By Jec Aristotle Ballou

Trafalgar Square Books; Non-fiction; ISBN 9781570768675; 171 pages; Hardcover 

Reviewed by April D. Ray

Whether you are bringing your horse back to work after injury or time off, looking to improve your horse’s overall performance, or simply want to enhance your working partnership, these exercises and tips can help you achieve your goals. Always prioritizing the horse first, Ballou’s lifelong study helps riders open their eyes to proper biomechanics and athleticism without shortcuts, force, or unkindness to the horse. As the cover promises, these easily-understood exercises will help resolve postural problems, improve movement patterns, and prevent injury. Ballou also explains corrective exercises, bodywork therapies, the importance of cross-training, and her rules for keeping any riding horse happy from performance partners to pleasure mounts, and everything in between.

With guest contributions from Rachel Ory, champion reiner and western dressage trainer; and Jim Masterson of the Masterson method, 55 Corrective Exercises for Horses is easy to follow and beautifully laid out, with well-explained exercises, tips and loads of photographs. The ringed binding makes it easy to use and reference. 

This book would be an asset for any horse person who wants to understand how to help their horse optimize the way he uses his body for a longer life of soundness and health. And with this in your library, you will never run out of things to do with your horse no matter what your end goal is.

In addition to this book, Jec also penned 101 Dressage Exercises for Horse and Rider which remains one of the top sellers of all equine instruction books, along with 101 Western Dressage Exercises for Horse and Rider. She has made a name for herself with her writing, training, popular clinics, and by giving horse people the tools they need to help their horses, by combining her experience in horse fitness and classical dressage. 

Ballou has dedicated this book to Corazon, the horse who helped her rediscover the joy again.