Dressage Training Customized

Britta Schoffman.

Second hand, hardback, filled with photos and illustrations. Very good condition.

Schooling the horse as best suits his individual personality and Conformation! 

"Horses are comples creatures. Our challenge in training them whether for competition or for pleasure is to take both their instinct and intelligence into account, along with the other aspects that formulate a horse's "type": character, conformation, gender, and breed.

Perhaps you have a "hot," sensitive, short-coupled Thoroughbred mare, and your friend has a placid, long-backed Warmblood gelding. Doesn't it make sense that you work them differently? One of you must ride quietly and assuredly while focusing on stretching and relaxing the horse's mind and body. The other must ride actively, compress her horse's frame, and keep him from "falling asleep."

All too often people try to apply the same techniques, in the same order, with the same intensity, regardless of their horse's defining characteristics. The result? At best slowed or stalled progress in learning movements and maneuvers, and at worst a fractured horse-and-rider relationship-or even a "ruined" mount.

Now Grand Prix dressage rider Britta Schöffmann has provided an in-depth key to the major horse types, as well as training "roadmaps" for each. She explains that no matter how experienced a rider you are, whether this is your first dressage prospect or your fiftieth, every horse is different, and each one must be treated as an individual when it comes to planning and implementing a training program.

Learn how to ascertain a horse's character by looking at his ears, eyes, and stance, and noting his reactions under saddle. Is he easily upset? Spooky? Maybe he's an overachiever and falls apart when he makes a mistake. Is he always "up to no good," or "looking for trouble"? Perhaps he's a prankster that needs to be kept busy.

Find out why your horse's anatomy plays a role in how he's trained. The length of his back, the shape of his neck, the set of his legs, his size and stature all impact his ability to perform, as well as his longevity as a dressage mount. And your horse's gender must be taken into account-does he have a gelding's pliable attitude, a mare's hormonal swings, or a stallion's machismo?"