Media Critique: Horse Senses

Media Critique:? HORSE SENSES. BY SUSAN MCBANE. 2012.? MANSON PUBLISHING. THIEME MEDICAL PUBLISHERS INC., WWW.THIEME.COM 800-782-3488. $34.99.

The ability to understand a horse is what we all strive to perfect. It is, after all, the very essence of horsemanship. Our horses teach us, as we teach them, and each day our awareness improves. Our reactions become almost robotic, as we interact. But would a deeper understanding of how a horse sees, smells, feels, hears and tastes?the five senses?give us happier, less-stressed horses’? Susan McBane says yes, and she wrote this book to fill what she sees as a gap between equine anatomy books and general equestrian books.

It contains many gems of insight. you’ll find yourself saying, ?Yes, I know that? followed by, ?Oh, that’s why.? For instance: We all know that school horses become dead-sided sooner or later. Instructors tell us the experienced school horse ?learns? to ignore constant inconsistent leg commands, and we may be told to go to the whip as an aid to the leg. In reality, the horse can’t help it. That constant overstimulation of nerve endings actually deadens the area, so he doesn’t feel it as much.

Bottom Line: If you’re a real student of horsemanship, this book will increase your depth of understanding without over-doing it on anatomy and physiology. you’ll finish it thinking more, well, like a horse.

?Best Suited For: Those who crave insight into your horse’s natural behavoir and how that can improve communcation. you’ll find fascinating tidbits about equine mutual grooming, stall design, trailering problems, managing feeding time and more.

?you’ll Be Disappointed If: You don’t want to study while you read the book or you dislike British spelling, like ?behaviour.?

?Lee Foley, Contributing Writer

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