3 comments about Beat the Players: Casinos, Cops And the Game Inside the Game.

1. 
   "The casino hates you."
   
   That's the first sentence of the first chapter. Direct. Powerful. Compelling. Unambiguous. Authoritative. Easy to understand.
   
   Just like the rest of the book.
   
   This 320-page book should be read by everyone who patronizes, or is in any way associated with casinos in Las Vegas. A fascinating read by a Las Vegas attorney who is THE authority on the tactics and abuses casinos apply towards blackjack players they think is winning too much of "their" money.
   
   The chapter titles are:
   
   Your Money or Your Liberty;
   Scary Cop Statements;
   They'll Take Your Liberty Anyway;
   Gaming Agents Speak;
   The Take of the State;
   Rules for Casino Patrons;
   Gambling at the Legal Limits;
   Cops Hate Card Counters;
   Griffin Investigations;
   Casinos Cheat With Impunity;
   A Judicial and Government Overlay;
   Finding a Nickel Brings Trouble;
   Names and Aliases;
   The Security Office and Surveillance Functions,
   Casinos and Cops.
   
   Learn your rights and what a casino can and cannot do to you and what you can do to do to protect yourself and substantiate your claims if you initiate a future lawsuit.
   
   Learn of the cozy relationships between the casinos, the Nevada Gaming Control Board, and the Las Vegas Metro Police Department.
   
   If you work in casino management or security or Surveillance, the NGCB, or Metro, learn the law (!) and how to protect yourself from those pesky lawsuits.
   
   It's all here. It's scary. It's real. You need to know it.



2. Casinos use mathematics and intelligence in trying to beat the players. Their games are normally fair, but mathematically skewed so that they will win over the long run. Yet, may casinos abhor players that try to use their own intelligence and legal skills to win at the games of chance that the casinos offer. Some casinos take it way too far and illegally abuse these players. This is when attorney Bob Nersesian steps in. Nersesian represents players who are playing legally who have been unfairly and illegally treated by the casinos, casino security and possibly the police force as well. In Beat the Players, Nersesian writes about some of these situations and cases, many showcase the amazing stupidity of casino security forces and the police force. He also gives advice to players on how to act and what to expect in the casino security offices (the backroom), including when it is appropriate or inappropriate to use an alias. This book should be read by all smart gamblers simply to prepare themselves for what could happen.
   
   This book should also be read by casino personnel and cops. Along with giving advice to players on their rights and what to expect, Nersesian also gives advice to the casinos and cops on what not to do and the misconceptions that they may have. Card counting is legal. Hole carding due to dealer's mistakes is legal. Abusing, illegally detaining and illegally searching patrons is not legal. In the short run, the bully casino security force may get some satisfaction, but in the long run, the casinos (and in these corporate days, their shareholders as well) suffer in paying out losses in court cases.
   
   Although I am not a lawyer and much of this book deals with the law, I still found it very readable. This is due to the way Nersesian wrote the book. Anyone will find it readable and easy to understand. I recommend this book to all gamblers who play in casinos, and especially those that think they can win.



3. Beat the Players by Bob Nersesian, a Nevada lawyer who represents advantage players against the casinos, starts his preface with three stingingly dramatic words, "Nevada hates you...." - and the rest of the book attempts to prove why those three words have the ring of truth.
   
   The casinos of Las Vegas, and by extension, the casinos throughout the United States have a love-hate relationship with their players. Most casino players don't realize this since most casino players are only thinking about one-half of the casino equation - the half they are on.
   
   The casinos love the losers - who make up maybe 99.99+ percent of all the players, whose towering losses make casino gambling a multi-billion dollar industry - but the casinos hate the advantage players, those Davids who by skill and intellect have found ways to turn the tables on the casino Goliaths, beating those monstrous Goliaths at their own games. Goliaths don't like to lose to slingshot carrying Davids - that is for sure.
   
   Nersesian's book goes through many of his cases, as well as other cases, where advantage players were mistreated and at times abused by casino security and even law enforcement personnel - even though these players were doing nothing illegal. Sadly casinos can ask players to stop playing and/or leave their properties even though the players are doing nothing illegal but the casino personnel are often not content to just do this - as the book brutally shows.
   
