The Natural Horse: Foundations for Natural Horsemanship

by Jaime Jackson, Larry Lindahl (Illustrator)

Author Jaime Jackson has been a professional farrier and horseman for 22 years. But it was over 10 years ago that he headed alone into America's wild horse country, hoping to find a humane, "natural" model for domestic horse care. Frustrated by the way horses are often mistreated by their owners, Jackson felt much of this resulted from misunderstanding the nature of the horse. What Jackson discovered is that horses do indeed have a natural order, and that knowledge can be applied in truly helpful ways to our domestic horses. In a thoughtful, systematic approach, Jackson lays out his revolutionary ideas about natural horse care in this remarkable book. In the first chapters, the reader steps through wild horse country with Jackson as guide, and is drawn into the nuances of social structure, locomotion and gaits, and the hooves-which Jackson states with authority, "are terribly misunderstood in the domestic horse world." Having armed the reader with a solid foundation of the horse's natural world, Jackson then challenges the reader and nearly every major principle of modern horse care, to "apply what we have learned." The final chapters demonstrate step-by-step what horsemen and horsewomen can and should do. From hoof care and balanced riding in concert with the horse's natural abilities, to new forms of communication and humane care, The Natural Horse challenges conventional horse care on every front. First published in 1992 and just re-released in a handsome new edition, The Natural Horse is a must for those interested in applying natural methods to the care of their horses.

Genres: Horses, Animals, Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even Jaime Jackson admits, in his very next book, that he was still pro-horseshoes in this book. Parts of it seem unnecessarily complicated and hard to read. Also, even back in the 90's, there were plenty of people who were attempting various methods of natural horsemanship to whom the author could have referred, but instead he chose to stick with some old classics. Still worth the time it took to read it.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best horse books (horse care) I've read in in a long time. Lots of good information. Great explanation of hooves and farrier work (a fascinating subject). The only reason I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is that it was a little technical (obviously written for other farriers & vets) and the pictures weren't great.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I a very interesting study of wild horse habitat and hoof function. A real eye opener but slightly out of date. The Author no longer reccomends shoes for any purpose, but the book does conmtain information that might be found useful by those who continue to use shoes.