Customer Reviews

What Your Horse Wants You to Know: What Horses' "Bad" Behavior Means, and How to Correct It

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have known Gincy Bucklin via cyberspace for quite a few years. We were fellow subscribers to the Horseman list until it fell into disuse, and when Gincy started her own list (Riding With Confidence) I subscribed immediately.
Gincy is one of the best and most knowledgeable teachers of riding that I know, and she not only has years of experience behind her, but also specializes in helping timid, fearful and/or aging riders who have for some reason lost their confidence. She is uncanny at figuring out physical, mental and emotional problems and resolving rider error and is highly sympathetic to those who are having problems with riding or their horses, so it really came as no surprise that she would write a book to bridge the gap between horse and rider.
This teacher turned writer has greater works yet to come, and this book is the first of such. It is in encyclopedic form, and easy to read and comprehend.
Bravo, Gincy.

As an adult novice, this is the best book I've found on understanding horses. I rode as a child, but as an adult, I am very interested in natural horsemanship - not forcing the horse to do what I want, but working in partnership. I have read a number of books on natural techniques, and the introduction to this book is the best material I've read by far. The author gives terrific overviews of 4 relationship-building schools of horsemanship: clicker training, Parelli, round-pen training, and Tteam, and the hows and whys each can be used. Great section as well on communication with a horse. Very readable and highly recommended!

All horsehandlers will appreciate the way Gincy has blended tried-and-true oldtime training methods with the best of the new ideas from Swift, Tellington-Jones, Parelli and others to help anyone create a safe, horse-friendly, stress-free stable environment and nurture your relationship with your horse. Her insight into horse's real motives is enlightening and sometimes startling but always right on the money. Nice to know there really are good, effective ways to deal with bad habits that are kindly and humane (Spare the rod and you WON'T spoil the horse!) Gincy has really put it all together in this book!

Back when I had a pony, his behavior both fascinated and baffled me. Too bad I didn't have this book then. We both would have had a lot more fun.
Very well organized, this book is a quick reference for problem-solving and gives specific instructions. Instead of vague "don't let him get away with that" or "show him who's boss" advice, Bucklin tells you what to do in terms you and your horse will understand. Anyone interested in animal behavior will enjoy this book.

Gincy Bucklin says that equine problems start with humans and for this alone I applaud her and her fantastic new book. People call animals dumb, but if humans are the ones with the brains, why do we have so many problems with our horses? Shouldn't the "smart ones" be able to fix them?

Bucklin offers a successful approach to solving human-caused equine problems, and it's not only theory. She provides specific solutions that are easy to understand and apply - basically, just about every problem a human has with an equine is human caused and in this one book just about every problem is addressed.

I highly recommend this book for every horseman's book shelf, no matter what your level of experience.

I am new to riding and just recently bought a horse. This book, together with "How Your Horse Wants You to Ride," has been a great help to make sense of all the well-meaning advice and my observations.

Both books taught me that the horse does what my body language tells her to do. They do not only provide "recipes" on how to fix problems (mostly mine :-), but also explain WHY the horse does what she does. Instead of becoming impatient with my inability to communicate, I can use this great little book and figure out what is going on!

I also appreciate the simple, easy to understand, writing style. As I said - great book for a beginner. A friend of mine who is an experienced and successful equestrian recommended "What your horse wants you to know" and "How Your Horse Wants You to Ride" to me. She also uses both books for reference - with great success.

The best thing about this book is that the author tells the reader from the beginning (the preface)that any "problem" he may have with his horse is not the horse's fault at all. This sets the tone for the book. If there's something "wrong" with your horse, you must look to yourself to find out what the real source of the problem is. Not communicating in a way that your horse can understand, not knowing how to teach your horse, and being in too much of a hurry are the things we need to work on.

The introduction sets up the ten rules of training. These rules should be posted in every serious lesson barn! There are all kinds of good information included in the introduction, such as how to build a good relationship with your horse, how to use praise, and techniques from TTEAM, clicker training, round pen training, and Parelli. The author is not afraid to "mix and match" techniques from different schools, depending on what the horse needs at the moment. All solutions to the "problems" are non-confrontational and very useful.

Ms. Bucklin then lists "problems" in alphabetical order. This makes it easy to use as a reference book. The format is easy to read and understand. First, she gives an example of the problem, then the all-important, "What your horse wants you to know." Then comes "What to do about it." Finally another equally important part is "What not to do about it." Lots of books have only "What to do about it." To me, it's just as important to know *why* he's doing it and also what *not* to do.

Even though I've learned or figured out a lot of this stuff on my own, I found lots of things I didn't know or wasn't sure about. This book would make a great Christmas present for anyone, but especially for someone just getting started with horses.

This book has helped me so much in understanding my formerly abused rescue horse. Simple strategies for dealing with problems safely and effectively - with very happy results. I wish there was a book like this for everything!

I bought this book after purchasing a young horse. The book explains common horse behavior problems and gives you different solutions to correct them. I especially like the book because it is different from the old school of thought as most of us were taught to "show the horse who's the boss". The author discusses behavior patterns from the horses point of view with straightforward and non threatening solutions. I liked this one so much I bought Bucklin's "How your Horse wants you to Ride".

This is the most helpful of any horse book I have found, because the writing is so clear, and the author uses real life examples to illustrate what she means. I have a problem with my horse moving away when I mount, and her advice about mounting on the LONG axis, instead of the short axis, as I had been doing, was terrific. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to get to know their horse better.