Mark Rashid’s A Good Horse Is Never A Bad Color – Book Review

Book Title “A Good Horse Is Never A Bad Color”
Publisher and year of first publication Johnson Books, 1996
Author Mark Rashid
Website www.markrashid.com

Underneath that coat, your horse can be good as gold, so treat him appropriately

When it comes to sentimental movies and a few well-written novels that I have read over the years, I admit that it is not all that difficult to bring me to tears with a good story.

I was surprised, however, when it happened in the midst of the first chapter in a book written by a horse trainer.

A Great Storyteller

It might have had to do a little with the story of a young palomino filly pelted with a bb gun and denied food and water. Or perhaps it was in the saga of the terrified horses in with Warren and the boys with their shovels and whips.

However, when I reached the final chapter entitled “The Gift”, I realized that I was simply but profoundly moved by the overall heartwarming message in the book, of what can be accomplished when domination and cruelty take a back seat to patience, respect, and synchronization between man and horse.

Rashid’s First Book

The book is actually a follow-up to Rashid’s first book titled “Considering The Horse”, and it is full of stories of “bad” paints, Arabs, Appaloosas, Palominos, and more. At their very core, these were not bad animals to begin with. However, they all developed sometimes dangerous habits because of their owners and trainers and all the buckets of misunderstanding and abuse these horses were often forced to drink on a daily basis.

The book speaks to what is missing in a lot of relationships between horses and mankind, with the “kind” in mankind frequently being quite a stretch of the imagination. Rashid skillfully weaves his messages of patience and respect for the horse into a blanket, one that he hopes readers will continue to wrap themselves in long after they have closed the cover and passed “the gift” onto others.

Words of Wisdom

“A Good Horse Is Never A Bad Color” is about how to achieve harmony with horses in lieu of sovereignty and subjugation. If you are looking for a book to list the steps to train that green horse in your backyard and all the fancy tack, tools, and exercises needed to do it, this isn’t it. But I wouldn’t reach for a horse training manual without having first read this book, filled with Rashid’s words of wisdom that have been passed down through the ages.

Hoof Rank

I am giving this book a rating of 4 hooves out of a possible 4!

Links to More Resources

Mark’s website
All of Mark’s books
Horseman Magazine Interview with Mark