The Horse Behavior Problem Solver: All Your Questions Answered about How Horses Think, Learn, and React

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Horses are big animals, and the humans who work with and ride them are relatively puny. How do we get the proper conduct from an uncooperative horse? How do we stop potentially dangerous behavior? And, ultimately, how do we establish a healthy relationship between horse and rider? Jahiel, an equine behaviorist and lecturer, answers these questions and many more in this excellent guide to equine behavior modification. Drawn extensively from the author's online newsletter Horse Sense, the information is presented in a question-and-answer format divided into sections covering specific aspects of horse conduct. Jahiel chooses questions to answer based on their broad applicability and provides extensive answers based on a vast knowledge of equine behavior, both innate (nature) and human-caused (nurture). This comprehensive book is an excellent choice for inclusion in the equestrian section, even for libraries with small collections. Nancy Bent
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
What can be done with a horse that's hard to bridle, won't stand for a new farrier, or kicks while being ridden? Why would a sweet horse suddenly turn mean? How can an owner calm a horse that becomes a nervous wreck at shows? And what should be done if a gelding attacks a mare?

Anyone who has spent much time around horses knows that horses can be shy, frightened, anxious, uncooperative, and even aggressive. But that does not mean that the horse owner should accept unwanted behavior. In The Horse Behavior Problem Solver, equine behavior expert Jessica Jahiel offers proven solutions to common horse behavior problems.

Jahiel explains how a horse thinks, how it learns, and why it acts the way it does. She identifies the types of bad habits that are the result of the horse being mishandled by humans. And she helps owners and riders understand that what may look like bad behavior to a human is actually, from the horse's point of view, a perfectly reasonable response. The trick is for the human to realize which behaviors are instinctive and which are learned. At the same time, people need to learn what can be done to prevent bad habits from forming and how to discourage or eliminate a horse's existing patterns of unwanted behavior.

For this eminently readable handbook, Jahiel has adopted a friendly question-and-answer format. Each question includes a detailed real-life case study. The author then identifies the source of the trouble and offers the owner or rider practical, proven techniques that can help solve the problem.

This book is truly comprehensive. First, Jahiel explains how to establish a healthy human-horse relationship. Then, she moves on to the problems, ranging from horses that don't like to be groomed or handled, to horses that regard a visit from the vet as a traumatic experience. And because the situations presented in this book are common to all horses and horselovers, Jahiel's advice is applicable to every breed of horse, and to Western as well as English riders.


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Horses have a language and a logic all their own, but humans can learn to understand what they are saying. Using a question-and-answer format and drawing on real-life case studies, equine behavior expert Jessica Jahiel, Ph.D., explains how a horse thinks and learns, why it acts as it does, and how you should respond.


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