Book Review: ‘Lessons in Lightness, the Art of Educating the Horse’

'Lessons in Lightness, the art of educating the horse' by Mark Russell & Andrea W. Steele

I have been reading an excellent book by Mark Russell and Andrea Steele,  Lessons in Lightness – the art of educating the horse. Not only reading the book, but experimenting with my clients and their horses (with their permission, of course!). In this way I have been able to assess the ease of understanding and application of the concepts, to observe and experience the outcomes in a variety of horses, and to discuss the outcomes with the owners so as to gauge their feedback on whether they found the method valuable or otherwise.

First – a little background on Mark; Mark Russell trains horses and riders in Tennessee, U.S.A. Having trained Western performance horses and learnt to shoe, Mark was introduced to dressage by way of a fortuitous clinic given by the Portuguese Master, Nuno Oliveira who was touring the United States at the time, a clinic that changed Mark’s approach forever:

the moment I saw Master Oliveira ride, I knew the secret that had eluded me was right before my eyes. I saw not only lightness, balance, and harmony,but a horse that was happy and proud in his work. Oliveira’s humanity spoke to me through the movement of his horse – this was my revelation.

A personal study of ‘the old masters’ ensued, and this is where I find this book a revelation – Mark discusses and demonstrates exercises that integrates Frenchman Baucher’s principles in such a way that it is readily accessible to readers.

In a philosophy reminiscent of the French tradition, the horse is relaxed from the front – releasing first the jaw, then the poll and in turn eliminating tension from his body to allow him to carry himself and give freely to the aids.

The work begins in hand, with lateral poll flexion and the horse is allowed to stretch forward and down toward the ground. It is only when balance is achieved, that more is asked of the horse – including higher gaits. Well-drawn and labelled diagrams of the horse’s anatomy help illuminate the concepts.

Lessons in Lightness lives up to its promise; you are treated to pictures of horses in softness, not tension, clear diagrams and photographs showing Mark and his horses performing exercises in English and Western attire, and to clear, concise lessons aided by thoughtful discussion of the principles behind.

You are guided through teaching lightness; working in hand (including shoulders in, counter shoulders in and half pass), and 3 phases of ridden work, moving through beginning on the circle, building a working frame, to lateral work under saddle (shoulders-in, counter-shoulders-in, half pass, travers, renvers), the canter, then to counter-canter and flying changes.

There are a couple of items of tack used where I would exercise caution – from a learning theory perspective. When lunging, sidereins are attached to the horse’s bit and hence his mouth; although popular in many systems, this can confuse the horse in his responses to rein signals – i.e. ’round’ versus ’slow’ or ’stop’. [Philippe Karl, former ecuyer of the French Cadre Noir is not a fan of side-reins either - he does not like the constriction they place on the horse. Sidereins remain a part of the German system and others, however]. Reins attached to the horse’s bit issue a signal that should result in a response from the horse’s legs, rather than a head-set. Mark uses an overcheck system at the same time (rather like a chambon) which may not be a problem if adjusted appropriately (i.e. if the horse is not unnecessarily shortened in the neck or encouraged to go behind the vertical, or to round further down the neck than the poll – for example at the C3). This piece of equipment applies poll pressure only if the head is raised, so is not de-training responses to the rein and therefore does not appear to violate the principles of  negative reinforcement to the rein – in that the poll pressure is released/removed when the horse lowers his head – and thereby is able to solve the problem of pressure with a consistent answer. (Beware if using such an item that some horses may react adversely, if they have not been taught to lower from poll pressure previously, so it does need careful introduction). Mark uses this lunging system so as to ensure the horse ‘is not put on his shoulders by an excessively low head carriage’.

For the same reasons of potential confusion over rein signals, my second caution is in the use of draw (or running) reins, which Mark only uses for horses that have trouble releasing at the poll – and they are only used in conjunction with his normal snaffle reins. You can find out more about draw reins and the biomechanics involved in Tug of War: classical versus “modern” dressage by Dr Gerd Heuschmann.

That said, I feel that the people attracted to this book will have no trouble avoiding inappropriate use of the fore-mentioned tack. Any issue I have with these pieces of equipment (if you consider them in the light of my discussion) is more than adequately made up for in the message, the lessons and the underlying principles described by this wonderful modern work.

As for my clients and their horses, they have achieved very positive results, achieving a new found relaxation that allows improved submission to the slightest aids. Personally, I have experienced what I can only describe as true ‘riding meditation’, and a horse that will softly travel in any direction with light pressure – as though moving soft butter!

I can only hope that Mark will soon be sharing with us an additional text, and meanwhile I understand DVDs are currently in production.

The value of the book, especially in the light of what one typically sees in the modern dressage arena, is immense – I advise you to personally determine what is ethically appropriate for the horse and let that guide you as to what and how you use training methods and tack; to explore and question what you are told by your instructors, what you have read, what you see at all levels (including at the local barn or shows, and Olympic and World level) – and to be your own judge for your horse’s sake.

I think your horse will thank you for reading (and applying) this book – don’t let it sit on the shelf – thumb through it, underline it and refer to it often.

I whole-heartedly recommend Mark Russell’s ‘Lessons in Lightness, the art of educating the horse’. If I had a star rating system, it would achieve 5 stars!

Disclosure: My paperback copy of ‘Lessons in Lightness – the art of educating the horse’ was kindly provided to me by Hela Russell for review.  My review is given freely, without favour or prejudice.

I am happy to provide this link  where you can find out more about Natural Dressage: Mark Russell’s clinics and training.

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