Book Description
Conformation concerns body structure and anatomy. In this comprehensive volume, Heather Smith Thomas explains how conformation relates to function and what to look for when evaluating a horse. She teaches the reader to see beyond a horse's physical beauty to identify desirable attributes and potential faults, and with copious illustrations and explanations, trains the eye to recognize the hallmarks of soundness, durability, trainability, and athletic potential.
Thomas begins with an in-depth discussion of equine anatomy and the importance of balance and proportion. She also explains how to detect "heart," that indefinable quality that distinguishes a horse from his peers and compels him to excel. The book concludes with real-world applications of the principles of good conformation, including helping a horse succeed by matching him with the right job and what the conformation of the aging horse can tell you.
Horses with good conformation move fluidly, experience less wear and tear on joints, and are more apt to stay fit and sound during a long life of service. Whether you're buying your first horse, choosing breeding stock, or simply want to learn more about your equine companion, The Horse Conformation Handbook will help you understand horses better than ever before.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book.......2007-04-06
This book is wonderful. It really goes into detail and there is more information here than I will ever need.
Equine enthusiast.......2007-01-04
The Handbook is an exhaustive overview of equine conformation relative to athletic ability and stamina. It also appears to be a 'halter class' juding guide. There is an exhaustive amount of information which can make it difficult for the reader to maintain focus on what is an acceptable vs. unacceptable deviation from perfect conformation.
The text is well written and the examples well illustrated, however, in order to be absolutely useful, the reader needs the ability to summarize, overview, review, and focus.
It would be helpful if the author would re-state throughout that her text is written for the 'perfect' specimen and establish that a stated percentage of horses aren't perfect. Having done that, insert a summary on conformation points which are not acceptable under any circumstance; which confirmation points are relatively acceptable; and whether any combination of confirmation points will never be found all in one horse.
It is THE book to have on Conformation.......2006-12-05
This book is one of the most excellent to have if you want to understand conformation, and there are only a handful on the subject even worth having. I am usually disappointed with the quality and quanity of information in books on this subject and only rarely do I find one that is actually worth buying and this is one of them. It rivals the quality of Dr. Deb Bennett's "Principles of Conformation", usually regarded as the industry's standard on this subject, and it touches on some things that Bennett's books do not. I recommend both equally as they compliment each other very well.
This author is a very experienced horse woman and author who has written several books on equines and many, many articles for various magazines. I've been familiar with her work for years and she is a thorough author.
This book hits on equine anatomy and it does a good job of it. You have to have a handle on anatomy before you can understand conformation and this books takes the pains to explain the skeleton, the muscles, and even equine teeth before it really delves into explaining faults, and it does really delve into faults and it explains and illustrates them well.
The Book is divided into 3 parts:
Part 1. Anatomy and Principles of Conformation
2. Basic Anatomy
3. Head and Neck Conformation
4. The Teeth
5. Chest Conformation
6. Back Conformation
7. Foreleg Conformation
8. Hindquarter Conformation
9. Foot Conformation
Part II. Evaluating a Horse
10. Body Proportions
11. Body Angles
12. Height
13. How a Horse Moves
14. Athletic Ability
15 Type
16. Soundness
17. The Senior Horse
Part III. Appendixes
A. Applying What You've Learned
B. Training Your Eye: Six Case Studies
This book takes you over anatomy, into faults and their pathology and then it has a section devoted to illustrated critiques of 6 different horses. This is a book to have if you want to know what Equine Conformation is all about. It is concise, VERY well-illustrated, and very thorough.
Excellent Book :)).......2006-11-14
Lots of diagrams and explanations to go with them. It contains information on every part of the equine body. Good for beginners and for the more experienced rider. Definitely a book that you can go back to time and time again.
I also bought Horse Conformation - Sturcture, Soundness and Performance, which has more photographs of good and bad conformation traits, whereas The Horse Conformation Handbook has more diagrams. Both are excellent references if you are learning about equine conformation.
A discussion of equine anatomy leads to an overview of ideas of conformation and how to evaluate a horse.......2005-11-07
Heather Smith Thomas' The Horse Conformation Handbook is for those who would show their horse, focusing on conformation and fitness and how it relates to function and a horse's overall a desirable attributes. A discussion of equine anatomy leads to an overview of ideas of conformation and how to evaluate a horse. Author Thomas has worked with and written about horses for over forty years: whether you're buying a horse, showing one, or training your eye to spot problems, The Horse Confirmation Handbook is a fine reference.
Customer Reviews:
Good book.......2007-07-28
I got this book to go along with another one to aide me in studying for an equine massage therapy course I'm about to take. This book not only has fantastic discriptions of exactly why a certain muscle is so important, but also has some really good illustrations and basically breaks down a certain joint and/or muscle in a mechanical way to really show how they work together. Great book and very decent price.
