Professional horse trainers and riding instructors have mind-blowingly busy lives—that’s why it is so amazing to hear how they make it all work. The layers of scheduling, the early mornings, the sacrifices when it comes to friends, family, and personal interests…. That can be the story, but sometimes, a balance is struck, and it all clicks.
We caught up with TSB author and horse trainer Jec Aristotle Ballou and asked her how she spends her typical day, and wouldn’t you know, it sure sounds like she’s found the same physical and emotional balance she strives to establish in each of her horses. Here’s a glimpse at her life as a professional, in 24 hours:
5:15 am I wake up and begin my morning ritual of coffee and writing in my journal. Inspired to keep a creativity habit, I started writing three ‘Morning Pages’ in a notebook every morning 20 years ago and I still do it! Sometimes I write good stuff, other days it’s drivel. But what counts is that it happens.
6:30 am I meet some of my running teammates for a 7- to 10-mile run. I started running ultra-marathons a few years ago and now I can’t seem to stop (pun intended). It is a glorious way to cleanse my mind and open the day. Even when I travel around the country to teach clinics, I like to get in my morning run before embarking on a busy day.
8:00 am Most days, I arrive at the barn by now. Like many trainers in California, I don’t own my own farm. The horse property I lease is a 20-minute drive from my house. Some days I commute by bike, other times I drive while listening to podcasts like Dressage Radio Show where—yeah!!—my book 55 CORRECTIVE EXERCISES FOR HORSES was recently featured in an episode. During my commute, I ponder the advice my past teacher Manolo Mendez gave me: You have to know with each horse where you want him to be in his training next week, next month, next year. I assess what seems to be working, what might not be working so well, and if I’m honestly on track for what each individual horse needs.
Click the image above to listen to Jec on Dressage Radio Show, Episode #479!
8:00 am–12:00 pm Before it gets too hot, I ride my training horses. Most of the horses that come to me for training are in need of learning how to use their bodies better or overcome some kind of physical restriction or compromised movement. I work with a diverse spread of breeds. Right now, we have three Icelandics, a Thoroughbred, a Halflinger, a Quarter Horse, an Arabian, a Missouri Foxtrotter, a couple of grade mares, and my own Andalusian. During the morning hours, I rotate between riding in the arena, my large gallop track, and our trails. I am an enormous advocate for cross-training; all the horses here follow that program. A few days a week, I have a helper who prepares the horses for me to ride; other days I do everything myself (these are the days I’m exhausted by 5:00 pm!) Around noon, students start showing up for lessons.
1:00 pm–4:00 pm Usually during the afternoons on Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday I’m teaching group and private lessons, trying my best to stay under a floppy hat and out of the sun, while simultaneously eating some bites of sustenance when I can.
5:00 pm I often stop at the gym for a short weight-lifting session on the way home so I can be back at the house around 6:00 pm and spend an hour replying to emails and writing articles for the equine magazines I contribute to. This computer work usually overlaps with making dinner. I’m mostly vegan, which means I spend a lot of time planning and preparing things to eat. And because I run/workout so much, I eat a lot!
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8:00 pm My partner and I often walk the Jack Russell along the cliff overlooking the ocean before we wind down for the evening.
9:30 pm I’m in bed “reading,” which is usually a euphemism for falling asleep with a book on my face. When I succeed at staying awake, I love to read. Typically, I read three or four books a month, devouring non-fiction, poetry, fiction, and anything else that can make me think, teach me something, or wake up my senses in some way.
In 2017 and together with Kenilworth Press in the UK, TSB released the book SPORT HORSE SOUNDNESS AND PERFORMANCE by Dr. Cecilia Lönnell. George Morris was an enthusiastic supporter of the premise of Dr. Lönnell’s book, and so wrote a detailed foreword that makes many points that are of great value to all of those within the horse industry who are striving to do better by the horses we ride, train, and love. Here, in its entirety, is George’s foreword:
I’ve known Cecilia Lönnell for a long time, having shown extensively in Sweden and taught many, many clinics there over the years. I’m very fond of her and fond of that country. To be asked to participate in a book that also features such an illustrious young group of equestrian superstars is a great honor.
