This 300 + page book overflows with safe problem solving tips for horse lovers. This book provides readers with easy to understand, step-by-step explanations that will guide them to safe and effective solutions. From biting to bucking to rearing, this 33 chapter book covers it all. Retail price $23.95

Debugging Your Horse (companion video)

ISBN# 0-9646181-3-3,  $34.95

"Debugging techniques, part one" is the companion video to the very popular book, Debugging Your Horse. This 60 minute long tape is filled with the basics necessary for safe riding. Perfect for beginner riders and for those more seasoned riders who are having trouble with their horse.

This fun book provides nearly 600 information-packed, educational, pet-related web site addresses. There are also chapters that will really help newcomers get on the Net successfully. "The Animal Lover's Guide to the Internet" includes sites from around the world for birds, cats, dinosaurs, dogs, fish, horses, pets, rabbits, potbellied pigs, reptiles and even zoos! Retail price $19.95

Trail Riding, Rules Of The Road (Video)

ISBN# 0-9646181-4-1,  $29.95

Whether you are someone who trail rides locally or someone who dreams of taking your horse with you on your next wilderness vacation, this tape is overflowing with information that will help you get started safely. "Trail Riding, Rules of the Road" also makes a great gift for anyone who is either new to trail riding or for anyone who is interested in increasing the fun, by decreasing the wrecks! Retail $29.95

The series of Horse Tales for the Soul books are focused on demonstrating life lessons through true stories of the Horse.  Whether readers are horsemen or not, they are sure to see themselves in these stories. One of the best things about this series of books is the fact that readers can see that no matter how terrible an experience they may have gone through in life, someone else has been there, done that and survived.  This series of books focus on uplifting stories and life lessons that are applicable to all age groups, horse lover or not.

In addition to providing readers with life lessons and the knowledge that others have been through tough times and survived, we are also donating a portion of the proceeds of each book sold to Handicapped Riding Programs across the United States.  The authors of each book determine which programs are nominated for donations each year and all donations made by us, are made in the name of the author.  This makes the series of books the gift that keeps on giving!

 Biography

Bonnie Marlewski-Probert

Bonnie Marlewski-Probert is an internationally respected writer and speaker.  In addition to her work in the horse industry, Bonnie has also written for some of the top magazines in the world.  She taught college courses on the art of writing and getting published and wrote a teaching guide called, "If I Can Do It, So Can You!". "Getting published is a lot like training horses.   In both cases, if you are hitting your head against a wall, you need to know that you are making the job harder than it has to be.  Neither task is particularly difficult to accomplish, once you understand a few secrets!  As a teacher, my goal has always been to save you from going through the same hard knocks that I went through to discover those secrets."

Bonnie got hooked on horses at the age of eight when she accepted horseback rides as payment for babysitting a neighbor's child. The neighbor was a newlywed who owned horses but needed a babysitter that she could afford. In exchange for watching her son while she rode, the neighbor would pony a horse over to Bonnie's backyard so she could ride too.   The only person who didn't win in this deal was Bonnie's mother who not only kept an eye on Bonnie while she was babysitting, but also kept an eye on things while they rode in the family's backyard!

That summer, Bonnie begged her parents to get her started in a riding lesson program.  She paid for her own lessons by mucking stalls.  Later on, she paid for her time with trainers by catch-riding sale horses and babysitting other people's mounts while they were on holiday.

Bonnie worked with a wide variety of trainers in the Chicago market over the next ten years.  She successfully showed horses in Western, English and over fences before apprenticing as a riding instructor for one year.  At the age of 18, she began teaching riding lessons on a limited basis, while attending college part-time and working full-time for a major corporation. 

Bonnie bought her first horse when she was thirteen.  Again, after much negotiating, Bonnie's parents agreed to let her buy her own horse, only if she could pay all the bills herself!  It seemed like a fair deal at the time and so, with the help of her trainer, she found a middle-aged Paint gelding that was named Bernie!  He wasn't much to look at, but Bernie would do anything she asked and that made him the most valuable horse in the barn!  Bonnie kept Bernie for one year and during that time, she rode him in local parades, horse shows, trail rides, Western, English, over fences, bareback, swam him, and did just about anything else a kid could dream of doing with that first horse.

