Description
Book SynopsisRiding skills guru Mary Wanless looks at a series of common rider faults or problems and, through words and photos, explains how to correct them. Each fault or problem is demonstrated by a different rider - some working at basic level, others advanced. Mary gives each rider a lesson, taking them through the (often subtle) changes they have to make, and recording their progress with specially taken photographs. Readers can witness the changes taking place and understand through Mary's gifted teaching, how to make the necessary shift to improve their own riding skills.The 'before' and 'after' pictures show not only the improvements in the rider's position and effectiveness but also in their horse's way of going, for the two are interconnected. Among the topics for in-depth discussion are rider position, muscle tone and stabilisation; how our minds and bodies learn new techniques or change old habits; rider asymmetry; mental attitudes; lateral work; advanced work; and faults such as tipping forward, leaning back, hollowing the back, rounding the back, and pulling on the inside rein.
Table of ContentsForeword by Heather Blitz Acknowledgements Introduction Part 1: Ride with Your Mind 1. On learning 2. The model: walk, trot, canter Part 2: The Clinic The Four Defaults 3. Tipping forward 4. Hollowing the back 5. Rounding the back 6. Leaning back Asymmetries 7. Symmetry and the turning aids 8. Stacking the torso Building the Skills 9. Focused concentration 10. Lateral work 11. Advanced work: half-pass, piaffe, passage and pirouettes Epilogue Index