What Cecilia has done here is she’s gone back to the past and at the same time shown how knowledge from solid experience is supported by modern equine veterinary research. Nothing here is new, and that, with horses, is always better. I never in my life spent in equestrian sport pretended to reinvent the wheel. I was a copier. I copied Bert de Némethy. I copied Gordon Wright as a teacher. I copied Bill Steinkraus. To this day my whole day is spent trying to understand old, classic principles. Be it teaching, be it riding, be it training, be it care of the horse – that is all I try to do, every day of my life. Gordon Wright used to say, “Nothing is new, we just do it better and quicker than we used to.” And that’s what we get from the best horsemen – it isn’t new, it just might be better and quicker.
Here, Cecilia has encapsulated all the points it takes to produce a horse – be it a pleasure horse or an Olympic horse, it doesn’t matter. The points laid out on these pages are about what is best for the horse. Often in competitive riding, in all disciplines, we go off on tangents that are contrary to the best interests of the horse. Artificial devices, artificial footing – this is not what’s best for the horse.
When you talk about horses and you talk about horse sport as Cecilia is, your first consideration is the management of the horse. If you buy a Hickstead or an Azur and send him to a third-rate boarding house, in about two seconds, you’re going to have a third-rate horse. The most important thing is what the great old Virginia horsewoman and trainer of Conrad Homfeld and Joe Fargis Frances Rowe used to call “beautiful care”: how the barn is set up, the bedding of the stall, the feed programme, the vet, the equine dentist, the farrier, the quality of the grooming – it all should be beautiful care. Many of the riders quoted in this book are more hands-on in terms of stable management than I ever was, but our mission is the same: to give our horses beautiful care.
The greatest horsemen in the world – and I’m not necessarily talking about riding here – are the English. They always have been. Now I’m not saying the French, the Germans, the Swedes, the Dutch aren’t good horsemen – they’re all great and each is different – but I’ve traveled just about every country in the world and as far as the care and management of the horse, the greatest horsemen in the world are the English. That’s why all the continental riders get English grooms to take care of their horses – horse care is in their blood. Being an American from the Northeast part of the country, I grew up with an offshoot of English horsemanship, and the whole thing is based on natural: turning horses out, riding through the country. Carl Hester revolutionized dressage because he approached it from a technical, scientific point of view, but allowed his English horsemanship to take it to a different level. We all know he is, yes, a very talented rider, but what really “woke up” the dressage world is that he hacks his horses out, turns his horses out, shows that dressage horses should not be circus animals confined in stalls. He, and many other contributors to this book, assert that this should be the standard.
Bert de Némethy, who was a Hungarian trained in Germany, managed the US equestrian team beautifully during his tenure, and he always had us work our horses on different surfaces – something that Beezie Madden notes as key in this book and is also supported by scientists. We would base at Aachen and Bert would have us ride gymnastics on the turf fields (which are now some of the warm-up rings) but often we also rode in the old dressage ring where the footing was quite deep. I would cheat with my hot horses that were above the bit – I would get them on the bit by tiring them out in that deep sand. But we rode on the roads, we rode on the turf, we rode in sand. Today too many horses are always worked on the same artificial “perfect” footing, as some call it.
After management of the horse, the next most important consideration is selection of a horse for his rider and for his “job.” And this is just as applicable to a school horse as it is to Big Star. The school horse is just as valuable as Big Star. Actually, everyone knows there’s nothing as valuable as a top school horse! Selecting the right horse for a particular rider and a particular job depends on a mix of experience and instinct – some people, even laymen who maybe aren’t so experienced, they have an eye for a horse, whether the best fit for an amateur hunter rider, a top dressage rider, a four-star eventer, whatever. The great thing about this book is that Cecilia has included this kind of information, and it is dispensed by individuals who are current, they are champions, people know them. They’re not people like myself, out of the dark ages. Their advice is all very relevant, and they are all saying the same thing.
