Customer Reviews

A Horse of Your Own

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

 

 

I thought that this was probably a terrific book for a young girl dreaming of owning her own horse, but felt that it had very little practical and useful information for the horse owner, especially for an inexperience first-time owner. I have never been able to use it as a reference when I had a problem and find the information I needed.

Certain aspects of this book may be a little outdated (see other reviews) but for the most part, this is at worst an introduction and at best a thorough discussion of pretty much every equine and riding aspect there is. This would be perfect for someone who didn't know a lot abouthorses but was interested in learning more about the horse world...this covers pretty much EVERYTHING, from what sesamoid boots are used for to how saddleseat shows are judged to what pinfiring is and so on. This is a quite a tome but I love having it in my library and is my "go-to" book whenever I don't understand what something is or how it works.

I purchased the 1963 edition of this book and it was my inspiration and wishbook for 10 years until I finally did have a horse of my own. I still have the original, but it is in sad shape from many readings over the years. I decided to purchase the 1990 edition out of curiousity as to what had been updated, and out of nostalgia for my old 'bible'. It is very biased toward the english style of riding (as was the original), but the references to western riding are horribly outdated. This book was published in 1990 and their picture of a well appointed western rider is apparently circa 1970. I ride both English and Western, a phenomenon that is very common today with breeds such as the Quarter Horse that offer both types of classes at shows. Overall, I think it is still a good book for someone who is interested in getting involved with horses for the first time.

I purchased a copy of this book serveral years ago and just recently purchased another copy for a friend of mine as a gift. It's a simple book, for the beginner horse owner and has a little bit of everything in it. I found it to be invaluable.