Equine Book Reviews

Oolichan Books
Soft Cover, 2010, $12.95
ISBN: 978-0-88982-270-2
Available from Amazon or local bookseller      

Reviewed by Carol M. Upton – www.dreamsaloud.ca
First published in Horses All   - www.horsesall.com
Usually it makes me feel better to wear my riding clothes. But today nothing helps, even when I buckle on my riding helmet and hop on my bike. Somehow I know I'm doomed. ~ Susan Ketchen

Read more: Made That Way

In Life Lessons from a Ranch Horse, Mark Rashid is yet another talented horse clinician who has to balance the bottom line of his business and get results with horses fast, when Buck the ranch horse comes into his life. Buck will not be homogenized into one-size-fits-all training, responses, and behavior. This unassuming ranch horse remains persistent in who he is, and what he knows to be true. Buck lives his life in a gentle, non-confrontational manner with the humans and other horses he encounters. Mark is stumped by some of Buck’s refusals under saddle until he begins to understand the myriad ways Buck is patiently offering information and waiting for Mark to hear it. This quiet horse teaches Mark about himself, and about life.

Mark and Buck’s story is from the heart of a horse and a man, and a reflection of what is often missed: listening, observing, and processing information fresh in each moment. Buck will leave you with a feeling of admiration for his infinite patience, and with an opportunity to peruse, as Mark did, the self.

Life Lessons From a Ranch Horse is not a training book, but instead a glimpse into the expansion of what is possible when we learn to listen with more than old beliefs guiding how and what we hear.

Life Lessons from a Ranch Horse will leave you with a thread to follow, if you choose to pursue it.
(Publisher Johnson Books 2003) $17.50

Natural Horse Care

"Keeping Your Horse as Best Suits His Mind, Body and Soul"

In this book, I have woven together and extensive resource guide about a natural approach to horses that just feels "right" in people's hearts and minds. With a background of over a decade of being an industry leader in natural horse care, I bring practical first-hand experience to this all inclusive book in an entertaining, easy-to-read format with suggestions that are simple to implement.

Read more: Down To Earth

True horsemanship is the act of managing fear, while providing comfort. Is your horse hitting the wall? Your equine athlete may be physically fit, but still seemingly aloof and disinterested. Physically fit but mentally bored is a serious but very common issue. Mental Fitness is your key to ultimate success but is perhaps one of the most underutilized aspects of horsemanship.

Read more: The Magic Within: A View from the Hoof

“Animals have the capacity and the power to expand their minds into extraordinary states of consciousness. My horses have often shown their otherworldly journeys into The Dreamtime to me. Buddy once told me that he can ‘feel’ the hoof beats of his species running all over the Earth.” ~ Carole Devereux

This graceful and timely book takes us on a transformational journey like no other, to the mystic world where the spirit of the horse resides. Carole Devereux introduces a rich language for concepts we may have felt while working with horses, but have been unable to articulate.

Read more: Spirit of the Horse, The New Myths of Equus by Carole Devereux

In Life Lessons from a Ranch Horse, Mark Rashid is yet another talented horse clinician who has to balance the bottom line of his business and get results with horses fast, when Buck the ranch horse comes into his life. Buck will not be homogenized into one-size-fits-all training, responses, and behavior. This unassuming ranch horse remains persistent in who he is, and what he knows to be true. Buck lives his life in a gentle, non-confrontational manner with the humans and other horses he encounters. Mark is stumped by some of Buck’s refusals under saddle until he begins to understand the myriad ways Buck is patiently offering information and waiting for Mark to hear it. This quiet horse teaches Mark about himself, and about life.

Mark and Buck’s story is from the heart of a horse and a man, and a reflection of what is often missed: listening, observing, and processing information fresh in each moment. Buck will leave you with a feeling of admiration for his infinite patience, and with an opportunity to peruse, as Mark did, the self.

Life Lessons From a Ranch Horse is not a training book, but instead a glimpse into the expansion of what is possible when we learn to listen with more than old beliefs guiding how and what we hear.

Life Lessons from a Ranch Horse will leave you with a thread to follow, if you choose to pursue it.
(Publisher Johnson Books 2003) $17.50

http://www.markrashid.com/forsale_books.html