Customer Reviews

Dressage in the Fourth Dimension

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This slim book could easily be mistaken for the latest essential dressage manual. However-- and rather unfortunately-- most typical dressage riders might steer away from it. Such is the conundrum of modern day classical training. Too many folks are looking for another "how-to" or quick fix or step-by-step guide to riding. This far-reaching book is none of those. Rather, it is the beacon of light during a dark time of modern training. I would go so far as to say it is a way of life. Without this transformational treatise, riders are simply going through motions-- they are not actually riding. To ride well, one must ponder deeper questions of what it means to connect, to exist, to balance, and on many levels what it means to be human in the horse-human relationship. This book will change your life. Buy it.

If you want to understand dressage at its deepest level and pull it together to create a pure bond with your horse, this is the book for you. While reading this book, I was able to visualize moving in harmony with my horse; not inhibiting his movement, but flowing together. My goals have always been to increase my knowledge and connection with my horse, but never at his expense. "Dressage in the Fourth Dimension," shares the beauty that can be attained when you understand that the process is more important than the goal. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to other young riders as well.

This lovely book has a simplicity and a charm just in holding it. Wrapped within its petite covers, however, is a huge insight into the spirit of any true horse person. I had to read the book slowly and carefully...as every chapter needed to be savored and digested before i read on.
I found the chapters clear but not simple...each one allows for personal growth and insight. This is NOT a "how-to-ride book", but, for me, more a "how to spiritually connect with the horse" as a partner, and as means to meet the challenge of recognizing and overcoming my own moral weaknesses and so help the horse blossom. Sherry Ackerman's words have become a means of finding gratitude in each ride.
This would not be a book, i feel, for just an average rider or horse enthusiast. It would be perfect for the horse person on that elusive journey to find more than a show ribbon and a purpose beyond a ride for everyday exercise or training. It has allowed me insight into the minds of the greatest masters past and present who talk of riding as an art to be cultivated, and the horse as an animal of unique greatness to nurtured, respected and allowed to become even more beautiful with a well trained rider aboard.
The book requires patience and thoughtful reflection, but is a gentle and satisfying read.
So why the 4 stars? I intend to re-read the book. Since i am not a scholar or philosopher, but a seeker, i need to leave room for the pieces i did not fully comprehend on the first read. They will deserve a star, too.

I've had friends who are involved in dressage though I do not ride. Having had ridden for pleasure a couple of times, I can say that there IS a funny feeling being on the back of a living being such as a horse and it's evident you have to communicate in a whole new way. This is not a passive ride in a car--you and the horse must become one in some way.

Dressage can be, according to Ackermann, a means to experiencing that one-ness and as such, the art becomes less mechanics (do this, move that) and more a dynamic between you and the horse. Her explanations are fascinating; from how the interaction of the bit and the geniohyoid muscle in the horse's mouth inhibit or promote the flow of energy to the entire horse (and she discusses the arching or flattening of the back in various styles of dressage and how they may inhibit the flow of energy) to a very amazing description of changing energy from male to female. In this case, a male rider had trouble learning how to "downshift" his horse out of trot into a slower gait. The author instructed him to visualize himself as a female sylph riding on her unicorn. Suddenly, the rider was able to effortlessly accomplish his task--channeling into a different energy and mode of communicating wordless with his mount.

If you are a rider and "stuck" on a certain level or wanting more out of your riding, this book will provoke thought and probably even puzzle you until one day, it will all make sense. A mystical and very interesting book.

As a rider, the ideas in this book changed my perspective on dressage, my realtionship with my horse and life in general. It helped my get out of my head and "just ride"! Listen, feel what the horse is telling you and you will transform. There is so much good stuff in there, it really takes some time to digest it all. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has a relationship with horses, not just those interested in dressage. However, I feel this book should be on every conscious dressage rider's short list of "go to" books. While not a technique book, as in these are the aids for a shoulder-in, it will do more for your riding than any other.

I am in a unique position to say something about this book. I got to watch it be written....and go through endless drafts as author Sherry L. Ackerman soul-searchingly introspected. The final product is as authentic as she is! She wrote it from her heart and added her "head" as later annotations.

I've known Dr. Ackerman for two decades, walking beside her as a fellow philosopher and nature mystic. Her passion for The Horse is contagious. Her knowledge of philosophy is staggering. When she puts the two together, as she has done in this tome, the synthesis is pure magic...a wisdom borne of contemplative experience shines forth.

