The Art of Classical Horsemanship by Egon von Neindorff

[Cabruze]

I cannot put this book down!  It's absolutely wonderful!  Written with great care and in enough detail to be truly practical.  E v N's immense experience as a true classical master coupled with his respect and great love of the horse underlies the entire text.  Truly wonderful!  

.... and around half price on Amazon at the moment!  

[TashaKat]

Thank you    This has been on my wish list for a while ... maybe my one day's work tomorrow can pay for it as a treat unless the Benefits Agency take it all off me of course  

[whisper's mum]

Ooooh, if I buy it now, while it's cheap on Amazon, I could give it to my Gran to give me for Xmas ...  Thanks, Jane! 

[shoveltrash]

then i should read it? (bought it and have not had the time )
we had EH take a look at it, and was fascinated by his commentary on the horses pictured in the book (most of which he had ridden). 

[Cabruze]

Ooooh, if I buy it now, while it's cheap on Amazon, I could give it to my Gran to give me for Xmas ...  Thanks, Jane! 

I was going to get Mike to give it me for Xmas ..... but I couldn't wait!! 

[issywizz]

Yup I read it a while ago and thoroughly reccomend too. 
Must take mine to Erik for comments now! 

[Heather]

Half price - I bought it at full price, not 3 months ago!!

Heather

[acb.antonia]

I was given a copy of this book a month or so ago (lucky me, I know someone who runs an equestrian mag and gets sent lots of books for review) - it had been on my wish list for a while.  I haven't finished it yet but have leafed through the whole book and think it's wonderful.  It gives you a real sense of how kind and gentle E v N was and is sprinkled with beautiful pictures.  There is enough info in there to be pretty sure that if you have a problem, you will find the answer somewhere amongst the pages.  Cadmos have done quite a few lovely books recently.

The only thing I have been unsure about whether or not I like is  .  A lot of the pictures show a shorter contact on the rein than I'm used to seeing in classical pictures, in particular, of the likes of Nuno Oliveira.  I'm interested in debates over contact at the moment and have a preference for as light a contact as possible.  There seems to be a divide on this one.....any comments?    

[Cabruze]

"Contact" has been the most difficult thing for me to personally.  My personal major breakthrough was finding a teacher who not only understood how to put a horse "on the aids" but who has the skills to teach me to do it.  I could never have learned this from any book, however well written.

.... and yes, it must be light and sensitive but also consistent or as my teacher says "imagine that you are carrying a very expensive red wine" ..... or sometimes it's a priceless crystal.  

I personally dislike the words "contact", "on the bit", etc.  They focus on the horse's mouth and front end.  .... and as this started with the E v N book - I hadn't particularly felt that he was advocating a stronger contact.  Pictures can be deceptive.