Next you get to my pet peeve: the way people ride their horses. The United States historically has always been very weak in dressage. It is an afterthought. In the early days we had Thoroughbred horses that were so courageous and so special that we fudged dressage. Now we’ve finally caught up, and England has caught up, but “fudging dressage” is still haunting the world, because I go all over the world and people are faking it everywhere. Faking it and tying horses down is crippling horses. There was a great about-face five or six years ago because of Rollkur. Overflexing horses is very damaging to the horse, and luckily, it has taken a swing for the better. However, it is not good enough, especially in the jumpers – event horses and dressage horses have to more or less stay to the correct line because they are judged, but jumpers, they just strap them down, tie them down, put this on them, that on them, and away they go. The sport community – jumpers, eventers, dressage riders, and I mean in every country – must address how we work the horse, that whatever the discipline, it should be according to classical principles. The dressage work for sport horses has been a weak link, probably throughout history. And it still is a weak link. And I will speak up about it. It’s not rocket science. There are books hundreds of years old that tell you how to work a horse!
Like this one!
In addition to not fudging dressage, great riders don’t overjump. The two cripplers of a horse are footing and jumping. Knowing this, all the great riders don’t overjump. We work a horse every day for condition, for discipline, for rideability. A friend of mine, Peder Fredricson (a Swede), he works the horse beautifully, so I will pick him out. He works a horse without auxiliary reins, he’s had a vast background in correct dressage, and I watched him at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where his quality of work was rewarded as he won individual silver. I am closely aligned to Beezie Madden – I know she’s not an overjumper. Laura Kraut is definitely not an overjumper. John Whitaker, my idol of all the people I’ve ever seen, since I started riding – he’s my idol of idols – he hacks out, he walks on roads, he doesn’t overjump his horses. I was a driller when I was young. I drilled horses and was a culprit of overjumping. That’s how I know that overjumping is the kiss of the death. At best a horse gets stale, at worst he gets sore or lame.
These three important points – management, selection, and how we ride – are the topics Cecilia has pulled together in this book under the auspices of the superstars and scientists of today, giving old information credibility. And in some ways it’s all old news…but it’s forgotten news. Lots of young people today, they’re so competition-oriented, they forgot the whole point. Horse show horse show horse show. Ranking ranking ranking. I wouldn’t still be doing this sport the way I still do it, teaching and riding, if that was all it was. That is very, very limited. These “desperate housewives” and “weekend warriors,” as I call them, have not yet been influenced to understand the point. And that is the point of this book. When I was under the tutelage of Bert de Némethy, we were a very classy group of young guys – we could afford to live well. But we learned from him and our other trainers in those days, the point was the daily work, the dressage, the beautiful care. The horse show was just an occasional test that showed us where we were in relation to the other people; then we went home and took care of our horses, schooled our horses. But a lot of people at horse shows today, all over the world – it’s not just one country – they’ve lost the plot of what this is about. It’s not just about rankings, points, and selection for championships – that’s the icing on the cake.
Cecilia has done a great service to the sport: What she has gathered here is so correct, all going back to the past, but couched in modern perspective. People say about me, “Oh, he’s old fashioned. The sport has passed him.” Well, the greatest compliment I can get as a horseman is that I’m old-fashioned. The sport has not passed me; there’s nothing different about working a horse the classical way, about caring for him as suits his nature. The future is the past.
In caring for your horse’s feet, you not only want to see how the left and right halves of the foot are balanced, you also want to evaluate the hoof’s front-to-back balance. We call this dorsopalmar balance when we’re talking about the front feet, and dorsoplantar balance when we’re talking about the hind. You may also see the term anterior/posterior balance, which is the same for both front and hind feet. Farriers and veterinarians may refer to this in shorthand as “DP balance” or “AP balance.”
The foot on the left has poor dorsopalmer balance (DP), with much more mass ahead of the widest part of the foot (blue line) than behind it (green line). The foot on the right has nearly perfect DP balance.
What you ideally want to see is a foot with approximately 2/3 of its mass in the back of the foot, behind the true apex of the frog (usually located about 1/2 inch behind the front point of the frog), and 1/3 ahead of the apex. This also equates to a foot that has about 50% of its mass both ahead and behind the axis of rotation of the coffin bone, a point which corresponds to the widest part of the foot. A foot with these general proportions accomplishes two very important things. First, the foot will have a strong base of support, with the hoof set up well under the bony column of the leg, maximizing the hoof’s ability to bear weight and dissipate impact forces. Second, good DP balance allows for a point of breakover that puts minimal strain to the joints and soft tissues.
When the front part of the foot is longer than the back part, this is called dorsopalmar or dorsoplantar imbalance. An alarming number of domestic horses have this kind of imbalance, which most frequently takes the form of long-toe/low-heel syndrome. When a foot has this conformation, breakover will be delayed, which can cause a variety of problems for the horse.
Your horse needs you to care about his feet.
Hands-On Exercise
To check out your horse’s feet for front-to-back balance, find the widest point of the foot, then draw a line across it with a marker. Next, measure from that line to the very back point of the heels that touch the ground and jot that measurement down. Lastly, measure from the line forward to the point of breakover (POB), which is the most forward point where the hoof would contact the ground if standing on a flat surface. If there is any bevel in the shoe or toe, the POB is the spot where the bevel starts.
Now compare your measurements. If you find that your horse has more mass in the front part of the foot, talk to your hoof-care provider about it. If he or she is not concerned, it might be advisable to get a second opinion from another provider or your veterinarian. Repeat this exercise on all four feet. You can also use your measurements to compare the left front to the right front, and the left hind to the right hind. Note any disparities and discuss them with your hoof-care provider as well.
THE ESSENTIAL HOOF BOOK by Susan Kauffmann and Christina Cline is available now from the TSB online bookstore, where shipping in the US is FREE.
Trafalgar Square Books, the leading publisher of equestrian books and DVDs, is a small business based on a farm in rural Vermont.
The sun is high, the nights are warm, the days are long…yes, summer is here! We have trail rides and pony camps and misty mornings in the ring to look forward to…what could be better?
How about a few good books to read in the hammock or at the barn between lessons? In celebration of July 4th, all our new releases at www.horseandriderbooks.com are on sale, as well as our extensive backlist of over 400 books and DVDs! Our “Happy 4th, Happy Horse” Sale runs now through Sunday, July 8th. Use coupon code 4THHORSE at checkout and enjoy 20% savings, as well as FREE SHIPPING anywhere in the USA.
What do we have that’s new?
Have you heard about IN THE MIDDLE ARE THE HORSEMEN by Tik Maynard yet? This is THE hot memoir of the summer, which horseman Mark Rashid calls “a great read,” and Pat Parelli says “will inspire generations to come and contribute to making a better world for horses and the people who love them.” “This is an insightful book about the journey to acquire knowledge and then use that knowledge to help others, human and horse,” says Olympic gold medalist David O’Connor. “It’s a joy to read.”
Find out for yourself! CLICK HERE for more information or to order.
TSB also just released the much anticipated follow-up to the international bestseller HORSE SPEAK: THE EQUINE-HUMAN TRANSLATION GUIDE. In Sharon Wilsie’s new book HORSES IN TRANSLATION, she further explores her concepts of using body language to communicate with the horse, and shares real-life stories of the horses and humans that have been helped through Horse Speak, helping readers see how it can apply to their own lives.
Says one reader about HORSES IN TRANSLATION: “We all know what it’s like. You get a book. You try a page or a few. When I am beside myself with joy over a book, I find myself picking it up, gorging on a page or two, and putting it down because I can hardly contain myself. This is that rare book.”
Check out our other exciting new releases, including new books from CHARLOTTE DUJARDIN, JEC BALLOU, EITAN BETH-HALACHMY, and CHRISTOPH HESS, by clicking HERE and don’t forget to use coupon code 4THHORSE at checkout and enjoy 20% savings, as well as FREE SHIPPING anywhere in the USA!
Wishing everyone a safe and happy Fourth of July,
The TSB Staff
Trafalgar Square Books, the leading publisher of equestrian books and DVDs, is a small business based on a farm in rural Vermont.
Have you found yourself trying to resolve one of the following challenges related to your horse’s posture or performance?
• Rebuilding after an injury or extended time off.
• Countering an unspecified weakness that prevents him from doing what you ask.
• Improving stiff, uncoordinated, or short-strided gaits.
• Softening a rigid or hollow topline.
• Lightening heaviness on the forehand.
• Correcting a hindquarter anomaly like locking stifles, an unstable pelvis, or a strong preference to travel one direction versus the other.
Or maybe you are wondering whether:
• His resistance to work is due to physical limitation or behavioral issues.
• He is physically capable to do what you’re asking.
• There is a specific source of his weakness or reason for his lack of progress.
• There is a cause for his need of frequent chiropractic adjustments or the way he often feels “not quite right.”
• There are ways you can make his gaits easier and more fun to ride.
