A Horseman's Notes

Rating:
Summary: A Horseman's Notes
Review: Mr. Herbermann has shown us the way to enter the sanctuary of the horse. This book, A Horseman's Notes, makes the path crystal clear. I've seen Erik ride; he practices what he preaches. Even difficult horses soon come under his tea cozy. If you've been searching for the truth about riding and training horses, this book will shed some much needed light on the subject. Thank you, Erik...and my horses thank you! You are a true Master of Horsemanship.

Rating:
Summary: A book to be read and read again.
Review: The older I get, the more I appreciate the vast generosity of horses - and the more I value the rare trainers and riders who are willing to live up to that generosity by truly putting the horse's welfare first. Mr. Herbermann is one of these, and A Horseman's Notes is a wonderful meditation on the lessons learned through a lifetime of riding.

There are sentences here that have the power to change your riding ... if you're ready to read them.

Whenever I see a rider kicking, pushing and fiddling to "make the horse round" or " get him on the bit," I think of Mr. Herbermann's injunction that everything in front of the withers is a "billboard" on which the horse posts his minute-by-minute evaluation of the rider's seat ... and on which the rider writes only at the risk of losing the horse's trust and partnership!

Whenever I hear riders talking about horses as if they were lazy children who have to be forced to work "for their own good," I remember Mr. Herbermann's warnings about the need for riders to put their ambition aside and LISTEN to their horses instead of constantly dictating and demanding. And so on and so forth...

Equally valuable are the illustrations, which show great classical masters riding proud, confident, relaxed horses: a picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words antidote to the stressed out, overbent, tail-wringing performances that give dressage a bad name.

This book goes on the shelf next to Wajten, Podhajsky, Oliveira and the other classics. If you're looking for quick fixes, go elsewhere. But if you're ready to venture into a way of riding that acknowledges the horse as a full and valued partner, then this is a book to read and read again.