Unfortunately, much of neurology is plagued with drugs and medication as the foremost treatment. Drugs have their place, but as you have indicated, sometimes the simple and tangible solutions are the best, such as riding.
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My trainer and I are really the only oneās to jump him, at least recently. He doesnāt refuse jumps with her nearly as much
āNearly as muchāā¦nuff said. If your trainer canāt get this horse around, how are you supposed to? I donāt know many reputable trainers that would put even their advanced riders on horses they canāt ride themselves. Good lesson horses are worth their weight in gold!
There is another horse I can ride but he is the exact opposite of this one. Heās great at jumps and will go over anything you point him at but the way he rides is vastly different than any other horse Iāve been on and I find him to be very uncomfortable (started a separate thread on him a while back :lol:)
^^^If you want a riding challenge, then challenge yourself to ride this horse. Youāll be better for it. Some of the most effective riders Iāve seen got that way because they picked up a lot of catch rides or worked for a sales stable. The more types of horses you ride, the better youāll become. Only riding one type of horse will only make you one type of rider. (And in the case of your current horse, itās not the kind of rider you want to be.) Some very, very nice horses have also been very, very uncomfortable. I can usually tell if Iām on a great moving hunter, because I find them quite uncomfortable.
Good luck!
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@twixNnater Iām certainly open to riding the other horse more often (or switching to him altogether) but for some reason my trainer has me on this current horse almost exclusively. These are the only two lesson horses left. Everyone else either leases a horse or owns their own horse.
Iām assuming from your user image thatās you, and youāre a gentlemen?
Iāve known a few male riders who enjoy challenging rides / risk taking, more than some women riders might.
I think may be important for you to contemplate your riding goals, and see if you can narrow down your goals in a way that helps clarify what it is you are really wanting to achieve from your horsemanship endeavors.
The training of a ādifficultā horse is not always going to be within the capability of a beginner or intermediate rider to properly evaluate. Some may enjoy the challenge of working with such an animal, but that does not necessarily facilitate a scenario that is in the best interests of the needs of the horse.
If there is a trainer involved as there apparently is in your case, this particular horse may be beyond the ability of the trainer to evaluate as well.
A key aspect of advanced horsemanship is realizing that every time a horse is ridden, it is also being trained. In many cases the horse is simply being trained how to respond to having one particular rider on itās back. But the key here is understanding that repetitively riding a horse that continues to refuse, reinforces refusal as a behavior for the horse to repeat.
Evaluation of the horse requires educated study of the horses overall behavior, and thatās not always going to be within the capacity of an intermediate rider to functionally carry out. One could be dealing with any manner behavioral issue, or a physiological issue. For example, has the horses vision been checked by a vetā¦ might there be any medical issue causing pain or neurological issue that may possibly have something to do with the horseās behavior?
How is the horse on the flat?? How is the horse at liberty out at pasture?? How is the horse on a lunge line?
Advanced horsemanship requires a full understanding of rudimentary training protocol, and procedurally evaluating the horse as if the horse were a green horse. The purpose of this type of evaluation based on fundamental levels of training, is to identify those areas of training that may be incomplete of nonexistent.
It requires a whole bunch of detective work, a level of experience to recognize what each ātestā is revealing, and a level of knowledge for how to best address those discoveries by applying remedies.
No one will know why this particular horse behaves as it does until someone knowledgeable preforms a proper evaluation to determine the cause of the horses behavior.
Once the horseās behavior is understood. Corrective training might then be attempted, medical treatment initiated, or other relevant issue(s) addressed, that are all based on the findings.
What typically doesnāt work, is creating a repetitive pattern for the horse that contains some undesirable behavior that is not properly addressed. Repetition is good when training a horse when the repetition consists of those behaviors the trainer desires to reinforce.
Hope the above may provide some new insights not yet considered.
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@alterhorse A great post, thank you
That is indeed me in my user image and I am a male. I do love adrenaline and riding isnāt the riskiest activity Iāve taken part in thus far in life. I donāt mind challenging/tough horses; if anything I enjoy the challenge and want to make sure I never become a mediocre rider on those push-button horses. Regardless of horse, however, I want to make sure Iām riding with proper form, mechanics, etc. and the consensus from this thread is that that is not happening. And while it may not be proper to assess my riding ability holistically from a few short videos, the deficiencies that many have identified just from that snippet such as lack of independent seat, noisy hands and legs, incorrect aids, etc. are things that I do struggle with (better/worse depending upon horse) and the instruction being given just isnāt translating correctly.
