Of Life and Horses by Ann Nyberg Bradley

I have “known” Ann Bradley (in the cyber-sense) for many years. I’ve always felt in her a kindred spirit, a person of like mind. So, it is no surprise, really, for me to be writing now that I nodded my way through her book, “Of Life and Horses: The Nature of the Horse.” I expected to enjoy the book and I did!

This is not a book about training horses in the sense of providing “how-to’s”. This book is about enlightenment and perspective. It comes from her lifetime with horses which started with an attitude of “show him who’s boss” and evolved into one of harmony and unity. To quote her introduction:

Much of the way we interact with horses is dependent upon perception, and perception is always versatile. Merely looking at another from a different point of view will change one’s perception, and thereby one’s feelings, and thereby one’s intentions, and thereby one’s actions, and thereby change the entire interactions with the other being.

Like me, Ann, does not subscribe to the typical “dominance model” of horsemanship so often seen in the world. Throughout the book she encourages us to see things from the horse’s point of view and challenges us to work with the horse’s nature for a better outcome for all.

If you like Mark Rashid’s books, you’ll enjoy Ann Bradley’s, “Of Life and Horses: The Nature of the Horse” as well. If you would like to read it, you’ll find it under Horsemanship in my Book Store.