From Craig's forthcoming book on dressage...

"Correct understanding can help us to identify the real from the unreal in our riding, and gives us access to a relationship with riding that takes us well past the shallow rewards of appearance and surface results.

A lot of what good riding is about is the application of philosophy. The meaning of the word philosophy is from the Greek “Philos”, meaning love, and “Sophe”, meaning wisdom... The love of that wisdom, and the love of seeking that wisdom, is a true form of philosophy, and thus a master horseman is immersed in a life that is truly philosophical...

To be a good rider you don’t need the details, you need the sense of it. It would be easier if I could say “know these 10 things and you know the horse.” The process of training doesn’t work that way—it works through contact, it is a conversation, it is a relationship. I can’t say “this is the true nature of every horse.” What I can say is “here’s where you start to look.”

You have to grasp:

• The horse you are working with as an individual- his nature and tendencies, his fear threshold and sense of self.
• The horse you are working with as a group entity- the nature of the herd, your horse’s social relationships and strategies, his position within that group.

But you must also understand just as well:

• The human in the mix: yourself as an individual- your nature and tendencies, your own fears, weaknesses, blindnesses and strengths.
• Yourself in relationship, your own social strategies. How do you connect to your world? Are you more habituated to getting your way through endearment, manipulation, straight talk or coercion? Understanding these things may help you understand how you interact with the horse- it makes sense to be aware of it, and make choices around it.

email any questions or comments to Mary Anne