Customer Reviews

Long Reining: The Saumur Method

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This book focuses exclusively on long-reining, and what a treat it is. Lavishly illustrated with color photographs throughout (all taken in France), beautiful, fit horses are worked through various exercises by Philippe Karl, impeccable in his uniform and coveted golden spurs (which have to be earned) of the Saumur, so the reader sees a master at work.

The first major chapter sets the stage for all work in dealing with the gymnastics of the horse, how he moves, his anatomy, sequence of footfalls, balance, bio-mechanics, all of which are well-diagrammed with line drawings. It is supported with quotes from many well-known masters of the past (de la Gueriniere, Raabe, Licart, Kerbrech, D'Auvergne, L'Hotte).

Equipment is dealt with in the opening chapters, and one thing the Europeans have over there which we don't are surcingles with the rings further down the side of the horse for a lower placing of the lines. Everything is clean, simple, and workmanlike, of quality.

Not only do we see basic work on the long reins, but also innovative exercises as well, with clear line drawings illustrating the movements described to break the monotony of the work and to develop the horse's agility and sharpen his response to the aids.

The Europeans believe in introducing horses to jumping as well, feeling that it produces a more all-around athlete, and in this book as well, a section covers work over fences fully illustrated with those beautiful photographs.

While the main focus of the book is the long reining, there are many photographs of mounted work with which to compare to the photographs of ground work so that the reader sees how each enhances the other and how the pieces fit together.

The piece de resistance is the end of the book, the dessert of the work, the piaffe(r) and passage in hand, as well as pesade. With Philippe Karl's detailed description of how to execute the exercises, I feel that I could teach my horse to do them, too.

While this book is a unique and valuable training tool, it is pretty enough to be a coffee table book as well. The photographs alone are enough to make the reader salivate, and I would go so far as to say some are works of art in themselves.

This book came out in 1992 and did not remain in print very long, but fortunately it has been reprinted.

Every lover of horses should read this book if they want to understand the art of perfect equine fitness. I am using it to help me train a mare recovering from a long illness. She cannot bear the weight of a rider on her back yet, but she can benefit greatly from the exercises shown in this book. The author is clear and direct; a very talented author and teacher. The photos are excellent. I have purchased many books on long reining, and this is by far the best.

If you're working with a young horse or are unable to ride and want to keep up with your dressage training, buy this book. Although the book is short, the pictures and text are very clear. Karl teaches basic lunging and driving all the way to passage and piaffe. His methods are gentle to the animal. Lots of diagrammed arena exercises. The troubleshooting was great. I taught my mare shoulder-in on 3 and 4 tracks in one hour. I had to stop riding due to pregnancy but I have been able to keep up with my training.

This book does a great job of getting to the point and letting you know what you need to do and what you should expect form your horse. There isn't any fluff that you need to short through to know what to do, and Karl doesn't skirt around training issues. Since he wrote the book in a nice progression of exercises any level of horseman can use this book and learn from it. I would recommend this book for those who are wanting to learn this technique of training your horse.

This is a great book for those who enjoy ground work with a horse. The work in short lines establishes a close rapport between horse and trainer, and this book is very clear on how to go about it.

I love this writere and the book is great. I will enjoy usng the methods in it and so will my horse. Well worth the fortune I paid

For those of you who have ever thought about it, long reining can be an excellent way to build muscle, keep older horses in work and generally develop your relationship with your horse - and if you're thinking of trying it, you'll want to take a look at this book - it's the definitive guide to long reining by one of our `live and kicking Masters of horsemanship.

We rated this 9/10

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Such a simple and straight forward approach. I know that if I take a patient approach, these tools, as outlined by Phillipe Karl, will take myself and my horses far!

Tres Bien!