Nature, Nurture and Horses: A Journal of Four Dressage Horses in Training From Birth Through the First Year of Training

I look forward to the work of Paul Belasik and I quickly placed a pre-order once I heard that another work was on the horizon.The is a particularly relevant production for me at this time since I am in the process of buying my first PRE Andalusian who I met on the day of her birth. I am already analyzing each of the for foals highlighted in this book toward how they behave as a newborn as to what they become as an adult horse. At first, I was disappointed that more was not said as to the foals heritage and birth size but I quickly decided that the authors intent was to focus on purely on behavior-both hereditary and learned rather than sell a breed or suggest any influence from size. At all times, the subtle progress is kept as close to what nature defines as possible. I say this even though aids such as side reins are used because at no time are their harsh influences. Aids are applied in a supportive way which will ultimately support future evolution between the horse and its human partner.This book follows four horse -three fillies and one stud colt- through their early, formative years- from birth to quite pleasant mounts. Their progress and the supportive techniques are followed throughout the erly life. I think that the key point is that the foal is unique and each one must have his or her own training program while still observing the goal of producing a sound partner for the experience of classical training.In a sense, this work is a continuum from "Lost Quixote" in that natural dominance and leadership within the herd are considered while training. I have witnessed such with my own limited experience as a trainer. Just today, I applied this philosophy in an approach to helping my Haflinger mare get over a fear or wish not to do something. She is a leader in her group and I allowed for the fact that she was having difficulty giving decision making to me. From this, I took a sit and wait approach which allowed her to see the wisdom of what I was trying to guide her through.There is a great deal of beauty to this approach to bringing a horse along. One who can do this is almost guaranteed to have an easy partner. Equestrians from any discipline -Western, English-can benefit from this classical approach. The horse is permitted to evolve into its role rather than having its spirit forced into compliance.So very unfortunate that all horses cannot enjoy such guidance!

I read the book as if it was a journal-as the title suggested. I enjoyed it tremendously as you envision the daily life of a horseperson who makes a living at it-any enjoys it. There were pearls of wisdom tossed in here and there. Obviously the text had been edited so as not to be a "rough draft" as most journals would be-but, you still have the sense of ongoing observations/notes and reflections on each horse which was featured. No one should read it as a "how to" guide for training-you will miss the point. I have read all of Paul Belasik's books and his style of writing is easy to read.

Have ridden with Paul several times and find his comment insightful and his exercises work. He repeats his lessons with you so that when you return home, they are still in your head. The training of these four is quite insightful; es. go back to longing when there is a problem.

It is rare to get a detailed training program for young dressage horses that is as useful as this book; the photos and personalities of the four horses followed are terrific. That said, the book has a narrow appeal to those interested in the correct development of the young horse. Love his approach!

Easy to read, beautiful photos and I learned quite a bit. In this era where we are exposed to many demonstrations of saddling and riding unbroke horses in a matter of hours, it was so educational to see the benefits of using the classical method. It is such a pleasure to ride a horse that is eager and willing to work under saddle. I had no idea that it was a trainable trait until I read this book.

Really well written, and easy to understand for riders of all disciplines! I would love to see more of Mr. Belasik's books in a Kindle/e-book format!

love the book thanks

This is yet another fantastic book to add to your dressage library. I was able to take some of the training principles written in this book and even apply them to my pre-St. George horse. This gives you an in-depth look at the flexibility of classical training, Some of the challenges and how to overcome them, And how decision-making is made as a trainer.

This book is very well written in a descriptive sense, painting an overall picture of how the horses are trained. For what it lacks in practical details (ie it isn’t a training manual) it makes up for in subtle observations. My main criticism is that it is possibly over repetitive due to it being a journal “today we lunged again,” but there is really something quietly uplifting about it

In this book Paul Belasik describes the process of starting four young horses. He discusses the principles and their adaptations to each horses personality, conformation and work ethic. Very easy to read - more like a novel - this book is littered with nuggets of wisdom from a man who clearly has as much wisdom and depth as he has technical knowledge of the classical principles he uses.