Horse, Follow Closely: Native American Horsemanship

I've been on a bend, reading as many books on horses that I can find so I can understand my horse, and this book has turned out to be one of my favorites. There's learning about horses, and there's making a spiritual connection, Gawani Pony Boy does that latter. He teaches a rider who to think like horse, rather than thinking of a horse as human and making them act in ways that humans act(two-leggeds as Pony Boy would say). While this might sound trite, we humans try to put human traits onto our animals all the time, from dressing up our dogs, to expecting a horse to react to our vocal commands while our bodies are saying something different.Pony Boy explains how horses are herd animals and they need a strong, competent and wise leader to follow, and if that's not you, the horse will not respect you. Pony Boy tells us how to explain things to a horse in their language. How to observe your horse to see his likes and dislikes, things no one can tell you because maybe no one else knows. He explains how the Natives discovered horses and within a couple of hundred years, became horsemen that were unparalleled in the world.What I loved most about this book is how Pony Boy shows the reader how you can become 'one' with your horse, getting him to move where you want with nothing more than focus. I loved how he explained why horses move to one side when you shift your weight. Pony Boy suggests you put a child on your shoulders to feel what a horse feels when weight it shifted from one side the other.I could tell that this man has a great love and respect for his brother the horse, and it made me understand these magnificent beings a little more. Horses were not just beasts of burdens to the Natives, but a spiritual partner. Besides the wonderful lessons, the photos in this book are just breathtaking, even in my Kindle Paperwhite, that I just had to see them on my IPad. The photos are even more amazing in color. I can even tell what some of the markings painted on these ponies mean now after reading this book. If you love horses, you'll love this book.

There are many simple yet important exercises outlined that I am anxious to try with my horse and hopefully build our relationship even more. I doubt I will successfully be able to do the bareback mount but the come, follow closely exercise will probably be achieved. Definitely worth the read.

Wanted a reference book of indigenous people and horses to use for a mural at a ranch. This book not only has beautiful photos but also has the author’s techniques of calm training and interaction with a horse. So glad I found this!

Very good book about Native American horse training methods.

She loved the book 📖

I gave this as a gift to a dear friend who is always looking for ideas to improve her horsemanship. While there were few really original ideas (or maybe these were the original ideas on horsemanship in the Americas), the photography and writing was inspiring. It's also a nice book to have in a collection to remind us that many cultures adore horses.

So glad to recover this excellent review of how Native Americans developed a close, trusting relarionship with horses. Had an original copy, but lost it in a house fire two decades ago.

I did buy this used. It is just like new. The photos are amazing and if you are into natural horsemanship this is for you.