   You'll read about phony charges of players cheating which are totally discredited by the security cameras; phony "eye-witness" reports that are totally discredited by the security cameras; and depositions where the security personnel and the police offer explanations that would be very funny in a National Lampoon movie, but are downright terrifying when you realize these are being made to hurt honest America citizens doing nothing wrong. Imagine a hero who fought for America in our wars; or one who rushed into the World Trade Center in New York after the terrorist attack to save those poor souls trapped therein, being told he can't play in an American casino because "you are too good" or, worse, being escorted to or being dragged into the "backroom" to be illegally detained. Disgraceful but it has happened - far too frequently.
   
   The book is an eye-opener and a page-turner from start to finish. If you are a card counter, a shuffle tracker, a hole card catcher, or dice controller; even if you are only a smart casino gambler taking your best shot at the house - this book makes for enlightening and frightening reading.
   
   Nersesian has done all of us who love to play the casino games a great service by showing us what has happened to some of our unfortunate fellows who have the temerity to be "too good."

5 comments about Winning Casino Craps (Other).

1. One of the best overall reference books on craps, as worthwhile for the more advanced player as it is for the beginner. No serious craps library should be without it.



2. If you have no idea how to play craps then i will say as all other books it explains the basic bets etc. The problem this book had, along with many other craps books i have bought is that 70% of the book is basic craps primer, 10% are about stories of big rolls, 10% is about comps and casino management and about 5 pages are about actual strategy to use while playing the game.
   
   Drumroll please, the big strategy that will make you tons of money can be summarized in 3 sentences.
   
   bet the pass line with double odds. After each Pass win without a loss, press the bet up. At the end it has you betting something like $500 on the pass and 1000 on the odds bet. here is the problem:
   
   In order to get to that level the shooter, get this, has to make something liek 11 points. I have seen some shooters make 5 or 6 points but 11 is very very rare.
   
   This book in a sentence:
   
   After each pass with double odds win press your pass and odds bet. if you lose on 3 shooters go home.



3. I became acquainted with Silberstang's writing way back in the 1980s and his basic ideas do hold up. You will not really learn an advantage method in this book, but a betting system that does cut the house edge to its minimum. Silberstang's writing is crisp and clear, his experiences show that he is a player, and his knowledge of the game for random players is top notch.
   
   This is a good book to start your craps playing career.
   
   Frank Scoblete: Author of Golden Touch Dice Control Revolution!



4. It has really helped me understand the game. I was playing it all wrong. Haven't tried the "Come" stragedy, but will try it soon.



5. Okay, I had played craps before but I was not an expert by any means. I understood certain basics but wanted to learn more, and even a system or strategy. I picked this book and it provided everything I needed. The background is well described and most importantly points out the bets that a standard user should stay away from (i.e., the bets in which the odds are not in the players favor). The strategy presented (for playing with the dice) is very comprehensive but easily described. Personally, I wanted something simple that I could remember in any state of mind. :) Regardless, this system single-handedly paid for my trip to Vegas for a buddy's wedding. I never played high-roller tables, nor did I make extreme bets (in my case). The system allowed me to maximize my profits and minimize my losses while the table was "hot". If you are interested in learning craps and using an easy system, this is the book for you.

No comments about Agent Provocateur: Strip Poker Kit: The Game.

5 comments about The Smart Money: How the World's Best Sports Bettors Beat the Bookies Out of Millions.

1. The Smart Money was an exciting page turner; I found it similar to Bringing Down the House, except it explores the world of high stakes sports gambling instead of blackjack. It depicts Vegas and the action in a way amateur bettors only dream about. I do think the author was excessive with his thesaurus though. Also, the title is a little misleading, in that you never learn how the picks are made. Still, it's well worth the money and the time. You'll want to check out the current lines before you're finished.



2. Very very very repetitive, probably could have cut the book in half if not more. If you like to read over nearly every bet this guy made they go ahead and buy this book, otherwise save your money.



3. 
   As a former blackjack dealer and occasional sports bettor, I found this book unbelievably well-researched and the story told with a detailed flair. Looking back over the three years in which the author played the "front" in a major sports gambling operation, I found myself remembering many of those same weekends and wondering how he was sweating out having $500,000 in play over football games I remember watching.
   
   What TSM brings is the story of a man who wanted to get himself on the inside -- after years of being on the edges of gambling as a reporter, the author takes his late 20's/early 30's hedonistic self on a wild journey for years. The money was great, the weekly thrills were probably intoxicating but, in the end, what did Michael really have left to show for it all?
   
