Book Review

Title: "Rick Lamb's Horse Smarts for the Busy Rider: Insights in Small Bites from The Horse Show Minute Radio Program"

Author: Rick Lamb

Publisher: The Lyons Press Publisher Website

MSRP: $16.96

Rating: **** (4 to 5 stars)


This book is a compilation of over three hundred quotes from a number of equestrian authorities - professional riders, trainers, and veterinarians, all with a brief introduction and commentary by Mr. Lamb.


"Horse Smarts for the Busy Rider," could be read in just an hour or so, but it's perfectly suited to be a kind of daily devotional. This book is filled with little pearls of equestrian wisdom and insight, and while reading it I found myself dog-earing pages and highlighting passages I found relevant or inspiring. The commentary however, wasn't consistent. Mr. Lamb simply paraphrased what the expert had to say just as often as he added to or explained it. Also, there were a number of entries that seemed somewhat redundant. In addition, the book was heavily geared towards the Natural Horsemanship crowd - many of the contributors quoted were NH clinicians - Parelli, Anderson, Lyons, Shrake and so on, which is unsurprising considering that Rick Lamb is a long-time advocate for the NH movement. And while I personally practice natural horsemanship philosophy and technique, I am also very much interested and in favor of the classical methods of riding and training and I would have liked to see more of that reflected in this book.

Overall, I really enjoyed, "Horse Smarts for the Busy Rider." The book had a lot to offer and was a fun, easy read. I would definitely recommend it for any rider's home library.