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Real Life Dressage: Training Advice from Novice to Grand Prix
‘The aim of this book is not to describe ideal training scenarios but to look at what we can do, to the best of our ability, with the horses we have. Difficult horses can become good horses…’ Carl Hester
- GenresHorsesNonfiction
120 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 6, 2016
Excellent, excellent book! I really like Carl Hester's style and language and his overall principles. This book is a lot about his ideologies about dressage development and it also includes several suggested exercises as well as advice from the yard perspective. What I think is a especially unique about the book is that it is less of a how-to book and more about concepts relating to the development of the dressage horse from Carl's perspective. He stresses that each horse is so individual and has different needs physically and mentally. He points out how horses develop on their own individual timelines and we have to always be so adjustable and we really need to analyze and understand our horses.
I like the format of the book, how he progressively addressed each difficulty of training from the beginning to the end and he used specific horses from his yard as examples. He pointed out confirmation, personality traits, training adjustments, solutions as well as struggles… The training advice and specific exercises were very helpful. Exercises were not deeply detailed so don't expect that. It is very inspiring to read this and I'm sure each of us could pick up something that resonates with us as we progress in our own training with our own horses. I mostly appreciated the encouragement that each horse develops so differently and they are each special in their own way. It was easy to read and not too complicated so I feel most riders no matter their level would take something from book.
I bought this on Kindle so that I could highlight and refer back to it often.
I like the format of the book, how he progressively addressed each difficulty of training from the beginning to the end and he used specific horses from his yard as examples. He pointed out confirmation, personality traits, training adjustments, solutions as well as struggles… The training advice and specific exercises were very helpful. Exercises were not deeply detailed so don't expect that. It is very inspiring to read this and I'm sure each of us could pick up something that resonates with us as we progress in our own training with our own horses. I mostly appreciated the encouragement that each horse develops so differently and they are each special in their own way. It was easy to read and not too complicated so I feel most riders no matter their level would take something from book.
I bought this on Kindle so that I could highlight and refer back to it often.
July 18, 2022
Good reference book that I will be returning to again and again. I love his approach to training the whole, individual horse. One way does not fit all! I wish the book was a bit better organized though. For example, he talks about contact issues in the advanced horse chapter, which I think is a more appropriately suited topic of an elementary level horse. The pictures sequences are also hard to follow, as they move from right to left, instead of left to right.
December 10, 2025
Prompt: A Celebrity on the cover
Well, he's a celebrity in my world, so I'm counting it.
I was expecting more...more rigor, more intense. It was more of a baby DQ intro.
Well, he's a celebrity in my world, so I'm counting it.
I was expecting more...more rigor, more intense. It was more of a baby DQ intro.
January 14, 2013
Informative, inspirational and insightful this delightful Dressage training manual is a must-read; from Preliminary to Grand Prix!
This comprehensive, interesting book will be of help to anyone, regardless of your training level and even for those riders who are beginning to continue their training. From your first competition at Prelim to the elite at Grand Prix, this insightful book by world-renowned top Dressage rider for GB Carl Hester is something I urge you to get. In this book Carl shares his own training methods and shows how they can be adapted to suit individual horses; even if you have a Cob-type you can still improve his ‘way of going’! All the horses that are featured within this book, perhaps surprisingly, have problems. Carl explains through easy-to-follow instruction and stunning, full-color photographs how he goes about training and perfecting these horses on the flat.
“Difficult horses can become good horses” is Carl’s motto, (for example with Escapado, in that one should NEVER give up on a horse nor in achieving those goals that you have set out to strive for. Assisted by co-writer Polly Ellison, he outlines his training regimes and favorite exercises whilst examining the problems along the way that are commonly encountered and which CAN be overcome. For example those significant areas/ focus points like your horse accepting the contact, or impulsion and straightness.
(Quote) “…I have deliberately chosen horses with differing conformations and mental attitudes, in order to illustrate the factors that need to be taken into account when training a horse…”
Applying the basic ‘scales of training’ Carl is able to train any horse, no matter what type or temperament, as by implementing these ground rules one is able to get the BEST out of the horse. Top Dressage horses, such as Utopia or Valegro (ridden by Carl’s pupil Charlotte Dujardin at the London 2012 Olympics) are NOT born but MADE – and I think that this is a very important fact to take note of. This book complete with exquisite photographs that take your breath away (and are simply stunning), together with detailed information on all aspects of training both the rider and the horse in Dressage is spectacular; with added emphasis on the ‘partnership’ between the rider and the horse. From youngsters to advanced competition, Warmblood horses this book sets out clearly the specific training principles that enable one to work at their very best.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who competes (either Affiliated with BD or non-affiliated) in Dressage, or who is starting a youngster in this discipline. If you are re-training a horse on the flat or simply want to work up the levels from Novice to Elementary to Advanced then this is a must-read, indispensable book!!
This comprehensive, interesting book will be of help to anyone, regardless of your training level and even for those riders who are beginning to continue their training. From your first competition at Prelim to the elite at Grand Prix, this insightful book by world-renowned top Dressage rider for GB Carl Hester is something I urge you to get. In this book Carl shares his own training methods and shows how they can be adapted to suit individual horses; even if you have a Cob-type you can still improve his ‘way of going’! All the horses that are featured within this book, perhaps surprisingly, have problems. Carl explains through easy-to-follow instruction and stunning, full-color photographs how he goes about training and perfecting these horses on the flat.
“Difficult horses can become good horses” is Carl’s motto, (for example with Escapado, in that one should NEVER give up on a horse nor in achieving those goals that you have set out to strive for. Assisted by co-writer Polly Ellison, he outlines his training regimes and favorite exercises whilst examining the problems along the way that are commonly encountered and which CAN be overcome. For example those significant areas/ focus points like your horse accepting the contact, or impulsion and straightness.
(Quote) “…I have deliberately chosen horses with differing conformations and mental attitudes, in order to illustrate the factors that need to be taken into account when training a horse…”
Applying the basic ‘scales of training’ Carl is able to train any horse, no matter what type or temperament, as by implementing these ground rules one is able to get the BEST out of the horse. Top Dressage horses, such as Utopia or Valegro (ridden by Carl’s pupil Charlotte Dujardin at the London 2012 Olympics) are NOT born but MADE – and I think that this is a very important fact to take note of. This book complete with exquisite photographs that take your breath away (and are simply stunning), together with detailed information on all aspects of training both the rider and the horse in Dressage is spectacular; with added emphasis on the ‘partnership’ between the rider and the horse. From youngsters to advanced competition, Warmblood horses this book sets out clearly the specific training principles that enable one to work at their very best.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who competes (either Affiliated with BD or non-affiliated) in Dressage, or who is starting a youngster in this discipline. If you are re-training a horse on the flat or simply want to work up the levels from Novice to Elementary to Advanced then this is a must-read, indispensable book!!
July 17, 2015
This is a nice, if short, book, written by one of our national Dressage superstars, although when it was written he was probably just a star! There are lots of great photos of his horses, ridden by his then partner, Spencer, and the text is well-written and very easy to follow. The exercises he suggests for various problems are concise and interesting, although as my young horse will probably never make anywhere near a Grand Prix horse, most of them are out of our league. However, the concepts and thought-processes behind them are very much within reach and it was interesting to see how the same exercises could be modified as the horse moves up through the levels, or if they start to struggle with a particular movement. A good little read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews