I’ve been diving deeper into biomechanics lately and have been reading a few of Mary Wanless’ books ( Ride with Your Mind Essentials & Rider Biomechanics ). I saw in an old thread someone mentioning that one of her books has a chapter specifically on jumping, but it’s not in either of the ones I have.
Does anyone know which book that might be? Thanks!
You’re the best! Thank you so much!
You might find that reading two books by Udo Burger will help you too.
“The Rider Forms the Horse–Function and Development of the Muscles of the Riding Horse” by Udo Burger
“The Way to Perfect Horsemanship” by Udo Burger
His books cover using the horse for jumping, dressage, and cross-country riding and training.
Is “the rider forms the horse” worth it? It sounds really interesting but I can only find it for $40 
also it’s from almost 100 years ago so I don’t know how relevant all of the information is. But I love the concept so I will definitely buy if it’s worth it.
Udo Burger was the chief veterinary officer at the Cavalry School at Hanover.
I am getting through “The Rider Forms the Horse” slowly, mainly because I no longer own a horse. I bought the book because his other book “The Way to Perfect Horsemanship” helped me figure out how to time my aids, which totally transformed my riding and my horses’ reactions to my riding.
It was truly wonderful to FINALLY get soft, square halts with no resistances from the horse. It was truly wonderful to finally get my horse “on the bit” after over a decade of resistance, and for him get on the bit with no mouth, poll or neck stiffness. It was so darn sweet when during my first riding lesson in decades to have the riding teacher blurt out “HOW did you do that?” when her resistant to stopping OTTB lesson horse gave me a soft, immediate and square halt.
Start off reading “The Way to Perfect Horsemanship”. His other book is more technical referring to the horse’s anatomy and muscles, and for me it is a much more difficult book to read.
When I got my first Udo Burger book, “The Way to Perfect Horsemanship” I lent it to a supervisor in another department who owned horses and rode Western. She sent me a thank you card and told me that it worked for her as well.
Personally I think all riders no matter which way they ride could profit from reading these books, and that the results are so delightful that it can inspire the rider to stop abusing their horse because they will no longer have to abuse their horse to get a bad imitation of the real thing.
Because of Udo Burger (plus of course Vladimir Littauer) I no longer struggle to control the horse in normal circumstances. If my balance and coordination were better (I have MS with brain damage) I would be able to ride just about any horse even when things get hairy, inspiring the horse to cooperate with me instead of spending its time trying to figure out how to successfully evade my aids.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
