On the Bit 3.0

©Thomas Ritter 2009



After discussing a couple of paragraphs from Gustav Steinbrecht’s “Gymnasium of the Horse”, I would like to share a very interesting account of his own personal riding. It’s very rare to find eyewitness reports on the way the old masters rode. We usually only have their books, but no way of finding out how they actually rode themselves. We are lucky that Paul Plinzner wrote a brief characterization of Steinbrecht’s riding in a short homage to… Continue

On the Bit 2.0

©Thomas Ritter 2009



Gustav Steinbrecht (1884):



“The steadiness of the neck, that is, the secure connection of the individual cervical vertebrae with one another and their correct position relative to one another can be ensured only by unweakened and well developed thrust. The flexibility of the neck, however, can be ensured only by the carrying capacity of the hindquarters. Forehand and hindquarters can therefore be worked only alternatingly against one… Continue