How Horses Are Trained

This book is intended for anyone interested in how to train (or better train) horses-- any horse for any normal activity in which horses are used, working, riding, driving, showing, whether beginners, enthusiasts or seasoned professionals. The approach is through establishing a healthy relationship between horses and humans, built upon trust and mutual respect. The book is based on traditional principles first recorded in the writings of Xenophon, expanded through the riding schools of Europe, brought to America by the first horsemen on the continent, and learned by the author through a lifetime of study and application.

Dan Arnold was born in Bakersfield, California and abandoned by his parents in Seattle, Washington. After living in the foster care system for some years, he was eventually adopted. He’s traveled internationally, lived in Idaho, Washington, California, Virginia, and now makes his home in Texas with his wife Lora. They have four grown children of whom they are justifiably proud, not because they are such good parents, but because God is good. At one (brief) point he was one of the 3% of fine visual artists who earn their entire income from sales of their art. He’s a writer, a painter and a sculptor. In 2013, after 40+ years of searching, he found and got reacquainted with his long lost half-brother and a host of relatives from his mother’s side of the family. A Member of the Association of Christian Fiction Writers, in 2015 his book Angels & Imperfections was selected as a finalist in Christian Fiction in the Reader’s Favorite International Book awards. He is a former Certification and Training Director for CHA, the Association for Horsemanship Safety and Education, former Director of the Program for Applied Equine Studies, and a former Master Instructor in both Western and English riding. As a trainer he has won All-Around titles, championships and circuit awards, coaching many students to similar wins. As a horse trainer and clinician Dan traveled extensively and was blessed to work with a variety of horses and people in amazing circumstances and locations. He’s herded cattle in Texas, chased kangaroos on horseback through the Australian Outback, guided pack-trips into the high Sierras and the Colorado Rockies, conditioned and trained thoroughbred race horses, galloped a warmblood on the bank of a canal that was surveyed by George Washington, and spent uncounted, delightful hours breaking bread with unique characters in diverse parts of the world.