A boy is a long time before he knows his alphabet, longer before he has learned to spell, and perhaps several years before he can read distinctly; and yet there are some people who, as soon as they get on a horse, entirely undressed and untaught, fancy that by beating and spurring they will make him a dressed horse in one morning only. I would fain ask such stupid people whether by beating a boy they would teach him to read without first showing him the alphabet? Sure, they would beat him to death, before they would make him read.

It is not good enough to get your horse to do what you want. It is far better to cause your horse to want to do it.

The author's tribute is heartfelt.

When training young horses "There are many types of bits for many different disciplines, but the severity of ALL bits lies in the hands holding them."

I had been riding horses before my memory kicked in, so my life with horses had no beginning. It simply appeared from the fog of infancy. I survived a difficult childhood by traveling on the backs of horses, and in adulthood the pattern didn't change.

A good trainer can hear a horse speak to him. A great trainer can hear him whisper.

When educating horses there is no greater maxim than slow is fast and fast is slow.