HorseandRiderBooks.com is the storefront for Trafalgar Square Books of North Pomfret, Vermont—a small, privately-owned publisher of fine equestrian books and DVDs, craft books, and selected other titles. Trafalgar Square’s owners, Caroline and Ted Robbins, moved to a farm in North Pomfret—a rural community of around 200 residents, nestled in the hills surrounding the better-known (and larger) town of Woodstock—in the early 1970s, and established the Trafalgar Square offices and warehousing facilities in part of the farmhouse and the barns on the property. The publishing company still thrives, along with horses and Scottish Highland cattle, on the farm today.
When you buy books and DVDs from HorseandRiderBooks.com, you buy from the source. You can trust that we believe in what we publish, and we sell what we feel is top-quality equestrian education. We take great pride in our string of motivated, talented authors. These individuals are the movers, shakers, and hard-working professionals—riders, trainers, behaviorists, vets, practitioners, therapists, farriers, and sometimes, just ordinary horse-lovers—who inspire us to include horses as part of our own life and who teach us how to be better friends, caregivers, and educators when interacting with them.
Although rich in history and one that has stood the test of time, the horse-and-rider relationship is constantly challenged by our lack of common language, by our instinctual differences, and by the sources that serve to motivate human beings—money, prizes, and fame, for example. Goals and desire are in general positive characteristics, but when taken in concert with the care and training of another living being—in this case, the beautiful and complex horse—we must be constantly aware of the impact of our choices upon him. It is our belief that the Trafalgar Square authors remind us of this responsibility and provide us the tools we need to “reach for the stars” while keeping our feet planted firmly in a grassy field! With their help, we can ride better; teach our horses to perform better; feed them and house them more in accordance to their needs; care for them when they fall ill and help them recover from injury; and above all, treat them in a fair and just manner, as they deserve.
It is our honor at Trafalgar Square Books to serve the horse industry to the best of our ability, and to provide horse lovers the world over with beautiful, highly illustrated, well-written books and engaging DVDs to supplement their growth and development as horsemen and women. We hope our books and DVDs help you in your pursuit of a joyful life with horses.
Dressage Movements Revealed: Biomechanical Concepts and Bodywork—Using the Masterson Method
The creator of the Masterson Method brings you a new instructional video that addresses the unique expectations and demands put on the horse's physiology as he moves up through the different levels and movements of dressage. Here you discover what goes on with the horse's body during dressage training, enabling riders and trainers to recognize when a horse may be developing physiological issues. Specific Masterson Method bodywork techniques are shared to help riders meet the unique demands on the dressage horse.
A horse painted with skeleton and muscles by renowned author and artist Susan Harris (creator of the first "painted horse" Anatomy in Motion videos released in 2005), performs upper level dressage movements that exhibit extension, collection, bending, and lateral movement. Dressage rider and trainer Betsy Steiner helps demonstrate how it feels when muscle tension or lost range of motion make it difficult for an otherwise trained horse to perform the movements required of upper level dressage performers.
