True Unity: Willing Communication Between Horse & Human

Bless his heart, Tom Dorrance knew horses, but he couldn't really explain it very well. Probably because communication between horses is nonverbal. People who are good at communicating with horses are often not very verbal people and they struggle to communicate effectively with people. You read this book and find yourself saying, "What the heck does THAT mean?" or simply "Huh?" You may pick up a few things about not pushing a horse when he's confused or "bothered." But you're not going to get any deep understanding from this book.The guys who are successful clinicians don't have the kind of connection with horses that Tom Dorrance had. They have a method. And they can effectively communicate with people. Since most of us aren't like Tom, the method works about as well as anything else we could accomplish. True Unity isn't something you achieve by reading a book. You have to spend 16 hours a day with horses and be a quiet, calm spirited, observant type of person who doesn't say a lot but who watches closely and notices everything and whose body language, touch and actions speak volumes to horses.

Some good principles explained, but if you are looking for a "how to" book, this is not the one. The author and a number of his students tell of learning to sense the smallest response from your horse to be able to communicate. Most of us want what we want from our horse when we want it and pay little or no attention to the horses efforts to communicate back to us. Not many conversations are successful on a one way basis, and horses are no exception, so our challenge is to be quiet and learn to interpret what our horse is saying so we can develop a 2 way conversation that will gain his trust and give him the sense of security he is looking for.

For someone like me—rather an amateur with horses—reading this book is almost a metaphysical experience. Just as Mr. Dorrance implies, using words to capture the nuances of that thing called "feel" between horse and human is a tall order. But the author's gift for horsemanship, and his inspiring integrity—plus the contributions from other horsemen and women who learned from Mr. Dorrance—make this a classic. I can imagine that I'll be going back to this book again and again as my horse and I develop our relationship.

True Unity"Natural Horsemanship," whatever that term means, begins here. To me, the term means being able to see the world through your horse's eyes. It means understanding equine psychology. It means that you understand and work with the horse's natural instincts. It means being as gentle as possible but as firm as necessary in order to communicate with your horse. The emphasis is on communication - a willing communication - between horse and rider. One of the key concepts of this book is to let it happen rather than trying to make it happen. This means to cause the wrong thing to be difficult and allow the right thing to be easy. It means approaching your horses with empathy, kindness and respect. Practitioners of "Natural Horsemanship" do not use force, fear or intimidation. If this overall philosophy sounds worthwhile, then you owe it to yourself to go right to the original source of the revolution in horsemanship set in motion by Tom Dorrance, Bill Dorrance and Ray Hunt. These are the founding fathers of this movement.* (That said, I personally believe that there are other practitioners of NH that actually do a better job of explaining the concepts of these giants to the average rider. Among the new breed of NH practitioners, I personally like the approach and teaching methods of Pat Parelli -- who learned directly from Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt, Clinton Anderson, Ken McNabb, Denis Reis and Craig Cameron. And, of course, Buck Brannaman. He has cowboyed and ridden countless miles on the open range with the Dorrance brothers and Ray Hunt. He is perhaps their best student and the one who most closely tries to follow their approach to horsemanship. He is a superb horseman, the best roper in the world and a fine human being as well.)If you aspire to excellence in your horsemanship, this is a must read. If you are looking for a "how-to" book, this is not it. This is a deeply philosophical book in that it provides a broad, conceptual framework in which to think about and interact with your horse. You cannot speed read or skim this book. In order to "get" Mr. Dorrance's message, you must read it slowly and meditate upon what he is saying.In this book, he is attempting to do the almost impossible. He is trying to explain the importance of FEEL, TIMING and BALANCE. He can tell you what to strive for, but he can't feel the horse or experience timing and balance for you. You will only know these things when you actually experience them for yourself. The value in this book is in bringing these critical concepts to a conscious level.In order to get the full benefit of this book, I would highly recommend that you also purchase the two CD set from Margaret Dorrance and listen to them over and over. You can purchase these at [...].Happy Trails~Bill

The book has some good information , but it needed a good editor before it was published. It rambles to much on subjective topics. I get that riders should strive for feel and balance. Give us some tips or drills on how to achieve that.

Wow, what is there to say about Tom Dorrance that hasn't already been said? This book is almost like a pocket handbook for me. He doesn't give you the answer in a way most people are taught these days. His answers come in riddles that make you think and feel. I really do love this book and have enjoyed reading about his life and those around him. But most of all, I love learning how he taught horses. I highly recommend this book for anybody, but especially those who want to learn that not all cowboys back then used to 'break' horses...this man and some like him took time to 'talk' to a horse and go from there. Love it!

This was recommended by a horse book club book. Tried to read it but did not get anything out of it and gave up...

Lovely insights into Tom Dorrance's method and philosophy. Well worth having in your library to refer to time and time again

I've found this a little dry to read so I haven't made it all the way through yet, but I will. A huge depth of knowledge from an amazing horseman

One needs to have a good understanding of horsemanship to read and get what Tom is getting at, there is a fair amount of reading between the lines. personally thoroughly enjoyed it.

Fantastic book

Good