Lyons on Horses: John Lyons' Proven Conditioned-Response Training Program

I have been using this book as I work with my 7 year old gelding and see a big improvement in his behavior. This book does not replace a clinic or working with a trainer, but it is a good addition to any equistrian's library.

After more than 20 years of not riding or owning a horse, and switching from English to Western, I was very nervous and intimidate when I bought my 3-yr old Missouri Fox Trotter mare!! The very first chapter's section on "The Importance Of Goals" set the perimeters by which I began my quest to become the leader of this two-part "herd" and become trusting "partners".The pages to chapter two - "Round-Pen Reasoning" - are dog-eared from re-reading it over and over. Whenever my horse does not perform a particular lesson as I am requesting, I go back to the book and realize that it is because I am not asking in the right way! Although my horse had already been gently broken and trained, I felt that by taking both of us back to the basic beginings would be the best way for both horse and rider to become consistant in understanding of cues and develop trust. The "Advanced Leading" chapter has put an end to the arm-jerking and pulling/grass eating. I"m still not sure which one of us benefited most from the "Facing Fear" chapter; and the "First Ride" chapter has made me revert back to the gentle snaffle bit and greatly lighten up with my hands! I consider myself to be a novice in the horse "arena" and I was so please to find a book that was not only extremely helpful; but written in language that I could readily understand. I would definately recommend "Lyons On Horses" to anyone who wishes to build a partnership with their horse through rational conditioned-responsive training rather than through intimidation!!

This is the bible of horse training. I felt like John wrote this book about MY horse. Everything he said worked wonderfully. This man really knows how horses think and how to comunicate with them. It really helped my to understand what my horse was thinking and how to deal with certain problems. I highly recommend this book!!

This book offers a full training program for the young horse with tips for your older horses too! We have implemented these training techniques with all 3 of our horses, 2 weanling and an 8 year old. Would not be as far as we are with them, without this wonderful book. Mr. Lyons is fantastic! Highly Recommended for all levels of training.

Reading this book and watching the videos that go with it is the best way to really understand what John Lyons is all about. If you have ever trained a dog, you understand what conditioned-response is, and he teaches you how to apply the same theory to training horses. John Lyons does not hold himself out as a horse-whisperer guru type trainer, but rather as a guy who has a very logical, conditioned-response method of dealing with horses. I liked the way he explained the techniques and his emphasis on safety for the trainer and the horse. Some things are hard to picture from his explanation in the book, so watching the videos put it all together for me. (An example is the hitting the horse on the leg bit that another reviewer mentioned. If you saw the video and saw what he was doing, you probably would not feel uncomfortable with it.) I have found this book the most novice-friendly book of its type.