Lyons on Horses: John Lyons' Proven Conditioned-Response Training Program [Paperback]

John Lyons (Author), Rick Lamb (Introduction), Sinclair Browning (Collaborator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2009

“A must-have for first time horse owners and veterans.”—Library Journal

In John Lyons’ twenty-nine years of experience in horse trainer–instructing, he has become recognized as “America’s Most Trusted Horseman.” Each year for the past thirteen years, nearly 10,000 horse handlers from all over the world flock to Lyons’ horse-training clinics to learn from the man whose step-by-step methods have reared some of the most talented trainers, clinicians, and teachers. Lyons on Horses is the book version of these sought-after clinics; in it, Lyons leaves no stone unturned on the path toward understanding your horse. From his philosophy on horses to facing fear, and from saddling and arena work to trail work, leading, and trailer loading, Lyons guides trainers of all skill-levels and riding styles through his trusted lessons.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Reading this book is almost as much fun as attending one of Lyons's clinics. Although Lyons rides Western, his training methods apply to all horses and riders. From leading a horse to loading the animal into a trailer, he has the answers to all training problems, and his lessons are well organized, easy to understand and follow. Lyons provides information that is invaluable for trainers working with green horses, and he offers owners with older horses advice on how to correct bad habits. A great companion to his videos, this work is recommended for all public libraries and libraries with collections emphasizing equine history and training. It is a must for first-time horse owners as well as veterans.
- Anne A. Salter, Atlanta Historical Society Lib.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Publisher

Every year, some 10,000 people attend Lyons's clinics to learn the secrets contained in this complete training program for horses and trainers of all skill levels, by one of America's most popular and trusted trainer-instructors.

B & W photographs and illustrations throughout. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing (November 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 160239928X
• ISBN-13: 978-1602399280
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #222,607 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #69 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Animals > Horses

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

90 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Complete and enriching, December 29, 1999

By 

"gui-gui" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lyons on Horses: John Lyons' Proven Conditioned-Response Training Program (Hardcover)

I am not a horse trainer, and had never trained a horse before. However, I applied John Lyon's methods and had very satisfying results. I trained two horses, one of them is now a competition horse which because of its size and conformation (arabian like) would never have been expected to give what it does (its jumping far more than my experienced 10 year old jumper, and he's only 5 and only learning). The trainer has told us its because this horse has such a good disposition towards people and is so attentive and always willing, results of its initial training program, I'm convinced. And it wasn't even done by a proffesional! I highly recommend Lyon's methods. However, I had to read the book twice! Once to get the idea of what the system pointed at and to see what the puzzle looked like with all its pieces in place. Only in the second reading, done mostly in small parts at a time and just before practice was I able to go ahead and be sure of what I was doing and how I should do it. If you are not patient and do not have the time to slowly try to grab the meaning of this, perhaps the video should be a smarter choice.

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A down to earth, gentle guide to horse training., September 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Lyons on Horses: John Lyons' Proven Conditioned-Response Training Program (Hardcover)

Reading this book and watching the videos that go with it is the best way to really understand what John Lyons is all about. If you have ever trained a dog, you understand what conditioned-response is, and he teaches you how to apply the same theory to training horses. John Lyons does not hold himself out as a horse-whisperer guru type trainer, but rather as a guy who has a very logical, conditioned-response method of dealing with horses. I liked the way he explained the techniques and his emphasis on safety for the trainer and the horse. Some things are hard to picture from his explanation in the book, so watching the videos put it all together for me. (An example is the hitting the horse on the leg bit that another reviewer mentioned. If you saw the video and saw what he was doing, you probably would not feel uncomfortable with it.) I have found this book the most novice-friendly book of its type.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, what a book!!, October 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Lyons on Horses: John Lyons' Proven Conditioned-Response Training Program (Hardcover)

This is the bible of horse training. I felt like John wrote this book about MY horse. Everything he said worked wonderfully. This man really knows how horses think and how to comunicate with them. It really helped my to understand what my horse was thinking and how to deal with certain problems. I highly recommend this book!!