In all my searching I noticed something. Apart from general knowledge and feel good books about horses/horsemanship, there are far more books about Dressage than any other equestrian sport. Is this evidence of the intricate nature of the sport? Are these books out there for us because we don't understand the grand scheme of dressage? Is dressage more suitable for the written word than say, reining?
I theorize that dressage riders, by nature, are more curious individuals than most. Curious in the traditional sense, as well as in the Alice-in-Wonderland "curiouser and curiouser" sort of way. Dressage demands a lot from the rider. Not only must you achieve the movements, and paces, but you must do them with finesse. Rough and rowdy, despite it's militaristic origins is not dressage. We're not merely perched upon our beasts, we ride every last step from beginning to end. Dressage as a sport practically demands curiosity from its riders. Without it, none of us would have ever figured out how to do any of this stuff!
I guess we really do need the help. We can spend our entire lifetime riding this sport, working with our horses, and with our last breath moan about how we never did have the timing quite right for those damn tempis!
Reader Question: What is your favorite Dressage book?
3 comments:
By far and away: Dressage with Kyra by Kyra Kyrklund.
It's interesting you bring up this topic, as Conrad Schumacher was saying "you can read book after book about the formula, but you cannot be taught or read about 'feel' required to be a successful dressage rider". In his opinion, only the riders that are taken completely out of their comfort zones during lessons actually learn "feel".
I prefer Teaching Exercises - A manual for instructors and Riders by Major Anders Lindgren.
My favorite Dressage books are" Dressage fm A to X" by Barbara Burkhardt and "Cross Train Your Horse" by Jane Savoie! For those who really like shaking up their horse's training repetoire, Try the "100 Dressage Exercises". There are exercises for just about every horse and rider's level of training starting at Intro and Training level all the way up to GP! All 3 are good references too
Dresagfan
Post a Comment