Horses For Dummies

My husband and I bought an old farmhouse on 22-some acres this summer and to our surprise and dismay, two horses were left on the property when we took possession. We decided to keep them but neither one of us has ever owned a horse before so we were really flailing. I joined an online horse forum but after lurking for a few days I formed the opinion that the horsey set is about 90% condescending, opinionated control freaks who make everything needlessly dramatic and complicated. Meanwhile the horses just do their thing and I was having a hard time accepting that they were going to be especially high-maintenance, as I was warned over and over again. We aren't riders so these horses are more like very large pets to us. I wondered to myself if there was such a book as "Horses For Dummies" and lo and behold, Amazon came through once again. They are not especially difficult to take care of, just expensive. Lucky for us these two are good-natured and used to human contact so they cooperate with our bumbling and fumbling around with halters, grooming tools, etc. pretty patiently. I do wish there was more information on interpersonal relationships though. One of the horses is young (about 4 years old) and has not been gelded so he does try the alpha male bit with us humans. Again, lucky for us, the older horse is clearly the alpha between the two of them and he keeps the younger horse in line. The young one is not mean or aggressive, just playful. He responds well to firm correction but I have had to look elsewhere for tips on this as there is not much information in the book.

This is a fantastic book on horses. I have 2 books on horses that talk about the breeds of horses there are. I don't have a horse, I just really like them, ever since I was little. But I wanted to get a book on horse care, so I could learn about what its like to care for a horse. This book taught me things about horses and horse care that I didn't know. 10/10 would recommend this book to horse owners or horse lovers that want to know what its like to care for a horse.

Quite educational for a new horse owner

THIS IS A REALLY GOOD BOOK FOR GAINING THE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT TAKES TO OWN AND CARE FOR A 1000 LB. ANIMAL! I LOVE HORSES----ALWAYS HAVE. MY BROTHER LIVED IN SIERRA NEVADAS AND OWNED THREE BEAUTIES; I WANTED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HE DID TO CARE FOR THEM. AND THEY ALL ADORED HIS, ESP HIS 18-HANDS APPALOOSA NAMED DANNY. HE TALKED TO THEM AND LOVED THEM AND WORKED THEM HARD. THIS BOOK SHOWS WHAT A HUGE UNDERTAKING IT IS TO OWN ONE OF THESE BEAUTIES..... THANK YOU FOR SUCH A WEALTH OF GOOD INFORMATION! SARAH WURM ROSSI

If you have horses or thinking about getting horse...this will be a good source of knowledge.

This book is a lot of reality and common sense. How can a individual own a horse and not want to learn and understand such a beautiful Animal? It should be a privilege to touch such an amazing and loving creature. You have to give to their world to have the opportunity share such a beautiful animal’s world.

I enjoy reading thru this book, its easy to read and has great information, on any questions someone might have on horses. I highly recommend this book for all horse people, beginner and experienced.

I wanted to be able to talk intelligently about horses as I am starting to volunteer at a local horse rescue. This book gave me this information and so much more. So much interesting information that was easy to read, especially to the new (novice) horse person. Also a great book for someone who is considering getting a horse of their own - so much to consider. I also plan to ride horses and even though I have the time (and the property) to own a horse, I don't think this would be good after reading this book - maybe in the future, but not now. An extremely worthwhile purchase and read.

Written for the U.S. market, different terminology therefore not suitable for UK riders, covers popular US breeds. Would be better to purchase a BrItish a Horse Society manual instead. So wasted my money as I needed to pay return postage to Canada! so not really a a hood buy at all if in UK. But nice service.

I recently bought a horse, which initially was behaving but then took to not wanting to be caught. I consulted the book and did as it advised (made the horse lunge himself) and after 30 minutes he gave up - so great tips!

bought by my 6/7 years old from my account for mummy who needed to learn about horses. was very usefull like the rest of the "dummies" books we have x

Gift for my Horse mad daughter...

Good read, very useful.