Interesting that you bring up riding goals as I was just contemplating that the other day. Iām very goal oriented so I have big goals with respect to riding, but as you say, I need to drastically narrow these down as theyāre too broad. I canāt work on the nuances of riding if my head is in the clouds. The problem is, even nuanced riding goals can be pretty broad. This might be a topic for another thread but for example, take the goal of developing an independent seat. That can be further broken down into many elements. I suppose the solution is to just keep breaking the goals down to very simple elements. Iām going to need lots of paper :lol:
It was this forum in another post that I came to understand that every time you ride a horse, youāre being trained just as much as they are being trained and itās stuck with me since. That said, the rigors of fully evaluating let alone training a horse in the way that you described is well beyond my abilities at the moment. We can safely assume Iām not exactly training this horse properly, despite any/all progress Iāve made with him over the past 6 months if my riding needs needs this much work and the last thing I want is to be doing is damage to the horse in any way.
@centaursam, Hi, you NEED to read books by two ex-cavalry men, one American, the other Russian.
The American, Harry D. Chamberlin, he wrote āRiding and Schooling Horsesā and āTraining Hunters, Jumpers, and Hacksā. He was US Cavalry, Olympic 3-Day gold winner, Bragadier Gen. of the US Cavalry.
The Russian. He was a fighting Hussar in WWI. His two main books are āCommon Sense Horsemanshipā and āSchooling Your Horseā.
When I got my first horse, a just gelded 5 yr. old green-broke Anglo-Arab gelding the only riding experience I had was 2 lessons and going on family trail rides for around 4 years every week or so. I knew NOTHING. I was lucky and got one week of lessons at a Forward Seat stable (which followed Littauer), then I was mostly on my own since I could not find a teacher who would teach me what I wanted to learn. I did not ruin my horse, only because I followed these books religiously, these are the books I measure every teacher, trainer and rider against. These books never led me wrong in my goal of producing a horse that was a true pleasure to ride, fit, obedient, a horse I could have FUN on!
The only reason I can ride securely with my MS is because I ride in the seat described by Vladimir Littauer and Harry Chamberlin. I could not find good teachers, I could not afford a trainer to train my horse better, I did it all by myself with the help of these books (mainly Littauer).
Once you read these books you will be better prepared to judge what your teacher does, the training status of the lesson horses you ride, you will be better prepared to select a decent horse whenever you decide to buy one, and they will most definitely help you get to your goals.
Cavalrymen were not sissies. They were daring and bold. These cavalrymen will not lead you wrong for the type of riding you will be able to do during the next 4-5 years. After that you should be well prepared to do whatever you want on horseback, with proper instruction to learn new ways of doing things for different sports like dressage (in my own opinion you need to be a decent rider to get much benefit from dressage instruction, it can be a much more complicated way to ride without the thrills you seem to want right now).
All these books are available on Amazon, and the used copies can be rather cheap at times.
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A more push button horse will allow you to focus more of your energy on improving your basics and installing the right muscle memory. Beginners need to be on saintly horses because you have to get those skills down before you can focus on a more difficult ride. Because you have to know how to apply and adapt your aids without thinking about it on a horse that is less forgiving or more difficult. It would be good to try to invest in an opportunity with a real schoolmaster type for now. With a stopper, you are likely installing as many bad postures and habits into your riding as good. At a time where the good is not yet ingrained in you. I think it will wind up taking longer and being a continued source of frustration for you to go farther down this path.
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@Jackie Cochran I love old books, thank you for the recommendation! I have a few old books on riding and while some things are a bit outdated, much of the fundamentals are still similar, if not identical, to āmodernā riding books I have read.
@IPEsq A good point, thank you. I can set aside the challenging horses for now although I need to find a new place to ride first for that to happen.
OP, the statement that whenever you are riding you are training the horse is actually only half of the saying. The entire saying is: Every time you are riding you are either training or untraining the horse. I think the same can be said for the riderās progression or regression. At this point in your riding, I think you need to focus on small goals such as mastering independent seat and hands, and learning techniques that utilize those skills.
For example, learning proper leg yields and haunches in/ shoulder in requires independent seat and hands, as well as elastic contact. With all of these things mastered, you can ride a lovely course of poles or small jumps while maintaining contact and keeping your horse between your legs and hands. But trying to jump around a 3ā course with none of these skills is like trying to drive a stick shift with one foot, one hand and one eye covered - youāve got no actual basis of control. Imagine what the horse is learning or unlearning from this.
