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My Appaloosa gelding is very unwilling to bend his body when I work him. I can get him to flex very well at a stop, but he doesn't use his hindquarters well at all when backing up, going up and down hills, or turning. He flings the whole back end around if I ask him to yield his shoulders, both on the ground and from the saddle. I think he's just not used to picking up his shoulders to move. His poll is also very stiff. What kinds of things can I do with him? He's an older gelding, and was trained when I bought him; his problem is mostly that he wasn't ridden for a while, and he's having to re-learn how to give both his body and attention to whoever's handling him. He's a dependable mount, but I want to improve his performance. Are there any good books out there that go through re-training horses with both attitude and performance problems?

Could somebody describe the Parelli seven games? I haven't been able to find them demonstrated in videos or anything except in the very expensive Parelli stuff, and I'd like to know how they work because I have three horses at different training levels that I know would benefit from the games.

I need not only a structure guide, but some information with pictures of health issues to look for. I'm looking at some yearlings and 2-year-olds, so I want to know what to look at in them as well as in the older ones, and I know that at that age they're not very proportional. Where can I find a good guide that's not too complicated and will help me pick out a good colt/filly to train for things like cow work and trail riding?

I just bought a used Heat lariat that's only been used a few times, so it's still very stiff. I've been practicing throwing it out and coiling it up, and building my loop, though I'm still slow at it. I know how to swing it, but as soon as I turn loose of the loop, it curls up into a pretzel shape. I keep coiling it back up and I can't find any places where it's tangled or twisted, but am I just missing a spot that is still twisted? Along with that, when I swing the loop it's pinching my hand; is that just another part of the same problem?

My mare's tail had a giant knot in it and my brilliant brother had the bright idea to cut most of her tail off (yes, I'm being sarcastic). I'm not too happy about it, because I've heard that they grow back very slowly. She normally had a long tail--it's not a broomtail or a rat tail like Appaloosas have--so how long will it be before it's a decent length again? It doesn't look too horrible, but I want that long tail back again.

I have a couple of horses that are trained but they lack some skills like yielding their heads or collecting. I'm a very green rider, and I'm not experienced at using my legs and my hands well. I want to find some books or videos--ones that won't cost me a fortune, like the ones that the big-name trainers endorse/write will--that will help me both learn to ride and work with my horses at the same time. I've considered Cherry Hill's "Beginner Western Exercises" and the Intermediate and Advanced follow-ups to that book. I've also looked at a book called "101 Ground Exercises for Every Horse and Handler" or something like that. Are those good, and what others would help?

I bought a used lariat that has been bent the wrong way in some places and it has a couple kinks in it. Being bent backwards has also made it want to twist when I build a loop. How can I get it back in shape? Would it work to wrap it around a plastic barrel for a while?

I'm trying to develop a book character with congenital analgesia (not with anhidrosis, though). I can't find much about the possibility of affected life expectancy, or anything like that. If you know some things about that condition, or know where I can find the most reliable and thorough information about it, I'd appreciate it. I need symptoms, manifestations of any kind, and everything like that.

Sometimes I read, sometimes I go someplace quiet and meditate, sometimes I remember good things my teachers have said about my writing or the prodding they have given me to keep going. How do you stay excited and keep the ideas flowing? A good inspiration book like The Pocket Muse? Reading some good writing to see what you can do with words? Maybe reading a book that only squeaked through the publisher's presses because the editor must have been asleep, thereby making yourself feel good about any old piece of scribbling that could outdo that horrible book/story/essay/poem anyday?

I'd like to hear what other writers do to stay faithful to a craft that I've heard called a "demanding lover."

I think my book needs completely taken apart and put back together. I didn't arrange the outline in scenes, my characters aren't extremely well defined, and most of the events seem to just be randomly inserted (to me, anyway). I have a book called Manuscript Makeover by Elizabeth Lyon, and it looks pretty good; the concern I have with any revision book is that it seems to start with the small stuff, wording and grammar.

If you know of any good tips, books, or whatever on outlining, I'd like to hear those too.

I sent in a short story, and I assume I'll just get a letter if it's rejected, but on the off-chance that it's accepted, how will the magazine contact me? I check my email pretty often, but we get a lot of advertising calls so I don't usually answer the phone if I don't recognize the number. Will the magazine use my email, or what? Last time I was accepted I knew the editor and she emailed me, but that was a college publication.

I've written my entire book and drafted it again already, but I realized it needed a complete rewrite. It was tough to stay motivated the first time through--I've always had trouble staying excited with a long work--and I think it's just me, but I'm bored stiff and can't get very far with this draft.

What are some things that I can do to keep myself excited (I love the plot and the characters very much), whether it be changing my methods or surroundings, or changing major or minor parts of my book? It's something between historical and western.

I want to hear especially from practiced novelists who have had this problem before.

If I send two stories into a literary magazine, do I send them separately or in the same envelope? This is a small literary magazine, with one fiction editor.

If I send more than one story to a literary magazine do I have to send multiple cover letters, or can I mention both stories in the same letter?

I want to get into creative nonfiction but I don't have too many ideas. I want to write personal things, but not necessarily about one specific event.

I've seen a lot of tips on revising a novel, but not many say anything about the particulars. When I revise, should I completely redo my outline and set the first draft aside, or should I keep the first draft handy and refer to it occasionally, or what? I'm not sure how much of the book to destroy and how much just needs some words changed here and there. I'm sure it would have been easier if I had arranged the thing in scenes; I could use some tips on that, also.

I'm completely overwhelmed by adding/removing scenes, trying to make my characters react to each other in a believable way, and knowing how to make the whole thing interesting/literary/emotion-provoking. I'd appreciate some rewrite/revision tips from somebody who's done this before.