The Natural Horse: Foundations for Natural Horsemanship by Jaime Jackson

Softcover, 192 pgs

This is the original work that started it all!
Jaime Jackson's unforgettable foundation for the natural horse care movement...

The Natural Horse is the story of Jackson's journey into wild horse country in the 1980's
to study the hooves and lifeways of the wild horse. What he found, and how he applied this information to his practice as a farrier of domestic horses is both fascinating and compelling.

What Jackson discovered is that horses do indeed have a natural order, and that knowledge can be applied in truly helpful ways to our domestic horses. In a thoughtful, systematic approach, Jackson lays out his revolutionary ideas about natural horse care in this remarkable book. In the first chapters, the reader steps through wild horse country with Jackson as guide, and is drawn into the nuances of social structure, locomotion and gaits, and the hooves. Having armed the reader with a solid foundation of the horse's natural world, Jackson then challenges the reader and nearly every major principle of modern horse care, to "apply what we have learned."

The result is both comprehensive and specific -- recommendations which promote a far greater understanding of the horse, and create more natural and healthy lifeways. As one reader noted, this book is truly a "milestone in horse culture.

Reader Review
"This book is fundamental, in multiple ways. The main topic described and discussed is the horse's hooves. Anyone who knows horses understands that hoof care is truly fundamental to the soundness of the horse. This is the best explanation I have ever seen of how nature intended horse hooves to function, and how our removal of horses from their natural environment impacts their hooves, thus their ability to move as nature meant them to. The author's deep and broad knowledge of horses is especially to be appreciated. In addition to opening our minds to a greater understanding of their natural locomotion, he also explains clearly many other aspects of horse behavior in the wild, and how their needs change as we put them in unnatural situations and make unnatural demands on them. Anyone responsible for a horse's care, rider or not, should be required to read this book. Anyone who just loves these magnificent beasts will appreciate them all the more for the enhanced understanding of them this book makes possible. If you are thinking of acquiring a horse, make this the first book you read."
-- Kahokualohi, on-line reviewer

Reader Review
"This book presents information on how to bring our domestic horses back to a natural, healthy lifestyle. Jaime (the author) takes vital information from the wild horses and uses this information to create better living conditions and practices for our horses. This book really shows how far we have brought the horse away from his natural ways, and it outlines how we can help our horses to become happier and healtier in simple, inexpensive ways. I've used this information and my horses are doing better than they've ever done. I have several of Jaime's other books also and all my horses are barefoot and completely sound and healthy." -- Tara from New Zealand