The Horse Agility Handbook

A Step-by-Step Introduction to the Sport

Vanessa Bee

$15.99
Format
Description

 

THE AMAZING THING about horses is there's one out there suited for just about every human. They come in all colors, shapes, and sizes, and we've trained them to excel at any number of riding sports that appeal to human personalities across the board. But until now, there hasn't been an internationally recognized, competitive horse sport dedicated to those horse lovers who most enjoy working their horse from the ground. With Horse Agility, that's all changing.

Over the past few decades, an evolution in how we go about training horses has encouraged horse owners to spend more time handling their horse on the ground in order to achieve good behavior, mutual trust, and a healthy partnership — before they ever think about getting in the saddle. This has created a generation of horsemen and women perfectly poised to pursue the competitive and social benefits of the sport of Horse Agility.

Think, for a moment, of the hugely popular Dog Agility classes you've no doubt seen — it is no secret they're enjoyed by countless canines and their handlers, all over the world. With great exuberance and palpable enjoyment, a dog dashes around a colorful obstacle course, following subtle direction from his handler. Usually this occurs without a leash, and without other devices designed to "persuade" him to participate. The dog completes the course because he chooses to — NOT because he is constrained, forced, whipped, prodded, or bribed.

Horse trainer Vanessa Bee, founder of the International Horse Agility Club, says that we need to change the way we think about horses and the sports and activities we so often pursue with them. She sees no reason the horse cannot enjoy your time together so much, he will choose to "play" with you—over, under, and through obstacles, without a lead rope, even when loose in a large, grassy pasture.

Hard to believe? Try it for yourself! The Horse Agility Handbook has all you need to get started in the sport, including lessons in handling and body language, directions for obstacle and course construction, and information for managing competitions and "play days."
Additional Information

Author: Vanessa Bee

Format: eBook

Page Count: 192

Illustrations: 200 color photos

ISBN: 9781646010684

By Vanessa Bee

Vanessa Bee is the founder of the International Horse Agility Club. With a training facility in England and her own method known as Positive Horsemanship, she specializes in building relationships between the horse and the handler from the ground up. Vanessa has been around horses most of her life, working in racing stables throughout her teens, then driving competitively into her early twenties when she was given an “unridable” racehorse as a wedding present. Very soon Vanessa realized that there had to be a better way than the “bigger stick, bigger bit method” of riding commonly offered, and in the late nineties Vanessa began to read, study, and work with some of the greatest horsemen of the age. She soon discovered that there are as many ways of teaching horsemanship as there are horses and handlers in the world. As a qualified teacher with a degree in education, Vanessa has used her skills to develop a series of courses that teach people of all abilities and experience levels to achieve a positive relationship with their horse. She is the author of:

The Horse Agility Handbook

3-Minute Horsemanship

Over, Under, Through: Obstacle Training for Horses

Rainy Day Horsemanship

View details