The Body Language of Horses

by Tom Ainslie, Bonnie Ledbetter

Horses communicate with remarkable accuracy in a language of posture, gesture and sound. They express their needs, wishes and emotions to each other and to the rare human being who understands them. After reading this unprecedented, exciting and up-lifting book, you will understand the equine language. You therefore will know how to recognize:



A happy horse. A frightened horse. An angry horse. A bored horse. A grieving horse. A frustrated horse. A horse horse in pain. A playful horse. A proud horse. An eagerly competitive horse. And many horses more!Moreover, you will know how to reassure the frightened, calm the angry, comfort the grieving, divert the bored -- and deal with most other human-equine difficulites. You will know how to educate a foal or rehabilitate a rogue. You will know how to look at race horses on their way to the starting gate and differentiate the likely winners from the losers.

You even will know how to buy a horse.

But best of all, you will finally understand what these grand animals are all about, and you will know better than ever before how they (and we) fit into nature's scheme of things.

Genres: Horses, Nonfiction, Animals

208 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1980

Reviews

[Matthew Maiello · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is one of the few books you can use what you learned right away!

[Thomas Burchfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in 1980, this book, co-written by one of founders of modern thoroughbred handicapping and betting, is a loving, instructive look at the life, behavior and habits of the domestic thoroughbred. Ledbetter and Ainslie strongly advocate a gentle approach to horse training and present the best information available about how and why horses act as they do and how they see the world. (It's clear that they're definitely smarter than humans in certain ways.) For punters like myself, there's a chapter devoted to handicapping horses live, while they're in the paddock and on parade before the gates fly open. Even newcomers will be pleased, though a new edition might be called for thirty years later.

[Rocky · Rating 4 out of 5]

For any novice to experienced horse person, this is a good book to read. Very educational and helpful. I would keep this book as a handy reference tool for all my horse endeavors.

[Susan Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has some good information and is written with good descriptions. However I think it could have been enhanced if there were actual pictures that helped you to visualize the descriptions of what to look for in different horses and scenarios. If you have some horse care and handling skills the descriptions are of things you've noticed or made note of, but I think if you are new to horses this book might not be as helpful with out pictures to really drive home what to look for in the body language of the horses.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed it having grown up with friends who had horses. Wishing I had known some of the things I learned.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite being a guide for gamblers at the track, this is one of the best resources for written descriptions of equine emotions expressed in body language.

[Evelyn Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains a lot of very interesting information about horses and what makes them tick. Also info on using your new found knowledge for betting on horses at the races, etc, which I was not interested in. All in all, I'm very happy I read it.

[Kaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how they explained stuff.

[Tamra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting book for those who know horses and those who don't.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a wonderful book. We love horses and this has enhanced our understanding. Must read in my book!

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little dry at times, but lots of good information here.