In her mid-twenties, Bonnie left the safety of her corporate job and decided to strike out on her own and follow her dream of owning her own training/boarding facility.   "It was a dream of mine that I had always wanted to pursue.  I knew that if I didn't pursue that dream when I was still pretty young, I would never do it.   Not only is it a very physically demanding career, but I knew that the longer I spent in the safety of my corporate job, the harder it was going to be to take the plunge!  The other advantage I had was that I was still single.  In my twenties, it seemed to make more sense to make this huge move in my life before I got married so that I wouldn't be risking anyone else's future in the process.  Of cousre, now that I am older and wiser, I understand why I chose to do it that way, but I realize it would have beem so much easier to have had a partner to share the load!  I guess that is just one of the benefits of youth, sometimes you are too dumb to know you are too dumb to know!" Said Bonnie.

"I named the facility Whitehall after its namesake in England.  Whitehall is a meeting place where people from all sorts of backgrounds come together and that is exactly what I wanted to create at my own Whitehall.  I wanted to create a facility where Western and English riders respected and learned from each other.  I wanted to create a facility where all styles of riding and all breeds of horse were embraced and enjoyed. Whitehall was a smashing success on those two counts.  For several years, I introduced countless new riders to the sport in a safe, responsible and cost effective manner.   Whitehall was an unpretentious facility where Doctors and factory workers were equals because they both shared a common thread.... the love of the horse.  It was a facility in which English riders were eager to try out the new Reining horse and Western riders were eager to try out another boarder's Dressage horse.

I always knew that the horse was a powerful teacher of important life lessons and by establishing a teaching method that blended the fun of the horse experience with the value of the life lessons, magic happened at Whitehall on a daily basis!"

Bonnie eventually left Whitehall to pursue her writing career.  "I discovered over time that there are only 24 hours in the day and you can only teach a limited number of riders during that time.  Leaving was the hardest thing I have ever done, but, by writing articles, books and producing how-to videos, you could reach hundreds of thousands of riders with the stroke of the pen.  The fact that the winters in the Midwest are brutal and it is all but impossible to make a decent living running a small barn in a small town,  also had something to do with my decision to move forward!"

Since leaving Whitehall, Bonnie has published more than 1000 magazine articles, nine books, two how-to videos and two syndicated columns.  She is an internationally respected speaker. 

Personal Contact Information for Interviews

Bonnie Marlewski-Probert can be reached via e-mail at BRMP@AOL.com, via fax at 888-871-5856, via phone at 870-453-5364 or by mail at Bonnie Marlewski-Probert, P.O. Box 548, Yellville, AR  72687.

Ordering Information for books/videos

All of Bonnie's books and videos can be ordered by calling 800-700-5096, via the web at TheCompletePet.com, through mail-order at K&B Products, P.O. Box 548, Yellville, AR  72687. All her books and videos are also available at bookstores and tack shops across the United States, at Amazon.com and through national book clubs and webstores around the globe.

Questions and Answers for Interviews

1. How did you get involved in horses?  I was eight years old when my parents rented our upstairs apartment to a young married couple with an infant son.  The mother, Colleen, needed a babysitter to watch her son while she went riding.  In exchange for babysitting, Colleen would pony a horse over to our home so that I could ride in our backyard.  That was the beginning of what turned out to be a life in which horses would always play an important role.

2. What is your background as a horsewoman?  I was professionally trained in Western and English disciplines for ten years in the Chicago area, before apprenticing as a riding instructor for one year.  During all of those years, I mucked stalls, was a catch-rider on show and sale horses, exercised polo ponies, competed in both Western and English disciplines, cleaned tack, volunteered to do any job that kept me working with horses and learned everything I could before striking out on my own in my 20's, when I purchased my own horse farm in the Midwest.

