Riding and Schooling the Western Performance Horse

I've had this book for several years and refer back to it frequently. Although in several places the author pre-dates current "horse-whisperer" practices and recommends that the rider "be rough" in punishing the horse for disobedience, he never advocates any abuse of any kind and riders should understand the distinction and formulate their training accordingly. He outlines the basics like position of the rider, the movement of the horse in various gaits (lots of photos for comparison), and details the schooling of the horse by breaking it down into elementary, intermediate and briefly discusses advanced levels of schooling. If you have your own horse and can't afford a lot of lessons or don't live close to a good trainer, this book is written well enough to explain things in a logical format and clear manner that should help you get the basics. It explains exactly "how and why" with confidence and doesn't give vague explanations.