From: Laurel
Dear Jessica, I got your book for Christmas and it is the best one I ever read, I felt like every thing you said was directed right to me and somehow you knew all the problems I had and all the confusion I was going through about finding the right place to keep Sunny and the right instructor to teach me and help me train him. Now I have read those chapters twice and I have your book next to my bed, and I know that when I start again next week looking for a barn and a teacher that I will have you with me to help. I feel so much better prepared now, thank you! Now I have a question about books, what would you recommend to someone like me? I am 39 and have only been riding for three years, I bought Sunny a year ago and he is teaching me a lot. I have a copy of Podjashky(sp?) The Riding Teacher, but I don't find it easy to read or understand. Is there something you would suggest for me to read? Someone else asked this question a while back and I got the books you recommended then, but I would like to know about others. There are so many horse books out there and they are so expensive that I don't want to make any mistakes. I like dressage and huntseat but I also like Western riding, and I like history books too, so please suggest anything you think will help me. Please tell me when you plan to write your next book because whatever it is about, I want to be the first to buy it!! Right now I am saving to buy another copy of your book, for my friend Janet who doesn't understand why I won't let her borrow my copy (I don't want to let it out of my sight). :)
Thank you again, Laurel
Hi Laurel! Thanks for the kind words, I'm so glad to know that you're enjoying "Riding for the Rest of Us." When you buy Janet her birthday copy, you might think about purchasing it from amazon.com; they have a terrific discount on all books, and you can get "Riding for the Rest of Us" for under $20, which is amazing! Check for the other horse-books too -- if you're buying three or four books, the accumulated discount will pay for another book. ;-)]
Okay, now for a reading list. I'll suggest just a few books to start you off; later on, you can let me know which ones you liked best, and which ones helped most, and I'll suggest more. There are thousands of horse books out there! Why not begin with these?
Sally Swift CENTERED RIDING
Sylvia Loch THE CLASSICAL SEAT
George Morris HUNTER SEAT EQUITATION
Charlene Strickland WESTERN RIDING
Dossenbach THE NOBLE HORSE
Don't forget to look at your local library, Laurel! Libraries are such wonderful places, and most of them carry several horse books. If yours doesn't, or if it doesn't carry the ones you want to read, talk to the librarian. Libraries have book-buying budgets, and although no library ever has enough money to buy everything, librarians are very interested in getting suggestions from patrons. You can ask to have a particular book or books purchased and added to the library's collection. And your librarian can help you with another option: interlibrary loan. You aren't limited to the books at your own library -- your librarian can help you request books from other libraries in your area or anywhere around the country.
As for my next book, I've just finished two: one for kids, called "Horseback Almanac", and one that's about the Thoroughbred as Performance Horse. Both of those should be out sometime this year. My next big book will be out in the spring of 1999 -- that will be "Holistic Horsemanship." I'll post notes on horse-sense when each one becomes available.
In the meantime, though, there are hundreds and hundreds of books you would enjoy -- so start with Sally Swift and the others, enjoy, have fun reading, and keep me posted!
Jessica
Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE is a free, subscriber-supported electronic Q&A email newsletter which deals with all aspects of horses, their management, riding, and training. For more information, please visit www.horse-sense.org
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