• So many books and So little time!

    We help you choose the best of the bunch!

We are all passionate about horse books. And when it comes to Dressage books, there’s no shortage.

Books are a fabulous source to help learn a skill, on any level. Dressage how-to books are expensive. From these reviews, we hope to help you choose the ones that best reflect your learning style and current needs.

We all love books, and building a horse library is essential for equestrians. The following books are perfect for a well-balanced equestrian library. Classic techniques, new training methods, understanding how the horse’s body and human body connect, and important sports psychology tips to combat jitters or fear.

Explore a new book, learn a new Dressage skill, and get to the barn for some ‘perfect-practice’!

KLAUS BALKENHOL: The Man and His Training Methods

Britta Schoffman

Who couldn’t learn something from this master of dressage.  Klaus Balkenhol shares his insights with examples of horses he has struggled with and found success with.  His love of horses comes through in his writing as well as the way he sees each horse as an individual. Many little gems are scattered throughout the book.  I felt that I wanted even more insights from this master and wished the book was twice as long. Perhaps the brevity was in part due to the fact that half of the book is devoted to Balkenhol’s life experience.  

Klaus Balkenhol: The Man and His Training Methods (2007)

WHEN TWO SPINES ALIGN: DRESSAGE DYNAMICS

Beth Baumert

I would highly recommend this book for everyone to read!! Baumert does the most outstanding job of explaining both rider position and horse training. Her exemplary descriptions are clear and concise with quality pictures and diagrams. The additional exercise to try while riding beautifully bring the philosophy of this book to light, one step at a time. A must for everyone’s personal library.

When Two Spines Align: Dynamic Dressage: Attain Remarkable Riding Rapport with Your Horse (2014)

DRESSAGE IN HARMONY

Walter Zettl

Take the time to read this book. Walter Zettl has done an exemplary job bringing all the key points of training to light. His huge respect of this magnificent animal shows up in all of his writing. This book will help you develop your horse to his true potential. From the most basic to the most advanced, it’s in this book.

Also check out his latest book Ask Walter (2013). The first part of the book is all about the technical terms used in dressage and their explanations. The second part is very valuable.

Dressage in Harmony (1998)

 

THE DRESSAGE HORSE/ Das dressur pferd

Harry Boldt

A classic excellent read! This book is on the recommended list of many dressage federations and for good reason. Boldt has laid out the essentials of dressage movements. He has multiple black and white sequenced photos to add to the text and illustrations. What I found most helpful was the diagrams of what body parts (legs, seat, back and hands) are engaged at what moment. This shows the combination of aids in a very clear way. It has all the movements, even up to advanced, so it will be one that you come back to year after year.

Das Dressur Pferd / The Dressage Horse (2011)

EFFORTLESS DRESSAGE Program

Uta Graf

I was very excited to read this book because Graf’s emphasis is so often on maintaining relaxation, which I so believe in.  She has some quality photographs which show excellent examples of long and low. This book encompasses her training philosophy, turn out, and working on the ground.  There are useful sections on the classical versus new ways of achieving collection. In the end there was only one section on relaxation, not as much as I hoped for.

Uta Graf’s Effortless Dressage Program: A Top Rider’s Key to Success Using Play, Groundwork, Trail Riding and Turnout (2016)

 

SEVEN DEADLY SINS OF DRESSAGE

Douglas Puterbaugh and Lance Wills

A fresh view of why dressage is so difficult to master. Puterbaugh and Wills looks at the rider’s mental blocks or ambitions and how they can interfere with one’s ability to ride effectively. As you read this book you will begin to see riders at your barn who do just those things described in the book. A fun read if anger, fear, ignorance, timidity, pride, impatience or immoderation happens while you ride.

The Seven Deadly Sins of Dressage: How to Overcome Human Nature and Become a More Just, Generous Riding Partner for Your Horse (2012)

INSIDE SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY

Costas Karageoghis and Peter Terry

If you have any interest in the way your mind can influence your riding this is the book to read! No it doesn’t have riding examples but everything in this book can be applied to riding. All the aspects of the mind are covered: motivation, self-confidence, anxiety, mood and emotion, concentration, visualization, and the power of sound. The book is full of quick tests, common symptoms and techniques to resolve.

Inside Sport Psychology (2011)

RIDE WITH YOUR MIND ESSENTIALS

Mary Wanless

To learn the biomechanics of riding or how to use your body to find your balance so that you can properly influence your horse is a must for every rider. Be sure to pick up and read this book from cover to cover! It will totally change the way you think about what the rider’s job is when riding. If you slowly follow each chapter in you daily practice, your riding will transform. I love the way she describes the feeling riders often get at the beginning of the transformation to the final stage of getting it. Don’t be fooled into thinking this book is only for beginners, it is incredibly valuable for all.

Ride with You Mind: Essentials (2007)

RIDER + HORSE = 1

Eckhart Meyers, Hanns Muller, and Kerstin Niemann

If you are looking for answers to those biomechanical questions, this is a book to pick up. It touches on many aspects of riding, balance and aids, riding techniques, and conversing with your horse. The pictures of the riders are quite remarkable! However there is also a section for rider warm-up, a much neglected aspect of our sport. In any other sport, athletes spend time preparing their bodies for activity, not so in riding, we just warm up the horse the think we are ready to go. Take some time reading and thinking about how you are also a partner in this dressage dance that could benefit from mental and physical preparation.

Rider+Horse=1  How to Achieve the Fluid Dialogue that Leads to Harmonious Performance (2014)