The instructions are clear and consise and help you to see all of the important structures. They give you advice on how to carry out each stage of the dissection, whilst describing the structures seen at the same time.

Following each section of instructures are clearly labelled diagrams, which are, to me, the most useful aspect of the book. They show a good level of detail and are excellent for indentifing structures in the specimen with which you are working. The majority of structures are labelled directly on the diagrams with leader lines, rather than with a numbered key, which I think makes the diagrams much easier to use then some others (such as those found in the otherwise excellent "Textbook of Veterinary Anatomy" by Dyce, Sack and Wensing). There are also helpful descriptions of attachment, action and innervation of each muscle under clear headings.

I have also found that the Guide is an excellent reference book for learning anatomy from and even for when writing anatomy essays. The emphasis of the book is on description of the structures found, rather than explaination of their functions, and it is therefore no replacement for a full textbook of anatomy, such as "Miller's Anatomy of the Dog". As a reference to the name, position and shape of structures, however, "Guide to the Dissection of the Dog" is very useful and as a guide to dog dissection, is essential.

The added plates are a helpful extra and this book was very helpful when writing my dissertation.

If you need a good functional anatomy book on horses then this one should be top of your list!