a long while between reads that are both equine relevant AND good enough to want to share. Realistically it might be a case of the book count being more of a testament to insomnia than anything.

I do, however, have a few I've meant to recommend this past year:

1.

I feel like I've owned this one in the past and it maybe got lost in a move. The good news is that it's still an excellent resource for the days when you're feeling uninspired. I like how it maps out the exercise for you, and also gives tips for how you should ride it and what you're hoping to accomplish. There are exercises for any level, but for the most part they're simple enough. But, let's be real, the 'simplest' ones are always the hardest! My chances of running out of things to practice from this book are very low. My one complaint is that my newer version is printed on cheaper paper and I wouldn't want to actually have it out at the barn with me anymore. I guess that's what cell phone cameras are for though, right?

Bonus mention: Anything else Jec Ballou is worth a look too - I have the Equine Fitness book, as well as the 55 Corrective Exercises for Horses and while there is a bit of crossover, I find them all useful.

2.

This one I picked up on a whim after a working equitation clinic. I was pretty fascinated by how fun and easy it is to jump in at an intro level on your well rounded ammy horse, but like all equine sports there is a lot to know if you want to really start to perfect things. I like how the obstacles provide a visual purpose for the patterns and flatwork and practical skills we all practice on our horses - adding them seems to be more fun for everyone. Also, the people involved always seem to be a really good crowd. If you're looking for something to try, I'd 200% recommend. 

Anyway, the book.  I really enjoyed this book - it's got a perfect mix of great photos and diagrams and a ton of inspiration for fun exercises to set up. I'm going to be referring back to this once it's time for the cob boys to be started under saddle. I think a lot of the exercises and tips in this book are going to make learning new skills a lot more fun for them. If you're interested in showing WE I feel like this book could be a goldmine of advice and how to's. Or if you're a dressage rider that wants to open the arena gate on horseback or cross bridges on the trail this could be for you :) It breaks down all the obstacles you'd expect to find into bite sized training pieces and would be a nice addition to your more dressage marketed exercise/training books.

3.

This is a great little book. I really enjoy how straightforward it is. The first 75 or so pages are dedicated to a (concise and well written) overview of preparation and knowledge for building and  utilizing the exercises in the book, then it's on to the exercises. I'm admittedly not one to sit down and read a bunch of pages filled with 151 diagrams of poles. I AM however, the person who gets to the barn and thinks "I should set something up!" and that's where this book will save me. Literally flip it open to a random page and there will be something there for me to try. Even better, each chapter is organized by how many poles are required, so I could be a little less chaotic and start where ever my motivation takes me. I appreciate the simple check boxes under the diagram that tell you what the exercise targets - "Straightness" "Impulsion" "Bend", etc and what gaits and movements you can practice. I think the one thing missing - for lazy people like me - might be to have the ability to cross reference those, so if I want to target straightness for example, I could be referred to a list of relevant pages.

4.

This one might not be of much interest if you have a saddle fitter (but really, I would still recommend, knowledge is power and all that). If you're like me and without reliable on the ground help, this book is wonderful and absolutely full of things I wish I knew years ago. The internet and saddle fitter social media pages have been a great resource for me, but as with all horse topics, 3 people will have 5 different opinions and without someone to bounce ideas off of, I'm left a bit confused sometimes. What I really needed was a book where everything is laid out logically by the same author, based on a single system that I can easily refer back to and cross reference elsewhere. I also appreciate having a really detailed base of knowledge (even just having the diagrams and correct words for things!) to refer back to so I can feel more comfortable asking any new questions that arise :) My only (small) critique is that while the illustrations are well done, I'm a real world example type person so this sometimes misses the mark a photo might have made for really easy reference for me.