   Well, IMHO, I think he may have one hell of a story to tell.
   
   My favorite aspects were the author's interaction with the various sports book bosses from Bally's, Caesars and the off-shore outfits. Each of them is the stereotype of what you would imagine but the author brings them to life and takes them out of a "two-dimension" cardboard character cut-out, which could have been so easy.
   
   I'm a fairly hard grader when it comes to books, especially non-fiction works on sports, but I proudly give this 5 stars. Most exciting book I have read so far in 2008 -- and that's out of about 60 books thus far.
   
   This is a tale about the thrills amid a real loss of perspective, especially regarding money. It may be the fantasy all 30-year-old men want to lead. He actually did it and we get the rewards of reading about it!
   
   Bravo, Michael, bravo!



4. Probably the worst book I have ever read in my life. Boring, poorly written and repetetive. The good reviews here are complete frauds, from either friends, family of publishers. I read the first 2/3 of this book, then came here to see if the book got any better. It clearly does not. What a piece of garbage.



5. If you think you can beat the Sportsbooks, this is a must read! It does not even attempt to tell you how to make money betting sports, so if that is what you are looking for... this book is not for you. If however you want to get a glimpse of what it is like to play cat and mouse with the bookmaker, I highly recommend this book... especially if you plan on betting over a Dime on your wagers!
   
   This book is more or less a biography of one man's experience at betting big money in a Sportsbook; however it contains insights and behind-the-scenes perspectives that most of us will never see. You are able to get an understanding of how a Sportsbook really works, and the lengths they will take to keep anyone with an edge from winning their money.
   
   I found the book to be a real page-turner. I have a great interest in sports betting, and this was my first inside view of what it is like to be big/smart money. I would describe it as an eye-opener for anyone who thinks they can beat the Oddsmakers at their own game. It is a good read, and I for one highly recommend it to all sports bettors.
   
   Bob

1 comments about What Casinos Don't Want You to Know.

1. Hey, I've read so many books over gambling, for now I can't remember how many. Unless I read that one, I always thought they were the same with different autors.

   That book changed my opinion. I have been a gambler for 15 years now and I found so many new tips, I could'nt believe my eyes.

   This is not a how-to-play-casino-games book. It's a book teaching you the most important: how to play as a winner and always leave "as a winner". Take the money and run is a modern principe in casino's books. That one goes further.

   It made me change, I hope, forever, my thoughts about what is really a fun and winning way to go to casino.

   For the price of a Mcdo trio, don't let all these good advices run away from you.

5 comments about Killer Poker Shorthanded.

1. I really liked Killer Poker Online 2 by Vorhaus. At first I wasn't that impressed with Killer Poker Short-Handed. The early part of the book is very general, at an elementary beginning level (at least for me) of poker when talking about the need to deceive and understand your opponents and their behaviors. If you've been playing for any length of time you should have a pretty good handle on the early pages. In the later sections of the book I really like the player archetypes and the discussion becomes a little more advanced. While I'm not as impressed with this book as I hoped, my results in 6 handed SNGs since reading the book are excellent. So maybe I needed the refresher course to get me back on track.
   
   The aforementioned Killer Poker Online 2 is one of my favorites to read. Some people don't like how Vorhaus doesn't always tell you how to play certain situations, but that's the thing; You have to learn it on your own. The book points you in the right directions and asks the right questions (and ultimately you'll be the one asking the right questions) to help you find the answers on your own. Poker is a dynamic game and playing by the book won't help you become the best player you can be. There's plenty of knowledge in books but it's how you apply those lessons that ultimately matters.



2. Seems to me these guys want more to impress us with their vast grasp of the game rather than inpart "cookbook" skills that a player can use. A lot of it too seems confusing and contradictory. Every book Vorhaus puts out he has different methods, codes, and terms to "make book" on opponents. He also advocates a loose aggressive style but provides little post flop advice which is where this style lives or dies. And Heaven forbid he ever puts in a preflop starting hands guide.
   New dealer please.



3. I have red other books from this author.(they suck)It looks like he releases books on any subject without having any idea what he is talking about.
   Killer poker,Killer poker online,killer holdem,killer shorthanded,killer...... and so on.(killer poker handbook?!?!?)
   Even Sklansky doesn't have so many books.Don't go for this cheat,buy a book from real poker theorist or player,there is so many quality books out there.



