Build A Better Bond: 100+ Ways To Connect With Your Horse: Horse training, horseback riding, and natural horsemanship Paperback – November 28, 2023

Jane Smiley writes: “Fascination with horses predated every other thing I knew. Before I was a mother, before I was a writer, before I knew the facts of life, before I was a schoolgirl, before I learned to read, I wanted a horse.”I am that same person, dreaming in horses and ponies for nearly four decades before getting a horse of my own. But horses were challenging for me. I had no idea what to do with the sweet, doe-eyed OTTB standing in front of me when I eventually brought her home in my early 30s.And so I learned, by trial and error and clinics and classes over the next two decades, horses.How they think.What they need.How fulfilling a deeply bonded relationship with them can be.But it didn’t have to take me so long. There’s a better way to help new horse owners learn their equine friend and get to the good part sooner.Build A Better Bond gives new horse owners the tools to develop a relationship with their horse based on trust and mutual respect. It contains activities and exercises that help horse owners better understand and enjoy their equine friend. It’s designed to be used at the barn to help new owners position themselves as not only the leader of their herd of two but a supportive partner for their horse.The goal is a safe horse that is engaged, eager to learn, and easy to understand. With these activities — both on the ground and mounted — new owners can build a foundation that translates into a more rewarding relationship with their horse.Build A Better Bond is a less intimidating introduction for people whose love of horses outstrips their understanding of what to do with them — it’s for people who don’t yet know what they don’t know. Rather than drill down on one aspect of horse ownership, it explores a wide range of activities to find what is most helpful for humans and their equine companion as they begin their work together. Each chapter approaches specific exercises that can help horse owners create a lasting and meaningful connection with their equine partner. This holistic approach to horses provides a jumping-off point for deeper study in areas that interest both horse and rider. An appendix offers books for further investigation from masters on each topic.Even people with some horse experience can learn how to deepen and strengthen their bond by turning off their routine actions and tuning in to their horse. Read more