Favourite Books Written by Great Equine Professionals?

[jumperfreak]

Hello all, I was reading some of my favourite horse books today and I thought, hmmm, what are some other great horse books that would be beneficial to riders? So, I decided to ask. What are your go-to books you read to further your equine education?

The ones I love to read on the regular are Centered Riding by Sally Swift, Hunter Seat Equitation: Third Edition by George Morris, and “Celebrity” Jumping exercises, which is compiled by Yogi Breisner, Pat Burgess, Karen Dixon, Ginny Elliot, William Fox-Pitt, Pippa Funnell, Jane Holderness-Roddam, Mark King, Leslie Law, George Morris, Matt Ryan, and Gill Watson.

[clanter]

Saddle Seat Equitation by Helen Crabtree

[Robin]

Commonsense Horsemanship by Vladimir Littauer, the man who brought forward seat riding to the USA.

[Rackonteur]

Any nonfiction book by Margaret Cabell Self.

[Magicboy]

I like Walter zettl 's books

[hoopoe]

School for Young Riders, Jane Marshall Dillon

[Beck]

Understanding Equitation by Jean Saint-Fort Paillard.

[AdultAmmyJumper]

As a kid I loved reading Heads Up Heels Down by C.W. Anderson. If I were to pick a book today to read it would be either of Denny Emerson’s books: Know Better to do Better, or How Good Riders Get Good.

[equinelibrium]

Reflections on Riding and Jumping by William Steinkraus
Possibly my favorite book on the American Riding style. I like it better than Morris’ book because I think it explains things a little better.

Basic Training of the Young Horse by Reiner Klimke
This one’s a classic. No fluff, just a great guideline for correct basic training.

The Faraway Horses by Buck Brannaman
More of an autobiography, but I still learned a lot. Buck has a great conversational tone that makes the book a breeze to read. I think I read most of it in one day.

The Dynamic Horse by Hillary Clayton
Fantastic book about the physics of horse movement.

The Nature of Horses by Steven Budiansky
This is my absolute favorite horse book! Each chapter is about a different part of horsey science. For example, there are chapters on equine vision, herd dynamics, evolution, breeding, and biomechanics. It can be a lot at times, but this book is a wealth of information.

If you liked Celebrity Jumping exercises, you’ll like 101 Jumping exercises by Linda Allen too.

How Good Riders Get Good by Denny Emerson is a good one too. It’s not so much about training and riding, but about the mental aspect.

I’ve been meaning to get my hands on some of the books by Alois Podhajsky, who was the head instructor at the Spanish Riding School for a long time.

[NoSuchPerson]

Two that haven’t yet been mentioned:

Riding in the Moment - Discover the Hidden Language of Dressage by Michael Schaffer.

Geoff Teall on Riding Hunters, Jumpers and Equitation: Develop a Winning Style by, (duh) Geoff Teall.

[CHT]

Academic Horse Training by Andrew and Manuela McLean. Much easier read than Andrew’s first book which is more like a science text book.

[RiderInTheRain]

I read Tik Maynard’s “In The Middle Are The Horsemen” a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it.

[Trakehner]

Don’t ever get “Horsemanship” by Waldemar Seunig…absolutely ghastly unreadable book. It used to circulate on barn gift exchanges as a joke (sort’ve like a fruitcake…always moving, never eaten).

[Inclined]

Another vote for Common Sense Horsemanship (Littauer) and Know Better to Do Better (Emerson).

[ParadoxFarm]

Though not jumper related, I really like Jane Savoie’s Dressage 101.

[Magicboy]

Then there’s Xenophon, which is actually pretty great

[Jackie_Cochran]

“Give Your Horse a Chance” by Lt. Col. A. L. D’Endrody. This is a very challenging read (but easier than Seunig) and I have never been able to read it from cover to cover. This author has a LOT of solutions to problems that he learned from many top riders. I have successfully used several of his methods even though I just cannot read the whole thing.

“Schooling for Young Riders” by John Richard Young. This is not the normal schooling book, it is full of his adventures turning a pony stallion (then gelding) into a decent riding horses for both hunt seat and Western. I learned A LOT from this book about training.

“My Horses, My Teachers” by Alois Podjaksky. My husband gave it to me for Christmas in 1970, and I still read it every few years. This book is worth reading even if you never, ever want to do dressage.

[Tyrus_Mom]

OMG, I just read In the MIddle Are the Horsemen by Tik Maynard and I wasn’t able to put it down. Loved, loved, loved it. Thank you @Bluey for recommending it in another thread. Lovely engaging writing. Great story of his working student adventures at dressage, eventing, show jumping barns and one western trainer’s ranch. This guy can write, train and ride beautifully. He’s very gracious in describing his experiences with the various trainers too. Class act.

I realize this is an old thread but the book was mentioned and the topic was appropriate, so I dredged it up anyway.

[sixtysomething2]

Anything written by Lucinda Green!!

[Angela_Freda]

Margaret Cannell, Winning Ways, Lessons for Juniors from Top Trainers
Jane Savoie, That Winning Feeling
Lendon Grey, Lessons with Lendon