Faraway Horses

"I've started horses since I was 12 years old and have been bit, kicked, bucked off and run over. I've tried every physical means to contain my horse in an effort to keep from getting myself killed. I started to realize that things would come much easier for me once I learned why a horse does what he does. This method works well for me because of the kinship that develops between horse and rider. " --Buck Brannaman In THE FARAWAY HORSES, Brannaman shares his methods for training and provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Robert Redford's movie The Horse Whisperer, for which he was the technical advisor.

Master horseman Buck Brannaman, the real-life Horse Whisperer, continues the chronicle of his life as trainer and mentor in Believe, where we meet thirteen remarkable people whose lives he has affected. Through their accounts of help and healing and through Brannaman’s own introductions, the reader is inspired by the hope and confidence that he instilled in these individuals. This updated edition includes a new foreword, introduction, and account by one of Brannaman's longtime observers.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A compelling portrait of three people who love each other but can't break through the self-created walls that keep them apart.”—Chicago Sun-Times His name is Tom Booker. His voice can calm wild horses, his touch can heal broken spirits. And Annie Graves has traveled across a continent to the Booker ranch in Montana, desperate to heal her injured daughter, the girl’s savage horse, and her own wounded heart. She comes for hope. She comes for her child. And beneath the wide Montana sky, she comes to him for what no one else can give her: a reason to believe. Praise for The Horse Whisperer “Compelling . . . a real page-turner.”—San Francisco Chronicle “Fascinating . . . moving . . . a big, engrossing book [with] an unexpected endeing that surprises mightily.”—Los Angeles Times “Brilliance pervades this five-hankerchief weepie.”—The Times (London) “Outstanding . . . a book of rare power and beauty.”—Booklist

In our latest offering, Western Horseman Books explores the cowboys, horses, history and traditions of North America's greatest ranches. From the arid grasslands of Arizona to the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, these cowboys have been ranching in time-honored ways for more than 100 years. The cowboys are still horseback, gathering, sorting and branding, just as those who came before them, and the horses they ride are as strong and rugged as the land they travel. Complete with stunning photography and compelling stories that trace history from the late 1800s through today. FEatured ranches: Adams, Babbitt, Bell, Crago, CS, Dragging Y, Four Sixes, Gang, Haythorn, O RO, Pitchfork, Stuart, Waggoner.

"The story of the man who inspired the award-winning documentary, Buck"--Cover p. [4].

Full of wisdom, passion and wonder, Horse is the utterly fascinating and enlightening story of horses and humans from the beginning of time to the present. Ever since the dawn of human history, horses have held a mystical sway over our imagination: we respect and revere them like no other animal. We have conceived of them as both domesticated and free, both belonging to our civilization and to the wild. At first, ours was an encounter of death, as prehistoric humans hunted horses all across the steppes of Asia, and throughout Europe. But they also painted horses full of grace and beauty on the walls of their caves, and gave them a central place in their songs and sacred rituals. Long before the invention of writing and the wheel, horses began to shape the way humans lived. Drawing on archaeology, biology, art, literature and ethnography, Horse illuminates the relationship between humans and horses throughout history – from Alexander the Great to Genghis Khan, from the Moors in Spain and the knights in France to the great horse cultures of native America. From the Ice Age to the Industrial Age, horses have provided sustenance, transportation, status, companionship and the ability to establish and expand empires. Included are stories of horses at work, at war and at play, both wild horses and famous horses, in paintings, books and movies. Horse looks at the ancient traditions of horse trading and horse stealing, horse racing and games with horses, and at rodeos and circuses, jumping and dressage. It compares techniques of training and traditions of breeding, from the Persians to the Nez Perce, from Lippizaners to Percherons, and ponders the intelligence of horses, their skill and strength as well as their grace and beauty.

When we want advice from others, we often casually speak of “getting some feedback.” But how many of us give a thought to what this phrase means? The idea of feedback actually dates to World War II, when the term was developed to describe the dynamics of self-regulating systems, which correct their actions by feeding their effects back into themselves. By the early 1970s, feedback had become the governing trope for a counterculture that was reoriented and reinvigorated by ecological thinking. The Culture of Feedback digs deep into a dazzling variety of left-of-center experiences and attitudes from this misunderstood period, bringing us a new look at the wild side of the 1970s. Belgrad shows us how ideas from systems theory were taken up by the counterculture and the environmental movement, eventually influencing a wide range of beliefs and behaviors, particularly related to the question of what is and is not intelligence. He tells the story of a generation of Americans who were struck by a newfound interest in—and respect for—plants, animals, indigenous populations, and the very sounds around them, threading his tapestry with cogent insights on environmentalism, feminism, systems theory, and psychedelics. The Culture of Feedback repaints the familiar image of the ’70s as a time of Me Generation malaise to reveal an era of revolutionary and hopeful social currents, driven by desires to radically improve—and feed back into—the systems that had come before.

The bible of North American Horsemanship, Horse, Follow Closely is GaWaNi Pony Boy's signature title about the relationship training methods that are steeped in common sense and the age-old wisdom of his Native American ancestors. Of mixed blood Tsa-la-gi, GaWaNi Pony Boy was able to conceive his philosophy and compile the methods of relationship training while touring the United States with a Native American drum band and consulting the Tribal Elders from many different nations and backgrounds. The methods and beliefs of relationship training come directly from the first great horsemen of North America. "Horse and rider are one. Theirs is a relationship of trust, harmony, and respect born of a way of life that is all but lost." The stunning full-color photographs by Gabrielle Boiselle capture Pony Boy's serenity and unity with his close horse companions. The author's simple eloquence forges a deep, profound relationship with his readers that few books ever hope to achieve. As Pony Boy writes in the introduction, "For many [the Native American horseman] represents the ultimate rider. The essence of a horseman, both his skill and intuition, goes beyond the hours he spends in the saddle;.the folklore of every Native tribe are stories, tales, and beliefs to exemplify human's relations to other animals." The book begins with an analysis of how horses came to live with the Natives of North America and horses' impact on Native life. The crux of relationship training, according to the author, is to understand "what it means to be a horse, react like a horse, and relate to other things like a horse;." Native Americans were able to create such strong relationship with horses in a short time because they understood that "a horse is a horse." Learning to balance the relationship between horse and human is the missing link to becoming a masterful horseman or horsewoman. The book describes not only the techniques involved for relationship training but also the belief system and attitude that must be applied to all methods of horsemanship.In addition to presenting the methods and philosophy of relationship training, Horse, Follow Closely also includes many stories and legends of Native Americans and their horses, all of which teach the reader something new about himself and his relationship with his horse.