Books and DVDs by Kali Kiger

EQxpressionists: Individuals Modeling Horsemanship as an Artistic Practice by Kali Kiger

From the author - "This is a book of interviews from 2012. At that time, blending natural horsemanship and clicker training was still very new and avant garde. A lot of people challenged the idea that the two methods could be used together. Many people believed giving a horse cookies would spoil the horse and create long term behavioral issues even when used strategically with training. In this book of interviews, I contacted YouTubers from around the world and connected with them to provide advice and interesting insights for readers. The book helps readers grow in their thinking about blending positive reinforcement into their training and provides role models that are every day people versus world famous clinicians. I hope you'll find the book uplifting and that it will draw you closer into examining the evolution of horse training and help you on your own individual journey." - Kali Kiger

The Pony Games Book Volume II: Games to build focus, muscle-memory, and stamina: Games to build focus, muscle-memory, and stamina

The Pony Games Book Volume II eliminates the instructor's need to nag by using the excitement of games to create an alert and engaged mental state in the rider. Most of the games can be played for 5-10 minutes without stopping, enabling riders to build muscle-memory and stamina. Included in the book are diagrams of nearly 40 patterns that can be used in addition to simple rail work. Most of the games are call-and-response style designed to deliberately distract students so they can learn to think and ride at the same time. The quick pace of the games helps horses and riders to stay focused while learning to manage spacing, pace, and steering. Click here to buy.

From the author - "This book is the brainchild of years of teaching lessons. These games arose from my own inspiration as variants on games learned in PE, Scouts, summer camp, and various other sources throughout my childhood. Adapting these games for horseback and groundwork has brought me so, so much joy and created so much success for my program. I hope you will find these games as handy as I have. I feel like they provide a huge missing link in getting through the 'learning to post' stage and other stages of beginner riding that can be dull for the trainer. These games will help you build a great relationship with your student and cut down on so much frustration for the rider, pony, and teacher. Be sure to use the diagrams in the back! Using the arena figures to create little patterns for your riders to do will help so much more than you could imagine. It's hard to think of arena shapes that grow and advance with the rider and these diagrams of arena figures will genuinely help!" - Kali Kiger

The Pony Games Book: Fun, creative, and educational games for kids and ponies (2009)

Have fun while learning to ride! (Click here to buy.)

The Pony Games Book is packed with creative games designed to achieve specific horsemanship outcomes. Students who have fun while learning learn more—and this book makes it easy!

The games integrate seamlessly into existing training programs and are perfect for:

Trainers
Parents
4-H leaders
Pony Club instructors

Most games can be played either in the saddle or in-hand on the ground, making them flexible and accessible.

Sample Games

In the Manner of the Adverb – Students combine adverbs with gaits, such as “trot brightly,” “walk sneakily,” or “canter mysteriously.”
Bumpity Bump Bump Bump – Students must name a body part on the horse before the leader finishes saying “bumpity bump bump bump.”
I’m Thinking of an Animal… – Students ask questions about a secret animal each time they successfully complete a task.

Pony Games Book Highlights

Easy to lead: Trainers, parents, friends, or kids can facilitate—no horse expertise required.
Skill growth without nagging: Students develop naturally while having fun.
Reduces frustration: Makes teaching smoother for parents and instructors.
Built-in progress checks: Each game includes tips for measuring skill development.
For every rider & pony personality: Suitable across disciplines—Hunter/Jumper, Western Pleasure, Dressage, and more.
Supports home learners: Provides a clear roadmap to achieve horsemanship goals.
Show-time confidence: Includes games to reduce anxiety at competitions.
Great for groups or individuals.

Why Games Work for Teaching Horsemanship

Games are one of the best ways to teach horseback riding because they match how kids and ponies learn best—through play, curiosity, and fun. With these 25 engaging games, both riders and ponies stay motivated, focused, and excited to learn new skills.

Synchrony by PonyPros (2010 dvd)

From the author - "When we published this dvd, our primary goal was to show the type of work we do with students and ponies to make every day a good day, even with green ponies and green riders. The work shows a large variety of exercises, exercises that were absolutely core to our program in its infancy and still are core today. The program has evolved and been refined, but the values in this dvd hold true. Between each exercise there is a video of Kali and Les Kiger discussing principles for teaching kids and training horses together. All told, there is about 30 minutes of discussion and about 90 minutes of hands-on horse work. The dvd is very humble, being one of the early self-published dvds in the horse world. The filming and sound quality would be much more sophisticated today. That being said, if you're looking to learn some exercises and be inspired by adorable kids and ponies doing so much more than you would expect a 3 year old pony and a 7-9 year old kid to be able to do, check out this dvd." - Kali Kiger.

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*This dvd was intended to be the first in a set of 3: Synchrony, Migration, and Play. Unfortunately Les Kiger passed away from Leukemia/Lymphoma at the young age of 30 before that became possible.