4. I like how John Vorhaus writes and thinks. Tony Guerrera is a worthy sidekick. They have fun with their writing and their poker and I'm sure they win some $$$$ too.
   
   The initial premise of this book is that short-handed or 6 Max NL is a poker world unlike any other you've ever encountered and if you are used to full tables you better study up before you sit down to play short. You don't find many short-handed games in casinos where you play live, it's not profitable enough for them to set it up. But on-line it's a different story and a different world. A Darwinian world where information is power and you can't wait around for a hand or you'll get blinded to death.
   
   Killer Poker Short-Handed is most useful for its insights into using poker software tools like: (pick your own flavor btw) PokerTracker/PAHud, PokerHound, or PokerOffice to "sniff/datamine" your opposition so you understand them BEFORE you go to war with them across the virtual felt. The book's insights into using these tools are worth the price of admission by themselves. Have thousands of hands of data on your competition that you datamined for weeks gives you an astounding edge. Knowing that someone plays 12% poker from early position and 18% from late position and seldom defens their blinds is very useful information to have. Vorhaus/Guerrera look into these kinds of strategies.
   
   The reviews above COMPLETELY missed the point that Vorhaus/Guerrera were making with this book. How sad for them. It's easy to say that each Killer Poker book glosses over things. They do because they assume you already know those things and don't waste 1/3 of the book explaining which hand wins and the odds on hitting your 4 outer, inside straight draw on the river. This is not Harrington on Hold'em. This is a book that explains street fighter poker. Less rules more $$$$



5. It had alot of good knowledge and great pointers..
   A very nice additive to my all ready extensive library

1 comments about Casino Dictionary: Gaming and Business Terms.

1. This book gives a good understanding of the table games operation
   but leaves much to be desired concerning Slot machines.
   The slot machine definitions are dated and may be obsolete with the introduction of TITO and cashless wagering.

5 comments about The Perfect Ride.

1. I have long held a great measure of respect for Gary Stevens as a professional racehorse jockey. I've watched him ride some great races on television (having grown up in an area with almost no horse industry at all, I have not had the fortune to see one of his races live). My respect for the man only grew when I saw the movie Seabiscuit (where he plays jockey George Woolf, who rode Seabiscuit in his famous match race with rival War Admiral) and realized he had a bit of acting talent as well. So when I saw his autobiography in the store, I snatched it up right away and am certainly glad I did. Reading it, my estimation of this great athlete went even higher.

   Stevens begins with his early childhood, living in Idaho. His father worked with Appaloosas, then moved on to Quarter Horse racing, and later to Thoroughbreds. Gary's older brother Scott began a career as a jockey, and Gary soon followed in his footsteps. He was riding Quarter Horses in races (under Scott's name) before he was legally old enough to obtain a jockey's license. The boy fell in love with the sport, and soon made the switch to riding Thoroughbreds. At seventeen, he left home for California, rode a dismal season, and returned to Idaho. There he got married, and over the next few years his career began to take flight and the book describes all his significant wins, losses, and other experiences.

   Though his career soared over the years, Stevens talks of his constant battle with pain. A series of riding accidents over the years left him with terrible knees, requiring frequent surgery. He endured many breaks from riding in order to undergo rehabilitation, and often returned to the track prematurely, riding despite the pain. He even retired for a short time and tried his hand at training, but found he just couldn't stay away from riding. Stevens' frank discussion of his pain is one of the most inspiring things I've ever read. No matter how much he was hurting, he kept pushing forward, and made more than one amazing comeback in the sport.

   In addition to race riding, Stevens discusses other major events that helped shape his life - his children, his divorce, his remarriage, and the death of a fellow jockey and close friend, Chris Antley. He also talks of his relationships with various trainers and jockeys; how he makes decisions on which mounts to accept, how to ride his races, and what directions to take with his career; and he evaluates some of the great horses he has ridden, including Thunder Gulch, Point Given, Winning Colors, Serena's Song, Silver Charm, and others. He talks about his struggle with weight, and how he has managed to stay in shape for riding. Stevens has ridden in the United States, Hong Kong, and Great Britain, and he compares the atmosphere and racing procedure in these very different places. All in all, this book is an excellent inside look at the life of a top racehorse jockey.

