Customer Reviews

Heather Takes the Reins (Magic Attic Club)

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've read this book six times and I'm still not tired of it!

Nice enough for the third grade girl going through a "horses are cool" phase, but not exactly realistic. First of all, the illustrations are really screwed up. The horse looks like a stuffed animal. And also, since when do people ride full show regalia hours before the show? Wouldn't their breeches and jackets get dirty? I share the sentiments of another reviewer, too: dressage is not at all unatural; quite the contrary, actually. it is one of the most natural forms of riding. And the author says western saddles have things to "hold onto". Does she mean the horn? Because that really isn't a handle. And eventing isn't just called eventing at Olympic level! I could go on and on about this parody of dressage and overall horsemanship, but I have better things to do with my time. Go ahead, buy it if you don't care about petty mistakes, but be warned: this book has some issues with truth.

The "Learn More About It" section in this book should caution any horse rider who knows dressage from buying this book for a child. It says "Dressage taught [horses] to perform unnatural moves, such as leaping about...". Dressage is definitely NOT unnatural. Horses at play from very young ages do most dressage movements naturally, it is just a matter of a rider associating the movements to cues.

Additionally, some of the horse facts were incorrect in this book such as the main character wearing "pinks" or a red hunt coat used by a hunt master in a fox hunt (or a grand-prix show jumper, normally over the age of twenty-five). As the character wearing the jacket was about eight years old it was a wrong thing to write.

I'd recommend buying a "Pony Tails" book by Bonnie Bryant instead of this one for a child, Bryant is better with facts.