Combining stretching exercises and massage therapy, pain management specialist Dr. Ava Frick teaches horse owners to understand muscle tone and overall equine health. Her new book is divided into chapters focusing on each part of the horse’s body: The Head, the Neck, the Shoulder and Front Legs, the Belly and Back, and the Hindquarters and Hind Legs. Each chapter illustrates specific exercises, with full-color photographs, and also addresses how to provide exercise therapy to correct specific injuries and ailments. A holistic approach to horse care, this book also identifies signs of injury or sickness, advising when to seek medical help. This is the only guide that includes both stretching and massage therapy, for all horses, and includes more than 200 color photos.

Dr. Ava Frick is a vet who specializes in pain management, chiropractic, and animal rehabilitation. She is a frequent contributor to veterinary publications, as well as Horse & Rider and The Healthy Planet, and lives in Union, Missouri.

This book aims to show how the horse’s muscles work and explains how this knowledge can be put to good use in riding, whether in competition or for recreation. Using her own careful anatomical drawings, Sara Wyche studies the skeleton, the action of the muscles, and the role of the nervous system before applying this information to various riding situations. The demands placed on the horse’s systems in dressage, jumping, eventing, racing, and even polo are all examined, with advice on how good riding practice can help avoid problems. With the knowledge of the horse’s anatomy gained in this book, the rider will better understand what is being asked of the horse, and how to achieve it with sympathetic riding and horse care, making this an essential manual for all riders.