No matter how lofty your eventual goals, please allow yourself the opportunity to learn the basics that will make you that much better going forward, both as a rider and a horseman. Find a trainer who will take the time to teach you these skills, not just set the jumps, put you on what needs to be ridden and see what happens.
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The words you chose to construct your above post causes me to think you may possibly be what some might call a ātechnical riderā.
Technical riderās tend to approach learning horseback riding as system of individual rules. Theyāll tend to have a busy mind that is continuously running through an internal dialog of what each part of their body should be doing as they ride. The horse is usually included in this internal dialog as following itās own rule-based responses to the commands provided by the rider.
A gigantic problem is that riding books often tend to reinforce this type technical thinking, by breaking down the explanation of riding into individual elements so they may be understood. The rider who is thinking technically as they ride will tend to be mentally cycling through a list of riding rules in real time, this tends to prevent the rider from clearing their mind and essentially experience riding as a form of āliving in the momentā.
The rules, theory, methodologies, principles, and concepts one learns, are certainly truths that are required to be understood. However, if the rider continues to learn, and rides suitable horses, under the tutorage of excellent trainers. One day they will very likely have a moment of epiphany where they find they are no longer thinkingā¦riding becomes a full in the moment experienceā¦ and most importantly of all, they can āfeelā the communication and connection they have with their horse, and are fully aware of how their horse is moving entirely from a sense of feeling.
I might call this revelation the āsecretā of riding that canāt be taught, and must be experienced before it can be understood.
Balance, centered riding, independent aids, connection, impulsion, collection, roundness, suppleness, are all concepts that can be described in words and conceptually understood. But no rider will have a working understanding of any of these things until that day comes that they are perceived as feelings they share with the living breathing sentient horse upon which they are riding.
This is why having the self discipline to master the foundation of riding is so important. This is why good trainers start their young students on a lunge line doing āround the worldsā. And why classical dressage training is the identical foundation required for anyone with ambitions of jumping.
Flat work may not seem exciting and fun to someone whoās ambition is to jump big fences. But itās where 70% of the challenge for becoming a competent rider must first be mastered.
A good trainer will introduce jumping as a part of an entire riding program when they feel the student is ready. But the goal of the good trainer is to have their students riding with a sense of instinctive feeling from their seats before progressing onto more advanced jumping work.
But not all trainers do this, and itās why so many riders require extensively professionally trained horses to participate in upper level jumping classes.
The moral of the story isā¦ donāt look down on W/T/C flatwork as an activity for beginners.
** When the day comes when a rider masters the ability to put their horse on the bit, rides that horse from their leg into their hands, collects the horse and feel that horse come round and lighten his forehand beneath them, that is one of the most amazing experiences a rider can ever know. Itās like riding on the back of pure power, and the sense of connection, communicating, and bond with the horse, are beautiful.**
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One thing you could look into are the US Cavalry re-enactment groups. One time one of my riding teachers drove cross country to Washington state and stopped to see horse artillery re-enacters and watched them. When she talked about this when she got back she told me that these men rode just like I do, basically Forward Seat or the Fort Riley āmodernā cavalry seat.
This is another place where you could find what you are looking for. From what Iāve picked up the ones who ride in English saddles tend to follow the later US Cavalry book on riding and training.
To KNOW if these re-enactors are doing what you want to learn ask if they follow āHorses and Horsemanshipā, Vol. I, by The Cavalry School, Academic Division, Fort Riley, Kansas. My copy was reprinted in 1950, it was originally published in 1942. Chamberlinās books are further discussions on this US Cavalry book.
Chamberlin got an excellent education for riding horses. He was sent for a while to Pinorelo (sp???), one of Italyās cavalry school where he learned Forward Seat. He then was sent for a while to Saumer (sp.?) the French cavalry school. His basic seat was the Forward Seat (Italy), his training methods were developed from what he learned at Saumer.
