Falling for Fallacies: Critical Reflections on Modern Dressage by Jean-Claude Racinet

A critical analysis of modern dressage doctrines

What does it really mean to drive the horse ‘onto the bit’? Does a stronger application of the rider’s aids really encourage the horse to place its hind legs further under its body? Is the term ‘collection’ really synonymous with the increased forward engagement of the hind legs under the centre of balance?

Jean-Claude Racinet subjects these and other commonly held assumptions regarding the anatomical and biomechanical aspects of horse riding to a critical analysis, and in this context uncovers many wrongly-held beliefs that so far have never been que- stioned, either individually or as a system. This book points a spotlight at the many doctrines and half-truths embedded in modern dressage riding. It will set the reader thinking and will make an important contribution to the current debate on the correct approach to dressage training.

From the contents

• Will engagement of the hind legs always lighten the front end?

• Are collection and engagement of the hind legs really synonymous?

• Does lifting a horse’s neck result in hollowing its back?

• Does the centre of gravity of a collected horse really move backwards?

• Should the horse be ‘pushed onto the bit’ by the rider’s legs and seat?

  Jean-Claude Racinet is renowned world-wide as one of the most esteemed trainers of the French tradition of Légèreté. His basic and advanced training took place, amongst other schools of equitation, at the School of Cavalry in Saumur. In later years, he became a professional trainer, emigrating to the United States in the 1980s. He is well known as the author of a number of books on riding and Légèreté and has also written widely on the classical form of equitation. Jean-Claude Racinet passed away in April 2009. This is his final work.