Reddit reviews Centered Riding (A Trafalgar Square Farm Book)
We found 3 Reddit comments about Centered Riding (A Trafalgar Square Farm Book). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Widely known for her innovative teaching philosophy stressing body awareness, the value of "soft eyes," proper breathing, centering, and balance, Sally Swift has been a pioneering riding instructor for half a century. In book form for the first time, her methods enable horse and rider to achieve harmony, working together naturally, without pain.
I feel like Harry Potter was probably the gateway for a lot of us! Before HP I read Pony Club, Saddle Club, Marguerite Henry novels (horse books), Boxcar Children, etc. So...pretty much 90% horse books.
After (and during) Harry Potter, I read Animorphs, Tamora Pierce (a YA, female-oriented fantasy author), Dinotopia, the YA Star Wars books, etc. etc.
Quite a jump, but one that did stick through adulthood. I do still enjoy horse books, but nowadays they're more like this :)
edit: I realize you may have been just asking authors on the sub - I should mention that I'm not an author. Sorry!
/u/4horses hit the nail on the head! It sounds like you're approaching this the exact right way--you certainly wouldn't want to jump into horse ownership at this stage of the game. If you start now though, you'll be set up perfectly for your goal of owning a few by retirement age. The owner of my barn is an equine vet who learned to ride as an adult and I never would have guessed if he hadn't told me. He's an incredibly capable rider! I've known many other riders who started as adults and while some are surprised by the learning curve (it may be humbling in the beginning!), they were all able to achieve a level of ability that they were comfortable with.
As for books, I think the best book for newbies is hands down Centered Riding by Sally Swift. She doesn't use a lot of jargon and she explains things with great mental images. http://www.amazon.com/Centered-Riding-Trafalgar-Square-Farm/dp/0312127340
Good luck and have fun!
I was so frustrated when I started trotting! I could sit the canter, no problems - somehow the slower rhythm worked for me, but that canter -jeesh. I would be sore and cramp up and tense up.
I got my self some theoretical knowledge from Sally Swift in the book "centered riding" it really helped me and she has some great mind tricks you can use on yourself, as well as some interesting exercise you can talk to your trainer about.
I also really like that the book isn't just for beginners, so as I've progressed in riding, I've also advanced in the book.
Here is a link to amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Centered-Riding-Trafalgar-Square-Farm/dp/0312127340/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377851359&sr=1-1&keywords=sally+swift+centered+riding
also, try doing just short bits. so start trotting and once you loose your rhythm go back to a walk. then trot again, and back and just keep doing that. you'll notice that the trot sessions will get longer.
With the canter I found that the opposite helped me. I needed a few circles to get the rhythm down. which reminds me - are you on a lunge line? it really helped me concentrate on the seat and rhythm because I didn't have to concentrate on make the horse go and telling her where i wanted to go.