My only regret was not finding this book earlier! This book is a must have for every horseman’s library regardless of the discipline. It is very well written and has many supporting diagrams.

I finally understand the exercises and reasoning behind them! This is an excellent, and fast read. Not long and boring at all. Lots of diagrams that show proper bend and foot falls. Concentrates on the basic training necessary to any equestrian sport! I will refer to it for many years to come.

I really enjoyed this book for the insights it gave into training the horse. I am not a serious dressage rider but wanted to understand how to get the horse to use its back and develop balance, bend and flexion. Points which I found most useful were to be patient and not rush things, to do a range of different activities on the recenetly broken horse and how to apply the seat aid correctly.

As a relative new-comer to dressage I have struggled to understand the so-called ‘training scale’ and how I can apply it in my training program. This book was the “ah-hah” moment for me – it really explained what the training scale is about and how to obtain the qualities we are looking for by doing classical dressage.

What I really love about Von Ziegner is that he is prepared to subject the training scale to proper scrutiny and criticise it (or its manifestations) where it does not work. He has developed a 10 point ‘training tree’ which to my mind makes far more sense than the 5 level scale. It would take a more advanced rider than me to fully explain the differences, however this book is equally useful for advanced and novice riders who want to improve their riding and training.

This is a book to read and re-read, to gain more each time and revise your training program accordingly.

If you are interested in Classical dressage. . . . Buy this book! It is an excellent reference for working with a young horse. It is definitely all about the horse- as it should be.