Essential Riding Strategies: Innovative Learning Techniques for Mastering the Basics of Horseback Riding

Paula: Fantastic insight into how you can improve your ability to ride and be at one with your horse. Mary explains in detail what you always wanted to know but were afraid to ask.

United Kingdom on Apr 06, 2023

TopNotch: I used to have riding lessons when I was young, but never felt confident. This was because I never felt like I was actually in control of the horses - I was just a passenger. After a 30-year break I've just started having lessons again, and thankfully, I'm being taught to ride with my core, rather than with the 'kick and pull technique' which was prevalent in my younger days, and which, sadly, is still being taught in many places today. I'd had 6 half-hour lessons, but I still wasn't getting it, perhaps because, although my teacher is good, I was being confused with the 'sit tall', 'sit deeper', 'breathe in and tighten your buttocks' kind of suggestions. I felt I needed something more, and after reading the reviews, I got this book.

I started to read it immediately, and although it took some time, and some re-reading of paragraphs, to get my head around with what really needed to happen with my core, I kept getting light-bulb moments and realised some of what was going wrong in my lessons.

I'd only got through about 6 chapters, but was keen to put into practice what I'd learnt in my latest lesson, yesterday. I didn't always get it right, but my teacher was amazed by...

United Kingdom on Nov 23, 2022

Nicole Dodd: This book is going to change how you ride and coach. Prepare for a total paradigm shift. Your horse will thank you.

Canada on Nov 19, 2022

K: Excellent guidance from Mary Wanless best used by established/experienced and maybe confused riders to improve/change (for the better) riding techniques that might (Er hum) have developed into some bad habits. Also this would be excellent for a lot of instructors to help understand the depth of information and break down of technique that their clients are looking for. Alongside regular instruction, (and watching and listening to pretty much anything Wanless has published online) this book has helped me sooo much. It fills in many of the gaps left out of the you tube videos etc and speaks a language that is more easily understood than many standard riding books. Bought on kindle. Enjoyed reading it and have learnt a lot. Now wish I’d got this in hard copy too.

United Kingdom on Aug 04, 2020

Cindy: Very informative and helped solve a few queries I had. Now I am trying out the leg exercises and after only 2 sessions my husband noticed how much more toned my leg is (only have one so some exercises are a challenge & have to be adapted). Now I have to wait until September before I can try it out on a horse to see if I have reduced my leg 'flapping'. Being a novice, some information/diagrams are not very clear so I am not too sure if I am doing exercises correctly. However, feel confident that this book will improve my riding.

United Kingdom on Jul 27, 2018

Timer: I use this book, in conjunction with "The Rider's Fitness Program", "Centered Riding", and "The Rider's Pain-Free Back" to develop a whole mind/body experience for myself and my horses. The combination of exercise routines (that help build my muscles), in conjunction with the bone support and spinal alignment information, plus the Centered Riding techniques, added to the information in this book have turned my riding life around for the better! My Horses are so much happier, smoother, and our riding time is so much more enjoyable for them and me, too!

United States on Jun 12, 2013

Elizabeth: Mary Wanless says in the first few pages of this book that the content within the pages could take about two years to master, and I don't doubt her.

This book takes you inside yourself, and shows you how to discover a true connection to the horse, how to be safe in the saddle, and how to ride like a pro.

This book also has some tough truths in it, especially when you follow the advice and start giving yourself some objective feedback.

I would recommend this book primarily to anyone who rides horses, but also to people who haven't yet started taking riding lessons but would like some idea of how to feel before you get on. There are countless off-the-horse exercises that are really useful for developing feel.

United States on Feb 02, 2011

Riding Mom: I am an individual who needs to know the reasons behind the explanations given by riding instructors before I seem to internalize them. As an adult, this hasn't come naturally to me and I have struggled with position problems. This book goes step by step through seat, hands, and legs and offers great examples of what "correct" position looks and feels like. There are exercises to assist the rider in "feeling" those positions and a definite sense of mentoring throughout. The explanations are thorough and the pictures illustrate the points well. It is a book I know I will refer to again and again.

United States on Sep 16, 2009

Simone Windeler: So you have been told to sit down more, sit deeper, put more weight on one seat bone, be relaxed and on and on. But nobody tells you truly how and what they tell you often does not work. Then everyone gets frustrated - the instructor because you can't follow their "simple instruction" and you as a rider because you feel too "dumb" to do it. Frustration creates tension and with that your last little chance of moving forward just went out the window. Bring in Mary Wanless to the rescue. Not only does she explain how your body works on the inside, but she has some great "off the horse" exercises that allow you to feel your body, those elusive seatbones and make it clear how you can be a better rider. This book has made a great difference for my own riding and has helped many of my students to finally understand and see instant improvement. Truly remarkable insights. Kyra Kyrklund uses many of her techniques (I had the chance to observe first hand at the USDF convention 2008)and they simply work. Go get this book - it will help you become a better rider and make your horse a lot happier, too.

United States on Feb 09, 2009

J. Myers: I have loved and ridden horses all my life. I thought I knew what I was doing. After the first reading of Mary's other book, Ride with Your Mind Masterclass, I realized I have a lot more to learn.

For me, this book, Essentials, is the follow-on to Masterclass. There are several pieces to the puzzle in this book that are not in Masterclass. On the other hand, this book has a pared-down presentation (which you might expect from the title), and in many cases the text and illustrations did not make it clear to me what I was to do or how I was to feel. I was glad to have read Masterclass first. Now that I have, I need this book too, because it goes into much more detail about some aspects of riding.

United States on Sep 15, 2004