Amazon.com: How to Think Like A Horse: Essential Insights for Understanding Equine Behavior and Building an Effective Partnership with Your Horse (9781580178365): Cherry Hill: Books
Ask someone who works with horses how best to communicate with a balky colt and she will tell you that horses do not respond to human cajoling. To be successful the human must understand and work with, not against, the horse’s instincts, needs, and fears. When a trainer resorts to human teaching methods — reasoning, begging, bribing, even hugging and kissing — the horse will become confused and unable to respond appropriately. But if horses are treated respectfully with methods they understand, everyone involved — animal and human — will be happier, safer, and more productive.
Horse trainer and instructor Cherry Hill believes that every human/horse relationship benefits from a greater human understanding of what motivates horses, how they experience the world, what makes them happy, and what worries them. Journey through the equine mind with Hill as she explores all that makes a horse tick. How do his basic needs dictate his behavior and mood? What touches and tastes appeal to his senses? How does his “flight or fight” instinct dictate his response to sudden movements?
Hill offers interactive experiments — fun for both horse and human — that bear out her findings on horse behavior. And her final chapter presents simple training methods that draw from the insights and information presented throughout the book.
"…an eye opener…Hill's book is the essential handbook – not too technical yet seriously written from her 30 years of experience." (Southern HorseStyle )
“Any horse owner, from beginner to advanced, will find information of value in this book. The author's tone is authoritative without being condescending, and the layout makes it easy to grasp nuggets of knowledge even at a glance.”
Horse & Rider, March 2007
“If more of us read this book, there might be a lot less whip-cracking, bolting, and biting in our daily lives. BOTTOM LINE: Your horse suggests you pick this one up.”
Horseman’s Yankee Pedlar, January 2007
“Hill first guides the reader through the physical, mental, evolutionary and social processes that lead to common equine behavioral traits. She then relates how that knowledge can be applied practically and routinely at the barn to create an effective partnership between horse and human…In short, a multitude of considerations ultimately affect how well a human communicates with his or her horse when mastering new skills and Hill capably addresses them all with insights she's gained from her lifetime of equestrian experience.”
Western Horseman, January 2007
“Each chapter is packed with specific, sensible, and useful information on every aspect of the horse from the physical to the mental and from the emotional to the social.”
America’s Bridle and Bit, August 2006
“Packed with fascinating facts, it draws you in to the horse's world before you know it.”
Equine behavior makes perfect sense when you understand a horse's survival instincts and fears and know what makes him feel calm and confident. As noted horsewoman Cherry Hill describes your horse's basic needs, routines, and responses to sights, smells, sounds, and touch, you will learn to anticipate his reactions and adjust your training methods accordingly. Your lasting reward will be a solid relationship with a curious, trusting, adaptable, and eager-to-please equine companion. --This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Cherry Hill is an award-winning author of over 30 books and videos and over 1000 articles on horse training and care.
Cherry was a horse show judge for 25 years for several national breed organizations. She also taught college equine courses from 1975-1985 in the US and Canada, including Olds College in Alberta, Canada and Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. Cherry instructed courses such as Horse Behavior, Ground Training, Mounted Training, Western Horsemanship, English Equitation, Riding Instructor Training, Equine Evaluation, Stable Management, and Equine Production.
Cherry has been a free-lance equine photo-journalist since 1975 and has written for such publications as Horse & Rider, The Quarter Horse Journal, The Chronicle of the Horse, the American Farrier's Journal, The Horse Journal, Western Horseman and over 20 other national equine publications.
Cherry Hill received the Colorado Authors' League Top Hand Award twice for her books. The Top Hand award is one of the most distinguished writing awards in the regions with competition from fiction and non-fiction books on any topic. Cherry received the CAL Top Hand Award in 1995 for 101 Arena Exercises and in 1999 for 101 Horsemanship and Equitation Patterns.
In 1994 the American Farriers Association presented Cherry with their Journalism Award for meritorious service in collecting, editing, and presenting information of interest to farriers.
