The words I could use to describe this book would include: inspiring, eye-opening, heart-warming, and enlightening. Horses Never Lie leads the way on horse training, despite the fact that it contains no 'techniques'. Mark Rashid argues against 'training techniques' and shatters the traditional ideal of becoming your horses dominant leader in order to gain his respect. Here, Mark clearly states the difference from becoming your horse's dominant/forced leader to becoming his chosen leader.
The stories Mark tells in his book brought tears to my eyes only because they were so inspiring. There really isn't any technique behind the way he trains horses. What his training is all about is 'attitude'. He believes that one would have to earn his horse's trust before any training can progress, then goes on to explain how trust can be earned from your horse. To support his view, he tells tales of problems that were solved based on trust and understanding. Mark states the importance of building a partnership based on trust rather than dominance so as to bring out the best of our horses.
His arguments are very logical too. Simply put, horses dislike a forced dominant figure as their responses will be out of fear. This is why we should let our horses choose us as their leaders instead of force our dominance over them. All the ways that this could be achieved are explained in this book.
There is nothing wrong with letting your horse have his way sometimes, it goes as far as proving that you are well worth the trust. I will definitely be reading Mark Rashid's other books. The world needs more people like him.
