Customer Reviews

Life Lessons from a Ranch Horse

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This is simply a great book, whether you are a horse person or not. In fact, so far I have given it to all my friends and employees, none of which are "horsey", and they all love it! It's hard to put into words what I have learned from it and what I continue to learn each time I read it. (4 times so far) Suffice it to say that it is the best book I've read in the last two years, and maybe longer. However, I must also say if you buy this because you are looking for a horse training book per si, then you will most certainly be disappointed. It isn't a training book in the literal sense. Rather it opens doors to possibilities that are available to us all not just with horses, but more importantly, in our overall daily lives. If you are looking to find better ways to help your horse through understanding and communication, or simply to help improve your life in general, then this one is for you. The lessons to be gleaned from this book are simple but very powerful. Right up there with another one of my favorites, The Tao of Pooh. I HIGHLY recomend this book.

I'm not talking about Mark Rashid when I refer to the Wiseman...I'm talking about Buck!

But Mark is his spokesman - and a great one at that.

Although I have enjoyed all of Mark's books, this one is really special. "Life Lessons From A Ranch Horse" is a gentle and compelling story that explains how the keys to understanding and communication are often completely overlooked even by the "experts". Mark leads us through his slow discovery of Buck's Life Lessons in a very sincere and honest way.

This is not a "How To Ride and Train Horses" book; it's an introduction to a more effective way to approach problems and solve them to everyone's benefit. Not a bad thing to be able to use in our lives, with horses or other people!

Mark has done us all a good service by sharing his tale of discovery. Now Buck can reach more folks than those who could ever meet him in person. And perhaps we will be able to better hear the other "Bucks" in our lives.

I bought this book because it looked somewhat interesting (and I had already read most of the other books in that store). I hadn't really given any of the "self-help-ish" horse books a chance. I previously only read non-fiction, information-laden, textbook-ish readings (such as books on feed and nutrition, setting jumps and other arena exercises, etc.). I just ignorantly assumed that books such as this one were going to be too "out there" for me. I was wrong.

Rashid has since become one of my favorite writers (of horse books, anyway). He explains things very illustratively and turns the book into a story. He uses story telling as a means of informing the reader and getting his point across. This technique not only makes the topic easier to understand, but it also makes the book altogether much more enjoyable and readable. In all honesty, I found it hard to put this book down, which is not a common occurance.

Much to my surprise, I learned a lot from this book. It is so easy to read - in that it flows smoothly and easily, and holds your interest very well - that it is hard to believe I learned as much from it as I did. I apply so much of what this book has taught me on an every day basis. None of my past readings (the text book type books) provided so much useful, appliable intormation. I truly owe much of my riding's recent improvement to the lessons learned through reading this book.

I guarantee that this book is worth the money and time (and you won't believe how fast you glide through it). If you would like to learn more about what it's like to be a horse and think like a horse, and how to better communicate with / understand them then I highly recommend this book.

F.Y.I. I have since read some of Rashid's other books and I have found them to be very informative and enjoyable as well.

I recently purchased this book for the sole purpose of trying to gain an understanding of why my daughter wanted a horse so badly. Once I picked this book up, I couldn't put it down. Now, as I sit watching her take her riding lessons, I am in awe of the relationship people have with horses. I am now eager to learn myself so that I too can share in the knowledge of what these incredible animals can teach us about ourselves! Well done Mark!

Get ready to look inside at your own approach to your horse. How much
effort do you make in the day to day interaction with him/her to hear what
he/she is trying to say? I think we can all benefit from the inspiration this book
can give us. After all, can we ever be too intune?

As adult taking riding lesson, I have thoroughly enjoyed four of
his books. They are educating and fun to read. They help with Life's situation and understanding how horses think. The other three are : Horses Never Lie, Considering the Horse, A Good Horse Is Never a Bad Color.

This is the third book of Mark's that I've read in the last two months. He is an amazing writer and brings with him the understanding of how to not only create a compassionate relationship with horses but with our world. He is a teacher in the truest sense. His relationship with his horse Buck has enriched anyone who has read his words.

His books are on my very short list of favorites. I WISH that there were more of them!

I have read most of Mark Rashid's books, and I had greatly anticipated reading this one hoping for more insight into horse training. If you are looking for training advice in this book you will find very little of it. The book deals mostly with what Mark learned about his own personal behavior through observing his horse Buck. One could take advice from the book I suppose but you have to dig much deeper to come away with useful tidbits. Also, don't expect any of the colorful stories of the "Old Man" that appeared in other books by Mark, there are none of those here, and only a smattering of stories about working with horses other than Buck. It is a good read, but don't expect much in the way of tips on working with horses.

Oh how I enjoyed this book! Mark Rashid seems to step aside in the narrative to let his horse, Buck, teach us. Our willingness to listen doesn't amount to time wasted either.

This isn't a how-to-ride book. Instead, it's a how-to-learn-a-bit-about-life (from a horse) book. By the time the story closes, we understand - along with Mark - that Buck's survival strategies teach us the value of going through life with these principles: Be non-confrontational, plan ahead, be persistent, be consistent, and fix setbacks and move on.
If you felt even a whisper of wisdom in that list (read it again if you wish), I urge you to read this beautiful book. Mark is generous with his reader, able to write clearly, and one of the best horsemen in the US today.
This work is a treat to read, and I'll end my review before I ruin your experience with Life Lessons from a Ranch Horse by telling you about the amusing anecdotes and adventures that make it a page turner. Enjoy!

In Life Lessons from a Ranch Horse, Mark Rashid provides some lovely inner workings that were brought about by this particular horse's behavior. Each horse can teach us something about life and about horses, but being aware of the situation enough to pick up valuable lessons is very humbling and useful. Each time there was a problem in communication, the horse was actually trying to help his rider with the job at hand! Buck offered exactly what his rider needed, just maybe not what he wanted at the time. It would have been a missed opportunity if Rashid had given up on Buck. Instead, he thought about the situation and eventually learned some personal pointers that worked better with his horse and all of life. He shares these pointers and how he deduced them from Buck's behavior. I call that valuable training (for the human).

The reader does not have to own horses to enjoy this book. I consider this is Rashid's best book to date.