Littauer basically picked up on the Forward Seat when he was puzzling out how to train American riders at his Boots and Saddles riding school in NYC. This was during the Great Depression, and his students had to pay $5.00 for a lesson back then, an enormous amount of money for most people, and he required his students to do two āhomework ridesā between each lesson. During this time he period he visited to the Olympics in Berlin and talked with a Chilean Cavalry man, where he learned the Chilean Cavalryās system of training. Littauer developed his system over the years and around 1935 he published āRiding Forwardā, which was published under two other titles too, āThe Forward Seatā and āModern Horsemanship for Beginnersā, all three titles are the same book. While I love, love, love āCommon Sense Horsemanshipā I did find additional minor points in this earlier book that made everything much clearer to me.
Another old good book is āSchool For Ridingā by Sergei Kournakoff. Kournakoff was a partner of Vladimir Littauer in their riding school in NYC. His book is pure Forward Seat, and it is the nearest thing possible to a multi-media presentation in 1938, with lower corner flip-page āfilmsā, stick figures showing the basics of position, and even short musical scores for āillustratingā the sounds of the gaits. When I got this book I had been riding Forward Seat for around 40 years, and I found knowledge that helped my position enormously (as in my riding teacher stopped complaining about several things about my position), little hints on how to exactly do things like keeping your shoulders back and your head in the right place while riding. If I had run into this book when I started riding seriously I would have become a better rider much more quickly than I was able to. Kournakoff was also a cavalry man from Russia.
These men were cavalrymen. They wrote about what they learned from cavalry schools (USA, Italy, France, and Chile.) I do know that Littauer and Kournakoff actually FOUGHT as cavalrymen in WWI. They were not wimps at all, and they taught their students to be bold riders. They also taught their students how to be bold riders in a way that was more humane to the horse, teaching them how to get the horsesā willing cooperation.
I hope you enjoy these books. They have helped me immeasurably for the many years I was on my own, unable to afford good lessons and unable to find good lessons in the Forward/Cavalry seats even if I had been rich enough to afford these lessons. I am mostly self taught for riding with just occasional lessons for my first 40 years of riding, and I picked up how to train horses from these books, I never got lessons on how to actually TRAIN a horse.
My riding teacher gets a kick out of seeing me deal with the problems of the horses she puts me on. Most of these horsesā problems are minor, from the horses never being taught how to accept the bit properly, but she also put me up on one horse who was a devoted balker who would back up uncontrollably whenever he did not want to do something. She likes seeing me figure her horses out, and she likes seeing me improve these horses.
My riding teacher is a very competent trainer, when I see her train a horse I am usually in awe of her because I know how hard it can be. She is the only horse trainer down here that, if I had a horse that needed training, I would turn the horse over to her full of confidence that she would train the horse properly for my type of riding. I TRUST my riding teacher even though I donāt always agree with her.
As for the experienced riders on here insisting that you absolutely NEED dressage lessons to become a competent rider, well Iāve only had one dressage lesson in my whole life. Iāve managed fine. In fact one time I had too many riding horses to ride my first horse regularly and I ran into a lady that ran a stable who was looking for a āconfidenceā builder horse for one of her dressage riders who had lost her confidence completely on her last horse. I was open to leasing my horse to a good stable, so this lady and her student came out to try him out in a pasture (the stable I was at did not have a riding ring.) The stable owner got on, rode him around at all three gaits, and got off GUSHING āyou just ask him to do something and he does it right away!ā Her student got up on my horse, rode him around, then asked if she could bring out her dressage teacher to try him out. I said yes. A week later her dressage teacher came out, rode my horse, got off of him, and told her student to BUY HIM.
My horse had never been trained for dressage. I had managed to ride him collected for only a minute of so all the years I owned him, but I got my horse to be sensitive enough and responsive enough to the aids that the student, the barn owner, and the dressage teacher all though he was completely suitable as far as training to serve as a confidence builder AND to be a horse to take dressage lessons on while she rebuilt her confidence.
Dressage riders and trainers are not the only ones capable of being able to train and ride a horse to a high level. Forward Seat riders can do all of this just fine though we avoid collection. If this was not so, then how in the world could I, a handicapped Forward Seat rider, train a horse from the green broke stage all by myself and produce a riding horse that the best dressage teacher around here at that time considered properly trained for her dressage student to become a better dressage rider?
Centaursam, from what youāve written about yourself you sound like an adrenaline junkie. Forward Seat and/or US Cavalry riding should suit you just fine and they will get you to where you want to go. They will also get your riding up to the point that when you finally decide that, yes, you need dressage lessons you will be able to get the full benefit of these lessons which tend to be quite a bit more expensive than jumping lessons and a lot more picky about details, with very few āthrillsā until you get to an advanced level of dressage, like after 5 years or so of dressage lessons.
