Customer Reviews

Centered Riding 1

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm getting back into riding after 30 years of an occasional trail ride, overweight and out of shape. My first few sessions were not so great, so the stable owner who is a centered riding certified instructor, gave me a few lessons on a longe line and bareback pad. What a difference! By studying the basics in Chapter 2, and focusing on how my body moves with the horse, I've become balanced and confident after just 3 hours of lessons. I'm not normally a fan of programs that use imaging to achieve results, but Ms. Swift appears to have hit on a method that puts me back in the saddle so both the horse and I are comfortable.

I have read book after book hoping to improve my riding. Some were too basic (Riding Essentials and Riding (by Decker) are great for beginners), others too obscure. Since my first time studying this book, my riding has improved immensely and the horses have been grateful! Visualization is so much easier than running thru a laundry list of cues. When I find my calves flailing at the canter, I just think of rooting like a tree and they become still. Examples like this abound, and my instructor has been very impressed as well. A great buy, and possibly the only book you need if your goal is just great daily riding, not to compete.

As an adult just starting to ride, this book helped me to visualize how to balance and explained some useful riding techniques. It also made me aware of how a rider's body really affects her horse! Though sometimes difficult to do the exercises during a formal lesson, these techniques can be practiced and referred back to as I progress. Great pictures and instructor recommended.

I've read many of the reviews of "Centered Riding" and I would argue that it is a useful addition to any person's personal riding program if they want to achieve a better seat and better movement from their horses. I do not think that it is an adequate guide for learning how to ride or formulating a complete program, but it is not meant to be. Rather, it is a great addition to other resources including more detailed "how-to" books such as Jane Savoie's "Cross Training" series and one's own trainer. "Centered Riding" bridges the gap between the left-brain learning process, focused on a list of cues and movements, and the right-brain learning process, which provides the muscle memory and relaxation necessary for truly harmonious and graceful riding. I've found the book useful, but as some people have a more difficult time with visualization and much of the work must be personalized, it is best to read the book and find a trainer that can help you refine your seat and riding skills. It is immensely helpful to have someone tell you when something is "right" as part of becoming truly balanced may involve retraining your muscles, which is, at first, often uncomfortable. I have found centered riding has been a great tool to deepen my seat, relax tension, and become more aware of the horse's movement, which has drastically improved the movement of the horse in a short time and allowed me (a very type-A stressed person) to learn to relax and find a greater grace and joy in riding. I highly recommend everyone to check this concept out through the book, videos, or better yet, a trainer- it can make a big difference for a novice and refine those who are more advanced.

Sally Swift encourages you to visualize your riding by thinking of cartoons that range from legs looking like fire hoses to hands caressing birds. These pictures really help one's riding.

I love this book, but its even better if you get the accompanying video and hear Sally's voice. A rider with back problems she overcame them by learning how to center and balance.

This is a fine book for gaining a really solid seat. It covers the basics of English riding - walk, trot, canter, jumping - but also describes how to do half-halts, circles, turns, leg yielding and more advanced dressage movements.

The book is a classic reference and if you only buy one riding book this might be it. It leads you from head knowledge to the feel of riding.

This book may not help the advanced rider who is experienced in the dressage type seat. BUT for people who are new to it from other forms of riding such as huntseat (that were taught to grip and never taught about balance)or have been struggling with the 'seat' this book will be a great help in opening the doors to new ideas.

I got this book when I was 15 and it helped me greatly make the transition from a huntseat-grip dependent seat to a relaxed balanced seat.

Someone had said riding involves muscles, and yes it does. You can not sit like a sack of potatos, but the body must learn to relax and follow the horse and get a grasp of a center of gravity. I believe the type of muslce contraction the book wants to avoid are the types that are the result of rider pain, fatigue or fear. It is foundation work to using the proper muscles in good riding. There are also 'thought' techniques to achieve a good frame of mind.

To this day I still use the breathing and vision techniques when I ride. I have kept this book on my shelf for over 14 years and have had countless new riders read it.

I am 17 and training my own unbalanenced horse. By reading this book and learning to center my OWN riding, I was able to help him to become more balanced. I now have a better position and something to visualize when I am riding if I feel myself becoming uncentered. This book was extremely helpfull with my entire way of sitting. Many of her ideas can be transfered into other aspects of life too, dancing is one such example. I have found that all of her techniques too be helpfull in jumping as well as dressage. Dakota is now happier when I get on, and keeps his attention on me for a longer period of time

My instructor recommended this book a few years ago and it has changed the way I ride and how I look at riding. I come from a hunter/jumper background but I think the ideas could apply to all types of riding. The hot horses go softer with these techniques and the quiet horses become more responsive. This book helps bring the rider's mind into the sport through exercises and diagrams that show new perspectives. Her second book is also excellent. This is one of my favorite books on riding, especially since I also practice yoga and martial arts.

As a trainer, instructor, and breeder, I highly recommend this book for riders and non riders alike. It has become the bible of my teaching philosophy and has influenced my life, posture, and mental preparation in areas far beyond the realm of my horse-related career. I have recommended it to school teachers, and physical therapists (one who is using it to help my mother recover from traumatic brain injury as a result of a horrific car accident.) Easy to read and packed with illustrations, it can be absorbed by different learning types. My students are all advised to own it, and it's a gift I give to dedicated training horse clients. Enjoy!

This book has been in print for a considerable length of time - and for good reason. Sally Swift has a knack of generating useful mental models that help the learner rider grasp the elusive essentials. Riding is full of concepts that are difficult to convey to novices. It's rather like learning to ride a bike or swim - once you can do it you can't see what all the fuss was about.

Sally Swift's book should prove a useful adjunct to other instruction - whether had from an instructor or gained from books like those of Cherry Hill. The book, as its name implies, deals with the basics. In essence it aims to help you establish a "deep seat" and a "long leg" - the two basic requirements for more advanced instruction yet things that prove surprisingly difficult for most people to achieve.

I would rate this book a "good buy" rather than a "must buy".