Cherry was the recipient of the 1992 American Horse Publications first place award for editorial excellence in the category Service to the Reader for a series she wrote on liability in the equine industry.
In 2002, Cherry Hill was the recipient of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Henry Bergh Children's Book Honor in the Non-Fiction Companion Animal Category for her book Cherry Hill's Horse Care for Kids. It was selected for its outstanding ability to teach young readers a new way to care for animals and natural resources that we all share.
For more information on Cherry Hill and her books and videso, visit her website at http://www.horsekeeping.com
Videos and DVDs by Cherry Hill:
101 Horsekeeping Tips: 3 volumes Handling and Grooming Feeding and Health Care Faciliites and Tack
The Horse - El Caballo A Journey for Kids A bilingual video horse book on DVD
Books authored by Cherry Hill:
El Cuidado de Tu Caballo, Tutor, 2005.
Monta Western, Hispano Europa, 2005
HORSEKEEPING ON A SMALL ACREAGE, 2nd edition, Storey Books, 2005.
Cherry Hill's Horse Care for Kids, Storey, 2002
HORSE HOUSING (With Richard Klimesh)Trafalgar Square, 2002.
RIDING WESTERN 2002.
STABLEKEEPING Storey 2000.
TRAILERING YOUR HORSE Storey 2000.
101 HORSEMANSHIP AND EQUITATION PATTERNS , Storey, 1999.
101 LONGEING AND LONG LINING EXERCISES, ENGLISH & WESTERN, John Wiley 1999.
LONGEING AND LONG LINING THE ENGLISH AND WESTERN HORSE, John Wiley, 1999.
BEGINNING WESTERN EXERCISES, Storey, 1998. INTERMEDIATE WESTERN EXERCISES, Storey, 1998. ADVANCED WESTERN EXERCISES, Storey, 1998. BEGINNING ENGLISH EXERCISES, Storey, 1998. INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH EXERCISES, Storey, 1998. ADVANCED ENGLISH EXERCISES, Storey, 1998.
HORSE HANDLING AND GROOMING, Storey 1997.
HORSE HEALTH CARE, Storey 1997.
HORSE FOR SALE, Howell Book House, 1995.
101 ARENA EXERCISES, Storey 1995.
PRACTICAL GUIDE TO LAMENESS IN HORSES with Ted Stashak, DVM. Williams & Wilkins, 1995.
YOUR PONY, YOUR HORSE, Storey, 1995.
MAXIMUM HOOF POWER, with Richard Klimesh, Trafalgar Square, 1994.
As a person who has loved, worked with, trained, ridden, lived with horses for over 50 years I wanted to like this book. Unfortunately I did not find it useful. In fact, I am afraid that novice horsemen will use this book as a baseline for equestrian behavior. I found her knowledge limited to personal experience, maybe she needs to get around or to read some research. I question her observations and interpretations of those observations. There are many issues in this book that I could take exception to but I will just talk about one. To suggest that a horse does not learn and their behavior is only rote or instinctual is very misleading. I've watched horses remove their halters, untie their leads, open gates, open snaps to get to the feed-room, and direct me to issues that they thought I should see such as empty water or feed barrels. Perhaps the author just has dumb horses but I suspect not. I hope that any novice horseman will expand their reading to other books as well so that they can get a more rounded view of equestrian behavior.
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Great book. Bought it for my 14-year-old who thinks she knows it all. She has learned some interesting facts and applies that to her own horse. It has made her understand the horse instead of just reacting. Highly recommended for any level horse rider. You will learn at least one thing you didn't know before you picked up this book.
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Cherry Hill's books are always very useful and easy reading. She has a way of stating things in a very simple but informative way. You can't go wrong with her books. This book is great if you have a casual interest in learning about horse behavior. It gives a lot of basic logic behind why horses do what they do. If you were intrigued by the study of horses, I would recommend "The Nature of Horses" by Stephen Budiansky as a more in depth study of the subject.
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