Discovering Natural Horsemanship: A Beginner's Odyssey

I really enjoyed this book. I've ridden, trained and bred horses for most of 46 years. My husband of 7 years had not been exposed to them till he met me. I wanted to see what it was like to be just starting to learn about horses and horsemanship. The author gave a birds eye view of just that. His writing style is very easy to follow with enough humor to make it a very enjoyable read. I would recommend to anyone wanting to learn a better, kinder way with horses or for someone just getting started with them.

Tom Moats does an entertaining job describing the emotional and physical journey from the beginning of the natural horsemanship path. He is both amusing and informative and his empathy for the horse shines through his narrative. He begins with shopping for a horse and his first purchase and continues through pasturing, farriers, vets and emergencies, training and clinics and all of the things that a new horse owner has lived through. He weaves his story in a flowing style that leaves the reader wanting more. This is my first book by this author but it will not be my last.

Natural Horsemanship has apparently been around for quite a few years now. Being new to the world of horses I just learned about this type of training a few short months ago. Mr. Moates gives a wonderfully insightful, and often amusing, introduction to the natural training method. Since I am new to horses this book was perfect for me. Anyone with a love of horses will enjoy this book. And it may inspire you, no matter what your age, to get involved with horses. This book never gets bogged down or tedious. It is fun!

A wonderful read for anyone whether you're a horse person or not. Life lessons for everyone. Mr. Moates is a kind, gentle soul on a life journey.

What an excellent book. I donated it to a library.

This book is pitiful. Sincerely. I have done natural horsemanship for years with 4 horses. i learned from Parelli dvd's and it is easy if done right. This guy didn't really study or do his homework and didn't get very far either so its value is to teach a beginner to STUDY and DO the homework...step by step. Its not rocket science..it IS natural. Set yourself up for success and buy books that will teach more

I love all of Toms Books and find it extremely valuable to have my students to read them. I believe the very experienced horseman and the very inexperienced horseman can find value in these books. I have been teaching, training and starting horses for the past 15 years and ridding for well over 35 years. If you think there is a "how to" step by step book out there to train every horse then this book isn't for you. If you think all horses are individuals and you are looking to add to your ever expanding "bag of tricks" to help a horse then you will really enjoy Toms books.

I have been only riding and training using natural horsemanship techniques for many years now but it was really refreshing to go back and look at a beginners perspective. I remembered the doubt and frustration that I had initially felt so many years ago when I first started. The author was really honest about his feelings and also his mistakes. He admitted that there were times that he didn't put in enough time with horse--one of the stepping stones to a great relationship and progress with your horse.The part that I found most interesting was the author's opinion about riding with other non-natural horsemanship people. He had been told that eventually it becomes very difficult to ride with people using more traditional, old-school techniques. However, he hadn't found that and really enjoyed riding with one man in particular who didn't claim to use natural horsemanship at all. After four years of intensely learning "natural horsemanship" techniques, I do in fact find it difficult to ride with other people. I don't like the tools they use (harsh bits, flash nose bands, etc) or the techniques they use, (whipping their horse into a trailer or pushing their horse forward so strongly into the bit that the horse feels trapped and rears, etc). Now that it has been at least seven years since i first fell in love with natural horsemanship, I really try to find others to ride with you are practicing the same methods.Anyway, this book is really interesting and a great read.