The Ultimate Horse Behavior and Training Book: Enlightened and Revolutionary Solutions for the 21st Century

This book has instantly become my NUMBER ONE HORSE BEHAVIOR AND TRAINING book in my entire library. It is just incredible! I haven't been able to put it down. I actually started tagging with mini post-its all the pages and things I liked and eventually had to stop because it was soon becoming every single page. If you are dead keen on learning some massage, wanting to really bond and earn your horse's trust - if you have a horse who is herd bound and want to ride out on your own, if your horse has an injury that you want to help him get over, if you want to get your horse listening to you, if you want to relax your horse before a ride, if you want to physically see changes in your horse - this is the book for you. I had been reading about Linda Tellington-Jones and her TTouch methods for a while and was a bit sceptical. I put it off for a year or so before I saw this book online and decided to just go ahead and purchase it and at least see what it was all about. I mostly made the decision to buy it because she has 30 years plus experience and has scientific evidence and proof to back up what she teaches. It wasn't just some mumbo-jumbo up in the air technique. My style is to go with tried and tested, things that have ultimately proved to be effective. This book is FULL of case studies and tips on what you can do and try with your horse. This book is basically the ultimate guide to anything you wanted to know about your horse. It lists a full A-Z section on horse problem behavior and reasons for it, then offers regular training tips as well as then offering TTouch methods. I have become a believer after trying only some of the methods suggested such as Lowering the Head and the Abalone TTouch and the Connected Circles. I made sure I was down at the yard when no one else was around and all was quiet and relaxing, and I could try these without anyone else wondering what the hell I was doing :o) Within ten seconds of doing the Abalone TTouch on my horse's neck, his eyes dropped and his head dropped and his breathing came out in deep, even huffs. I was amazed! He is normally quite a tense and spooky horse and normally is always on the look out. I then wondered if it was just in my imagination, wondering if i just wanted it to work, so then I practiced a few other things in her book - such as using the 'wand' to ground the horse. I just used my old red carrot stick whip, and in a moment of him spooking, I calmly Lowered his Head (which I'd taught him previously) and he dropped it with eyes wild and I stroked his legs from chest to toe with the wand to ground him, and within seconds his eyes returned to normal, he huffed out a sigh and stood quietly. It is important to remember that things won't happen overnight. Those particular things happened over a couple of days for me, because they are the most basic things you can do, but they gave me the heart to try the other things. I am absolutely besotted with this book and believe that even if you don't get out of it what I have, at the least you can read through the A-Z reasons of horse behavior and understand why they do it, and try some of the ground work pole exercises and ridden work. The sections are clean and laid out beautifully, the text is big and easy to read, everything is described step by step all with color photos which are numbered and coincide with the steps. There are many case studies and a great story about getting a warmblood yearling back on a float he'd had an accident on within only one day. The ground work exercises are invaluable and there are great bomb-proofing ideas that you can do with things just lying about your own place - nothing that you really need to buy extra. You can also improvise on the 'wand' like I did, and you can buy a dog chain lead or make your own zephyr lead out of yachting rope and a clip - you don't need to buy anything. I can't say enough a bout this book - if you were like me and wondering if you should buy it and on the fence - just bite the bullet and get it - it's one of the best buys you'll ever make. Everyone should have this on their shelf, I now keep it in my tack shed, still with all the post-its sticking out of it so i can find my favorite exercises. The best book I have ever bought.

This book is a wonderful addition to my horse resource library. I like to have as many resources on hand as possible, and this is packed with great ideas and explanations. It is well written and easy to understand. I have enjoyed reading it and would definitely recommend it to someone who is looking for a training guide that takes a look into horse behavior, and is interested in the Tellington Method and TTouch. Many books I have read and owned have mostly focused just on the training side, but I really enjoy how Linda Telling-Jones puts more emphasis on behavior concepts blended with the training, which I believe is a much better way to train, and fundamental to understanding the horse. I do not following one specific training method, I create blended methods personalized to each horse which is pulled from all of my resources, so this is just another tool in my toolbox, not something I have used exclusively. It may work for people exclusively, but that is just not how I prefer to train.

This is an excellent, well-organized book which encompasses the entire body of the author's touch techniques as well as including sections on ground training and riding to tie the whole body of work together. This book is excellent because, quite simply, Linda's philosophy and techniques work!! The book is a culmination of more than 30 years of working with and riding competitively on dozens of different horses. Her techniques were certainly effective on my horses including a flighty young thoroughbred mare and a hot-to-trot Arabian mare among others. Even an amateur like me can be successful using her techniques. That is what is so amazing. You do not have to have someone there beside you to teach you the techniques, you can learn enough from the book to get some amazing results on your own. Linda's aim is to get horse and rider to bond closer together, `get on the same page', and enjoy working together in a calm, unforced way. There are a few pictures in the back of the book showing Linda riding a horse without saddle or bridle. In one photo she is going over a jump. From the expression of both horse and rider it is evident that each is relaxed, calm, in tune and in trust with each other and enjoying the experience. I guess that says it all.

This book, in my opinion, next to a good horse health-care manual, should be an essential personal reference book for any serious horse owner. Linda Tellington Jones is a true visionary and genius. I was exposed to her training style decades ago and consider her a leader in a sensible approach of using reflexology and pressure points to alleviate a horse's pain, stress, and ailments. Jones gives the reader a real grasp and understanding on how to improve any typical horse "problem" from becoming more difficult and hazardous. She has an innate ability to use intelligence, psychology and observation. It's just such "sensible" information. I have already passed the book by two sheriff-horse patrol friends- who both handed the book right back to me as they quickly saw it's value and were intent on purchasing their own copies.

Haven’t had much time to read all of this book, but what I have read is very interesting, we can never stop learning, and I received the book soon than expected, thank you.

Some good advice on how to deal with horses to understand them better and find a way to build a long-lasting relationship.

tellement d'informations et de techniques facile à intégrer pour nos animaux

Hier sind alle TTouches, Boden- und Reitübungen gut zusammengefasst. Toll finde ich die Beschreibung von zahlreichen sehr typischen "Untugenden" beim Pferd, Hinweise auf mögliche Ursachen und Vorschläge für TTouches und Übungen, um Pferd und Reiter in der entsprechenden Situation weiter zu helfen. Ich habe einen einzigen Kritikpunkt: Beim eBook leidet die Übersichtlichkeit etwas, was wahrscheinlich mit dem Ursprünglichen Layout der Gedruckten Fassung zu tun hat (eingeschobene Kästen mit Sonderthemen, Abbildungen etc.). Abbildungen lassen sich leider nicht vergrößeren (Kindle auf Computer; vielleicht ist das bei einem Kindle-Reader anders). Für mich war das englische eBook aufgrund meines Wohnortes fernab von Deutschland die einzige Möglichkeit, dieses Buch zeitnah zu bekommen. Aber allen, für die die Printversion erschwinglich und zugänglich ist, würde ich zur gedruckten Fassung raten. Ansonsten zu empfehlen!

Lovely book, but I find all the names of the 'touches' rather weird and difficult to remember.