Over time, horses (like people) acquire postural habits, compensate for soreness and injury, and develop poor movement patterns. This limits performance ability, causes unsoundness and health issues, and ultimately undermines the horse’s overall well-being.
Jec Aristotle Ballou has made a name for herself advocating for the horse and providing sensible instruction in his schooling, conditioning, and care. Her bestselling books and popular clinics are designed to enable any horse person to correctly apply proven principles that bring measurable progress while avoiding boredom and confusion. In her latest book 55 CORRECTIVE EXERCISES FOR HORSES, she provides a collection of mounted and unmounted exercises, demonstrating how we can actively work to improve the horse’s posture and movement, whether he is an active performance or pleasure mount, an aging or older horse that benefits from gentle exercise, or one being rehabilitated following injury, illness, or lack of conditioning.
Ballou’s positive cross–training techniques are free of shortcuts, and her guidelines for analyzing the horse’s posture and way of going help readers gain a new awareness of the equine body. Applicable for all disciplines, this is an integral collection that optimizes how the horse uses his body and helps ensure he stays sounder and healthier for more years of his life.
It seems like after decades in the horse industry, all of a sudden, everyone is talking about fascia. This is that thin sheath of fibrous tissue that encloses the muscles and other organs, and apparently, it is really pretty important to your horse’s posture, movement, comfort, and performance. Huh. If you’re like us, all these years of riding and horse care and various bodywork therapies, and you haven’t given fascia a thought, right? Well, now is the time to acquire a whole new awareness of your horse’s body and how you can keep it happy and healthy.
We caught up with TSB author Margret Henkels, founder of Conformation Balancing, her method of fascia fitness for horses, and author of the book and DVD IS YOUR HORSE 100%? She brought us up to speed with how easy it can be to positively affect the horse’s fascia…and shared a few of the secrets that keep her going, too!
TSB: Your book and DVD IS YOUR HORSE 100%? were published in 2017. They explain your method of bodywork targeting the horse’s fascia, which anyone can do. Why do you feel fascia fitness is important to horse and rider? How can your method of bodywork help horses with “problems”?
MH: Fascia (sometimes called myofascia), or connective tissue, is an amazing tissue. When it’s healthy, it’s full of light and free movement…when it’s stiff, it’s rigid and painful. Nearly every horse experiences strain. Stuck fascia is a huge problem for a free-moving, master athlete like a horse. These dark stuck areas ruin their free movement and create a fearful mental state. Fascia is the only tissue that also “holds” emotional trauma, due to its unique properties. When a rider “melts” a hard, stiff area on their horse with their hands, this action also releases emotional anxiety related to that limit. This is a miracle for the horse! They become very grateful to us for this relief. Riders win and keep the trust of their horse with this work. Also, the rider understands her horse much better. Limits are now recognized as physical issues, not refusals. It’s an amazing new way to relate to horses and riding.
TSB: You first became interested in fascia and how it can be influenced when you had your own physical compensations and adhesions addressed by a bodyworker. How is fascia work for horses similar to that for humans? How does it differ?
MH: Horses and humans both feel much better with flowing fitness. Humans entertain themselves with distractions and diversions, but horses live in constant fear and anxiety if they aren’t fit. Humans often medicate the discomfort. Horses constantly fear a predator will get them. Humans might feel limited by poor fitness, but horses feel very unsafe and judged against.
TSB: What is one lesson you hope readers will take away from your book and DVD?
MH: Fascia is astonishing in its self-intelligence, and it is easy to effect huge, progressive, balancing advances from difficult, stuck, and unhappy situations.
Margret Henkels demonstrating how to “melt” the fascia at Equine Affaire in MA, 2017.
TSB: If you were trapped on a desert island with a horse and a book, what breed of horse would it be and which book would you choose?
MH: An Arabian horse and Frederic Pignon and Magali Delgado’s GALLOP TO FREEDOM!
TSB: If you could do one thing on horseback that you haven’t yet done, what would it be?
MH: Jump big fences on a talented jumping horse.
TSB: What is the quality you most like in a friend?
MH: Integrity.
TSB: What is the quality you most like in a horse?
MH: Integrity.
Henkels with her dog Pepper.
TSB: What is your greatest fear?
MH: That human consciousness will continue to limit the horse’s happiness.
