The key to enjoying a safe, fun, and fulfilling partnership with your horse is having the knowledge and confidence to lead and train him. All great partnerships are based on three elements: trust, respect, and communication. Whenever one element is lacking, the partnership fails to form or ceases to exist. When it comes to interacting with horses, we unintentionally tend to be our own worst enemies. By design, horses and humans perceive the world from opposite ends of the scale: horses are prey animals with an ingrained flight or fight response, and humans are predators. Because of this, before you train a horse, you have to understand basic horse psychology and what makes your horse tick. When you know how the horse processes his thoughts and why he does the things that he does, both good and bad, you can accomplish anything. If you don't understand how your horse perceives the world around him, then you will struggle with your horsemanship goals. Clinician Clinton Anderson knows good horsemanship isn't always easy. With over 20 years of experience working with horses and helping people safely train them, Clinton has become an expert at bringing out the best in both. In this highly illustrated book, he shares his philosophy, knowledge and wisdom, detailing what he feels every person should know about horses before working with them. Breaking down the crucial elements of his method of horsemanship, Clinton explains how to become an effective leader that your horses will look to for guidance and how to successfully start a mutually enjoyable partnership. Readers will learn what motivates horses, the basics of respect and why it must be established, and the role pressure and body language play in communicating. Clinton prescribes a tried-and-true formula to train a well broke horse and discusses the three elements that go into becoming an all-around great horseman. Filled with commonsense explanations and personal anecdotes from Clinton's life, the lessons in Philosophy provide the instruction and inspiration needed to help you achieve your horsemanship dreams.
