best basic dressage/riding book for AA

[Fire_fly]

I would love to hear some recommendations for the beginner adult amatuer rider to learn some correct dressage/riding skills. It would also help if it was an easy read with mostly basic instruction, nothing that gets into higher level dressage movements. i would love to give the readers my Mary Wanless...but they would never get through that kind of book at this point.
thanks in advance

[Bogey2]

Sally Swift "Centered Riding"

[slc2]

Practical Dressage by Lindquist.

I don't think Centered Riding is a good idea as a first book for an amateur to get the basic ideas of what it's about.

[johnnysauntie]

I'm a beginner AA!

Centered Riding is the first one I'd recommend. Very practical, with in the saddle tactics you can practice.

For a more theoretical read, Dressage in Lightness is very good. It is also well illustrated, and visuals really help me 'get it."

Then, for practice, my trainer gave me Leslie Webb's 'Build a Better Athlete" - a workbook of 16 gymnastics. I practice them often and they are helping me build fundamental skills (correct bending, effective half halt.)

[mbm]

Dressage in Harmony - Walter Zettl - even tho it has "advanced" movements it is very easy book to understand.

[Arizona DQ]

Anything by Jane Savoie.

[Lisa Holman]

Lessons with Lendon.

[quietann]

So far, as a not terribly talented AA, I've found the following to be the most useful:

Lessons with Lendon
Jane Savoie's "motivational" books
101 Dressage Exercises for Horse and Rider
Centered Riding (not dressage specifically, but good basics and explanations of how a human's body affects the horse.)

[ClaraLuisa]

Kidding but not really!
I'm an older AA who began riding as an adult. Trying to learn from books (including most of those listed above) was a HUGE obstacle for me for years--trying to reproduce positions and feelings that my body really didn't "understand" from the inside out just created more stiffness, clamping and frustration.
My current trainer told me to "stop reading, start riding and feeling" to get away from the habit of intellectualizing. It helped me establish the basics much more quickly and effectively.
Recently, I am sufficiently "established" that I can read and get more from reading.
Just my experience. Your learning style may vary:-)

[YankeeLawyer]

Have you considered any videos instead? I have some Walter Zettl videos that are amazing.

[Mao]

While shamelessly self-promoting, I recommend Dressage Rider's Survival Guide, especially after you've tackled some of the more serious books. It sort of puts the whole dressage journey in perspective, in a humorous way. Over the years, I've received numerous testaments from readers who found Survival Guide very liberating.

[Arizona DQ]

While shamelessly self-promoting, I recommend Dressage Rider's Survival Guide, especially after you've tackled some of the more serious books. It sort of puts the whole dressage journey in perspective, in a humorous way. Over the years, I've received numerous testaments from readers who found Survival Guide very liberating.

Can we get it through Amazon? Always love having a good laugh...;)

[D_BaldStockings]

First of all, if you don’t know of this site, it is great for used and new books, you don’t need to know more than the author’s last name or the title to find a book, video, etc.
http://www.alibris.com/

I recommend these, though they are older book and the tests have changed.
Riding Logic by Wilheim Museler, Kurd Albrecht Von Ziegner (Editor), Harold Erenberg (Translator)
Dressage for beginners by R. L. V. Ffrench Blake

For real readers, there are several editions of this, which belongs on any dressage rider’s good book list.
Horsemanship: A Comprehensive Book on Training the Horse and Its Rider by Waldemar Seunig, Leonard Mins (Translator)

For advanced theorists interested in dressage as art, the following is a must read, but not for novices
Understanding equitation. by Jean Saint-Fort Paillard

No substitute for in-the-saddle with a good teacher, of course.

[BohemianRN]

I second D_BaldStockings.
A good instructor is the best. I am very lucky to have great instructors.
Also all horses are teachers. From greenies to GP Schoolmasters!
:D
Also: Dressage in Lightness by Sylia Loch is fantastic
and USDF Guide to Dressage (everything from nuts and bolts to GP)

[TheHorseProblem]

I don't think anyone has mentioned Common Sense Dressage by Sally O'Connor. It's a classic.

[kpony]

I think Dressage in Harmony (Zettl) and Centered Riding (Sally Swift) are the first things anybody should read. :)

[Kyzteke]

First of all, if you don’t know of this site, it is great for used and new books, you don’t need to know more than the author’s last name or the title to find a book, video, etc.
http://www.alibris.com/


As most people already know, Amazon.com also has many, many used booksellers than seller through their site. I get most of my books that way and pay MUCH less. So far they have all been in the condition states by the seller.

