The Natural Horse: Foundations for Natural Horsemanship (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Nature's intentions are the basis for this book, in which lifelong farrier Jaime Jackson relates the ways of wild horses and then describes how such knowledge can be used to improve the lives of their domestic counterparts. Jackson offers down-to-earth advice on putting the ways of the natural horse to good use on horseback and at home. (The National Sporting Library Newsletter, March 1993)

The Natural Horse scrutinizes movement, balance, riding and more from the unique view of a farrier who has studied and worked with wild horses in the U.S. for years. Jackson delves into the above-mentioned topics as well as social organization (including a truly spellbinding section on communication and locomotion), nutrition and hoof care. The Natural Horse is a fine work worthy of attention. (Horse Illustrated, September 1993) -- Horse Illustrated, September 1993

Product Description

Author Jaime Jackson has been a professional farrier and horseman for 22 years. But it was over 10 years ago that he headed alone into America's wild horse country, hoping to find a humane, "natural" model for domestic horse care. Frustrated by the way horses are often mistreated by their owners, Jackson felt much of this resulted from misunderstanding the nature of the horse. What Jackson discovered is that horses do indeed have a natural order, and that knowledge can be applied in truly helpful ways to our domestic horses. In a thoughtful, systematic approach, Jackson lays out his revolutionary ideas about natural horse care in this remarkable book. In the first chapters, the reader steps through wild horse country with Jackson as guide, and is drawn into the nuances of social structure, locomotion and gaits, and the hooves-which Jackson states with authority, "are terribly misunderstood in the domestic horse world." Having armed the reader with a solid foundation of the horse's natural world, Jackson then challenges the reader and nearly every major principle of modern horse care, to "apply what we have learned." The final chapters demonstrate step-by-step what horsemen and horsewomen can and should do.

From hoof care and balanced riding in concert with the horse's natural abilities, to new forms of communication and humane care, The Natural Horse challenges conventional horse care on every front. First published in 1992 and just re-released in a handsome new edition, The Natural Horse is a must for those interested in applying natural methods to the care of their horses.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Star Ridge Publishing; 2nd edition (November 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965800709
• ISBN-13: 978-0965800709
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #309,837 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The book that should be read before all other horse books, April 29, 1998

By	Melissa Pierson ([e-mail]) (New York City) - See all my reviews

The old adage goes "No hoof, no horse," but you don't know what that means until you read this book. Jackson has done the (unfortunately) radical thing of asking Nature how a natural horse is made, and made to be happy and healthy. What he found through looking at horses in the wild -- exhaustively, scientifically, and compassionately -- should do nothing less than change the way we treat our horses: it defines our responsibilities as caretakers, the all-important issue of natural hoofs that permit natural movement, and the way to understand an animal with whom a partnership leads to happiness all round -- and with whom a dominance-based, consumerist approach leads to tragedy. Oddly, for a book that is based on fact, diagram, observation, measurement, description -- the result is at times as emotionally moving as the most genuine work of art. If you care about horses, you must read this book.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A refreshing and acurate study of horse reality., May 22, 1999

By A Customer

Jamie definately shows us a refreshing look at the natural horse thru the horses eyes. Readers will come away from this book with a new understanding of why horses do what they do and why humans have errored in the past. Take a real look at what we thought a hoof should look like and now see " the natural hoof" and it's advantages. Getting back to the basics will shatter modern beliefs about horse care. This information has been slow coming and will take generations to take hold, and it will!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be required reading for anyone who handles horses, July 12, 2003

By	kahokualohi - See all my reviews

This book is fundamental, in multiple ways. The main topic described and discussed is the horse's hooves. Anyone who knows horses understands that hoof care is truly fundamental to the soundness of the horse. This is the best explanation I have ever seen of how nature intended horse hooves to function, and how our removal of horses from their natural environment impacts their hooves, thus their ability to move as nature meant them to. The author's deep and broad knowledge of horses is especially to be appreciaed. In addition to opening our minds to a greater understanding of their natural locomotion, he also explains clearly many other apsect of horse behavior in the wild, and how their needs change as we put them in unnatural situations and make unnatural demands on them. Anyone responsible for a horse's care, rider or not, should be required to read this book. Anyone who just loves these magnificent beasts will appreciate them all the more for the enhanced understanding of them this book makes possible. If you are thinking of acquiring a horse, make this the first book you read.