3. When did you decide to go full-time in the horse world?  I remember the day vividly, I was working for a major oil company in their headquarter offices in the Midwest, doing computer work.  I was called in by Human Resources and there, sitting across the desk from me was a woman with a corporate hair cut and suit, just like mine.  We could have been clones.  She leaned across the desk and announced that in just three more years, I would be vested in the retirement program with the company.  This news was intended to make me happy and much to my surprise, I found myself in a cold sweat.  Suddenly, it was all too real.  If I stayed for three more years, the gilded cage I was building for myself would be too strong to ever be able to leave and I had a newfound sense of urgency to get out, strike out on my own and follow my life dream before it was too late.    Because I came from a training background in which you never leave anything until you can leave it on a good note, I stayed with the company for two more years.  During that time, I focused on being the best employee they ever had and when I was sure that I was as successful as I would ever be in that job, I gave my notice and within six months, my life had changed 180'.

4. How has your life changed since leaving your farm?  When the farm was no longer financially viable due to two major factors; a tough economy and my inexperience running a business, I decided to regroup.  I went back to my computer background and set up a mail order system for my biggest horse-related competitor in the area. During that time, I started writing magazine articles for horse publications.  The magazine articles led to book publishing, how-to videos and syndicated columns.  During those years, I met my British husband Keith, and a few years later, we were wed.  Keith's work in automotive design has taken us all over the United States in the past dozen years. Today, I write for a living, rather than ride for a living.  While I miss my time in the saddle, I must admit that writing is a lot less dependant on the weather than riding was and a lot easier on the bones!

5. Have you ever been injured while working with horses?  I am happy to say that my training has taught me to work with horses safely and effectively.  I have never been injured while riding or working with horses in more than 20 years and I have never had a student injured either.  I do not believe that working with or riding horses should be a dangerous sport, provided the rider is properly trained and is paying attention.   However, I did sustain a broken vertebra in my back in High School gymnastics and it is the primary reason why I am no longer riding for a living.  I am told the vertebra was not properly fixed at the time of the injury and can not be fixed now.  The result is a high degree of pain in the lower back and hip joints, both of which are essential in order to ride safely and effectively.

6. Where did the idea for the Horse Tales for the Soul series come from?  I write two syndicated columns each month for the horse industry.  One of those is called, Tips for the New Horseman.  I wrote a column about a school horse of mine, named Leo.  In the column I mentioned that he was such a fine fellow that if he were a human, he would be the type of fellow that  you would go out for a beer with on Friday nights.  In response to that column, I received an e-mail from Melonie Brewer.  She wrote to me about her own horse and mentioned at the end of the story that while she hadn't shared the story before, she knew after reading my column that I would understand. The following week, I received a beautifully hand-written letter from a father who wrote about the trials between himself and his teenage daughter.  He wrote about how the family had a mare who was pregnant and how he and his daughter did night watch over the mare as she neared her delivery date.  While staying in the barn all night long, this father and his daughter had the chance to talk, to get to know each other and when it was time for the mare to deliver, this father was fortunate enough to be on night watch with his daughter.  The two shared this wonderful experience and have created a bond between them that will last for the rest of their lives.  He sent me this wonderful family story and then mentioned at the end that after reading my column, he knew that I would appreciate his story.  I was so moved by both stories that I wondered, how many other horsemen were out there who had equally wonderful stories and had never shared them with anyone outside their immediate family because they doubted that anyone would be interested.  When those two letters arrived, that was the birth of the Horse Tales books.

7.  How many Horse Tales books are you planning on doing?  Frankly, I was only planning on doing one Horse Tales for the Soul book, but the response to my invitation to send in stories was so overwhelmingly successful and the stories submitted were so wonderful that I felt a personal obligation to continue doing these books until all the stories were told. When I realized that so many of these stories had never been shared with anyone outside immediate family members and that these hundreds of people entrusted me with stories that had altered the course of their lives, in many cases, I was honored and felt privileged to be a part of this process. So far, we have done five books in the series and have now  published the first, Dog Tales for the Soul book.  My British husband routinely jokes that if my goal is to continue to publish Horse Tales books until all the wonderful stories are told, we will be doing Horse Tales for the Soul volume 54 in the years to come!

