No big fan base for the Pony Club handbooks? I looked at them when I was young but they were so Brit-centric and I never turned to them again.
Who really needed the Pony Club books when “School for Young Riders” by Jane Marshall Dillon was in many school libraries or public libraries? And then there were the books by Margaret Cabell Self. The used US Cavalry Manuals were floating around the country too. Good old fashioned cavalry based horsemanship, both for riding and caring for the horse.
When I got my first horse my riding instructor then recommended the “Top Form Book of Horse Care”, a paperback book, full of useful information with scientific backing. That was in 1970. My instructor was a BHSI, full Instructor, graduate of Morven Park. The Pony Club books were fine but the Top Form book had the more recent scientifically backed advice an was considerably cheaper for her students. The same lady also recommended “My Horses, My Teachers” by Podhajski, a book I reread this year with great enjoyment.
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Without a doubt: :
Centered Riding - Sally Swift
True Horsemanship through Feel - Bill Dorrance,
I also like Centered Riding 2. It’s like going to a CR clinic .It has a huge variety of exercises to implement the basics and I remember many of them from clinics. .
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gad, I can’t remember which of these books (if any) I actually read. I read some of them, but…well…
I put together a pony club library for our club, so the library had upwards of 70 volumes. I sure didn’t read them all.
The one I remember being very useful, tho, was “How to be your own Vet…Sometimes.” Lots of good info of what to look for, when not to panic (and by inference, when TO panic), that sort of thing. That one I got two copies of, so I’d have one in the PC library, and one at home for my own use.
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I read that once not too many years before GM was exposed in the whole MeToo era (like, I want to say maybe 1-2 years before he published his autobiography) and I honestly think it was overrated. He does not write well. His Practical Horseman columns, by the time I was reading the magazine in the early 2010s when he’d “mellowed out” re. rider weight, were solid enough but anything longer than a magazine column and it became clear he wasn’t a writer: overly wordy, dry (I expect dry up to a point from a horse book but), etc. Bill Steinkraus’s books were much better written (which, I mean, hello, he worked as an editor for Simon & Schuster or some other book publisher if I have my “random facts about notable equestrians” correct.) though as I read most of the horse books while just taking lessons years ago and since then haven’t really ridden in years, it’s really tricky for me to speak to how useful a given book is.
I have a copy of Centered Riding but by the time I read it I wasn’t actively riding anymore sooooo…
I’m gonna have to go look at my shelf of horse books to see what I have exactly (not a huge collection just one shelf on a bookcase.)
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For biographies the Jack LeGoff autobiography/biography (I believe it was a mostly-complete autobiography but LeGoff died before he finished it? Something like that) was interesting.
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I loved her one book we had in our school library when I was a kid. The Complete Book of Horses and Ponies. One day I’ll pick up a copy, just because.
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Speaking of: I would love to have a similar resource with exercises and “games” for young horses-- groundwork only or just under saddle. Does anyone know of any?
The USET Book of Riding (not easy to find as it’s fairly old, published in the late '60s/early ‘70s I think) is an interesting look at equestrian sports’ history.
Two Brains One Aim by Ralph Hill is my new favorite and also Dressage between the Jumps by Jane Savoie. I also like Training the Event Horse and Rider by Jimmy Wofford, I like his humor and the descriptions and instructions are easy to understand.
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I had that same book at one time when I was first starting out.
The only PC book I have is for the D ratings. I suppose they come in handy for what to study if you’re going for a rating but all that information is on the ponyclub website.
