Mark Rashid
Horses Never Lie
Gifts/Books/Videos
Manufacturer: Mark Rashid
Model: Horses Never Lie
Category: Gifts/Books/Videos
Purchase: I borrowed this from my husband who borrowed it from the library when he was taking riding lessons one night when I was bored.
Likes: I really liked Mark's philosophy. So many of the "Natural horsemanship" trainers that I have seen use less-than-natural methods, such as direct punishment or negative reinforcement when a horse doesn't do what he is supposed to. Mark's methods for training a horse seemed intuitive and easy to use on my own horses, ie if I have a horse that drags when I bring him in to eat dinner, he goes back out and gets to come in LAST, or doesn't come in for dinner until he decides to behave. Nothing mean, nothing forceful, nothing painful. Just a little patience. It teaches manners to the horse without you having to be the bad guy. It was also an entertaining read, as he told stories about growing up learning to ride.
Dislikes: It seemed like a story in that every single time everything worked out perfectly. Never was there a moment when the horse wasn't trained exactly as he was supposed to the first time around. Also, being female, I was a little insulted when he discussed how he had noticed people reacting to their horse's bad behavior, and only men did it right and only women did it wrong. I assume some women may not be as calm, but all women? And no man has ever yelled at or hit a horse?
Quality: It's a book, so this is n/a. The quality of the information is a 5 for entertainment and probably a 3 for actually teaching you anything.
Summary: This is a good read. I would have liked to have watched a video, but I don't think he has any. I prefer his methods to other natural horsemanship trainers, but when I went to his website, he also struck me as kind of a jerk (read his story about the bit he endorses for horses who don't like bits...the poor inventor sent a sample and kept calling and asking him to try it out, and he wouldn't for like 6 months, and when he finally did he tried it out on his own horse that didn't have any problems and told the guy that it didn't work, and it was one of his helpers who discovered that the bit worked, several months later). This is a very entertaining read, but without telling you how things can go wrong it isn't much of a training guide. But I have never found books as good as videos for training purposes.
Rating: 3
Author: KN
Date: 0000-00-00
Usefulness Rating: 5 out of 5.
17 reader(s) voted.
Other Reviews You May Find Interesting
Fireflytraders.com Horse Manure Soap Gifts/Books/Videos
Karen N. Hayes (Author) The Perfect Stall Book Gifts/Books/Videos
Fire Horse Tack & Arena Saddle Fitting: The Science & Art Video Gifts/Books/Videos
Larry Trocha Training Video Foundation Training for Turns, Circles & Leads Gifts/Books/Videos
Les Vogt Cowhorse U Gifts/Books/Videos
Cavalia LLC Cavalia DVD Gifts/Books/Videos
AuthorHouse Getting Ready for Mounted Search and Rescue Gifts/Books/Videos
Sara Gruen Flying Changes Gifts/Books/Videos
Sara Gruen Riding Lessons Gifts/Books/Videos
Late for the Sky Horse-opoly Gifts/Books/Videos
Storey Publishing 101 Jumping Exercises for Horse & Rider Gifts/Books/Videos
Workman Publishing Hold Your Horses: Nuggets of truth for people who love horses... no matter what Gifts/Books/Videos
Threshold Picture Guides Number 17: Basic Coursebuilding Gifts/Books/Videos
Primedia Equine Network Build Confidence Over Fences Gifts/Books/Videos
Revmamedia Trail Mania part I with Tim Kimura Gifts/Books/Videos
Brenda Imus Gaits From God 3 DVD Set Gifts/Books/Videos
Equestrian Events of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games Showjumping DVD Gifts/Books/Videos
Chick's Saddlery Horse Silhouette Stakes, Cast Iron Hook Rack Gifts/Books/Videos
Holly Hugo-Vidal with Sue M. Copeland Build Confidence Over Fences Gifts/Books/Videos
Anna J. White-Mullin Judging Hunters and Hunter Seat Equitation Gifts/Books/Videos
