Dressage Formula

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Summary: From a dressage beginner
Review: This book is a great resource, but I found that I needed to read other books targeted more for beginners to dressage (like Jane Savoie's Cross Training Your Horse and More Cross Training) to fully understand what the author was talking about. As I take lessons and learn to apply aids correctly and learn about correct movement of the horse, the books makes a lot more sense.

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Summary: One of the best dressage reference books
Review: This book is an extraordinary guide to dressage. We can see the benefits of dressage on ordinary horses and how to achieve beauty and harmony with any horse.

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Summary: Best explanation of dressage basics anywhere.
Review: This book lives by my bed and I will soon have to buy another copy because there is no more room for marginal notes, comments, etc. If I could only recommend one book about riding this would be it. There is beautiful writing here about the goals, aims and principles of classical riding, but even more helpful to the rider are the detailed chapters on the basics. Ever wondered why those great classical riders make it all look so effortless, while everyone else is huffing and puffing and fighting with their horses? Everyone talks about how important basics are and how riders spend too little time mastering them before trying to do "the movements," but most dressage books spend perhaps a few pages on position and aids and then jump right into shoulder-in and it's off to the races. Herbermann puts his money where his mouth is and actually devotes an entire book to explaining all the tiny details that go into creating the basic foundation for classical, harmonious riding. Basics, basics, basics! Chapters on the seat and position, the aids, and the signs of correct and incorrect work. If you want to get away from "band-aid" riding --riding from correction to correction-- and find a guide into the realm of correct, harmonious, classical work, this book is the place to start. This is one of the most uncompromising -- and inspiring -- discussions of the principles of classical riding you will ever read.

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Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: This is an absolute masterpiece. Beautifully written ideas that inspire new insight into the ways of the the great masters of classical equitation. There is alot of info here in very few words. It may take some time to soak up what Erik has to say but it's well worth it.