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California Riding Magazine • March, 2010 Book Reviews |
Olympic Equestrian Most riders seem to have big dreams, from completing a Grand Prix Freestyle to tackling a Four-Star cross-country course. The greatest of those dreams is one heralded by decades of history and grandeur. It is of a storied event whose reward is not riches or prizes, but gold and glory. The Olympic Games are the pinnacle of global competition for horse and rider, and Jennifer O. Bryant’s Olympic Equestrian chronicles the path of equestrian events in the Olympics, from ancient times to the 2000 Sydney Games. Bryant’s book is a painstakingly researched volume featuring fascinating old pictures of early Games. The balance of photos, narrative and stories make it both an excellent read and worthy of coffee table display. Bryant has seemingly left no stone unturned, as the work begins with an overview of equestrian sports both ancient and current, governing bodies for the sport and common concerns regarding the welfare of the horse competing in such testing conditions. Perhaps the most interesting section dealt with the early roots of Olympic equestrian sports, which were once open only to those in the military. Early cavalry horses were fairly well-bred and meticulously trained, and traveled to a number of competitions besides the Games. Civilians could not compete for the United States in the Olympics until the Helsinki Games of 1952, after the Army had dissolved its cavalry branch following the 1948 Olympics. Not only does Bryant explain the intricacies of the Olympic disciplines, she weaves in a number of first-hand accounts from riders such as Frenchman and former U.S. Eventing Team coach Jack Le Goff. After a somewhat rough but successful early riding career, he moved to the U.S. and rebuilt the flagging eventing team, guiding them to, among other victories, double gold at the 1976 Montreal Games. Each discipline, show jumping, dressage and eventing, garners its own chapter. Bryant explains the format and scoring of each event before profiling key riders and horses, as well as relaying relevant anecdotes. All three chapters wrap up with an overview of issues facing each discipline, a nod to the future and both team and individual results from each Olympics from Paris in 1900 to Atlanta in 1996. Now a bit dated, the book ends just before the Sydney Games, and so contains a preview of sorts of the location, venues and selections processes. It ends by looking to the future of equestrian sports and how they fit into the Olympics and the world stage. Being an unconventional sport, equestrians have often viewed their place at the Games as less than solid, but years of history, coupled with the innate tendency that riders have to stick firmly to their dreams and goals, one can be confident that the equestrian events will weather any storm. Kristin Kenney is a journalism major at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and competes in the jumpers with her Dutch Warmblood gelding, Nicolai.
Horse Gaits, Balance and Movement Some books you buy and they sit on your bedside table collecting dust, others you start and never finish and other books you give to a friend after an enjoyable read. Then there are those books that you would not even lend to your best friend for a few hours – you just purchase a copy of it for their birthday knowing it is the perfect gift. It seems like a generous thing to do, but you know the real reason: You just don’t want to share. This is the case with Horse Gaits, Balance and Movement written and illustrated by Susan E.Harris. Written in 1993, this well written book explains the physics and mechanics of the anatomy of the horse and how the gaits and movement of the animal operate. In short, it provides an understanding of the horse’s movement and the best way for the horse and rider to develop that movement. It illustrates and explains in a logical sequence the structure of the horse and the cycle of movement and then the book itself transitions into the different gaits. The drawings done by the author depict good movement and poor movement so clearly that one cannot help an occasional “ah-ha” while reading this book. Then Harris covers the subject of balance. First describing the inherent balance of the horse and its structure at different gaits, then with the added stress of the weight and balance of the rider and the animal’s desire to perform the movements requested by the rider. Here the illustrations clearly show the rider’s center of gravity should be directly over the horse’s center of gravity. Harris clearly describes the necessity of the rider remaining relaxed and balanced. This enables the horse to move freely and allows him to move you in balance with the swing of his legs as he strides forward. Horse Gaits, Balance and Movement is definitely one of the first books that any beginning rider should own to visually understand the movement of the horse they are riding. From this initial introduction one will then continuously refer back to the carefully drawn illustrations and explanations to understand why one day’s ride is less than perfect and then, as time progresses, to see visually the changes and synergy that is achieved as the rider’s relaxed balance enhances the natural balance of the horse being ridden. Beginning with some of the practical tips through to the more advanced rider’s understanding of the anatomy of the horse, this book promises to have value for every level of rider and every discipline. From one’s first ride onward this book will be continuously referred to until it is guaranteed to be tattered and threadbare. Reviewer Ann Zollinger is the owner of Dream Horse Vacations and a docent for The Seabiscuit Heritage Foundation at Ridgewood Ranch in Northern California. For more information on SHF please visit their website at www.seabiscuitheritage.org.
