Travel World guide

This book tells you how to get the best results out of your horse. It has so much vital information if you want to become a good dressage rider or just in general riding. If you love horses and want to ride your horse with the most humane and loving way this book is for you!! I admire the author’s love, dedication and respect for horses and there well being.

Here’s a book for the well-educated, well-experienced dressage rider who wants to refine their skill and reaffirm their knowledge. It is by no means a quick, light read. It’s a textbook to be read, studied, and absorbed with dedication. Charles de Kunffy is a master of classical dressage who apparently spent a great deal of effort putting this book together for the serious rider. He has high ideals and evident compassion for the horse, and structures all his techniques and strategies with the welfare of the horse in mind.

The 300 pages in this book cover a huge range of topics. Always the philosopher, Mr. de Kunffy writes in thick yet imaginative language, provoking just the right mental pictures. Everything is covered from the rider’s seat to competition preparation. You will gain a greater, fuller understanding of correct seat and aids, correct flexion of the horse, lateral work, improving the basic gaits, and further schooling to higher level dressage. He also discusses various equipment and their uses.

This is an extremely valuable guide to any serious rider. Beware, though, that it’s not for a beginner.

The author demonstrates clearly his love for horses and the art of dressage. He emphasizes the fundamentals of good riding: a good seat and hence quiet giving hands. This is not really a ‘how-to’ book, but then no book on riding really can be, because riding is not something mechanical. I enjoyed reading this book, even though the text is quite repetitive at times. It made me newly aware of aspects of my riding, and I have been riding dressage for more than 20 years!

Do you have a horse?For the horse’s sake, read this book, and when you are done, read it again!It took me a long time to read this book, because every time I read a page I felt that my head was so full of thoughts that I had to put it down for a minute just to absorb it, and then I’d read the page over again. And I loved every minute of it! This is a book based on dressage, but it covers things that are essential for every horse that is going to be ridden, no matter what type of riding you are into; this book contains information you do not want to miss. Charles De Kunffy is such a talented horse man and author, it is a true pleasure to read any one of his books, and this one is the best one yet. Besides being a very useful book in practical terms, it is so thorough in it’s descriptions, what strikes me the most is the love and passion for the horse that comes through. A lot of people think that dressage is something for the few, but this book will show them how it can not only benefit every rider, but more importantly every horse.

Every word the author says is gold! Her explanations are clear and she uses the same idea through many movements so the repetition helps you learn. I would rather go through this book that the USDF handbook, because this will do a better job of explaining the movements. Before you do your dressage test, I would recommend looking up all of your movements and gaits you will be riding in this book for review. Her common mistakes of horse and rider will help improve your score a lot! I highly recommend this book for learning how to apply the aids for dressage movements.

Great book for exact explanation of movements. Also, some photos. The explanation of WHY you do the movement and what are common mistakes help a lot.

Training Strategies for the Dressage Rider, Second Edition

This book is more than a bargain because you will get correct instruction and not be misled in any way, a problem with poor or misinformed tutelage.

Riding is a dynamic sport best learned under saddle with excellent, engaged coaching. Anyone fortunate enough to spend time with Charles de Kunffy and who has spent time with less skilled instructors can really appreciate the difference.

He gains his cues from the horse, observing subtle or not so subtle movements in the horse’s engagement as indicators of what the rider should be doing differently rather than looking at the rider first. In every clinic, everyone see genuine performance improvement from each horse / rider combination whether relative beginner or Grand Prix level.

The problem is that Charles’ clinics are few and far between, cost $200 to $300 per ride (plus transit costs) and you really ought to have an instructor at your home stable who trains with him as well. Nor does he have a video series (other than one for seat and aids) to supplement his books.

He is, however, an excellent author and shares his philosophy, perspectives and insights with a wide audience through his books. If you are serious about dressage specifically, want to obtain a better seat to use in hacking or eventing or simply want to learn to interact better with your horse, this book will help you understand what to do and why.

I remember Charles saying once that horses have been genetically selected through the generations so that now they are perfectly balanced by themselves. It is only when we mount them, that they become unbalanced. The goal, therefore is for us to learn to be balanced and it is therefore our primary duty as a rider to obtain a stable, supple seat (which most people fail to do even after 30 years of riding) in order for the horse / rider combination to stay in balance. Like Pogo said, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

There is nothing about riding that is inexpensive except the dirt and books. Although we can wash the dirt off, we can waste a lot of time reading the wrong books and following their directions. You will not waste any time reading Charles de Kunffy’s books, nor following his directions.

Great book for anyone who has tried to break down the dressage tests into meaningful movements and attempted to analyze the best way to link them all together. The beginner will benefit from the easy descriptions and pictures. The intermediate and advanced will have a review of all the movements and be able to address problem areas individually. It is the kind of book you have at your elbow at all times to reference. Easily understood. Wouldn’t leave home without it.

This book is like reading a step-by-step clinic on dressage movements. Absolutely wonderful! I would not suggest this for a beginner, though. It is written for riders who understand the aids and how to use them tactfully. I was looking for a book written for more advanced riders, and I found it!

I thought that this was an excellent book and a pleasure to read. The author is articulate, clear and interesting. The love of the author for beauty in dressage is real and is beautiful in itself. The book is not for the beginner but it is the best book on dressage I have yet encountered.

