Life Lessons from a Ranch Horse

I bought this book because it looked somewhat interesting (and I had already read most of the other books in that store). I hadn't really given any of the "self-help-ish" horse books a chance. I previously only read non-fiction, information-laden, textbook-ish readings (such as books on feed and nutrition, setting jumps and other arena exercises, etc.). I just ignorantly assumed that books such as this one were going to be too "out there" for me. I was wrong. Rashid has since become one of my favorite writers (of horse books, anyway). He explains things very illustratively and turns the book into a story. He uses story telling as a means of informing the reader and getting his point across. This technique not only makes the topic easier to understand, but it also makes the book altogether much more enjoyable and readable. In all honesty, I found it hard to put this book down, which is not a common occurance. Much to my surprise, I learned a lot from this book. It is so easy to read - in that it flows smoothly and easily, and holds your interest very well - that it is hard to believe I learned as much from it as I did. I apply so much of what this book has taught me on an every day basis. None of my past readings (the text book type books) provided so much useful, appliable intormation. I truly owe much of my riding's recent improvement to the lessons learned through reading this book. I guarantee that this book is worth the money and time (and you won't believe how fast you glide through it). If you would like to learn more about what it's like to be a horse and think like a horse, and how to better communicate with / understand them then I highly recommend this book. F.Y.I. I have since read some of Rashid's other books and I have found them to be very informative and enjoyable as well.

I recently purchased this book for the sole purpose of trying to gain an understanding of why my daughter wanted a horse so badly. Once I picked this book up, I couldn't put it down. Now, as I sit watching her take her riding lessons, I am in awe of the relationship people have with horses. I am now eager to learn myself so that I too can share in the knowledge of what these incredible animals can teach us about ourselves! Well done Mark!

Get ready to look inside at your own approach to your horse. How mucheffort do you make in the day to day interaction with him/her to hear what he/she is trying to say? I think we can all benefit from the inspiration this bookcan give us. After all, can we ever be too intune?

I'm not talking about Mark Rashid when I refer to the Wiseman...I'm talking about Buck! But Mark is his spokesman - and a great one at that. Although I have enjoyed all of Mark's books, this one is really special. "Life Lessons From A Ranch Horse" is a gentle and compelling story that explains how the keys to understanding and communication are often completely overlooked even by the "experts". Mark leads us through his slow discovery of Buck's Life Lessons in a very sincere and honest way. This is not a "How To Ride and Train Horses" book; it's an introduction to a more effective way to approach problems and solve them to everyone's benefit. Not a bad thing to be able to use in our lives, with horses or other people!Mark has done us all a good service by sharing his tale of discovery. Now Buck can reach more folks than those who could ever meet him in person. And perhaps we will be able to better hear the other "Bucks" in our lives.

This is simply a great book, whether you are a horse person or not. In fact, so far I have given it to all my friends and employees, none of which are "horsey", and they all love it! It's hard to put into words what I have learned from it and what I continue to learn each time I read it. (4 times so far) Suffice it to say that it is the best book I've read in the last two years, and maybe longer. However, I must also say if you buy this because you are looking for a horse training book per si, then you will most certainly be disappointed. It isn't a training book in the literal sense. Rather it opens doors to possibilities that are available to us all not just with horses, but more importantly, in our overall daily lives. If you are looking to find better ways to help your horse through understanding and communication, or simply to help improve your life in general, then this one is for you. The lessons to be gleaned from this book are simple but very powerful. Right up there with another one of my favorites, The Tao of Pooh. I HIGHLY recomend this book.