TSB: What is your greatest extravagance?
MH: Washing my car.
TSB: If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
MH: To be younger with all the gains I made in aging.
Margret with her horses Tanga and Kira.
MH: Organic, local carrots and bee pollen.
TSB: What is your idea of perfect happiness?
MH: Being part of a transformative experience.
TSB: If you could have a conversation with one famous person, alive or dead, who would it be?
MH: Harry de Leyer, owner of Snowman.
TSB: What is your motto?
MH: Don’t give up before the miracle happens.
Margret Henkels’ BOOK and DVD are both available from the TSB online bookstore, where shipping in the US is FREE.
In the fall of 2017 TSB released the book HORSE SPEAK, which took the international horse world by storm. Horse trainer and rehabilitation specialist Sharon Wilsie put to paper a practical system for “listening” and ” talking” to horses in their language instead of expecting them to comprehend ours. She called her system “Horse Speak,” and has been traveling the country demonstrating how it can be used by any individual who works with horses, whether riding instructor, colt starter, recreational rider, or avid competitor.
Now, Wilsie has written the highly anticipated follow-up to her breakout bestseller—a book that not only serves as a complement and companion to HORSE SPEAK, but also an alternative entry point to the concepts she teaches. In HORSES IN TRANSLATION, Wilsie uses true stories to relate examples of “problems” and how they were solved using Horse Speak. Her engaging narrative introduces readers to dozens of real-life scenarios from different barns, various disciplines, and riders and handlers with contrasting experiences and backgrounds. Wilsie highlights her Horse Speak process, the clues that point to the best course of action, and the steps she takes to connect with horses that have shut down, grown confused, or become sulky or aggressive for any number of reasons. The result is a book full of incredible insight and exciting possibilities.
HORSES IN TRANSLATION is available now from the TSB online bookstore, where shipping in the US is FREE.
Are you in the Northeast and interested in learning more about Horse Speak and Sharon Wilsie’s new book? Join us Thursday, May 24, 2018, at 5:00 pm at Strafford Saddlery in Quechee, Vermont, for refreshments and a talk with Wilsie about her work and how it can change your relationship with your horse. We promise it will be a fun and inspiring evening!
Trafalgar Square Books, the leading publisher of equestrian books and DVDs, is a small business based on a farm in rural Vermont.
Click image to learn the "jumping without looking" exercise.
how to quiet your mind before entering the barn
Click image to read this great piece from Equestrian Ontario!
famous horse trainers read fergus
So fun! Three top horse trainers read Fergus: A Horse to Be Reckoned With :) Click image above to watch!
how george morris wrote his autobiography
Click image above to read the great piece in SIDELINES MAGAZINE about George Morris's blockbuster autobiography and the woman who helped write it.
great online resource
Click image to visit EIE!
mark rashid’s novel is now a movie!
Click the image above to watch the trailer for the new feature film OUT OF THE WILD, based on the novel by Mark Rashid and available from www.HorseandRiderBooks.com.
see fergus on horsechannel.com
Click the image to read about Fergus the Horse and artist Jean Abernethy on HorseChannel.com.
great post about centered riding and sally swift
Click the image to read Melinda Folse's "Sally Swift's Visionary Connections: Now 30 Years Strong" on Equisearch.com.
Trafalgar Square Books' first horse book was CENTERED RIDING, which we published in 1985 and remains one of the bestselling horse books of all time. Author Sally Swift went on to found the now worldwide organization and form of learning and teaching riding known as "Centered Riding."
great book review!
Click the image above to read the fab review of WORLD-CLASS GROOMING FOR HORSES on Eventing Nation.
search trafalgar square books blog
are you guilty of a deadly sin of dressage?
Click the image above to find out if you are guilty of one of the Seven Deadly Sins of Dressage!
doug payne feature article!
Check out the feature about Doug Payne and his new book THE RIDING HORSE REPAIR MANUAL by Nancy Jaffer on NJ.com! Click the image of Doug and his horsey family above to read the article.
your books and dvds come from here!
Click the image above to view a First Snow Short Story from Trafalgar Square Books.
american cowboy editor’s pick
"Being able to watch Sean employ his training methods is incredibly beneficial—you'll see how your cues should look and how to identify and read your horse's response...The four-disc DVD set, with nearly seven hours of footage, is a must for do-it-yourself horse trainers." --Lauren Feldman American Cowboy, Associate Editor
great review!