   The epilogue touches briefly on Stevens' acceptance of a role in Seabiscuit, the new movie based on author Laura Hillenbrand's best-stelling book. He mentions a few things about the early stages of filming - what it was like to act for the first time, to work with co-star Tobey Maguire, to see an inspiring true horse story come to life on film, etc. My one criticism here is that he does not tell us enough. I really wish he had delayed the publication of this book another year so that he would have been able to include more about his work on the movie.

   A few reviewers here have commented on a lack of accuracy in the book. Stevens himself tells us early in the book that his accounts are based largely on his own memories, which are fallible. He acknowledges the fact that he may have made some mistakes in his recollections. I don't really hold this against him. I suspect that any autobiography will contain some inaccuracies. The author is relying largely on personal memory, spanning a very large period of time. Stevens' goal here wasn't to provide us with a data sheet on the races he's ridden; he wanted to share the experiences of his life - to show us what's brought him to where he is today. And I think he's done an excellent job at just that. Having a date off by one year here, or not being entirely clear on the legalities surrounding building rights on a certain racetrack there don't detract from the messages the book has to offer. I would highly recommend this book to any horse racing enthusiast.




2. I admire Gary Stevens as a world class jocky, but world class writer he is not. At times he comes across as quite cocky, maybe he has reason to be proud of his success but he sounds conceited more then proud. Often he writes as though he knows more about the horses he rides then the trainers or owners, that he is a better judge of their capabilities then either of the others, and he has been proven wrong on that score. He also seems to be trying to give us a smattering of his philosophy on success and I think he fails. What has worked for him, a God given ability to ride horses well and an incredible tolerance for pain can not be applied to the rest of us. I have to say, I hope Stevens does not follow this book up with any others. He is a much better jocky then writer.



3. I remember seeing Gary ride back at Longacres. Some of the people and horses he talks of in this book were jogged to memory. There's an incredible story of the reality of race riding, and the business, that Gary tells as if sitting across from you. Some of the greatest names in Thoroughbreds and the incredible highs and lows that come with "the game" are there on the page. He doesn't assume the reader knows terminology but doesn't talk down to the reader either. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would definitely encourage racing fans especially to get this book.



4. I've been a Stevens fan since he brought Thunder Gulch home at 24-1 in the 1995 Derby. This book however, is just average at best, even for a Stevens fan. Sure it details his rise to the top of the industry, but it just doesn't flow very well and doesn't have much personality.



5. The perfect ride is a very well written book about the life of one of our greatest riders. Gary has the ability to describe a race to bring the rider alongside his horse and experience the race in one's mind. He aparently has the touch it takes to have a horse do what the rider wants it to do without unessary force but with a tender hand. He also goes into great detail about things the general public would not be aware of but he explains in terms a layman can understand. I would recommend this book to any horse lover or anyone interested in reading a really good book.

5 comments about Bridge for Dummies.

1. This book is not bad, but unfortunately is not clear, and not fun to read.
   It goes in to details too quickly.
   
   It appears to be aimed at a person becoming an Intermediate Player



2. I am a big fan of the 1st edition of this book and was pleasantly surprised to find that the 2nd edition is a marked improvement. The new hand diagrams are a big improvement. Mr. Kantar has done quite a bit of rewriting of the material and the 2nd edition seems more tightly organized than the 1st edition. The new "cheat sheet" is an improvement as well. The strengths of the 1st edition -- the author's engaging style and humor, the clear presentation of bridge basics, and the steady, logical progression of material -- all remain intact.



3. This book by E.Kantar is a mix of good and bad teaching and most novices would be better off with almost any other for beginners.
   
   Kantar fails to stress that all 12 HCP hands with the same hand pattern are far from equal and thus do not qualify for an opening bid of one. A hand with four quacks(Q+J)is not equal to one with three Kings nor to one with three Aces even though each has a nominal 12 HCP count. Some, but not all, new books will tell students that an opening bid should also have two quick tricks, which are Aces, Kings and Queens in combinations.
   
   Ch.Goren, the preeminent bridge teacher of old, urged students to count quick tricks as part of opening one bid requirements. There is no need nor a good reason to dumb down bridge teaching today.
   
   Also, Kantar does not credit points for long nor short suits for opening bids,as is common in nearly all new books, so that 5,6,7,8 and 9 card suits are treated as equal and all requiring 12 or 11 HCP to open.
   
   Such teaching is not helpful to novices and as a long time techer I would not use or recommend this book to novices, but more experinced players might find it worth reading.
   
