Techniques and exercises to get you started Working over poles is the first stage in starting your horse to jump, as well as being the ideal way to train your horse to be obedient and supple in his flatwork. Horses will become more attentive and eager to learn. At the same time, they will be strengthening their back muscles. Schooling over poles will help both horse and rider in equal measure. This book offers practical advice to ensure that the first steps in jumping are successful ones.

In this book, every horse owner will find step by step instructions to turn their ponies into genuine four-legged beauties, or to make lovely horses even lovelierall thanks to the right grooming of your horse s mane, tail, and coat. Whether for competition, breed show, or at home, here they will find simple instructions to make grooming easy. Learn how to do a Spanish plait, turn your horse s mane into a mass of waves, plait a mane, or pull a tail.

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Everything you need to know when hacking out! When hacking out, horse and rider may be exposed to numerous sources of danger, such as traffic, poor equipment, and the horse itself. Accidents are an all too common occurrence. This guide details how riders can best prepare themselves for hacking out, how to behave in traffic, which safety equipment is necessary, and how to cope with horses that misbehave when riding out away from home.

Voice, facial expression, and body languagethese are how horses communicate with each other and with us. We would understand our horse s behavior better if we were able to correctly interpret their language. For most of us, many of these signals remain virtually invisible. Experienced horsemen and women, however, know exactly how to talk horse . This guide helps translate the language of horses, pointing out the signals and gestures to look out for, and explaining how to correctly interpret them, helped by illustrative photos throughout.

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