I don't know a thing about horses, or riding...and much less dressage. And, yet, this book had alot to say to me. It's about dressage...and yet it is not. In some sense, it is just about Life...Life really well lived. Dr. Ackerman lives what she wrote. She is the real-deal and having some of "her" committed to writing is well worth experiencing. This book is a keeper!

Dear Ms. Ackerman:

Your book is wonderful - You are Wonderful - There is so much wisdom flowing through your words.

Your ideas are helping me achieve a better flow in life, in playing music, teaching, and meditation. After reading Dressage in the Fourth Dimension it feels as if my "awareness" has increased ten-fold. When playing the piano I am learning to allow myself to become more integrated, rather than a determined combatant (or victim) of Beethoven and Mendelssohn. What a happy change - I love the pervading sense of peace I have gained through a deeper, more meaningful understanding of the All Creative-Energy. Although I've been meditating for a while, since reading your book there has been a clear breakthrough. There are no words to describe such moments of well-being...

Thank you for the inspiration.

"Dressage in the Fourth Dimension" is a beautiful little book about taking the Ego and Self out of riding horses, particularly in the dressage tradition.

As an equestrian who learned to ride late in life (in my 30's) due to a deep-seated phobia, my personal experience riding horses resonate with Dr. Ackerman's treatise on "consciousness." Because I ride horses for reasons other than competition and perfection of technique, I have experienced concepts such as "being in the now," "consciousness," and "oneness with the horse" about which Dr. Ackerman writes:

"We can only ride in this moment: now. Only through a continual series of 'nows' does the rider develop the horse's potential. In this context, the rider accepts the horse as she actually is, rather than as the rider wants her to be." [p. 69]

Nevertheless, I found that the book's philosophical premises apply to other areas of life such as academic teaching and relationships. Dr. Ackerman eloquently writes passages that easily could apply to these areas:

"Harmony cannot grow between horse and rider if the horse is constantly being evaluated on isolated performance abilities.....[a] horse who has been robbed on its freedom - the freedom of its presence and brilliance, the freedom of its gaits, the freedom of its full range of motion, and the freedom of its kindness - is tragic...[f]reedom and love are synonymous." [p. 70]

Could not the word "horse" in the above passage be substituted for "student," "friend," or "lover?"

May you enjoy "Dressage in the Fourth Dimension" as much as I have.

Philosophy professor and dressage instructor Sherry Ackerman views dressage as an avenue for reflection and self-exploration. Her consideration of the philosophical aspects of a horse-related activity makes this a fine choice for either new age or horse collections, discussing how readers can use the riding experience to leave behind the analytic mind and enter into a realm of introspection.

I am grateful to Sherry Ackerman for this small treestie of great measure. I would like to suggest that anyone who walks or rides this Earth read Sherry's work. How beautifully she has designed her book to point directly to the horse/person relationship engaged in Dressage, And how subtly her message carries through to any movement executed as we finesse our way through life, both inwardly and outwardly. My first horse was given to me when I was five years old. She was a colt, and so was I. We never connected, I never trusted her, and I was left to myself to train her. I didn't, but soon ice skating became my passion, and as an eight year old I began to develop my character. Ackerman states, "When impulsion, straightness, and collection are stirred into the dressage recipe, the result is like a controlled explosion. The dance becomes a hurricane of fresh air, a blend of power and responsibility." While either on the ice or in my nightly visualizations, I spun, jumped and flew like the wind over the ice. The ice had become my mount, and I rode her well. Losing our ice area and turning to skiing, I found, again, in skiing there are the movements of collection, shifting weight, and being at one with the terrain, the snow and its conditions. I relate to this so deeply; " In essence, collection assumes the horse's [skier,s] ability to move her center of gravity... If the foundation has been properly built through work with contact - with relaxation, rhythm, [further advances] should follow smoothly." Relaxation and rhythm, these are the skier's yoga...we call it skiing the sweet spot, and those sweet moments are usually available.
My imagination went wild reading Sherry Ackermans messages. For many hours, now, I have ridden my first horse, feeling her movement and motion beneath my body. We're connected, through dreams and vision, my loss regained. This is not only a book about Dressage, I feel it is a book about life. I found many promptings that reminded me that I have known the beauty of movement and the dance of dressage in many forms. I have read Dressage the Fourth Dimension three times, and find poetic and straight from the hip gems that relate deeply to my life, helping to remember who I am. Thank you Sherry. I agree with Kealy, you are a woman who, so full of energy, wisdom, and amazing brilliance, has an eager hunger for teaching - and learning - you have done an outstanding work in this small book, and I suggest it as a Must Read for seekers on horseback, skates, skis or, most importantly, your personal means of moving about our planet. Thank you Sherry Ackerman