Pieh Tool

Stubbs and Clayton

Manual and DVD

This is a step-by-step manual and DVD showing exercises that mobilize the joints and engage the muscles used to round and stabilize the horse's neck, back and pelvis during athletic activities. These exercises will improve your horse's posture, self-carriage and balance. The exercises are performed from the ground and do not require sophisticated equestrian skills or special equipment. Laminated pages keep book in good shape while working in the barn!

Morgan Ford and Heintzberger
Forward by Kanre O'Connor

Renowned for their amazing athleticism and unparalleled work ethic, and famed for their "great heart" and willingness to go the extra mile, off-the-track Thoroughbreds (OTTBs) have proven to be the ultimate equine partner in a host of disciplines: dressage, eventing, hunter/jumpers, trail riding-even barrel racing! Now discover all you need to know to find the right OTTB and give him the solid educational foundation he needs to excel in a new career, whether as a highly trained competitor, pleasure mount, or companion animal.

Author and veterinarian Nancy Love reveals this information in a concise and highly readable format. Her text helps the reader put each conformation characteristic into perspective. Under each chapter are discussed different physical characteristics, such as "Short Back" or "Hollow Behind Withers." Each characteristic is fully explained on two facing pages. On the left is the text. This includes a description, lists breeds and activities most affected, performance consequences and training strategies. Dr. Loving concludes with a list of jobs best suited for this kind of horse.

McDonald and Jaffer

Olympic medalist Debbie McDonald and her fabulous partner, Brentina, have thrilled crowds the world over with their stunning performances. In her new book, Riding Through, Debbie describes her system for success in dressage and relates her life story:

"There is more than one reason that I call this book Riding Through. Of course, first and foremost, riding through is a dressage term, something you strive for as you attempt to get your horse on the aids and moving back-to-front. You have achieved it when everything the two of you do together is one fluid motion, the ultimate of coordination and expression, in which the horse is maximizing his assets. It's all about harmony and correctness, summing up the meaning of dressage in a single short phrase. But "riding through" has other meanings for me as well. I've learned to ride through hard times, on and off a horse, when I thought about giving up. We all have to learn about riding through, because that's the only way we will arrive at our destination, whatever it may be."

Harris

Not all horses move equally well.  At the heart of this book is what is natural and common to all breeds.  Lifelong horsewoman Susan E. Harris covers the following topics:  basic structure and anatomy, the cycle of moement, gaits and transitions, balance and movement, poor movement, flexion, bending and lateral movement, conformation and movement, and shoeing and movement.

160 pages, 7-1/2 x 9-1/2 (Hardcover)

Ward

Sailing over fences is one of the most thrilling things you will ever do on horseback and Lesley Ward wants to help you accomplish that goal - safely and correctly. Her complete jumping program, combined with some serious enthusiasm and discipline on your part, will have you trotting over poles in no time, improving your skills, and working every day toward bigger, more challenging obstacles.

Photographs, diagrams, charts, and Ward's friendly, encouraging voice teach you the fundamentals of safe jumping - from properly positioning your body in the saddle to jumping combination fences.

Jackson

Jaime Jackson has been a professional farrier and horseman for 22 years. But it was over 10 years ago that he headed alone into America's wild horse country, hoping to find a humane, "natural" model for domestic horse care. Frustrated by the way horses are often mistreated by their owners, Jackson felt much of this resulted from misunderstanding the nature of the horse. What Jackson discovered is that horses do indeed have a natural order, and that knowledge can be applied in truly helpful ways to our domestic horses. In a thoughtful, systematic approach, Jackson lays out his revolutionary ideas about natural horse care in this remarkable book. In the first chapters, the reader steps through wild horse country with Jackson as guide, and is drawn into the nuances of social structure, locomotion and gaits, and the hooves-which Jackson states with authority, "are terribly misunderstood in the domestic horse world." Having armed the reader with a solid foundation of the horse's natural world, Jackson then challenges the reader and nearly every major principle of modern horse care, to "apply what we have learned." The final chapters demonstrate step-by-step what horsemen
and horsewomen can and should do.

From hoof care and balanced riding in concert with the horse's natural abilities, to new forms of communication and humane care, The Natural Horse challenges conventional horse care on every front. First published in 1992 and just re-released in a handsome new edition, The Natural Horse is a must for those interested in applying natural methods to the care of their
horses.

