by Sharon Janus, 
author of "The Magic of Horses:  Horses as Healers". 

Carolyn Resnick establishes herself as a leader in natural horse training with her book Naked Liberty.  Her Midas touch stems from a deep appreciation of horses, years of observing wild horse behaviors, and years spent learning their secret language.  She connects with the noble and beautiful animals in more ways than one, celebrating and sharing their secrets with her readers in an effort to help establish harmonious relationships between horses and their handlers. "Seeing the similarity of horse and human behavior demystifies training and communicating with horses," she believes. 
Nothing escapes her keen eye. She has a firm grasp on the reality of equine interactions, noting that herd functions are never static and fixed, but rather always dynamic and evolving.  Herd dynamics can't be explained solely by the dominant and submissive behaviors of the members, she asserts.  It's much more complex, and she explains how and why with clarity and sincerity.  Resnick then outlines the "unwritten code," a series of self-imposed regulations to which all equines subscribe.  Saddled with such savvy truths, readers get much out of this book, which is as entertaining as it is useful. 
This is an important work.  Dare I say a landmark book?  It's committed to building and binding relationships based on trust as the foundation for all future interactions with horses.  The author admirably respects, loves and understands equus, showing how success is fostered by communication, bonding and forming partnerships.  But best of all, she offers sound advice on how such communication, bonding and partnerships  can be achieved by any or all who want to work with horses. 
Readers will follow this natural born leader as she examines the invisible yet invincible threads that unite horses to their leaders, whether two or four-footed.  Horsepower is not about strength and force.  It's about knowledge and skill built on mutual respect and trust.  Naked Liberty is long overdue. 
 
 
BOOK REVIEW 
 
by Rhonda Poe, Editor of "The Gaited Horse Magazine" 
 
This is a strange and amazing book. It stretches us beyond the common knowledge and accepted "normal boundaries" of the horse/human relationship. 
Naked Liberty is at once fantastic and completely logical, unbelievable and flatly sensible.The author's observations from things that are astounding, her reasoning, creative, yet concrete. 
This book should forever free you to experience horses for what they truly are and have to offer. 
Just as today we say, "Wow it's hard to imagine that once upon a time humans just saw horses as food," insights like those of Ms. Resnick, could one day lead us to say, "Wow, it's hard to imagine that once upon a time humans just saw horses as beasts of burden." And lest you shudder at the price, page 183 alone is worth the cost of the entire book .

by Nan Meek, 
California Riding Magazine - January 2005 

"Naked Liberty," by Carolyn Resnick, is subtitled "Memoirs of My Childhood: Guided by Passion, Educated by Wild Horses - The Language of Movement, Communication, and Leadership Through the Way of Horses." 
If this title makes it sound like Carolyn covers a lot of ground ... well, she does! 
From her horse-crazy youth, as she says, "in the Coachella Valley of Southern California in the days of no fences" to her years of being with wild horses and learning a lifetime's lessons from them, Carolyn tells the story of her unique discoveries in a unique way. 
Part memoir, part metaphysical parable, and completely engrossing, "Naked Liberty" takes the reader on Carolyn's lifetime journey of learning from wild horses, interacting with them, and ultimately, communicating a lifetime's lessons to another generation of horse lovers. 
Throughout "Naked Liberty," Carolyn learns from, celebrates, and honors nature as well as she learns from, celebrates, and honors horses. Reading her manuscript, I was transported to another time, another place, and another experience that, thanks to the beauty of books, vicariously became my time, my place, and my experience. 
As Carolyn says in the book’s prologue, "Seeing the similarity of horse and human behavior demystifies the training and communicating with horses." It's possible that it demystifies the training and communicating with humans, as well. 
Carolyn also says, "Understanding the social behavior of horses enables one to better communicate leadership that is fair, just, moral, and effective." That kind of leadership just might change the world. 
Late in her book, Carolyn recounts her experiences at the water hole, where she was ultimately accepted into the herd of wild horses with which she had been interacting. She writes, "Wild horses taught me that everything in life is a partnership. When there is no loss of community in the act of communication, rapport is the result. The circle of communication must be present both in speaking and listening before there can be any understanding with horses." As with horses, so with humans, at least in this example. 
 
 
 

 
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