This book provides detailed instructions as to how and why various moments are performed. I learned so much about what happens when aids are not done correctly. I work alone 99% of the time and I am not able to take lessons on a regular basis…I found this soooo WONDERFULLY helpful. I gave the book four stars due to the chapter sequence. Which, IMO, is a correctable type concern rather than an actual deterrent. If you and your horse are Dressage Neophytes, with no one to inform you otherwise, and you do not have a basic understanding re: the goals and the various levels in dressage…..you would be very frustrated and could (at least in theory) damage your horse. The chapters (movements) are not arranged in a “training” order or in a way that moves you from beginning levels to the more advanced. For example Flexion, Lenthening Stride, Leg-Yielding, and Turn on the Forehand are early training concepts and listed and discussed AFTER Passage and Piaffe….which are upper level movements that require the horse to develop certain muscle groups before attempting. However, if you are a motivated beginner, who has a basic understanding of the levels and Training Pyramid… or you are lucky enough to be a more accomplished/advanced rider, then I believe this book would provide a very concrete “how to” guide. With each movement Isabell indicates how it relates to the Training Pyramid and what the goals are. Her “FAST Facts” discussion for each movement identifies when the movement should be done. This is why I said the arrangement of chapters is a correctable concern as opposed to a deterrent.
I use this book like a lesson planner. I first read the entire book (several times) then went back and highlighted the chapters I wanted to start at. I will build and add on as I accomplish the movements. Between this book and my Jane Savoie tapes all I need are arena mirrors and I would have it made! It’s great…Get it!

I have not actually finished this book, but so far, it is the BEST dressage book I have read. Mr. De Kunffy focuses on the horse being happy and relaxed. All of the horses shown in the book look GREAT! You can actually see the “elastic” feel in the reins. He also provides you with some good images for using while in the saddle; how it should feel when your seat is correct. I particulary like the fact that he emphasizes the relaxed horse. This is somewhat contrary to many dressage styles and many books I have read. I consider this book a “must have” for any horse person.

He’s got it all together. This is like an encyclopedia. One of the most thorough and inspiring books on dressage. Effective in creating a new confindence in me. Supported my deepest beliefs which I was not seeing in the dressage world around me.

this book is absolutely fantastic – the step by step instructions and analogies are amazing. i have never fully understood the half-halt until reading the chapter explaining it
i have read through the book two times in a week – it’s dumbed down and beautifully done – anyone who is wondering what the heck is dressage or if you’re upper level or whatever – buy this book – i just bought one for my trainer – and the Isabel Wirth photos and others are amazing…the beautiful horses are the topping…

This is a fabulous dressage book. Be sure to get the 2nd edition as it is a joy to read and is clear and explains everything so well. If you only get one dressage book,this should be the one. I have tons of them and this one is the best.

I have a library full of dressage books, that I actually read. Recently, I received this delightful book as a gift and love the great photos and arena diagrams of Isabell Werth “chunking” down each movement for me in visual steps and schooling patterns. Each movement is also described as “How It’s Supposed to Look”, Most Common Mistakes of the Movement”, “Correct Aids”, “Goal of the Movement, “Fast Facts”, and Pyramid Factor.” Don’t let the German to English translation “alpha – out of order” stop you from buying this book. Love it!!

Its a shame the publisher didn’t bother to re-order the contents of this book. In the original German, movements were in alphabetical order but after translation everything is in the same order it was in the original (which is out of order in English)and makes it disjointed and hard to find things.
Great photos but would have liked the description of the aids to be clearer. Many of the aids appear to be the same for mulitiple movements. i am confused – I bet horses are too! I got “Rider horses with awareness and Feel” in the same order and found the concepts in that book much clearer and easier to follow.

Although I agree that the author advocates a thoughtful and gentle approach to riding which is to be commended, as a novice to dressage I found the information hard to put to use. There is much digression into theory during explanation of the aids for various movements. I didn’t find it helpful to hear how, for example, the perfect half-pass “should” be done. I was hoping to be told what EXACTLY to do with my aids, what to avoid and how best to present this movement to my horse, as clearly as possible and without a lot of “pie-in-sky” wishful thinking. I agree with the reviewer from Charlotte that this book is not for beginners. If anyone thinks I am off the mark, please let me know – otherwise I will return this book.

At last! A book that not only tells me what to ask the horse for, but also tells me how to most effectively submit my request! So often, an author writes a book full of great ideas that remain unusable by the reader because the author fails to describe how to ask the horse effectively. “Ask the horse for movement A” is only half of the equation. The rest of the statement is “by doing X with your seat, Y with your shoulders, Z with your legs, and adjusting your hands thusly.” Mr. De Kunffy provides the whole statement. I am on the third reading of this book in a month, not because I didn’t understand it the first time, but because of the depth, breadth, and significance of the material. Mr. De Kunffy tells me how to ride the horse in balance with my seat and legs — not my hands — with amazing results. He gives me the courage to reject any false quick fixes to meet with peer approval. I see immediate returns from my recovering saddle seat Morgan in the form of increased trust and reduction of fear. This is an excellent volume for those of us who lackacess to equestrian training meccas. I expect this volume will forever affect my interactions with horses. I thank the author for telling me, clearly and beautifully, what I can do to ride well and earn the trust and influence the development and performance of my equine partners.

I’ve watched and attended clinics with Mr. de Kunffy. I have ridden dressage for 10+ years. I have found his clinics confusing. I do like this book though. I wouldn’t recommend it to new dressage riders it’s better read by the trainers and people who have ridden “real” dressage. Now to slam the beginners but it, like his clinics can be very confusing. I would recommend reading this book.

DRESSAGE SCHOOL is for any horse owner or library catering to them, and offers a blend of diagrams, color photos and written description demonstrated by Olympian rider Isabell Werth. The ‘what, how and why’ of dozens of dressage movements are explored in detail, making for a handbook that’s a ‘must’ for any serious horse rider.