Ligament Injuries This is a book that horse owners should have. Tendon and ligament injuries are, unfortunately, common occurrences. This book helps the horse owner understand how tendons and ligaments work, what they do, how they get injured and how they heal. Dr. Schultz writes in a style that is easy to read and understand without being overly basic. The book goes over the anatomy of tendons and ligaments and how they work. The clear diagrams and descriptions do a very good job of explaining without overwhelming the reader with technical jargon. At the same time, they give the reader the tools to understand and knowledgably discuss injuries with their veterinarian. Dr. Schultz also goes over how injuries occur and what physically happens when a horse has a tendon injury. She goes over ultrasound pictures of clear injuries and she explains how to read the ultrasound and what they are showing. I found that alone to be very helpful because being able to see what the ultrasound reveals is the hardest part of understanding my vet. The book goes over treatment options and how to heal your horse. Multiple options for treatment, from scientific to holistic, are discussed, giving you the information to work with. The book also makes a clear point of how important shoeing and footing are in keeping your horse healthy and sound. The Howell Equine Handbook is easy to read and important points and bits of information are highlighted and easy to find. The diagrams and photos make the information accessible to any reader. This is a book that anyone who rides or keeps horses should have so they can prevent these injuries from happening in the first place. If they do have an injury, they can better work to help it heal. Reviewer Faith Grimm a USDF bronze and silver medal recipient with over 30 years teaching and training experience. She is based in Los Angeles County’s La Habra Heights.
Getting in TTouch with Your Horse:
How to Assess and Influence Personality,
Potential and Performance In Getting in TTouch with Your Horse: How to Assess and Influence Personality, Potential and Performance, Linda Tellington-Jones explains, mainly through facial characteristics, how to evaluate a horse’s personality. She learned many of her techniques from her grandfather, who was taught by a Russian gypsy how to analyze equine facial swirls. Tellington-Jones’ observations of thousands of horses since then have expanded her knowledge. For some readers, it will be hard to accept that if a horse has “long ears, narrow space at both base and top,” he will have “a tendency to be changeable and inconsistent.” Tellington-Jones is careful to point out that the reader can’t make a personality determination on one feature alone. Instead, the total picture of all the features must be considered. There are plenty of drawings, photographs and evaluations to illustrate what Tellington-Jones is explaining in the text. Her evaluations clearly show that determining personality by features is more art than science, especially when one feature shows one characteristic and another feature the opposite one. Tellington-Jones gives several examples of horses whose personality was not supported by their facial features. For example, she was asked to evaluate a horse that was extremely vicious. An examination of his facial swirl pointed to a friendly horse. She then examined his body and found extremely sore withers and neck, which was caused by an ill-fitting saddle. For me, the most interesting part of the book was the information on conformation. Tellington-Jones tells the reader how to measure the face, neck, shoulders, back and croup, and how to compare those measurements to the ideal Thoroughbred conformation. She explains normal and abnormal conformation, and how abnormal conformation can contribute to pain that can show up as a difficult personality. She gives several examples of horses asked to do jobs (such as dressage) that their conformation (such as a long back and stick neck) makes them unsuited for. The conformation information would be very useful for someone who is horse shopping for a particular discipline, or for someone who is having issues with a horse that training is not solving. Tellington-Jones also addresses health, environment, eyesight and equipment. These issues can cause problems that manifest in what could seem a difficult personality, and that could very well have an easy fix. Getting in TTouch was originally published in 1995. This new edition is updated with new color photographs and 15 new evaluations. What you won’t find in this edition are the TTouch exercises and ground exercises from the first book. Unfortunately, those exercises are a large part of “how to influence” a horse’s personality, potential and performance. For those exercises, Tellington-Jones directs readers to her book The Ultimate Horse Behavior and Training Book. After evaluating several horses, I’m not convinced that I could read personality from their facial characteristics. However, this is a fun and informative book, well worth the read. Dianne Chapman McCleery is a writer and editor who has ridden for the past 10 years with a natural horsemanship trainer in the Sierra Nevada foothills.
Would you like to review a book for California Riding Magazine? We frequently receive review copies of books before they’re available to the general public. They range from beautifully illustrated, coffee table caliber books to training how-tos in every imaginable equestrian subject. You can be one of the first to read these books! Visit www.ridingmagazine.com for more information and to see a list of books available. |