Enjoy reading the books. Keep on riding. Look for cavalry/horse artillery re-enactors and see what they have to offer, they may be good sources for stable/instructor recommendations. And HAVE FUN! There is nothing like a full gallop cross country on a willing horse.
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This is a very good post. Iām a very analytical person, and what you have said is so important for people like me and the OP. One thing I really like about riding is that it allows me to turn my brain off from all of the analysis I do all day for my work. While it can be good to be really in tune with fine details (for example, this is how you can have minute control of a spur, or this is how you can put a technical course together because you understand the physics of how the elements relate to each other), I canāt say Iāve ever done well due to overthinking anything when it comes to riding. Quite the opposite. You have to be able to feel and do without thinking, while having a lot of control over a lot of different muscles and body parts individually. It is definitely harder to learn that as an adult versus a kid. And if you get defensive for whatever reason (been there done that with a difficult horse), you will lose some independence of the aids because you are always in a state of readiness for something to go wrong, for the urgent need to hang on tight.
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I have always been one to enjoy riding a project horse, but as I have gotten older, my definition of project horse has changed. Would I pay to ride a lesson horse like youāre describing? No, probably not. This horse doesnāt sound like he should be on a lesson horse string. Not at all. If I enjoyed riding the horse, would I consider leasing it? Maybe, but Iād have to really like the horse. I really feel like this horse is an inappropriate horse to learn on, particularly when you are dealing with some issues from bringing the horse along. I feel like riding another horse where you can primarily worry about yourself and not have to worry about driving the horse forward so much, or is he going to spook or stop today would be much more beneficial to you as a rider.
Iāve never been a very brave rider, but my confidence really took a hit when I was over faced with a green horse that I refused to give up on. I didnāt realize how much some of my fears had taken over until I started riding other horses. Riding horses that I was able to worry about myself a bit more and not have to worry about what the horse underneath me was going to do, it was a lot easier to make progress. I still have a lot of work to do, but riding horses other than the green horse I had been on was much better for me as a rider.
I appreciate that you are asking for suggestions because sometimes we need an outsider perspective, but I feel like going separate ways with this horse really is going to be a lot better for you.
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@alterhorse Very eloquently stated
My brain is definitely active, all the time. Part of the reason why I like riskier activities is because they force you to turn off a loud brain and focus on the moment. But as you said, for something like riding, you can definitely get wrapped up in techniques and orchestrating them through a linear process. Iām also very controlling (not violently in any way). I just like to constantly be in control of the situation no matter what Iām doing, constantly compartmentalizing thoughts/emotions to execute the task at hand and that definitely gets in the way of riding, especially instinctual riding as you describe, where you have to essentially let go and place your trust in another being. As @IPEsq said, when things go awry I get defensive/tense which absolutely backfires on a challenging or even forward horse.
Iām totally okay with setting aside jumping and going back to the flat. I never had any hangups about dressage, although never did fancy the longer stirrups :lol: Flat lessons do open up more options for me in my area so perhaps this is the correct move for the time being.
@Jackie Cochran A few of the older books I have were all written by cavalry officers. Interestingly, Napoleon and his cavalry were renowned across Europe so Iām sure what weāre reading about today was developed hundreds of years ago. Iād certainly be open to giving it a try and Iāll start looking for cavalry riders in my area. I galloped on the beach once and it was amazing. Would love to find an open field with a great horse and just take off.
@alterhorse Very eloquently stated
My brain is definitely active, all the time. Part of the reason why I like riskier activities is because they force you to turn off a loud brain and focus on the moment. But as you said, for something like riding, you can definitely get wrapped up in techniques and orchestrating them through a linear process. Iām also very controlling (not violently in any way). I just like to constantly be in control of the situation no matter what Iām doing, constantly compartmentalizing thoughts/emotions to execute the task at hand and that definitely gets in the way of riding, especially instinctual riding as you describe, where you have to essentially let go and place your trust in another being. As @IPEsq said, when things go awry I get defensive/tense which absolutely backfires on a challenging or even forward horse.
Iām totally okay with setting aside jumping and going back to the flat. I never had any hangups about dressage, although never did fancy the longer stirrups :lol: Flat lessons do open up more options for me in my area so perhaps this is the correct move for the time being.
