How Your Horse Wants You to Ride: Starting Out, Starting Over

Rating:
Summary: Worth it's weight in gold
Review:
Rarely do "how to" books come along that not only tell a person what to do but also why it works to do it that way. How Your Horse Wants You To Ride is one of those rare books.

Bucklin not only provides step-by-step methods for developing and enhancing riding and horsemanship skills, but clearly and engagingly explains why those steps work. Her explanations and instructions are easy to read and understand, and photos and illustrations provide detail. All that's needed for success is a willingness to learn. If a rider cares to become more than just a passenger on a horse's back, this is the book to have.

With over 400 illustrated pages, small font and pithy writing, this text quality book is the gold standard for the student of horse/human relationships. Recommended additional reading: Bucklin's companion book, What Your Horse Wants You to Know.


Rating:
Summary: Your Horse Will Thank You
Review: Even though I've been around horses for many years and consider myself fairly knowledgeable, I learned something new almost immediately upon picking up this book. It contains valuable information for every riding level, from the beginning student to the experienced rider. The chapters "Leading," "Mounting and Dismounting," and "Communicating Considerately" alone are worth the price of the book (and there's lots of more chapters after that!). Ms. Bucklin's emphasis is on both horse and rider feeling confident and safe, and she clearly knows how to achieve it and, more importantly, how to teach it.

Rating:
Summary: Literally starting over!
Review: I have ridden horses since I was a young child. I thought I was a good rider. Bless the horses who have continually forgiven me all of my riding blunders. Now it is my turn to return their kindness by becoming a better rider.

I am currently taking riding lessons with an excellent instructor. I find it helpful to refer to parts in this book that coincide with my lessons so that I can better understand what is going on between me and my horse. Gincy's 7-Steps help me to mentally and physically prepare for the lessons.

My instructor and I have discussed some of Gincy's techniques and have found that my horse responds beautifully and my riding skills are improving.

This book offers clear,concise instructions with explanations of how, why and when along with tons of encouragement. The author has a way of presenting the material without the reader feeling like a buffoon (and you won't even need a dictionary or thesaurus to get through it!) She shares her riding bloopers and many of her ups and downs while she was learning. Gincy is a real person writing in a down-to-earth, no-nonsense fashion. There is no waste in this book!

This is one book you might prefer not to pass around to friends. For one thing, you might not get it back. For another, it is handy for quick reference when needed. I ended up buying 3 more(for Christmas gifts) so I could selfishly keep mine yet let my friends in on a great reading discovery.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, informative book.
Review: I just got "How Your Horse Wants You to Ride" yesterday morning, and I bought "What Your Horse Wants You to Know" a couple of weeks ago. I read the former until one this morning and have nearly finished it. I finished "What Your Horse Wants You to Know" in an afternoon last week.

Both books are by author Gincy Self Bucklin. She actually knows how to write with precision, humor and clarity. I wish I'd discovered her books before I spent money and time on less worthy (and knowledgable) authors.

If you want a clear new perspective on riding and handling your horse, definitely buy both of Ms. Bucklin's books.

Rita D. Miller

Rating:
Summary: Simple, direct and effective.
Review: There are some things that good professional trainers and riders do without thinking, and sometimes these things get lost when they train the rest of us to ride.
This book breaks down learning to ride into simple steps starting with the very basic beginnings of introducing yourself to the horse and moving on to learning to use and utilize all the basic aids for riding. (Actually, she starts at the immediate beginning by telling us how to use the book, and then goes on with specific horse-related exercises.)The illustrations are clear and well placed. They are immediately useful with the text. There are exercises to do at home as well as on the horse.
Somehow Gincy makes all of this entertaining as well as making you feel as confident that you can do all of this if you are willing to take the time.
For more advanced riders, you can quickly move through the book to find the details you need to work on for whatever problems in riding that are coming up for you and your horse.
An excellent book for riders. Also an excellent book for trainers as Gincy suggests a more useful progression to create a skilled and confident rider and a relaxed and happy horse.

Rating:
Summary: Its all in the details!
Review: This book covers what others don't, the details of exactly HOW to do the things most instructors just say to do, and WHY it is important for both rider and horse. You won't get lost in a jungle of words and concepts that leave you more confused than when you started and no matter what your level of riding, there are nuggets of wisdom worth many times the price of this book.