Welcome!

     This is the homepage of what I hope will become one of your favourite websites. The site, currently under construction, is UK-based but I shall try to make it appealing to English-speaking horse enthusiasts the world over.

     Although best known to the equestrian public as an author of books and a magazine editor, I also teach classical riding and am a trained Shiatsu with Horses therapist. I have an HNC in Equine Science and Management, hold The Classical Riding Club Gold Award and am listed in its Trainers Directory.

     The purpose of this site will be to publish reliable, up-to-date and easily understood information on horse management, veterinary topics and equine science (brought down to earth), riding, schooling and training, behaviour and general interest features, all of which will concentrate more on horses than horsepeople. It will appeal to anyone, expert or novice, who has a deep interest in and concern for horses. The site will be frequently changed and updated and be simple to use so I hope that you will find it informative, interesting, helpful and enjoyable. If you want information you can trust and understand, presented in a way which neither blinds you with science nor talks down to you, this is the site for you.

     I shall also be providing information on my own and other authors' books, and shall be writing books and booklets which will be available only from this site. For now, I want to tell you about two groups to join, two books to buy and a useful, free booklet.

     The group is The Equine Behaviour Forum. It is an international, voluntary, non-profit-making group which acts as a forum for the exchange of opinions and information on equine behaviour, and aims to advance the sympathetic management of equines by promoting a better understanding of the horse's mind. If you haven't come across it yet, visit its website at www.gla.ac.uk for full information.

     There is more and more interest in classical riding now and, if this applies to you, a very helpful and interesting - and international - group you would probably like to join is The Classical Riding Club, founded and headed by classical teacher and author, Sylvia Loch. It publishes a quarterly journal and puts on regular events of all kinds. Visit the club's website at www.classicalriding.co.uk

     The first book I recommend is The Horse Morse Code by David Dodwell. This groundbreaking book sets out a genuinely new, logical and simple system of riding which I find is easy for horses to understand and co-operate with, even if schooled by other methods. The Foreword to the book is by Herr Christoph Hess, Director of the 'German National Equestrian Federation', who, along with other eminent trainers, praised it and commented that he found nothing in it that would not agree with the classical theory of training. Privately published, The Horse Morse Code is available from Amazon or for £16.95 inc. p&p, direct from Cherwell Books.

     Everyone needs a reliable, up-to-date veterinary book and I strongly recommend The Healthy Horse by Janet L. Eley, BVSc, MRCVS. It covers everything you need to know to keep your horse in optimum condition with much information not found in other veterinary books. Split into four parts - Your Horse's Health, Common Ailments, Equine Nursing and Veterinary Procedures - it leaves you in no doubt about how to monitor and care for your horse's health, when to call a vet. and what to do in emergencies. As a horse owner and rider herself, the author fully understands the problems horse owners have. Published by Quiller Press (Swan Hill imprint), the book is available from Amazon and from other good retailers.

     A useful, large booklet available free from ADAS is entitled 'Equine Industry Welfare Guidelines Compendium For Horses, Ponies And Donkeys'. It covers a wide range of topics from management and legislation to codes of practice and useful addresses. It is well worth ordering from your local ADAS office or from direct from ADAS.

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