   Another shortcomming of this book is a lack of adjustments for unprotected honor cards. E.g. Axxxx,QJxx, QJ,QJ is not a 13 HCP count and should not be opened by a novice.
   
   Another problem with the book is that all illustrations are ideal for the situation at hand, while most hands in real life are less perfect.
   
   This second edition has only six more pages of instructions than the first and with just 372 pages of bridge, not 408 as claimed.Mr. Kantar is known as one of the best players in the country and the world. But lesser
   players have written far better books for novices.
   
   Stig Holmqui



4. This is the best book for Dummies I have ever read.
   Kantar presents material in an order that makes sense. It is the first time I understood what I was doing in Bridge. As soon as I read some information on playing, I went to my software program, Bridge Baron (also excellent), and immediately played several hands by myself, making every contract with ideas Kantar had given me; even making contracts with what I used to think were awful hands. Kantar seems to be a born teacher. You can easily see that he loves his subject and very much enjoys imparting knowledge to others. This book is worth every penny! It is one of the best Christmas presents I received this year.



5. Great book for beginners! It is clear, concise and full of humor, making it fun to read, as well as easy to comprehend. It is very well organized and progresses logically from the basics to all you need to know. The rules and conventions included are The Standard American System (new since the Goren days) and are consistent with American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) standards. In this system, distribution points are counted only after partners have agreed on a suit, which is fully explained in the book.
   I bought the first edition of Eddie Kantar's "Dummies" book when I retired 9 years ago and took up bridge again after a 25-year break, needing a refresher course and upgrade from the Goren years to modern bridge. As an intermediate player, I value it as a reference in case of forgetfulness... This 2nd edition has improved diagrams and other updated information. Highly recommended for beginners and beyond . . .
   Another excellent book by this author: "Eddie Kantar Teaches Topics in Declarer Play at Bridge."

5 comments about There are No Problem Horses, Only Problem Riders.

1. .
   "With all of the great books for horse people and horses out there, there's no reason to buy this book." That's what respected trainers told me. I wish I'd listened and saved having to throw it in the garabage, but I liked the (misleading) title and it was on sale, so I learned the hard way.



2. The worst thing you could do to horses is to follow the advice of Mary Twelveponies. This book and her philosophies are based on the principle: eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. She often refers to the holy book. Maybe she seeks an excuse when she hit horses with nails if they bite. She likes to punish horses with a whip if they don't obey. She says serveral times: you have to be the boss. So you whip a horse on the foreleggs firmly if he does'nt listen? When I finished the book I was alsmost shaking because of disgust. Unbelievable that these kind of people may spread their word in print. This book should be put into a huge bonfire. I am relieved that there are other authors like John Lyons and Pat Parelli. Those persons deserve respect.



3. I bought this book thinking it would be full of wonderful advice, but I really did not gain a thing from it. I get much better results from communicating with my horse, rather than threatening him. Also, the advice on mounting a tied horse is outright DANGEROUS! DO NOT DO THAT! When I started my horse, he was hard to mount, so I just taught him the verbal command of 'stand' (which I use for all kinds of other things too, not just mounting) and now he knows to stand quietly when I ask. I agree with another reviewer, Pat Parelli and John Lyons have much better advice.



4. Mary Twelveponies provides excellent advice to riders on all levels. Her approach is practical and takes into account the importance of respect in the relationship between a human and a 1,000 lb. animal. I sent a copy to my neice to help her learn the necessary assertivness skills to deal with her typical "new horse-owner" type problems. A well-behaved horse is a joy to ride. Getting and keeping one that way takes some work. This book will help. Those who have called these techniques harsh should note that John Lyons wrote the forward. I found her approach balanced and clearly that of an experienced horsewoman.



5. Twelveponies falls for the oldest mistake in the book. Since she is a trainer, she thinks all problems can be solved by training.
   
   I've "retrained" many problem horses. In many cases, the problem was not the former rider/trainer. It was a physical problem. I always start with a farrier and vet, and look for conformation problems that call for a specialty saddle. It is so rewarding to give a problem horse a rest and treatment to heal sore muscles, arthritic joints or a damaged spine. It's so easy to get proper corrective shoes, fit the right saddle, and then all is well. Once in a while the problem is more serious, but still is fixable by a vet. Example: a retained testicle. No amount of training will get an apparent gelding with a hidden testicle to stop acting like a stallion.[...]