Customer Reviews

Naked Liberty

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Carolyn Resnick is a horse trainer based in California who has developed a way to teach people to form an effective heart connection with their horses. This creates very close, very deep bonds between horse and human and leads to outstanding performance. There are no gadgets required for this work, no special equipment is used. The horse untacked and at liberty in an area large enough so that he can escape the person's influence if he so chooses. Everything the horse does is done of his own free will. This freedom to choose makes him a very willing, very engaged, very expressive partner.

Carolyn learned much of what she teaches directly from horses, particularly from a band of wild horses she joined during three summers in her childhood. These childhood experiences formed the foundation of her current work. Naked Liberty is Carolyn's memoir of that time in her life. It is an amazing true story of a young girl and the horses who molded her into an outstanding trainer.

If you love horses, read this book.

Kris McCormack
New Paltz, New York

This autobiographic reflection of Carolyn Resnick's observations and experiences with horses in the wild, as well as the domesticated horses she's partnered with throughout her life, offers the reader an entertaining view into the world of equine psychology that is sure to manifest a deeper understanding between humans and horses.

With genuine humility and earnest love, Ms. Resnick shares her journey, replete with personal anecdotes every horse lover can relate to, those showing her follies as well as her successes. Her successes are built on personal learning experiences coupled with an unerring positive attitude and a willingness to change things within herself that need changing.

Honing her capacity to observe Nature and all its inhabitants allowed Ms. Resnick to be accepted into the realm of the wild things and it is within the lessons learned through these diligent studies that the author discovered a world of non-human communication that she could not only see was effective for horses and other creatures, but that she, too, could emulate and participate in.

That Ms. Resnick has been able to put her experiences and insights into well worded vignettes is remarkable. It is very difficult to take non-verbal communication between species, (which becomes nothing short of a spirit to spirit understanding) and define it in human language without losing the essence of things. Ms. Resnick not only succeeds in making her experiences comprehensible, but inspires the reader to pursue this type of relationship with his/her own horses.

We owe Carolyn Resnick high accolades for pursuing her unique studies with horses and then offering us the benefit of her experiences and insights. NAKED LIBERTY surely leaves readers wanting to read more from this author.

I have been a professional horse trainer (paid to train horses) since the age of 17. I am 60 years next year. I have traveled world wide to do this and have written on this topic myself for publication numerous times. I think Carolyn Resnick's book is far and away the absolute best book on the true nature of horses I have ever read. Legions beyond Monty Roberts' international best seller 'The Man Who Listens to Horses', Resnick's 'Naked Liberty 'addresses the attitudes and paradigms the are most appropriate and correct to attain high level, uncoerced, successful interaction with horses. Through insightful story telling about her early days observing wild horses and relating the occurances she had with the various horses that come into her life, Ms. Resnick gives us a very thorough look into the true nature of horses. I have never heard or read descriptions about equine/human relationships that was more right on track than this is. This book should be required reading for all persons seeking to keep the company of horses. I applaud Carolyn Resnick for her insight, wisdom and the best horse book I have ever read.
Thank you....Franklin Levinson, Snowmass, CO ... Maui, HI

Naked Liberty by Carolyn Resnick
Reviewed by Sharon Janus

Carolyn Resnick establishes herself as a leader in natural horse training with her book Naked Liberty. Her Midas touch stems from a deep appreciation of horses, years of observing wild horse behaviors, and years spent learning their secret language. She connects with the noble and beautiful animals in more ways than one, celebrating and sharing their secrets with her readers in an effort to help establish harmonious relationships between horses and their handlers. "Seeing the similarity of horse and human behavior demystifies training and communicating with horses," she believes.
Nothing escapes her keen eye. She has a firm grasp on the reality of equine interactions, noting that herd functions are never static and fixed, but rather always dynamic and evolving. Herd dynamics can't be explained solely by the dominant and submissive behaviors of the members, she asserts. It's much more complex, and she explains how and why with clarity and sincerity. Resnick then outlines the "unwritten code," a series of self-imposed regulations to which all equines subscribe. Saddled with such savvy truths, readers get much out of this book, which is as entertaining as it is useful.
This is an important work. Dare I say a landmark book? It's committed to building and binding relationships based on trust as the foundation for all future interactions with horses. The author admirably respects, loves and understands equus, showing how success is fostered by communication, bonding and forming partnerships. But best of all, she offers sound advice on how such communication, bonding and partnerships can be achieved by any or all who want to work with horses.
Readers will follow this natural born leader as she examines the invisible yet invincible threads that unite horses to their leaders, whether two or four-footed. Horsepower is not about strength and force. It's about knowledge and skill built on mutual respect and trust. Naked Liberty is long overdue.

Finally, someone has written a book that addresses what is often lacking in most "Natural Horsemanship" training programs...the essential need for a horse to learn in an open, free environment. This important element is the basis for Ms. Resnick's extremely useful approach to equine-human relationships.

And, this is a lovely book, too. We travel with her and her ponies as she grows up in the desert and in the company of a variety of domestic and wild animals. We learn the lessons she learns, and we begin to understand what is missing in so many of our human-equine relationships. We cannot physically teach horses we cannot mentally reach. Ms. Resnick shows us how.

I hope there will soon be another book showing in precise detail how to apply these lessons. Until then, I'll read "Naked Liberty" yet again. It gets better with each visit.

Carolyn Resnick not only studied wild mustangs she learned how to be one. In this engrossing memoir she tells of her childhood in the wild desert of Indio, California in the days before fences, and recounts three summers when she spent her days among a herd of wild mustangs. The knowledge she gained about horse behavior and horse training is beyond anything you will have read before. A refreshingly honest and fascinating book about horses and horse training. I can't wait for the "how-to" sequel.

Marta Williams, Animal Communicator
Author of "Learning Their Language" and "Beyond Words"

In addition to Ms. Resnick's vast insight about horses, her book Naked Liberty is beautifully written. While curled up in an armchair in front of the fireplace, my "inner child" accompanied the writer on her incredible journeys through the desert. In a style reminiscent of Annie Dillard, Ms. Resnick writes of her encounters with lizards, honeybees, thunderstorms, spiders, and an Indian shaman. This is a great book on many levels and should appeal to a wide audience of readers, not only avowed horse lovers. Don't judge THIS book by its cover...you will want both to lend it to your friends, and keep it yourself to re-read.

As a rider and trainer in the French Classical Method, along with publishing a magazine devoted to the French Arts -- [thecavalieronline*com] -- I enthusiastically endorse this book. I have used her methods with my own horses, both young and old to amazing success. My young horse has matured to a dazzling and delighful mount, having originally come to me with a "much too big for his britches" attitude. My older horse, a rescue and very shut down from his past experiences, is now a warm and vibrant horse thanks to listening to him through liberty techniques. Thank you Carol for your brilliant book.

For all you horse lovers out there who aren't quite satisifed with your present relationship with your horse despite all the training -- whether it be Natural Horsemanship or the usual "standard" approaches -- you'll find this book a great step up and out of the many current mindsets in horse training. In my view, you truly owe it to yourself and your horses to at least give this book a good read and really consider the Carolyn Resnick Method of training. I truly feel you will be glad you did and will learn things that will give you a better bonding and understanding of your horse(s).

John Lala, Jr.

If you love horses and believe that it is possible to form a partnership with them, you should definitely read this. The training methods described in this book go beyond any of the Natural Horsemanship methods that are currently being taught and/or written about. I think that Carolyn Resnick, more than any other horse trainer or "guru", truly understands the horse. Her Liberty method of working with horses is practical, common sense, and humane. I highly recommend this book.