The more I look around the equestrian world, the more I realize that I am just too old to join in. So many influencers out there paint a picture of the past, of “traditional methods”, that does not resemble the horse world I grew up in. I see things celebrated […]
There is a battle currently raging between those who want to see change in horse sport and those within horse sport who are feeling attacked. But there is one important voice missing in these exchanges – the voice of the horse. At the heart of these arguments is actually one […]
I’ve been watching the clouds gather. The storm has slowly been building, but most people around me seemed unaware. The first claps of distant thunder have sounded, and it got […]
This book spent a few years on my wish list on Amazon. I was intrigued by it, but I was shy of spending money on modern works about Dressage. I had already purchased a couple that I found wanting. Still, the approach this book claimed to take was intriguing, so […]
There are many who seek modern answers to questions that horsemen have been pondering for decades, if not centuries. There are those aspects that we have not fully understood until science had the tools to begin to explore them. Neuroscience is such an area, and a modern book like Horse […]
I came to this book through reading Balancing Act by Dr. Gerd Heuschmann. Dr. Heuschmann references or quotes the author of this book, Udo Burger, many times throughout his own book. This is not by accident, for not only was Udo Burger a master horseman, he was also a veterinarian […]
The first thing that a rider must learn, if he aims to become an artist, is the art of relaxation. This means detachment, serenity, enjoyment of the work for the sake of beauty, unconcern with success or failure, praise or criticism. In this sense – power of total concentration of […]
I always hate to disappoint my readers, but this post may raise more questions than it provides answers. There exists no single definition or understanding of ‘Classical’ with regard to riding. Many have tried, and many definitions are very close to each other – but that is only at a […]
I’ve chosen as my first book review the first serious riding book I ever owned. A gift from a friend around the time I got my first horse, I have read and reread it many times over the decades. I’ve also loaned it to my students many times over the […]
The Literate Equine 