"Authors Dominique Barbier and Dr. Maria Katsamanis combine riding theory with scientific principles to explore, explain, and enrich a rider's ability to communicate with a horse." --Practical Horseman Magazine
george morris says:
"You must get inspired by reading books about riding. I read books about dressage every day. You must always work on being a better rider."
tsb authors meet raffi!
Click the image to hear a great Raffi tune and see Dr. Allen Schoen and Susan Gordon, authors of THE COMPASSIONATE EQUESTRIAN, meeting this great children's songwriter.
we love this author video!
Author Laura Chester introduces her new book, RIDING BARRANCA---click the image above to watch the video!
equus editor’s pick
"This book delivers a comprehensive regime for mental and physical fitness at any riding level." --EQUUS Magazine
eventing nation book review
"A great read and a handy tool...Doug does a wonderful job of speaking objectively about varying problems that can arise...we definitely recommend this book for riders of all levels and disciplines."
great story about centered riding!
Click the image to read "Timeless Ride--Better Tips (Thank You, Sally!) by Jennifer Forsberg Meyer on HorseandRider.com.
check out this radio interview
TSB author Dr. Renee Tucker talks about easy Body Checkups YOU can do from her book WHERE DOES MY HORSE HURT? Click the image above to listen!
did you know? equestrian trivia
Beezie Madden was the first woman and first American rider to reach the Top Three in the Show Jumping World Ranking List, which she did in 2004. Get her tips for "making it" in the horse world, plus advice from 22 other top riders, in HOW GOOD RIDERS GET GOOD by Denny Emerson.
best book for kids
"This ode to the range emphasizes the enduring allure of the American West." —Kirkus Reviews
featured video
Click to watch Templeton Thompson's "When I Get That Pony Rode" music video.
get started in western dressage
Great exercises from Lynn Palm to get your horse forward, straight, and balanced as you pursue this hot new sport!
george morris says:
“I’ve spent time with this book and find it very correct. Author Susan Tinder did an excellent job putting together a useful collection of courses.”
featured equine art
Click image to check out Jennifer Brandon's custom horse and pet portraits.
tsb bestseller
Click to order the 7 Clinics with Buck Brannaman DVD series.
book review
"This book will help you unravel your equine athlete's personality and needs, so you can evaluate your horse's 'emotional conformation,' which the author Kerry Thomas calls the real indicator of a horse's ability...no question as to why his work has been called 'groundbreaking.'" -John Strassburger, Performance Editor, Horse Journal
"With a myriad of horse facts written into the story, adolescent readers will find this book not only entertaining but educational as well." -Equine Journal
author spotlight
Click to read about renowned horse trainer and behaviorist Linda Tellington-Jones and her newest book!
reader review
"This book has changed the way I will communicate with horses for the rest of my life. The fact that I got IMMEDIATE results means so much to me and the horses. I don't think I will ever ride in fear again. Amen!" --Carla from Florida
author trivia
Sgt. Rick Pelicano, author of the bestselling books BOMBPROOF YOUR HORSE and BETTER THAN BOMBPROOF, enjoys participating in the sport of mounted jousting in his spare time.
anne kursinski on unbridled tv
Click the image to see Anne Kursinski, author of ANNE KURSINSKI'S RIDING & JUMPING CLINIC, talk about some of her career highlights and favorite moments competing for the US Equestrian Team.
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We all reinvent ourselves from time to time. In my case, this usually involves hair color and heavy eyeliner. In the case of the Padlock Ranch, all it took was a fab new website to make what was really good look utterly amazing. That’s right…the other day I clicked on over to see what was […]
The Bradford Brinton Memorial & Museum in Big Horn, Wyoming, is celebrating founder Bradford Brinton’s 132nd birthday on June 26, 2012, with free admission all day, and cake and ice cream on the grounds from 2:00 p.m to 4:00 p.m. “Just as Bradford Brinton dreamed of his ranch in the West and made that dream […]
Jec’s new book 55 CORRECTIVE EXERCISES FOR HORSES is available now from the TSB online bookstore, where shipping in the US is FREE.
SPORT HORSE SOUNDNESS AND PERFORMANCE