Lots of cool out of print stuff.

[Mao]

Can we get it through Amazon? Always love having a good laugh...;)

Yes. Or directly from Half Halt Press.

[slc2]

Clara Luisa, I think the problem you describe is very common. It results in an awful lot of 'paralysis by analysis' and overintellectualization, in which folks learn about so many methods and so many ideas they are so confused they don't know what to do at any one given moment! Or they read the ideal in a book and are then afraid to do anything practical. Or they feel riding and their aids are so harmful to the delicate horse they can't use their aids effectively. Or they argue with the instructor, and move from one to another because none are as good as the book!

I think it's extremely important to be able to 'read and ride'. Some folks are like alcoholics with dressage books - they just have to go cold turkey and not read! I've watched so many instructors tear their hair out trying to deal with these folks!

It's really much later in the process in which reading becomes important, though. One first has to master the basics and there's an awful lot of confusion and 'just do it' during that phase. That phase really just can't be as 'self guided' as many people want it to be. Instruction is needed.

I think if one is getting a gift, it's a sign of the giver's affection for the person. Buy the book YOU like best, or if it's the kind of person who can't accept that gracefully, ask them for a list of titles they want!

[egontoast]

slc says:

It results in an awful lot of 'paralysis by analysis' and overintellectualization,

:lol::lol::lol:

[slc2]

Delightfully clever, but I think it's fine while writing - just not while riding.

[egontoast]

but I think it's fine while writing - just not while riding.

Huh? I missed where the OP was planning to read a book while she was riding.

[J-Lu]

I agree with Lessons with Lendon for a book that is easy to read and has good pictures, and is meant for a beginner AA who isn't ready to get up to their eyeballs in theory. The book use many different kinds of horses at all stages of training to illustrate things, goes over many techniques and it is an easy going read for a beginner AA. It emphasizes correctness without taking onesself too seriously. it also shows horses acting up and how the rider deals with it. I remember when the series came out in Practical Horseman and I thought "this would make an excellent book". I'm glad they made it into a book.

I actually liked the series better than Leslie Webb's. I really LIKED Leslie's articles but the only downside for a beginner AA is that she illustrates basic concepts such as leg yields and shoulder-in with her FEI/GP-bound horses. While beautiful, the average second level horse just doesn't look like that during a shoulder-in!

The other books mentioned are technically much much better but really are aimed at the "students" of dressage. Might be better to luuuuure your friend in before scaring her with the details. :D

[goeslikestink]

Clara Luisa, I think the problem you describe is very common. It results in an awful lot of 'paralysis by analysis' and overintellectualization, in which folks learn about so many methods and so many ideas they are so confused they don't know what to do at any one given moment! Or they read the ideal in a book and are then afraid to do anything practical. Or they feel riding and their aids are so harmful to the delicate horse they can't use their aids effectively. Or they argue with the instructor, and move from one to another because none are as good as the book!

I think it's extremely important to be able to 'read and ride'. Some folks are like alcoholics with dressage books - they just have to go cold turkey and not read! I've watched so many instructors tear their hair out trying to deal with these folks!

It's really much later in the process in which reading becomes important, though. One first has to master the basics and there's an awful lot of confusion and 'just do it' during that phase. That phase really just can't be as 'self guided' as many people want it to be. Instruction is needed.

I think if one is getting a gift, it's a sign of the giver's affection for the person. Buy the book YOU like best, or if it's the kind of person who can't accept that gracefully, ask them for a list of titles they want!

this poster gives the perfect exsample of how to use google well cut copy and paste - and read/ride the pages

like she says

It's really much later in the process in which reading becomes important, though.
One first has to master the basics -- pages


and there's an awful lot of confusion and 'just do it' during that phase.
getting them in order

That phase really just can't be as 'self guided' as many people want it to be. Instruction is needed.

then quoting

[in_the_zone]

Erik Herbermann - Dressage Formula (http://www.amazon.com/Dressage-Formula-Erik-Herbermann/dp/0851317537)

[poltroon]

I'm going to suggest two titles that are meant for kids:

Happy Horsemanship, by Dorothy Pinch
Schooling for Young Riders, by John Richard Young

These are clearly written and have good basics in them, ideal for a rider who is getting started. It is likely you'll find a copy in the library.

Then, for inspiration, I suggest Taking up the Reins (http://www.ponydom.com/books/book.html?id=57) by Priscilla Endicott and My Horses, My Teachers (http://www.ponydom.com/books/book.html?id=171) by Podhajsky.