That said, after just reading the recently published Master Dressage The Basics by Peter Dove & Mary Wanless, there is a lot to like about this book. It is a very short book at around 60 pages, and covers ten basic concepts of dressage, biomechanics, and horse training. Each section is succinct in a way that is easy to understand but covers the gist of what you really need to know as a dressage rider. I found the writing clear, easy to understand, and even after having read several of Mary's books I learned a couple of new things. I really found this book to be the opposite of every other Mary Wanless book I have ever read in that it is very easy to understand. The 10 chapters are about very basic things like staying with the horse's movement, transitions, turns and etc. but almost all dressage riders struggle with something in one of the chapters. It really is very "basic" but in a very good way.
Honestly, I wish this book had been available when I started my dressage journey. Because it is so simple, there is a lot less verbiage to wade through than the average Mary Wanless book but it covers some of the essentials that it has taken me years to figure out from other sources. I wouldn't recommend this book as the one and only dressage book to take on your desert island(see my review of When 2 Spines Align by Beth Baumert) but if I had to make a list of my top ten recommended dressage books Master Dressage The Basics would probably be included. For the price it is a great deal and I think most dressage riders would find something to learn in this slim book.
Thank you so much for your review of my book and I am glad to hear you found it easy to read.
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Peter Dove
I really enjoyed the book Peter, and think that between the books, Facebook, and your website you are really adding to the body of easy to understand riding biomechanics.
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