Customer Reviews

Horse, Follow Closely: Native American Horsemanship

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Sick of boring old dressage? Overdone eventing? Wacky Western riding? In this stunningly beautiful volume, GaWaNi Pony Boy describes the roots of Native American riding. When Europeans arrived in the Americas, horses had disappeared long before. GaWaNi shows how the first Americans took to horses-- and created an awe inspiring bond and culture. I have not met GaWaNi, but I knew my husband would love his horsemanship the minute I saw this book. GaWaNi doesn't clip his horse's faces-- something my husband totally approves.

All his books that I have read touch your soul - and make you smile, cry, and slap your hands and giggle - because you realize that your love for horses is as simple and as complex as another human's.
Horse people - we're everywhere !

As a neophyte horse owner I'm watching a lot of tapes by different trainers to see what the thoughts/methods are and what works for me. I also work with a local horse woman who does similar work.This was very well done, gentle training but a skilled horseman. I've heard he is just copying Monty Roberts but they are different, similar but different.

I had hoped for perhaps a somewhat unique, Native American perspective on horsemanship; something a little different from othe natural horsemanship trainers selling books & dvds. But, this is the same methodology used by most all of them. It makes a pretty coffee table book, but has nothing new to offer unless this is your first foray into natural horsemanship. Basically, establishing yourself as the "Alpha" or leader, based on the well-known fact that horses want to follow a leader they trust. It emphasizes not using force or abuse & demonstrates how to control the horse's actions once you have established the basic trust/respect level required. I also viewed the dvd & was disappointed that Pony Boy used a perfectly trained horse in all his demonstrations. BORING! It's more of a pretty picture book than a useful instruction you can apply to your untrained horse. Not a book worth keeping in my horse book library.

This book is a treasure. For anyone that loves horses or is involved in training, it is SOLID GOLD! It was shipped incredibly fast and the seller packaged it with extraordinary care! Would definitely do business with this seller again! GREAT DEAL - GREAT SELLER!

Of all the horse books in my bookcases, this is my favorite by far. Gawani Pony Boy has captured my values and my beliefs about horses. I am anything but a horse trainer but I get many horses in my rescue to do things for me without "formal" training. This book emphasizes the importance of one's relationship with a horse and the importance of "listening" to horses. This book validated my experience and my belief that horses have rights, feelings, and preferences that should be honored and respected. For those who are looking for training skills without an emphasis on the relationship with the horse, another book would probably be more suitable. For those who only want a result and do not care what it does to a horse to get the result, this is not the book they will appreciate.


I first received this book as a gift and have been purchasing it as gifts for others. If I could only take 12 inches of book material with me to be deserted on an island this book would be included.

As with all Gawani PonyBoy's teachings what this book provides along with any of his DVDs is a clear no nonsense approach to horse training(not to mention beautiful photos by Gabriell Boiselle!!). There are so many people who push their own social behavior and emotions on their horses but do they really make sense to your horse? Is that fair to them? Take another look at how your horse truly feels and understands what it is that you're trying to teach him and you might find the answer to many problems. The way you perceive one behavior may mean a totally different thing to your horse. PonyBoy outlines and teaches how to have a better relationship with your horse....one that your horse will understand and is just plain common sense. I've seen him work with a couple horses in person and they were untrained and unmanageable and his methods worked wonders for the horses and their owners. There are many good natural horsemanship trainers out there and PonyBoy is definately one of them!

This book is a disappointment for a number of reasons. I've read lots and lots of horse books, and in comparison this one is completely lacking in substance. Even the seemingly pretty pictures are irritating to me. The horse on the cover has a very obvious halter mark on his face. You can see it on the cover and throughout the book. This horses looks like his halter was left on all the time. So much for "natural."

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a DVD should be worth thousands of pictures. But all this potential has been wasted on this DVD. As in the book, at first there are lots of pretty pictures and shallow insights. But what really irks me is the poor explanation of, and even poorer demonstration of, Round Penning or what Monty Roberts calls "join-up." His round pen looks to be only 30 feet in diameter or less, which is too small. The main horse he uses to demonstrate is panting like crazy and covered in sweat by the end, which is completely unnecessary.

I have a hard time watching while he jabs with his thumb all over the horse's body, insisting that it not move a foot or he'll send it away again. Later, while teaching the horse to give to pressure, he uses the same thumb to push insisting the horse move this time, which would be very confusing for the horse. Please don't imitate what he does in this DVD, for your horse's sake!

There are lots better books than this one. For example, Mark Rashid's first three books are excellent. Rashid learned from an "old man" who in turn learned from a Native American. Kelly Marks' Teach Your Horse Perfect Manners (one of my favorites) has an excellent chapter on round penning.

GaWaNi Pony Boy's book "Horse, Follow Closely" is a book I'll be keeping and sometimes loaning out. I actually bought it to review for a friend of mine. GaWaNi's Native American Horsemanship, concentrating on understanding the horse and building a relationship, is essentially the same just somewhat different terms, as revered horse trainers Tom and Bill Dorrance, Ray Hunt and a host of others most noteably Craig Cameron and Pat Parelli. Pony Boy's format for the book and DVD are easy to follow. As long as I have lived, I have came to understand that two people hearing the same thing often have different understandings. If GaWaNi's approach gets through to even one person, who will have a better understanding of a horse,...can build a relationsip based on trust, and most of all, provide that horse with a fair life, then GaWaNi Pony Boy's book is a success. I have also wrot a review on my site: [...], the direct link is below.

[...]

This book is wonderful. As a Psychotherapist who is getting certified for EAP (Equine Assissted Psychotherapy), the practical teachings are exactly what I was looking for. I look forward to building trusting relationships with the horses I will be using for therpay, and believe this book will help me to build fantastic relationships with the horses.