@Jackie Cochran A few of the older books I have were all written by cavalry officers. Interestingly, Napoleon and his cavalry were renowned across Europe so Iām sure what weāre reading about today was developed hundreds of years ago. Iād certainly be open to giving it a try and Iāll start looking for cavalry riders in my area. I galloped on the beach once and it was amazing. Would love to find an open field with a great horse and just take off.
@alterhorse Very eloquently stated 
My brain is definitely active, all the time. Part of the reason why I like riskier activities is because they force you to turn off a loud brain and focus on the moment. But as you said, for something like riding, you can definitely get wrapped up in techniques and orchestrating them through a linear process. Iām also very controlling (not violently in any way). I just like to constantly be in control of the situation no matter what Iām doing, constantly compartmentalizing thoughts/emotions to execute the task at hand and that definitely gets in the way of riding, especially instinctual riding as you describe, where you have to essentially let go and place your trust in another being.
Iām totally okay with setting aside jumping and going back to the flat. I never had any hangups about dressage, although never did fancy the longer stirrups :lol:[IMG2=JSON]{ādata-alignā:ānoneā,ādata-sizeā:āfullā,āsrcā:"https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/core/image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==)āā¹ Flat lessons do open up more options for me in my area so perhaps this is the correct move for the time being.
@Jackie Cochran A few of the older books I have were all written by cavalry officers. Interestingly, Napoleon and his cavalry were renowned across Europe so Iām sure what weāre reading about today was developed hundreds of years ago. Iād certainly be open to giving it a try and Iāll start looking for cavalry riders in my area. I galloped on the beach once and it was amazing. Would love to find an open field with a great horse and just take off.
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Actually the Forward Seat/Italian seat/Ft. Riley seat are rather modern in cavalry terms. Caprilli, and Italian Cavalry officer, developed the Forward Seat in the late 1890s-early 1900ās. Part of his reason may have been that the machine guns and tanks could completely destroy the once effective cavalry charges. Cavalry at that time started to be only truly effective for scouting (extremely important) and surprise attacks behind enemy lines.
This required horses who could go cross-country, jump fences and earthen banks, gallop fast under control, and a horse that could intelligently obey his rider over challenging country, all the time avoiding the enemyās patrols, and do this in groups or alone as circumstances required.
Before Caprilli developed the Forward Seat, the non-British Isles cavalry men considered jumping a fence a rather daring feat, and very dangerous except for really experienced cavalrymen.
Then Caprilli developed the Forward Seat, spending hours watching his favorite mare run around the arena and jumping fences. He developed a ādummyā rider (totally inactive), put this dummy in the saddle on his mare, and watched what happened on the flat and over jumps. He then got up on horseback and tried, over and over again to develop a jumping seat that was safe, effective and secure. I read that he fell off horses over 400 times before he found out exactly what he needed to do to jump safely while he kept the horse completely under control. He was only interested in training cavalrymen, but he developed a riding method that has allowed thousands upon thousands of children and adults including outright beginners to jump horses in reasonable safety. It is when the Forward Seat principles of jumping are not followed that jumping can become really dangerous again, like with modern eventing.
Caprilli did not write anything himself. However once when he was in bed recovering from yet another fall in 1901 he dictated four articles. There are translations of these articles in āHorses and Horsemanship Throughout the Agesā by Luigi Gianoli, pages 157 to 170 (the last time I checked it out on Amazon it was quite cheap). When you read these articles you will notice that he talks mostly about the rider using just one hand on the reins, this is because he was writing for cavalrymen who had to have a hand free for using a weapon. All cavalry horses had to be controllable with one hand during armed conflicts.
Since we no longer have large cavalries and most civilians are not using weapons to fight on horseback, civilian riders are trained to ride with two hands since it tends to be kinder to the horse (if the rider does not have brutal hands.)
Piero Santini interpreted and quoted extensively from these article in the āCaprilli Papersā by Piero Santini. Unlike all the other books Iāve recommended this one is !!!EXPENSIVE!!!, the only reason I own a copy is that my local tack shop had one when it still cost $9.95 US. Not many were printed, and I just checkedāthe one for sale on Amazon is $795.00 US. It is only 40 pages of text and 19 pages of photos. In this book he explains how the Italian Cavalry seat became a civilian seat, achievable by anyone willing to work on it.
Sorry for the novel but you sounded interested in the technical REASONS.
You are going to end up incredibly educated. Then there are still all the other schools of horsemanship if you get bored.
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