For the horse owner!.......2003-12-16
This book is of value for the horse owner or enthusiast to gain an understanding of the mechanics of movement for the horse. It will help those who may have concerns that could be answered with this knowledge. It is of limited use for an artist looking for good muscle in motion illustrations. If you are an artist looking for more information on this subject and you have already aquired adequate reference material you may want to add this to your collection but the price is a bit high for that purpose. If you own a horse and want to understand what is going on with the mechanics in movement this book may very well be worth the price.
For the horse owner!.......2003-12-16
This book is of value for the horse owner or enthusiast to gain an understanding of the mechanics of movement for the horse. It will help those who may have concerns that could be answered with this knowledge. It is of limited use for an artist looking for good muscle in motion illustrations. If you are an artist looking for more information on this subject and you have already aquired adequate reference material you may want to add this to your collection but the price is a bit hight for that purpose. If you own a horse and want to understand what is going on with the mechanics in movement this book may very well be worth the price.
Product Description
Originally published in German and previously published in English as the Anatomy of Riding, this new translation of the classic work provides riders with the anatomical basis for correct riding. Working from this anatomical perspective, the authors, who in addition to being father and son are both medical doctors, discuss the individual requirements of riding theory. Many of their conclusions may seem surprising to some readers, such as the notion that it is physically impossible to "brace the lower back" as we are so often advised by instructors. A fascinating work, not to be missed by serious riders. Required Reading for the United States Dressage Federation's Instructor Certification Program.
Customer Reviews:
A classic must have!!.......2007-09-12
A classic book on dressage. It gives the reader an in depth look at how to effectively ride a dressage horse through the insights of the human anatomy. I've learned more about the fine details of dressage through this book than years of riding lessons!!! The vocabulary can be technical at times but push on and the end rewards will be well worth it.
Book Description
Based on Peter Goody's international best-seller, Horse Anatomy, artist Maggie Raynor has prepared a labeling and coloring book for equine students to enable this complex subject to be tackled in an enjoyable manner.
Customer Reviews:
An addition to the literature on dressage.......2004-11-17
In combination with veterinarian Sara Wyche's other volumes, this book has substantial information about the horse's back. Beautifully illustrated, this volume is certain to be helpful to some riders. I gave it two stars instead of three for two reasons.
First, although the author knows her discipline of dressage, she (or the editor) selected a cover illustration showing a horse with its head badly behind the vertical in a double bridle with the reins tight and the rider's shoulders tilted to the right. Riding "broken at the waist" interferes with aids of the seat that interact with the horse's back. First impressions count! Riding with the horse's neck quite short is common in the schooling and competition arenas. However, it places the horse's esophagus and windpipe in a position where the animal is close to choking. Anatomy of the head would show just how close the fit is between the hyoid apparatus and the breathing/swallowing mechanism. Further, there are critical connections (the "circle of aids") with the muscle system that links the hyoid apparatus, tongue and jaw with the sternum-rib cage anatomy. It is especially useful to know how to employ the seat/leg aids to affect the muscular girdle that attaches the front legs in connection with the anatomy of the neck and head. In that case, a rider may use the knowledge to gain the feel, the touch-skill, to ride more with the aids of the lower body and less with the hand: the hand "receives the effects of the legs and seat." So as a classical rider and dressage judge, I am uneasy about the tradition in which this volume is written.
Second, the illustrations are informative and beautiful, but as drawings they reflect what the author thinks is happening in the very complex interaction between horse and rider. A computer model would have been helpful as additional material, as its modeled imagery reflects joint angle rotations, joint anatomy and bone lengths as they occur during movement. Drawings, even ones as nice as the ones in this book, have subtle (to the rider or reader) distortions. If these are neglected in practice, it may well mean the difference between comfort and discomfort for the horse, to whom small clearances in anatomy may have important meaning.
I would have liked to see more connection with the biomechanics of the classical tradition in this volume as well as the combination of veterinary knowledge with digital models of motion based on video analysis. This review reflects my interdisciplinary interest in the influence of digital media used to update the pool of information about the biomechanics of dressage.
I recommend the tradition of classical equitation of the "spiral seat" explained in the Schusdziarra father and son volume "An Anatomy of Riding."
Customer Reviews:
I give this 5 stars but would give it 10..........2005-11-17
This is the platinum standard for the spiral seat that is the biomechanical basis for dressage. The independent seat (spiral seat) is the origin of harmonious interaction between horse and rider.
