The Book Corral

One of my favorite things to do when I'm not hanging out at the barn is reading! There are so many good horse books out there, from instructional to purely entertaining. So today I thought I would share some of my favorites and some from my "Have to read" list!

Stable Smarts is a great little how to book written by an Idaho horsewoman named Heather Smith Thomas. It has topics on everything from choosing the best quality hay to how to care for tack and even fence construction! Lots of helpful information for the do it yourself cowgirl!

How To Think Like A Horse by Cherry Hill is a great book for anyone who wants to really understand horses and how they see the world. It has chapters on the senses, the nature of the horse, how they learn, communicating with your horse effectively and the best approach to training using those natural tendencies. Plus lots of other great advice to help you get in tune with your equine partner, and tons of great pictures and illustrations!

"Joe Camp is a gifted storyteller and when he turns his talents to his newest passion, the horse, the results are magical. Few veteran horsemen can impart the insights about horses that Joe Camp, a relative newcomer, has done in his book The Soul of a Horse. Joe entertains, educates and empowers, baring his own soul while articulating keystone principles of a modern revolution in horsemanship."
Rick Lamb TV/Radio host "The Horse Show" Author of Human to Horseman

This is one of my next books to read and since I haven't yet I've included a review of the book above. I have heard so many great things about it and I think it will definitely be a keeper!

This is another book on my "have to read" list. I first heard about Chris Cox and Ride The Journey after watching an interview with him on Horse Girl TV
and found that I really liked his attitude and approach to what he refers to as authentic horsemanship. It will be interesting to see how his approach is similar or differs from say Parelli or Lyons!

These last two books are fun reads for anyone who loves mysteries and horses! The first Cutter by Laura Crum is from a series set in the western world with a mystery solving vet named Gail McCarthy. This series may be a little harder to find in the average book store so I recommend Amazon!

The second book Death By Dressage by Carolyn Banks, is set in the English riding world and as if you didn't notice, Dressage specifically! Our mystery solver here is a horsewoman from Texas named Robin Vaughan who along with her horses Plum and Speir, non-riding husband Skeet and best friend Lola make for some colorful characters and super fun reading! This book is only one in a series! Also available readily from Amazon.

Equine Delights!

I get a lot of horse caltalogs and do quite a bit of online treasure hunting when it comes to horse related items. Finding and drooling over these things (and when I'm lucky, buying) is one of my favorite things to do. Some are cheap, others not so much. Some are for horse and some are for rider, although lets face it, they're pretty much all for the rider cause your horse isn't going to be ordering any of it! So I thought I would share some of my current finds with you! This is a DVD for all of those interested in Natural Horsemanship. There has been some controversy of late about the commercialism of NH, namely the products that one seemingly "needs" to buy in order to be successful and the cost of those products, but the core of NH is still about interacting with your horse in a positive way and forming a partnership. This video takes three well known Natural Horsemen, shows their approach to NH and has a competion between the three. Available from Back In The Saddle.

This is a print available in the Back In The Saddle catalog that I love! It's entitled "Fierce Grace"

Ah the Tucker Cheyenne Frontier Trail saddle, this saddle screams comfortable to me! But at $1600 (not including shipping) I'm going to be saving for a while! Tucker Saddles

Mrs.Pastures Cookies are awesome! My filly loves them and my two horses that preceded her loved them also. They smell so good that I've been tempted to try them but I think they are a little too hard for human teeth! Mrs.Pastures Cookies For Horses ....(they don't actually sell the treats on their site but they have a list of all the retailers that do!)

I LOVE this t-shirt and it will be mine! Find this one and lots of other cute T 's at Back In The Saddle

I was searching for a pair of cotton everyday/training reins (no nylon!) and found this great pair of of split reins with the snap ends for easy change out at CountrySupply for $19.95 (something I could afford,hurray!) It doesn't take much to make me happy!