by Mark Rashid Copyright 2000, $16.00
ISBN 1-55566-249-8 paperback, 170 pages
Johnson Printing, 1880 South 57th Court Boulder, Colorado 80301
http://www.markrashid.com
Editor Helen ordered me to read and report on this and I'm mostly glad she did. It is the first of his books I've read and probably not my last. At its best the book will reinforce any enthusiast's faith in the infinite potential for a loving bond between horse and rider. At its less than best, Rashid may over attribute human motivation, characteristics, or behavior to his horses. The dreaded term here is "equine anthropomorphism" (look it up!),but, in all fairness, he is defter at it than most authors I have come across.
Rashid very simply observes that the essence of the herd is social cooperation and all horses are looking for a leader to organize their instincts to feed, fight, flee, fool around or whatever. He believes the type of leadership you present to your horse makes all the difference in their response. He prefers response from quiet, consistent, dependable ("Passive") leadership rather than reaction out of fear or distrust. You may get the horse's attention from the latter, but you will only get respect from the former...and to keep the horse's attention and sustain its respect you have to be super attentive yourself. Without this "Passive" approach a horse which has been forced into a submissive response may quit you when you need it most.
At $16.00 I think this paperback book might save you a lot of money on quirts, bits, and spurs.
Bob Howdy, PhD
