Customer Reviews

Horses For Dummies

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Properly caring for a horse from a health and welfare point of view is not something "for dummies". This book oversimplifies many of the priority areas and this "dumbing down" of the material means only that the horse will pay for the lack of knowledge of the owner. Where welfare of an animal is concerned, we should be doing much better than this.

My husband & I decided to buy horses on a whim, but we knew we'd have to do alot of learning before we were ready to buy our first horse. Out of the many (many, MANY) books we bought, this book clearly stood out. It taught us ALL the basics, and was a wonderful referrence guide for all our questions as we got through the first 3 years, going from boarding to moving out to our own land. This book is a MUST HAVE for beginners, and worth more than the asking price. When I lent it to my cousin, I counted the days (actually YEARS) until she gave it back - once a month there was something I wanted to look up quick!

For more advanced horse people, or casual rent-a-horse riders, this book may be too basic. It covers everything from care, to buying, to everything about owning a horse. Not advanced concepts, or anecotes, or riding styles, etc.

This book is quite well written and very understandable for all ages.

I just picked this book up and enjoyed it. However when Horse Sense 101 says they focus too much on the hardships of ownership, i think she is totally off. Owning horse IS hard, I have been riding for seven years! Every single abuse case is a case where the owner did not consider how much a horse would need. This book does a great job illustrating this, and preventing cases like this. They are simply tellng you the realistic facts of owning a 1200 pound animal.

Horses for Dummies does an excellent job of introducing the horse lover to the ins and outs of horses and horse ownership. The book paints a fairly accurate picture of all that is involved in getting started, covering the gamut of gadgets and tack necessary, a variety of veterinary issues, housing, feeding, training...you name it. A good, sound preliminary overview.

The one drawback to the book is that the authors go way overboard with trying to help the reader assess whether horse ownership is a realistic option. It seemed to me that they had perhaps seen some severe situations where people bought horses that really shouldn't have. As a result they, in some case, uses a sledgehammer to swat the horse fly when a fly swatter would suffice. If taken too literally the book would drive everyone except die-hard cowboys away from even considering owning horses. Yes, owning horses is a big responsibility but I have only heard of a few extremely rare cases where horses truly suffered as the result of unprepared owners.

However, I see this as a minor thing. Read the book for the great information that it imparts and don't let the stump speeches about whether you are ready to own a horse by the authors get in the way.

I loved this book and it's very helpful! It explains everything in a way anybody could easily understand, yet it's not boring! I would definitely recommend this book to anybody thinking about buying a horse or anyone who just wants to learn more about horses!

An excellent start for those just starting to deal with horses.

Read the book and then learn something from Native Americans. Respect the beast that you ride, forein; they will respect you.

Shrill screaming upsets the beast, soothing words let them know they are boss. Authoritative voice leaves them thinking they are inferior, and leaves other situations.

Read between the lines, as you read, and you'll be okay.

Having just turned 46, I find myself smack dab in the middle of my "Billy Crystal" phase. Although I don't have a pet bull suburban jogging companion, rescued from a cattle drive, I do feel the urge to realize a lifelong dream of getting actively involved with horses.

Horses For Dummies has proven to be an excellent guide, covering a variety of necessary topics from barn construction to horse shows to euthanasia.

To get some horse care experience without spending a fortune, I started volunteering for a local "Hippotherapy" therapeutic riding academy -- which I learned about from reading this book!

I've been reading this book compliments of my local library and will be purchasing my own copy soon. If you're just getting started, as I am, this book is excellent.

Anyone contemplating the addition of a horse to their family who has little or no experience around these wonderful animals should read this book FIRST! While it may be a bit overkill in places regarding safety and care, the vast majority of the information contained is MUST DO! Horses aren't dogs, cats or a set of golf clubs. This book lays out the good and the bad of horse ownership and most importantly what it takes to properly care for your 1,000 pound 'baby'.

I have no knowledge of how to act around horses or horsey people. I am an animal lover...but dogs are my specialty. Thank God for this book! I learned so many basics. This book was perfect for me. And after reading about all the hidden costs and all of the time involved....I still want a horse! But at least there wont be any surprises.