Before I owned a horse and was able to ride regularly, I kept in touch with horses through reading horse books. I am pretty sure I checked out every possible horse book at the Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin, Illinois in both the children’s and adult’s sections when I was about 11. Now that my horse is on layup, (he will enter his rehab phase soon, hip hip hooray!) and I haven’t been able to ride very often, I am doing more reading and I love it! There was a Labor Day Sale by Trafalgar Square Books, the leading publisher of all things equestrian, and I ordered a few horse books to keep me busy and further my education. Which brings me to this official horse book haul!
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I haven’t read all three titles from cover to cover yet, but am going to highlight what I’m enjoying or have learned so far in the event you are looking for some new reads too! Feel free to peruse my favorite titles over on my Amazon Influencer page where I have readings lists for horse books and dogs books too.
The Girl on the Dancing Horse
First, I’m three chapters in to Charlotte Dujardin’s memoir The Girl on the Dancing Horse. Other than the fact she’s from England and had an otherworldly partnership with Valegro. I don’t know very much about her. Oh, and I follow her on Instagram and she seems like a class act. The little blurb on the front cover reads “An outsider, an unconventional horse, and the incredible bond that took them to the top.” That tagline is appealing because we’ve all felt like an outsider at one point or another and it’s exciting to discover how someone unexpected becomes a superstar. Am I right?
So far I’ve learned that horses were her mother’s passion, she was an eventer and showjumper, and Charlotte and her siblings all rode. They had horses in their back yard out in the country. Charlotte didn’t like school (at one point she said she has dyslexia) and she had a particular talent for riding which meant she started getting ponies that were challenging. She claims the more difficult a pony was, the more eager she was to ride it!
“I had a natural feel, a sense of what I needed to do when I got on a horse. I think now it must be similar to the way artists work: they have an idea in their mind of what they want to draw, then they get a piece of paper and do it. It’s weird, but riding is like that for me. I have a sense in my head of what I want to do, then I get on the horse and somehow I can translate it into the things I do with my legs and seat. My mum always said, ‘Charlotte’s brains are in her arse.’ I like to thing it was my natural riding ability she was referring to.”
I am enjoying The Girl on the Dancing Horse because it reads like Charlotte is talking to me. Oh! And the exciting part is I think I got an autographed copy. There is a sticker in the front and a swirly signature that looks like C. Dujardin!
55 Corrective Exercises for Horses
Next up is 55 Corrective Exercises for Horses by Jec Aristotle Ballou. Most of the book consists of color pictures with accompanying explanations of various physical therapy type techniques for injury prevention, encouraging proper movement and helping “postural problems.” It’s spiral bound which is great for if you are actually going to have this book with you while you are working your horse–you can leave it open to the page that you need.
I devoured the first three quarters of the book in one sitting, scanning for particular exercises to benefit my horse with kissing spine. Several of the back-strengthening ones will work well for Knight, I’m sure.
A couple things that stood out to me while reading 55 Corrective Exercises for Horses were:
1.) I didn’t know there were so many types of configurations to make with simple poles! Zig zag layouts for the horse’s torso stability and several raised ground poles placed end to end to end in one long line for serpentines to promote symmetry in front-end movement, and more!
2.) Riding bridleless with a neckrope/lariat encourages a horse to raise the withers and get the back swinging! I thought bridleless was just about developing a partnership and getting the rider to use their seat and legs better. I had no clue it actually can benefit the horse’s body! Jec claims that riders experience pleasant surprises doing these exercises—not only do they develop lighter communication with their horse, but the horses commonly have a different attitude toward the work.
Fun Fact: Jec trains in Northern California and writes magazine articles! How have I not come across her before? Or maybe I have, but I just can’t keep track of all the author names.
Rider and Horse, Back to Back
The third book to round out my haul, Rider and Horse, Back to Back by Susanne von Dietze is particularly intriguing to me as I have had some back problems and my horse does too. So anything I can learn to help me avoid pain and be stronger will benefit me not just for riding, but in all realms of life. In addition, the stronger I am, I know the better partner I will be for Knight once he’s working under saddle again.
By the way, did you see my article about riders and back pain in the September Horse Illustrated? Click on the Instagram post below for more info. By the way, if you’re not, follow me over on good ol’ Instagram. 🙂
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I’ve read about ten pages, but have browsed through it like a magazine, examining photos and reading captions and chapter titles. The book has been translated from German and the foreword is by Ingrid Klimke. Color photos also abound in this book, and I was captivated from the statement I read claiming that classical riding is back-friendly riding. I can’t wait to dive in to this one too.
Thank you for reading about my horse book haul and I hope you get inspired to try out one of these great reads. Please feel free to leave a comment with your top picks for fellow horse lovers.
Question: Do you find that reading books is essential to your growth as an equestrian? Or is there another way you prefer to engage with new ideas? Go ahead and share what you think in the comment section. 🙂
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I'm Susan and this is my horse Knight. We have been a blogging team since 2015 and we're glad you're here. Tally ho!
