{"id":2819,"date":"2013-03-21T14:42:10","date_gmt":"2013-03-21T03:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"\/blog\/?p=2819"},"modified":"2025-08-01T19:13:54","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T09:13:54","slug":"great-books-to-read","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naturalhorseworld.com\/stage\/great-books-to-read\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Books to Read"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wet weather is always a good time to have a few good books on hand. Here’s some I’ve recently read and found worthy of sharing.<\/p>\n

\"KnowingYourHorse\"Knowing Your Horse by Emma Lethbridge<\/h3>\n

‘A Guide to Equine Learning, Training and Behavior’<\/p>\n

I found this book to be one of the easiest to understand when it comes to explaining learning theory ie: how horses (and other animals) learn, and therefore the most effective way to teach them.<\/p>\n

‘Gradually, more of the horse world is embracing learning theory’ states the author, but surprisingly, a study by Warren-Smith and McGreevy in 2008 found a lack of understanding of learning in horses, and the application of learning in training by instructors and coaches. It was found that 79.5% of coaches through positive reinforcement was ‘very useful’, however only 2.8% explained its use in horse training correctly. Punishment was also considered ‘very useful’ by 5.2% of coaches although only 5.4% correctly explained punishment. So it seems if our coaches and instructors don’t know, then we need to learn this stuff for ourselves!<\/p>\n

‘The aim of this book is to define learning theory and how to train using this knowledge, simply, clearly, to all people whether they are interested in riding, training, competing, solving behavior problems or simply living a contented life with their horse.’ I believe the book achieves this and more – with real life examples of training tasks, Emma shows how the scientific jargon is translated into actual exercises and problem solving.
\nInside this book you will find information on all the different areas of learning theory needed to train your horse. There are helpful learning recaps that summarise the key ideas, training guides and case studies, and even training logs to record your progress.<\/p>\n

This book has a permanent place on my ‘must read’ book shelf – I got my copy from www.fishpond.com.au<\/a> for $35.<\/p>\n

Horse Sense and Horsemanship by Linda Weritz<\/h3>\n

\"Horse-Sense-and-Horsemanship\"‘Ranking, Partnership, Energy Transfer’<\/p>\n

Many riders and horse owners have no idea how intimate and beautiful the relationship with a horse can be.\u00a0This book is about successful training and lifelong friendship through trust and respect, giving you the information on how to become the owner every horse wishes to have.<\/p>\n

Linda Weritz explains how mutual trust and respect are the key to a fulfilling partnership between man and horse. Every horse looks for and needs a trustworthy leader, and if a human in the eyes of a horse fail to inspire confidence, the horse is forced to assume responsibility for himself. As soon as the human understands how to establish a twosome ‘mini-herd’ as the basis for a successful relationship, this leads to a true friendship with his equine partner in sport and play.<\/p>\n

Contents include:<\/p>\n