The Schooling of the Horse

John Richard Young is one of the finest minds and spirits dedicated to training our companions on the planet( he trained dogs as well as horses). The revised edition of his Training of the (Western) Horse is the single book needed by the neophyte who comes to horsemanship and equitation with an intelligent desire to make the horse a partner in pleasure and comeptitive sports alike. I wish the University of Oklahoma Press would bring out a new edition, and also gather his articles written for various horse publications into a third volume for the compleat JRY. His death was a loss to the equestrian community, but this book with its broad understanding of history and the varied styles of riding and uses of horses over the centuries is without a peer in the specialized literature of the Horse World, and remains as his monument.Olivia Tsosie

I have read the book by Mr. Young and I have tried his theories and I have found them very helpful on not just my horse but on many other horses as well. I own a very spirited Arabian and were it not for this book I would have given up on him. I am always quoting from this book when I try to teach others why they are having problems with their horse. It is an excellent book to have as a reference guide and highly recommend that novice horsepeople, judges in horse competitions and even experienced riders read this book. I have read horse magazines as well as other books by different authors and JRY's book is the standard by which I measure them by. I come from a place where the methods are somewhat harsh and crude but I always thought there was a better way. Thank God the local Library had a copy and that there was a man named John Richard Young. I now own a copy of my own.

Truly one of the great written works on interdisciplinary horsemanship-- Jaime Jackson Author, The Natural Horse: Foundations For Natural Horsemanship

I WAS GIVEN THE ORIGINAL BOOK BY JOHN RICHARD YOUNG BY SOMEONE WHO GROW UP THE SAME TIME AS GREATS LIKE JRY AND MONTY FOREMAN. THIS BOOK SHOULD BE READ BY ANYONE RIDING OR ATTEMPTING TO TRAIN HORSES. JRY'S STYLE OF ASKING "WHY" AND GETTING YOU TO THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE ASKING THE HORSE TO DO IS FANTASTIC. I GO BACK TO THIS BOOK CONSTANTLY, NOT ALWAYS FOR SPECIFIC RULES AND TECHNIQUES, BUT RATHER FOR THE THOUGHTS AND THEORIES JOHN R. YOUNG PROVIDES. HE TEACHES YOU THAT THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS TO TRAINING AND TELLS YOU WHAT TO BE LOOKING FOR EACH STEP OF THE WAY. THE CHAPTER ON BITS AND SADDLES IS ALONE WORTH THE COST OF THE BOOK. YOU WILL LEARN THAT ANY BIT WITH A SHANK IS A CURB BIT, AND WHAT THE BALANCED SADDLE LOOKS LIKE, WESTERN OR ENGLISH. AND WHY YOU CAN'T RIDE RIGHT IN MOST MODERN SADDLES. IF YOU CARE ABOUT HORSES AND YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM, THIS BOOK IS MUST READING. YOU AND YOUR HORSE WILL BE HAPPIER FOLLOWING JRY'S IDEALS. THIS BOOK WILL GIVE YOU THE COURAGE TO TRAIN AND RIDE IN A COMMON SENSE WAY, WITH THE KNOWLEGE TO BACK IT, SO YOU WON'T SUCCOMB TO RIDICULOUS, AND SOMETIME DANGEROUS METHODS PROMOTED TODAY.

I originally read this book in its first edition dating back to the 1950's: "Schooling the Western Horse." This book, however, is less about training "western" horses, than about Mr. Young's philosophy of training for any horse. It relates as much to dressage as to "western" training. Although Mr. Young does not deal in the usual language of dressage trainers, his comments will be thought provoking for anyone interested in working with horses. More than anything else, he asks potential horsemen to really think about what they are doing,and what they wish to achieve, and not to accept conventional wisdom - to ask questions of their instructors, etc. Although those well-grounded in dressage will be able to find fault with some of Mr. Young's comments, I think they will still find this book an interesting addition to their equestrian library. In fact, it should be noted that "Dressage Today", the official Publication of the United States Dressage Federation has recently started a series of articles on a correspondence between the late Mr. Young and an experience dressage rider. I love this book and its companion, "Schooling for Young Riders," which is a training book put in the form of the story of Mr. Young training a pony for his daughter and teaching her to ride at the same time