Reining the Art of Performance in Horses - Bob Loomis - Used- Hardcover
Used Hardcover in good shape - 221 pages
This wonderfully photographed and diagrammed book is not just for trainers of reining horses -- riders will love it as well. Loomis presents a clear and methodical training program for the reining prospect. Loomis begins by introducing his philosophy of horsemanship (think not intimidate), the importance of breeding and conformation, then moves to ground work, basic training, conditioning ("never let your horse run out of air"), suppling exercises, body alignment (importance of circles) and advanced manuevers. He is comprehensive, covering shoeing, equipment, and show preparation as well. As the book title says, Loomis approaches Western horsemanship as an art, and he is a master.
Because Loomis is so thorough, non-beginning riders interested in improving their horsemanship will find a wealth of information here. Many horsemanship books suffer from authors unable to convey in written words "the feel" of the horse in response to a cue. With co-author Kadash, Loomis presents his concepts lucidly. The diagrammed sample exercises illustrated throughout the book are another valuable resource for an intructorless rider.
Loomis teaches the reader to think, about how the horse thinks and how the horseman thinks. Trainer or rider, with this book the reader will never stop learning how to improve from whatever level he is at. A tremendous resource!