Hoverson

THE PACKER'S FIELD MANUAL - FEATURING THE DECKER PACK SADDLE - With photographic illustrations by Roger Inghram. The Packer's Field Manual is in a big format for ease in taking it into the field. Written by the recognized "top expert" in the country on packing on mules or horses with a Decker Pack Saddle, this book is intended to provide "state of the art" basic instruction on the subject. From the selection of pack stock on to the basics of Decker saddles, pads and tack, author Bob Hoverson takes you through the entire packing process step-by-step - using text and photographs to show the process. He also covers, chapter-by-chapter, the various hitches used in Decker packing, ropes, knots and splicing, caring for your tack, and other useful information on such subjects as feeding, shoeing, vaccinations and worming, dental care, stock first aid, and dealing with brand and health inspections. Hoverson also covers in detail one of his favorite subjects - the use of equipment and techniques so the wilderness horse traveler will leave only tracks and make low impact on the land. 186 black & white photographs, numerous illustrations.

Elser & Brown

Jammed with good pictures, illustrations, and advice on just about anything you'd want to know about packing in and camping.  For those who yearn to pack in the wilderness country of the West, either on their own mules and horses or those of a professional packer, here is a book that takes the mystery out of backcountry pack string travel.  By teaching you the tricks of the trade, professional outfitter Smoke Elser show how your trip will be easier and more enjoyable by knowing more about the animals used and why, and how they carry their loads as they do.

Bennett

Equus Reference Guide.  Would you like to have X-ray vision?  Dr. Deb Bennett helps you take a more informed and educated look at the conformation of a horse.  This book provides:  new insights into equine structure and its effects on movement, soundness and performance; offers guidelines to examine the suitability of horses for various activities; explores the relationship of various body parts and how they work together; provides the foundation for minimizing conformational limitations and maximizing your horse's performance, whatever his breed or sport.

Bennett

Equus Refernce Guide.  Dr. Deb Bennett challenges you to learn to see your horse's build and to understand the way he moves.  This volume focuses on the horse's back, neck and forelimbs.  In it you'll find:  More than 100 photos of horses of many different breeds, making this one of the most densely informative books on horse conformation ever published; Lab exercises drawn from Dr. Deb's files which offer practical help in evaluating your own horse; New insights into neck and back structure and function; Simple methods for detecting horses with lame backs; Comprehensive, easy to use methods for analyzing from legs.

Bennett

Equus Reference Guide.  How much power does your hourse pack?  Judging horses goes more than skin deep.  Dr. Deb Bennett shows you the bones and muscles on the inside that determines conformation on the outside.  In this third volume in the series, Dr. Deb discusses the horse at both ends -- hindquarters and head.  Here you'll find:  More than 100 photos or horses of many different breeds, making this one of the most densely informative books on horse conformation ever published.  Lab exercises drawn from Dr. Deb's files, which offer practical help in evaluating your own horse.  The secrest - and the special requirements - of the horse's unique hind limb stay system.  Comprehensive, easy to use methods for analyzing hind legs.

Burns

This unique, user-friendly, A-to-Z guide to the horse world covers breeds, tack, facilities, equine care and management, health and safety issues, riding styles and disciplines, shows, stable lore, horse professionals and what they do, and more.

Dutson

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO IMAGINE the history of North America without the horse. For more than 500 years, horses have served as workers and warhorses, as companions and partners. In this first-ever comprehensive tribute, equestrian author and expert Judith Dutson captures the spirit of these noble animals and provides a wealth of information about each breed's particular history, special uses, conformation standards, and much more. Handsome, full-color action photographs and explanatory drawings enliven every page.

This 96-breed panorama covers North America's remarkable diversity of horse breeds, from the popular and well known to the rare and obscure.

Heuschmann

German rider and equine veterinarian Dr. Gerd Heuschmann is well-known in dressage circles-admired for his plain speaking regarding what he deems the incorrect and damaging training methods commonly employed by riders and trainers involved in competition today. Here, he presents an intelligent and thought provoking exploration of both classical and "modern" training methods, including "hyperflexion" (also known as Rollkur), against a practical backdrop of the horse's basic anatomy and physiology.

Bryant

Dressage is a sport of precision and harmony whose participants aspire to meet a rigorous standard of perfection. The classical ballet of horsemanship, dressage is a graceful dance between horse and rider that demands flawless communication, coordination, and timing. Myriad details, when done well, and seamlessly combined, appear effortless and make the horse look his most beautiful.