About Dr. Jessica Jahiel

HORSE-SENSE is written by author and clinician Jessica Jahiel, Ph.D., a familiar name to readers as well to the regulars on many horse-related mailing lists and newsgroups. HORSE-SENSE started in 1995 with a few hundred subscribers and has grown steadily in popularity every year. For more information, visit JessicaJahiel.com.

Holistic Horsemanship®

Jessica's system of training, Holistic Horsemanship®, employs the training techniques and riding elements of classical dressage. The methods and goals of classical riding -- balance, harmony, suppleness, rhythm, and clear, kind communication in the form of a constant dialogue between horse and rider -- are classical precisely because they are kind and correct and they work. These methods and goals have stood the test of time. Much of what is currently termed Natural Horsemanship represents a modern rediscovery of some of these classical principles of horsemanship.

Whether a rider's interest is in classical dressage as such, or whether it lies in using good training to improve the mind, physique, and athletic ability of an eventer, a jumper, a hunter, a reiner, a cutter, an endurance horse or a trail horse, this system will work -- without fear, force, or pain, and without gadgets or special equipment designed to increase a rider's leverage or control.

The key concepts in Holistic Horsemanship are communication, confidence, balance, and harmony -- not coercion or control. The development of communication between horse and rider establishes cooperation between them. This cooperation allows them to work confidently together in balance, which in turn promotes harmony. Holistic Horsemanship® uses finesse, not force, and the results are achieved more smoothly and easily than most riders could possibly imagine.

Publications

Her books include the two American Horse Publications award winners (*):

The Horse Training Problem Solver Forthcoming Summer 2007.
The Rider's Problem Solver: Your Questions Answered: How to Improve Your Skills, Overcome Your Fears, and Understand Your Horse. [Amazon.com]
The Horse Behavior Problem Solver [Amazon.com]
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Horseback Riding
The Horseback Almanac. An introduction to English riding for children 8-12. (Out of print)
* The Parent's Guide to Horseback Riding New edition. [Amazon.com]
* Riding for the Rest of Us: A Practical Guide for Adult Riders [Amazon.com]

Jessica served as USPS (United States Pony Clubs, Inc.) Associate Editor of the three-volume USPC Manual of Horsemanship, and chaired the USPC Curriculum-Standards Committee from 1992-1995.

Her articles, reviews, and stories have appeared in national magazines, including Practical Horseman, Horse & Rider, Horse Show, The Chronicle of the Horse, Trailblazer, Western Horseman, the USCTA News, and the USPC News. Her award-winning column "Teaching Learning Teaching", appears in Riding Instructor, the official publication of the American Riding Instructors Association.

Lectures

A popular speaker, Jessica has presented at EquitanaUSA in Louisville, KY and is a regular at the American Riding Instructors Association's National Seminar. On the radio, she has been a regular on Rick Lamb's syndicated show, The Horse Show.

Clinics

Due to her heavy writing schedule, Jessica is only available for a limited number of clinics. Please email Jessica for more information.

If you're read this far, you could probably use a break. Here's a picture of the desktop icon Jessica looks to for inspiration while writing HORSE-SENSE. And here's a picture at three months old of her July 2007 foal, Temprano (aka Baba Looey), half-Andalusian son of Temerario VII