Wilhem Museler’s text on riding and horsemanship is internationally revered, and is has now, for the first time, been completely modernized with colour photos of the leading riders of the 21st century. Museler not only provides a wealth of practical knowledge and experience that will help readers attain and maintain the highest level of riding skill, he also offers the theoretical tools that can transform the experienced rider into the classical equestrian ideal – an “artist on horseback.”
The first section of the book is devoted to perfecting the rider’s seat, hands, balance, and use of the back. Museler explains why the rider, from the very first lesson, must concurrently master the three interdependent aspects of rider training – seat, feeling, and influence – in order to become an equestrian of the highest calibre.
Museler then turns his attention to the schooling of both the green and trained horse on the flat, with work in three training “stages,” beginning with the first backing and ending in self-carriage. He provides lessons for improving suppleness, introductory exercise on the trail and over fences, and corrective work for various behavioural or training problems.
Throughout, beginners and experts alike will find Museler’s thorough, progressive instructions easy to follow. Full of all new colour photos as well as the brilliantly clear drawings that first made the original editions so sought after, the book again proves timeless, insightful, and certain to educate any rider who strives to reach the coveted sate of true horse-and-rider harmony.
Wilhelm Museler was a highly respected and well-known rider and trainer in Berlin, Germany, in the 1930s. Born in 1887, he received riding instruction in the German military, where he learned that proper gymnasticizing of the horse and “academic riding” was not only the basis for dressage, but for all disciplines. His book on the subject was first published in 1933.
Hardback.