RECOMMENDED READING

Below are some of the more recently published books that have informed and inspired me. I thoroughly recommend them to anyone who wants to understand more about training and managing horses.

All the books listed below can be obtained from www.amazon.co,uk

Sylvia Loch: Invisible Riding: The secret of balance for you and your horse

Sylvia Loch’s books, articles and videos have inspired countless riders over the past two decades, and brought the correctness, subtlety and beauty of classical riding within the reach of all of us, no matter what our natural abilities may be. At first sight her latest book may seem relatively modest when compared with her other books, but this is deceptive. Like her first book, The Classical Seat (which it complements beautifully), Invisible Riding is a mine of wisdom, common sense, theoretical knowledge and practical application of that knowledge.
Most of us who ride have at some time or another been taught that our aids should be almost invisible, yet how many of us manage to achieve that ideal? To judge by the contortions and athletics so often seen in the saddle, even at advanced levels, very few; yet the fault lies not so much with riders themselves as with a system of riding instruction that tends to teach the aids parrot-fashion, without explaining the logic behind them. As Sylvia herself in the book, ‘It’s not good enough just to know the aids parrot-fashion. To be good riders and produce fail-safe results, we need to appreciate what the horse needs to feel from us in order to understand.’ Invisible Riding will help the rider to do just that. It explains exactly what the author means by ‘invisible riding’, or ‘minimalist riding’, and stresses that it is not just something practised by the most gifted of riders, but something to which we can all aspire, and that it is in fact an essential part of effective, humane riding: in other words, it is the key to success in riding.
Using straightforward language and clear examples, the author describes the ‘natural aids’, not simply in terms of what the rider does, but how and why, in the process explaining precisely what is meant by the weight aids, setting out the principles of balance, and demonstrating the effects of unbalanced riding. She discusses and clarifies the various nuances and shades of difference which underlie many apparently contradictory terms and expressions used in riding; explains how the rider can use the force of gravity to their and the horse’s advantage in channelling the energy flow, and stresses the importance of ‘feel’ in ways that will enable riders to achieve that elusive quality.
The first chapter contains a series of self-assessment questions, a theme continued elsewhere in the book. Each chapter also includes a list of the things that can go wrong and why, with advice on how to correct (or better still, avoid) them. The book covers the aids from the simplest basics right up to advanced work, with a chapter on safe effective riding outside the school. There is a helpful ‘question-and-answer’ section in which real-life problems are aired and Sylvia’s advice given in response. Extremely valuable are the explanations of how the rider can relate what they do on the ground to what they should be doing in the saddle (read the book, and this will become crystal clear!).
Beautifully illustrated with photographs of Sylvia’s horses ridden by herself and her pupils, the book is a must for the thinking rider. If you are struggling to make progress, but find most of the textbooks on training and riding daunting (and even if you don’t!), then struggle no more. This book is for you!

Kelly Marks: Perfect Manners: How To Behave So Your Horse Does Too

If I were allowed to recommend only one book to prospective horse-owners, this would be it. By means of practical exercises, anecdotes and case studies, Kelly Marks takes the reader through every aspect of handling horses with empathy and understanding. She stresses the importance of creating good habits, and sets out her philosophy of training, in which, to use her own words, ‘attitude is everything’. One particularly valuable aspect of this book is the way in which the author explores ways in which problems arise. She does not get stuck, as so many people do, in a kind of ‘single-explanation-single-cure’ rut; instead she explores a variety of possible causes and possible cures. She remains open-minded, and never says ‘this is the only way to do this’. I particularly like the way she stresses that ‘It is so easy to fall into that trap of dealing with the symptoms rather than the real causes’. How I wish more horse trainers would understand this! Kelly insists, and rightly so, on respect for the horse; her response to those who believe horses are stupid because they allow us to ride them is unequivocal: ‘To suggest that if someone is willing to generously work for you they must be stupid speaks more of you as an employer than it does of the employee.’ Quite so.

This is a brilliant book, which should be compulsory reading for every person who trains, rides or handles horses in any way.

             Paul Belasik:   Dressage for the 21st Century

I have always found Paul Belasik's writings to be inspirational as well as informative, and so I looked forward eagerly to the publication of his latest book, Dressage for the 21st Century. I was not disappointed! This is a beautiful book, superbly illustrated, which draws on the author's experience, erudition and insight to provide a comprehensive overview of dressage as it could be in the 21st century.

I say 'as it could be', because, as Belasik makes clear in the Introduction, there is a considerable gulf between dressage as art and dressage as competition, with the latter often falling far short of what could and should be achieved. We are given an overview of the history of dressage (a subject with which far too few dressage riders are familiar) and the development of modern dressage competition. Readers with little interest in history should not skip this part - it gives an insight into just what is wrong with so much of the dressage we see today. Writing about recent developments in biomechanical analysis of dressage movements, Belasik says, 'The difficulty here is that analysis of bad models may not explain anything about a desirable model.' - a sentiment with which I wholeheartedly agree

The book follows a logical sequence of training, starting with breaking the young horse. It defines the physical objectives of training, as well as discussing the practical purpose of the school movements. In each case, Belasik describes not only what to do and how to do it, but why (as well as what not to do and why!): the reasoning behind each step is explained logically and with clarity. Belasik covers a number of subjects generally ignored or touched on only briefly in most dressage manuals. For example, he gives an excellent description of the bit's role in helping to balance the horse. He discusses in great detail some of the most basic principles of dressage, frequently glossed over elsewhere: riding the horse straight and forward, definitions of contact and impulsion, and the principles of lateral balance and inside bend (as opposed to simply telling readers what they should be doing). He also covers in-hand work and long-reining, two subjects much neglected in English language dressage literature.

Belasik courageously tackles the thorny problem of defining correct 'deep' work - a subject which troubles many dressage enthusiasts who are unhappy with much of what we see described as 'deep' work. This book should help to clarify their thoughts on the matter. He also departs from the norm of dressage literature in describing in detail the 'airs above the ground' - a subject which no true dressage enthusiast should remain ignorant of, yet which is usually relegated to the realm of 'historical curiosities'.

For me, once of the best chapters is that devoted to the rider's seat - a comprehensive analysis of the correct seat, together with detailed descriptions of what goes wrong, and why, when riders deviate from the classical seat.

Those readers who are not philosophically inclined may find Belasik's excursions into the realms of martial arts and Zen teachings irritating; I find them illuminating. In spite of his criticisms of some (not all) modern dressage, Belasik's overall tone is positive. He emphasises what can and should be achieved, if correct principles are followed. Above all he bids us remember that horses don't care about what we say, only about what we do. 'Horses don't care about your words: they care about and respond to your actions.'

This is a book which no true dressage enthusiast can afford to be without. It might benefit riders from other disciplines, too!

Sylvia Loch: Dressage in Lightness

No one book can teach the rider everything they need to know about the kind of exercises which will improve the gaits and increase the horse’s suppleness and lightness of the forehand. That can only be achieved by the right kind of experience, by thinking about, and understanding, what you have learnt, preferably working with someone on the ground to keep a watchful eye on horse and rider, and by further reading. Fortunately there is one book in particular which, although its title implies that it is aimed at dressage riders, I have no hesitation in recommending to riders of all disciplines; after all, until one reaches the more advanced levels, dressage is nothing more than the basic education of the horse.  The book in question is Sylvia Loch’s Dressage in Lightness. It sets out, with simplicity and yet with great clarity, the principles of training, the role of the rider, and how the horse responds. It gives the reader a logical, progressive training programme which is flexible enough to suit different kinds of horse, explains the purpose of each exercise, describes precisely how the rider should give the aids, and – in one of the book’s most valuable features – gives some insight into how the horse might respond to what the rider does in the saddle, by means of a ‘commentary’ from the horse on each of the exercises. This book (which I suggest is best read in conjunction with the same author’s The Classical Seat - also available through Amazon) provides a solid base from which to build your knowledge.