In this fresh look at the fundamental skills needed when training and riding a horse, career educator and lifelong horsewoman Anne Buchanan provides crucial keys so the everyday horse enthusiast can:

Decode how the horse functions.

• Become aware of crucial technicalities of riding that are often overlooked or bypassed.
• Grow a toolbox of training ideas so that every ride has meaningful and attainable goals.
• Easily recall what to do, when, during any ride. 

With the understanding that many riders yearn to be productive with their horses, Buchanan empowers them with well-researched and time-tested answers to the question, "What should I do with my horse today?" She also addresses the building blocks that must be in place so that this question can be answered in many ways, and all of them successful. These include: 

• The "Ground Rules"--essential groundwork and communication skills.
• The six "Nonnegotiables" for good riding--Go, Get Connected, Stay Connected, Transitions, Flexion, and Half-Halt.
• Guidelines for learning on your own--how to carry on and grow your knowledge and skillset, independently when necessary.

In addition, "Study Guides" throughout the book serve as easy-to-use "formulas" so readers can reconstruct what they've learned at any time. Buchanan employs mental tools the human brain uses to make sense of information to help readers engage with the material and: 

• Familiarize them with the terminology, concepts, and skills needed for riding.
• Develop the confidence necessary to implement these concepts and skills when working with their horses.
• Help develop day-to-day and long-range plans to reach training and riding goals. 

Buchanan endeavors to translate the experience of riding into words so that readers can think like good riders think, feel what good riders feel, and do what good riders do. The result is the ability to recognize what is working, what isn't, what you need to do, and whether you achieve it--even when you are riding and training on your own. With engaging illustrations and links to helpful instructional videos throughout, this is both a go-to reference and a launchpoint for every amateur hoping to grow her horsemanship abilities while doing right by her horse.