A handy quick-reference with step-by-step color photos and easy-to-follow instructions from two top professional grooms. Braiding a horse’s mane kind of comes with the territory—who can resist playing with all that hair? While it may begin as a downtime activity on a rainy afternoon or fun with friends after riding lessons, braiding takes on a life of its own when it comes to competition. Professional grooms and others who braid on the show circuit can make a living doing just that when they have the skills to do it fast and do it well. Professional grooms Cat Hill and Emma Ford, co-authors of the bestselling World-Class Grooming for Horses, have braided thousands of horses for a variety of disciplines over the course of their esteemed careers in the equestrian industry. Now they’ve highlighted those skills in a book conceived to be a helpful barn companion—one you can take with you and keep in your tack trunk, providing a go-to reference whenever you need it. Chock full of full-color photographs that illustrate every step of the process, readers learn techniques for: Braiding down—a nice, tight, smooth braid is the key to a sophisticated finish. Using thread, yarn, or rubber bands. Properly finishing and removing braids to avoid hair damage. Button braids two ways. Hunter braids. Running braids. Unpulled manes and long manes. Braiding forelocks. With their expertise, top-tier standards, and trademark clarity as professionals who have made teaching their trade an integral part of their lives, Hill and Ford provide everything you need to know to turn a horse out with professional polish, ready to impress the judges and wow the crowds.

Give your horse a gorgeous look! Charni Lewis provides step-by-step instructions for 30 mane and tail braids for both casual outings and specialized events of all riding styles. Full-color photographs and detailed illustrations bring every twist and turn to life, while also clearly demonstrating proper hand positioning. Get inspired and experiment with a Scalloped mane braid or a Four-Strand Weave for the tail. Not only will your horse look great, the time you spend braiding will help develop that special bond between you and your horse.

When owning, training, riding, and showing horses, there is a certain “look” to which one aspires. World-class “turnout”—a horse in peak condition, perfectly coiffed and luminous with health, outfitted with gleaming and well-fit tack appropriate for his sport—can take your breath away. And while it can certainly play a significant role in a competitive rider’s success, it is just as appealing to have any horse “groomed to the nines,” whether he’s headed for an afternoon lesson or just out on the trail. Achieving this superior look is not just about clean tack, shiny brass, spotless stockings, or perfect braids. The most important steps are in the day-to-day nitty-gritty of grooming and caring for the horse: noticing “something not-quite-right” about the way the horse looks or moves before it becomes “something wrong”; brushing and combing and trimming a little every day so the horse’s skin and coat remain healthy; knowing how to prepare a horse properly for training, and how to cool him down afterward. Now, two of the best professional grooms in the business share their trade secrets, with over 1200 color photographs accompanying the ultimate modern-day guide for all riders who want their horses to look and feel their best.

Help your horse put his best foot forward! Stressing the critical importance of hoof care to your horse’s overall health, this guide covers all aspects of proper hoof maintenance — from dealing with lost shoes, cracks, and thrush to promoting healthy hooves through a balanced diet. With in-depth discussions of hoof anatomy, the role of the farrier, and the importance of daily routines, Horse Hoof Care provides everything you need to know to give your horse a solid foundation of healthy, strong hooves.

Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide. Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local “powhitetrash.” At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age—and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors (“I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare”) will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned. Poetic and powerful, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings will touch hearts and change minds for as long as people read. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings liberates the reader into life simply because Maya Angelou confronts her own life with such a moving wonder, such a luminous dignity.”—James Baldwin From the Paperback edition.

I always knew my girlfriend was into riding, but it wasn't until we moved near Wellington, FL that I was unknowingly pulled into the vortex of the A-circuit hunter/jumper equestrian world. By the end of the Winter Equestrian Festival there, she had quit her job to visit horse shows all over the east coast and blog about them. I made the decision to go along and logged over 20 weeks at horse shows in 6 states, observing everything from FEI 5* Grand Prix events to Cleveland Bay classes. I realized eventually to justify it all, especially Pony Finals, I would need to write about my trip. This is an account of the places, horse shows, and the people I observed and experienced. It is written for those who want to know more about the sport, as well as for seasoned riders to read and give to friends and loved ones who think that they race horses.

R. K. Narayan (1906—2001) witnessed nearly a century of change in his native India and captured it in fiction of uncommon warmth and vibrancy. Swami and Friends introduces us to Narayan’s beloved fictional town of Malgudi, where ten-year-old Swaminathan’s excitement about his country’s initial stirrings for independence competes with his ardor for cricket and all other things British. Written during British rule, this novel brings colonial India into intimate focus through the narrative gifts of this master of literary realism.