Customer Reviews

Ultimate Horse

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a great book the illstrations and the pictures are colorful and fun to look at. The information is put together in a way that you could use it for teaching it has good information and is a good sourse to use when you are starting to learn about the horse. it includes a timelime and pictures of every breed and what there best used for. This is a book that well deserves more than five stars!

I really enjoyed the pictures and the facts. If you're looking for a horse to buy,it tells you what the prices are and tips on picking out the perfect horse. They give you facts on all the horse breeds, and have wonderful pictures of all of them. It tells you what plants are poisonous and gives you pictures so you can identify them.

This book is such a wonderful book! One of my favorite animals are horses and I think this book tells you soooo much about them. They give you wonderful photos of horse breeds from A to Z! They also tell you how to take care of horse and what to feed them. It also tells you which breed is right for you! I got this spectacular book from my dad and ever since he gave it to me, this book was my favorite horse book ever. This should be a great gift for anybody who loves horses or doesn't love horses. Once a horse lover reads this, they will fall in love with it. Once a person who doesn't love horses reads it, they might just begin to think horses are okay! I think this book is very helpful for anybody.

This book is a fairly good introductory reference to horses, suited for younger riders and horse enthusiasts just entering the horse world. It is well written and easy to understand. The first section of the book is entitled "The Essential Horse," and covers its evolution, domestication, the basics of conformation (including several very nice diagrams), the gaits (with nice photographic sequences of the walk, trot, canter, and gallop), the coat colors, the horse's senses, and behavior and communication. Most of this information is good, but the reader should disregard almost everything the author says about color genetics, as the majority of the information here is vastly outdated and has since been proven false (the book was published in 1991, so this is not surprising). A better reference to horse color would be Phillip Sponenberg's "Equine Color Genetics," though that text is not aimed at younger readers.

The bulk of the book is devoted to profiles on several different breeds of horse. Only a small sampling of breeds are included, but most of the major, most popular ones are covered. Each profile page includes information on the history of the breed, its influence on other breeds, its use, conformation, temperatment, and any other interesting facts. Most of the basic information is good, though there are occasional errors. There is a large, bull-body profile picture of each breed, often a headshot, and sometimes a few other photos or drawings. The breeds included are (in order):

Arabian, Barb, Andalusian, Thoroughbred, Anglo-Arab, Shagya Arabian, Lusitano, Akhal-Teke, Lipizzaner, Budonny, Kabardin, Don, Morgan, Quarter Horse, Hackney, French Trotter, Orlov Trotter, Standardbred, Friesian, American Saddlebred, Missouri Fox Trotter, Tennessee Walking Horse, Peruvian Paso, Mustang, Irish Draft, Norman Cob, Cleveland Bay, Gelderlander, Dutch Warmblood, Fredericksborg, Selle Francais, Danish Warmblood, Trakehner, Hanoverian, Holsteiner, Maremmana, Murgese, Oldenburg, Camargue, Rocky Mountain Horse, Furioso, Nonius, Knabstrupper, Pinto*, Palomino*, Australian Stock Horse, Appaloosa, Bashkir Curly, Landais, Ariegeois, Haflinger, Italian Heavy Draft, Norwegian Fjord, Icelandic Horse, Caspian, Falabella, Exmoor Pony, Dartmoor Pony, Welsh Mountain Pony, Welsh Pony, Welsh Cob, Dales Pony, Fell Pony, Highland Pony, Shetland Pony, Connemara, New Forest Pony, American Shetland, Shire, Suffolk, Clydesdale, Percheron, Ardennais, Breton, Jutland, Boulonnais, and Belgian.

* = the Pinto and Palomino, while presented in this book as breeds, are NOT actually breeds, but just colors. There are registries for these colors, but they accept horses of any breed, and are not actually breed registries.

There are also pages detailing the different "types" of horse (regardless of breed), suited for different tasks and disciplines: the hunter, the polo pony, the hack / riding horse, the cob, and the riding pony.

The third section is entitled "You and Your Horse" and covers the various aspects of horse ownership and care. Topics include how to buy a horse, stable maintenance, equipment for riding and care, riding clothes, grooming, shoeing, feeding, health care, pregnancy and birth, and foal development. This information is very basic, and you should of course consult experts before buying your first horse - other horse owners, veterinarians, farriers, etc. The clothing styles represented are a little outdated, as fashion in the horse world changes just as it does elsewhere, so it's best to talk to other riders and tack store employees if you are unsure.

The final section of the book, "The Horse and Man," discusses the various uses of the horse for both work and sport. It begins with the history of the horse as a labor animal, including the horse in war, as transportation, as a construction implement, and as an agricultural tool. It then goes into the different sporting disciplines: driving, classical equitation, western riding, hunting, dressage, show jumping, eventing, racing (including flat racing, steeplechase, and harness racing), polo, endurance riding, and sidesaddle. At the end of the book there is a glossary of key terms. Though this book isn't perfect, it's a good place to start. The topics covered are comprehensive, and the photography is good. Overall, a nice place for younger horse lovers to begin learning about their favorite animal.

I really loved the photography of this book- each horse is photographed against a white background so you don't miss any detail. I wish there was more information about the temperament of each horse- it is listed for some, and not for others. Overall a great read. I was not looking for a lot of text about the history of the horse, etc. so this was the book for me. This book provides a wonderful tour of horse breeds from all around the world!

This outdated book could really use a good editing by somebody who knows something about the american breeds. There are some low quality horses being presented as breed standard. In particular, the Saddlebred presented is a very low quality horse compared to the WB type horses presented. That horse would only be moderately successful at the lowest levels of the breed ring.

This is a must have picture-book of horse breeds, but it will need to be supplemented by other books for adequate information on choosing, caring for and breeding your horse.

Many of the American breeds are poorly researched and given negative comments that are not true. The saddle seat riding discipline is not hardly even mentioned. Despite the pretty pictures, I would not recommend this book.

Covers breeds, history and origins, care, grooming, english equitation and disciplines.

I loved this book when it came out, and have held on to it for many years. Initially, this book was very well received among horselovers everywhere. At the time there was nothing else like it: absolutely gorgeous full-colour, two-page spread photographs of some of the world's best known breeds, along with brief chapters on history and origin of the horse, and its relationship with humans, and various disciplines.

However, the book is somewhat generic in facts, and the text is mostly complimentary to the photos, with a definate english (British) slant (referring to the Paint breed as "pinto"). There is very little information given on western disciplines (ranching, roping, reining, western riding, western trail, etc), and the information given on colour genetics is questionable to say the least (a much better and more accuate book on this subject would be Sponenberg's "Equine Color Genetics").

In fact, much of the information given in this book is probably outdated. Still, if you are a horselover, or equine artist, you will enjoy breezing through this book, and the photographs can be very useful for study and research, or enjoyment.

I first owned a copy of this book when it was published in 1991; the photographs are exquisitely vivid and colorful. The history of the various breeds are well-covered, but it is unfortunate that the information on coat colors and patterns is so basic (and, in some respects, obsolete). The description of the more common colors and markings are adequate and reliable for anyone just starting out on accurate color identification. Most horse books go into great detail on the history of breeds and types, but many leave readers in the dark regarding colors. Fortunately, for the serious student of horse colors, there are modern texts devoted to the subject of color genetics, which is the best way to learn how many colors and patterns occur in horses. This book is suitable for learning about the history of the horse, the various breeds and types, and is well worth it for the photographs alone.