8. Funny stories associated with the Horse Tales series of books?  Before leaving on our cross country trip, my husband and I decided to purchase a new truck.  Because I am married to a very polite British fellow, I handle all the nasty business negotiations, including car and truck deals.  To spare my polite husband from the task of negotiating the truck deal, I went on my own while he was at work.  The salesman at the Texas dealership drove a hard bargain and we were both so equally matched and were both enjoying the "truck buying dance" so much that it became funny.  When the deal was done, he asked me what in the world did I do for a living?  I told him and then pulled out a copy of Horse Tales for the Soul, volume one out of my briefcase. I left the book with him when I headed out to pick my husband up at the office and return to sign all the paperwork.  When we returned, I entered the dealer's office only to find him teary eyed, reading the book!  He was reading a poem from an author in Florida that touched him so deeply that a car salesman was weeping at his desk!  Powerful stuff for sure!

9. Touching stories associated with the Horse Tales series of book?  The graphic artist, Kristen Spinning of Kromatics in Tuscon Arizona,  who is responsible for designing all the covers for these books was diagnosed with cancer while we were working on volume four in the series.  While Kristen had never met any of the authors within these books (at the time), I do believe that these authors have become something of an extended family and Kristen's book covers are the warm blanket that wrap all of the stories together in each volume.  When Kristen shared the diagnosis with me, I sent an e-mail to all the authors from all three volumes to let them know and Kristen was quickly inundated with personal e-mails, cards and letters from fellow Horse Tales for the Soul family members who openly shared their concern, prayers, good thoughts and wishes for her speedy recovery.  This has absolutely changed Kristen's life.  These authors come from different age groups, different ethnic and religious backgrounds and when the call came in for help, they stepped up to the plate and delivered.  Some organized prayer chains, others called upon their church for help, while still others did meditation, some relied on the Internet to rally the troops for good thoughts and prayer and still others sent Kristen personal notes describing their personal struggle and success over cancer in their family. Not only was Kristen's life transformed by this single act, but so were the lives of the authors. Incidentally, one year later, Kristen is cancer free and is now working on her own Horse Tales type book for cancer survivors who can share their personal stories with others.

10. The power of the Horse Tales series.  When I saw the quality of the stories that were pouring into my office, I was so moved by them that I wanted to do something in their honor.  The best thing I could think to do was to make donations to Handicapped Riding Programs across the country with a portion of the proceeds from each book.  I invited authors to recommend a local Handicapped Riding Program in their area and decided to make the donations in the name of the author who recommended the program.  Because I see my role in this entire process as just the facilitator who brings good things and good people together, I wanted all the emphasis to be where it belonged, on the Handicapped Riding Program and on he authors who recommended the program.  To date, we have donated thousands of dollars to Handicapped Riding Programs across the country in the name of authors in the Horse Tales for the Soul series.

Recently, we have launched a new fund raising program that utilizes the Horse Tales, Dog Tales, Galloping Goldrush and the Happy Endings books.  We have created a fund raising program with full color, high gloss fliers, full instructional manuals and all the support that any group could need in order to be successful and we designed the program to be completely FREE to the nonprofits.  This means that there are no upfront costs involved.  We provide everything they will need to launch a successful fund raising event and we even included incentives to their participants in the form of free products when they purchase more than two books.  You are welcome to visit the following links for more information:

For more information on the three Fund Raising programs available to nonprofits around the country at TheCompletePet.com Click Here

To see a copy of our full color, high gloss fund raising flier, Click Here.

11. Biggest challenges involved in doing the Horse Tales for the Soul series of books.  First, as anyone who has ever tried to coordinate dozens of people already knows, this can be very challenging.  Add to that mix the fact that those folks were scattered across the globe, in different countries, and some had e-mail while others didn't.  Beyond that, my husband and I had been touring the Western United States since late 2001 in our 35ft Fifth Wheel with our two dogs while compiling Horse Tales for the Soul, Volumes One, Two and  Three.  I relied on my cell phone for internet access, laptops, scanners, PC's, printers, faxing and having our mail forwarded to where ever we were each week in order to complete the projects.  I was amazed at how smoothly HT 3 was coming along despite all the additional challenges, until we were in Montana in May and my laptop hard drive crashed and we lost everything!  This really slowed down the process, but with the exception of a few glitches that were impossible to recover, I was able to reconstruct the book and move forward from there.