Breaking and Training the Stock Horse by Charles O. Williamson

"Breaking and Training the Stock Horse is the first horse training book I ever read. I was given a first edition copy in 1957 by one of my mentors, a cowgirl who worked on a ranch in Elko, Nevada.

Charles Williamson wrote about horsemanship and feel and encouraged readers to observe the horse and to think - way back in the 1950s - before today's Natural Horsemanship movement. Williamson encouraged trainers to be light and balanced in their riding. One of the cornerstones of his ground training and mounted training was the turn on the forehand which many modern clinicians claim is the key to their methods - today it is called by many names such as disengaging or breaking loose the hindquarters or yielding, but it is actually a turn on the forehand.

Some of the restraint methods in Williamson's book (which were used in the movie, "The Horse Whisperer") are not necessary for normal horse training but here is one of the few books that does discuss them. So for historical interest, this is a legendary book.

I credit Williamson's book with starting me on the right track - influencing my training philosophies and style to listen to the horse, to work with the horse and not against him, to develop a thorough ground training program. I will try to keep copies of this hard-to-find (out of print) classic available on my website so you too can benefit from Williamson's good advice."

Breaking and Training the Stock Horse
by Charles O. Williamson, D.V.M.
Drawings by James Wallace, Boise, Idaho

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