Mustang: From Wild Horse to Riding Horse - by Vivian Gabor (Paperback)

About the Book

"One German horsewoman shares her 90-day adventure training a Mustang from the American West, culminating in a competition to demonstrate all the two accomplished together in such a short span of time"--

Book Synopsis

One trainer's journal of discovering partnership and trust with a wild horse as she prepares for the Mustang Makeover.

For 90 days, biologist and horsewoman Vivian Gabor recorded her experiences with Mona, the wild horse that had crossed a continent and an ocean to find a new home. Through words and wonderful color photographs, Vivian shares the ups and downs as she progresses with Mona's training, discovering new insights about horses and their true nature along the way.

Informational sidebars on the science behind the process of horse training help explain Vivian's reasoning for the methods she chooses to follow when working with a Mustang. Steps for patiently and naturally introducing groundwork, liberty work, and first rides are vividly illustrated. But it is the resulting friendship between woman and horse that most resonates, providing all readers an opportunity to imagine what it might be like to train a Mustang of their own.

Follow along as:

• Horse trainer and biologist Vivian Gabor picks up a sorrel mare originally from the wild herds in Oregon in Frankfurt, Germany.
• Gabor works with the Mustang, from the very first day at home, through the natural, positive, and science-based behavioral training methods Gabor used to successfully start the young mare under saddle.
• The pair compete at the Mustang Makeover in front of thousands of people.
• Hundreds of wonderful photographs clearly demonstrate the steps along the way, providing an easy-to-use resource for anyone looking to turn a wild horse into a riding horse.

Review Quotes

"Mustang: Wild Horse to Riding Horse is an enjoyable, informational, beautiful 'how to' explanation of one trainer's process and experience with a once wild Mustang. Author Vivian Gabor gives valuable, well-thought-out explanations of not only what she did with her trainee on a daily basis, but also why, and further reveals the psychology behind the system. The book is remarkably well-organized, detailed, and leaves no question unanswered as to the author's experiences and the application of her system and methodology.
"A lovely journal that will speak to all equestrians, particularly those seeking positive, soft methods that work." --Marsha Hartford Sapp, Two-Time Winner of the Extreme Mustang Makeover and USDF Gold Medalist

Gabor's experiences training Mona come alive in the wonderful color photos that accompany every facet of the training process. Informational sidebars on the science behind the process of horse training help explain Gabor's reasoning for the methods she chooses to follow with working with a Mustang. Steps for patiently and naturally introducing groundwork, liberty work and first rides are vividly illustrated.... Mustang: From Wild Horse to Riding Horse isn't just an instruction manual that gives readers the opportunity to imagine what it might be like to train a Mustang of their own; it's about a touching friendship between a woman and a horse. --Cowgirl Magazine

"MUSTANG From Wild Horse to Riding Horse is a fascinating, in-depth account of training a wild horse in 90 days.... Gabor's insightful and profoundly intuitive approach to training Mustang Mona, and helping her make sense of her world within a human world, illustrates the depth necessary to achieve success and make progress. From the first suppling exercises to lungeing, saddling, farrier work, arena work, and being ridden, Gabor takes the reader through the minute details of every step. She shares with the reader her own thoughts, feelings, cautions, and worries as she approaches each new stage.... A huge bonus in this book is the many beautiful and explicit color photos to illustrate every stage of Mona's training process and achievements. Mona's story and her impact on Gabor make fascinating and compelling reading." --Horse Journals

Even if you're not training a Mustang, or training a domesticated horse, you will still find these lessons helpful with your own horse. --Mid-South Horse Review

...what every trainer and rider is constantly searching for: insight into what our horses are thinking, what motivates them to behave the way they do. --Arabian Horse Travel

About the Author

Vivian Gabor is a biologist with a masters degree in Equine Science and her doctorate in Livestock Ethology. She is a certified Western Riding coach with a background in classical riding and offers individualized behavioral analysis and training, as well as educational seminars that strive to align current scientific knowledge of the horse with positive handling, riding, and training practices. Dr. Gabor lives in Einbeck, Germany.