Customer Reviews

Dressage in Lightness: Speaking the Horse's Language

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've had this book for over a year and I didn't pick it out to read until recently. I had been focused on books directed at training young horses and I thought this book would be better suited for a future stage when my mare had at least mastered the basics under saddle. Boy, do I wish I had started this book sooner!
I found this book to be the perfect companion book to others I have on starting young horses. Primarily because it makes you think about what you, as a rider, are doing. It is all too easy to focus on the young horse, instead of yourself. But if you have picked up bad habits along the way, you'll be hindering your progress and frustrating your horse.
What I like most about this book, is that it gives you the horses perspective, how he feels about each movement and how you deliver the aids. It encourages you to breakdown each movement and think about what you are doing as a rider - are you asking correctly and using the aids effectively.
The first few chapters (literally the first half of the book) are excellent for training a young horse, or re-schooling an older one. The subsequent chapters build up through the levels, from Training Level to Grand Prix. I know this book will be well used.

An excellent reference, a fascinating read! This book goes beyond the usual "this leg goes here, this hand goes there". Instead, it invites us to feel for ourselves, from the horse's perspective, what it is we are telling him with our bodies.

Everything written here is clear, sensible and truly Classical in its obvious respect and love for the horse. It is also deeply inspirational, inviting us to ride as artists.

My friends and I have been using the methods outlined in this book, and I am happy to report that they are very effective.

Sylvia Loch's "Dressage in Lightness" Speaking the horses language, is a Masterpiece!

Sylvia's knowledge & experience are reflected in every chapter, of this most educational and enjoyable book. She is so logical in her theory and teachings, that everything works so well when applied, making your work, and your horses, extremely pleasurable! She teaches how to listen to your horse, feel his every movement, move with him to make him more comfortable.

Ample illustrations and pictures of several magnificent horses, showing their progress from Basic level to Piaffe...

A "Master of Dressage", Sylvia Loch, will amaze you with her brilliant way of teaching "Dressage in Lightness"

This is a very large book that would like the reader to believe that by reading it and following it they may become a Classical Rider. "The truth is" if only it were so easy. While the author is clearly a skilled rider and trainer, this book has too much (and too little) between its bindings. The list of suggested books at the end is excellent, and if the readers only have time to read only one book then this one gives a nice presentation about classical riding. However; if one does have the time to read additional books, the concepts presented are already fully explained and in better detail by the old Masters. While I appreciate her re-explaining old concepts from her perspective, I did not see any "new" ideas to elevate this book to "great" status. Her other work, Dressage: The Art of Classical Riding... Now there is a GREAT book.

I am the owner of many books on learning how to ride and this is the best yet. Sylvia is extremely clear in her explanations of the aids and the rider's position and how they affect the horse's experience of being ridden. My own riding improved 2000 percent after reading this book and my horse began to voluntarily move into self-carriage more and more often. He even started to enjoy his dressage! In addition, her sensitivity to horses and her own quest for perfection gave me greater insight and helped me to listen more to them.

Sylvia has again produced another well-written and thorough book. I found many of her perspectives very insightful and she writes in an easy to follow method. She references many other dressage riders during the work and allows the reader to better understand her perspective. Pictures (both sketches and photos) are great and add to the understanding of the text. Some good example photos that probably took a lot of time to get.

I cannot adequately describe the beauty and accuracy with which she writes. Clarifying the aids, and the horse's biomechanics and perceptions with a truly classical constructive approach.

A truly helpful, different perspective with easy to understand content for all riders.

This book has inspired me to become a better rider for my horse's sake. It goes into detail from the horse's perspective which is very helpful in reminding me to be a more sensitive rider. The author does an excellent job of explaining basic dressage in enough detail to really provoke thought. I read it twice through when I got it and it really helped back up many of the things my instructor has been telling me.

This book is thorough and well-written. I enjoy the Author's perspective very much, and I think anyone new to riding or dressage might find it very enlightening. Like one of the previous reviews, however, I agree that it doesn't provide anything new, and more advanced students would probably get more out of reading the old masters. But a very good book, and I'm glad I bought it - definitely worth a read!!

Finally a book on classical dressage that really tells you HOW to do it. Sylvia Loch is fantastic. I recommend this book to those who sometime feel like the real detail of how to apply the aids is missing from other dressage texts.