Customer Reviews

Horses for Dummies

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was honored to be able to review an early copy of this book -- and proud to give an endorsement quote. I'm a lifelong horse-lover, and I used to ride a great deal. (I have a once-broken bone to prove it from a jump I went over without the benefit of my horse!)

Horses are complicated -- to understand, to buy or lease, to care for, to equip, to train and to handle. Audrey's book does a wonderful job explaining it all, and her love of these marvelous animals comes through on every page.

If you dream of horses, this is a book you must have!

-- Gina Spadafori, Universal Press Syndicate pet-care columnist, author of "Dogs For Dummies" and co-author of "Cats For Dummies" and "Birds For Dummies."

As I've gotten back into horseback riding, horse care, etc., after many years and am now starting over again... this book provided me with all the information I need to get started and covered every possible subject of horse care for the beginner. I found it to be reader-friendly, informative, and it is responsible in that it covers all the basics in not only riding and enjoying your horse or lesson experience, but also touched on all the topics of horse care, tack care, tacking up, mounting, tips on buying one's first horse, etc. It's a must read for those who are either getting back into riding, looking into purchasing or leasing a horse, or for the first time equestrian enthusiast. Buy the book...you won't be sorry!

My husband & I decided to buy horses on a whim, but we knew we'd have to do alot of learning before we were ready to buy our first horse. Out of the many (many, MANY) books we bought, this book clearly stood out. It taught us ALL the basics, and was a wonderful referrence guide for all our questions as we got through the first 3 years, going from boarding to moving out to our own land. This book is a MUST HAVE for beginners, and worth more than the asking price. When I lent it to my cousin, I counted the days (actually YEARS) until she gave it back - once a month there was something I wanted to look up quick!

For more advanced horse people, or casual rent-a-horse riders, this book may be too basic. It covers everything from care, to buying, to everything about owning a horse. Not advanced concepts, or anecotes, or riding styles, etc.

What A GREAT book! This title tells you everything you need to know from tack, riding styles, riding aparrel and horse breeds. It explains things so simply a child could understand it but is not insulting to the reader. I love it and refer to it often. I have gone back to riding lessons and am leasing a horse because of the newfound confidence I have in my knowlege about horse flesh.At least I won't feel like a "dummy" anymore.

Having just turned 46, I find myself smack dab in the middle of my "Billy Crystal" phase. Although I don't have a pet bull suburban jogging companion, rescued from a cattle drive, I do feel the urge to realize a lifelong dream of getting actively involved with horses.

Horses For Dummies has proven to be an excellent guide, covering a variety of necessary topics from barn construction to horse shows to euthanasia.

To get some horse care experience without spending a fortune, I started volunteering for a local "Hippotherapy" therapeutic riding academy -- which I learned about from reading this book!

I've been reading this book compliments of my local library and will be purchasing my own copy soon. If you're just getting started, as I am, this book is excellent.

I have no knowledge of how to act around horses or horsey people. I am an animal lover...but dogs are my specialty. Thank God for this book! I learned so many basics. This book was perfect for me. And after reading about all the hidden costs and all of the time involved....I still want a horse! But at least there wont be any surprises.

HORSES FOR DUMMIES does an excellent job of introducing the horse lover to the ins and outs of horses and horse ownership. The book paints a fairly accurate picture of all that is involved in getting started, covering the gamut of gadgets and tack necessary, a variety of veterinary issues, housing, feeding, training...you name it. A good, sound preliminary overview.

The one drawback to the book is that the authors go way overboard with trying to help the reader assess whether horse ownership is a realistic option. It seemed to me that they had perhaps seen some severe situations where people bought horses that really shouldn't have and they then vented their frustrations into this book. As a result they, in some cases, use a sledgehammer to swat the horse fly when a fly swatter would suffice. If taken too literally the book would be titled YOU DON'T REALLY WANT TO HAVE HORSES, DO YOU? and drive everyone except diehard cowboys away from even considering owning horses. Yes, owning horses is a big responsibility but I have only heard of a few extremely rare cases where horses truly suffered as the result of unprepared owners.

However, I see this as a minor thing. Read the book for the great information that it imparts and don't let the stump speeches about whether you are ready to own a horse by the authors get in the way.

THE HORSEMAN

This is the perfect book for people that know very little about horses. It covers the basics of most equine topics, and is in an easy-to-read format. I unfortunately did not find this book useful. Anyone past the "intermediate" stage may become board with it due to its lack of advanced excercises and vice-solving. For more dedicated riders I would recommend "The Complete Training of Horse and Rider" by Col. Alois Podhajsky. Once again, this is a good book for beginners but not intermediate or advanced riders.

I have been involved with horses for over 40 years, and I still found this book to be an excellent resource. It is exhaustive, yet well-written and entertaining. I am a retired teacher and I own a large stable and I have made it required reading. Actually, it's one of the best Dummies book I've read. Highly recommended.

My wife and I have recently begun to ride.To our utter amazement we have finally found a sport that we both enjoy. As our lessons progressed, I realized that I would need to do some independent research both for reenforcement of procedures as well as theacquisition of additional knowledge. I have never used any of the "Dummy" books but as I scanned the racks this book seemed to cover most of the topics that I was interested in. The book is absolutely marvelous. It's very easy to read and some difficult concepts are explained very simply for the novice. I would unequivically reccommend it for all beginners. I would also offer my thanks to the authors. Fine job ladies.