These two doctors offer clear explanations of why a rider's seat "goes with" the horse if the spiral seat is employed. They make careful distinctions between learning natural motions of gaits from the horse by relaxing in the positions they describe and then being able to "go with" or enhance the performance of the horse with that "knowledge of the body." Drawings are clear but unfortunuately, the photos are not of high quality: that is the only drawback of this wonderful book. The Schuszdziarra father and son pair are also authors of "Reitergesprache: Der Weg zum unabhängigen Sitz" (Conversations with Riders: The Way to An Independent Seat) currently only in German, which is a follow-up volume. If enough people in the English-speaking world request it, perhaps it can be translated into English. It would make a perfect addition to the original volume.
As a dressage judge, actively competing rider and biologist, I wholeheartedly recommend this volume. Get it. Memorize it and never lock your hips with your gluteus maximus by turning out your toes. Practice its exercises to free your shoulders and hands from the actions of your lower body (independent seat). Your horse and you will be the more content for your efforts.
A MUST READ for the serious rider..........2003-01-29
I had ridden for years and did not understand what I was doing wrong until I read this book. I am a surgeon so the anatomy was not difficult, but might be daunting for the uninitiated. It is invaluable. Now my trainer says "you are riding like we do". Many try to describe the correct way to ride but none succeed like this father/son physician team. Get a copy if you can...
Excellent, thorough, not for the faint of brain.......2001-06-09
This book put me in the ribbons in equitation classes on a backyard pinto, but it's not an easy book to read. This is a book about the ANATOMY of the human being as it affects riding. It took me about an hour a page. The authors are dressage riders and physicians, they do not dumb the subject down. There are pictures, but you must concentrate to learn. I can remember the moment I applied my understanding to the posting trot. My instructor exclaimed "Two years of lessons and you've finally got it!" I never told him it wasn't his lessons. For difficulty of language, this is an adult's book.
Book Description
Anyone who wants to care for and ride a horse well, needs to learn a few basics about anatomy. This guide explains the most important facts about anatomy in an easy and understandable way and helps the horse owner to communicate with their veterinary surgeon. The anatomical facts are explained and shown using text and large graphics.
Customer Reviews:
Useless horse anatomy.......2007-01-28
I am a Licensed Massage therapist for humans. I am trying to use my human therapy knowledge to include horses. I wanted to study anatomy and physiology of horses to make the transition smoother.
I bought this book to further my understanding of equine anatomy.
This book is a joke. Not only does it not help anyone interested in knowing the correct medical terms for structures in the body. She tries to stay away from technical medical expressions whenever possible.
Like calling the tuberosity of the ischium the "seat bone". And the femur as the upper thigh bone. With the condyle of the femur labeled as the "femur."
So the I don't agree with the easy to understand and comprehensive statement on the front of the book.
I thought it would be a quick reference quide. I was wrong. So if you're looking for something comprehensive. I would look elsewhere.
Average customer rating:
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Realize Your Horse's True Potential
Lesley Skipper
Manufacturer: Trafalgar Square
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 157076252X |
Book Description
A groundbreaking book that enables horse and rider to overcome athletic limitations through correct care and positive energy, it teaches the rider, owner, and trainer how to improve the general ability and performance of any horse, regardless of age, conformation, or athletic ability. The emphasis throughout is on what can be achieved through correct care, training, and riding, with a special focus on how to acknowledge your horse’s limitations and make the most of his talents. Through a studied evaluation of competitive aspirations and personal expectations, the author shows how owners, riders, and trainers can affect their horse’s capabilities, helping him to overcome his physical limitations and enhancing their own enjoyment with a happier, healthier mount. A fascinating, immensely practical book that will benefit all equestrians.
Average customer rating:
- really more of a physiology book more than anatomy
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Essential Equine Studies
Julie Brega
Manufacturer: J. A. Allen & Company, Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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The Horse Conformation Handbook
ASIN: 0851318932 |
Book Description
Anatomy and Physiology is part of a series of textbooks prepared for college students on equine degree courses.
Customer Reviews:
really more of a physiology book more than anatomy.......2005-10-08
I purchased this book searching for another anatomy book to add to my collection, but was disappointed to find that it is about 90% physiology. I feel it is incorrectly titled as an anatomy book, but seems to be very thorough in physiology. This book will appeal more to those studying for an in-depth equine science or veterinary degree, and not for an equine artist or layperson just interested in furthering their knowledge of equine anatomy.
Average customer rating:
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Anatomy of Riding
H Schusdziarra
Manufacturer: BREAKTHROUGH+PUBLICATIONS (NY)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VVMTVQ |
Average customer rating:
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Soul Searching: Meditations for Your Spiritual Journey
Debra Klingsporn
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson Publishers
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ASIN: 0785277188 |
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Horse Conformation: Structure, Soundness, and Performance
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