“It’s not about what we do that starts us on the path to softness,” says horseman Mark Rashid, “but rather, it’s what we don’t do.”
In Rashid’s new book JOURNEY TO SOFTNESS published by Trafalgar Square Books (www.horseandriderbooks.com), he explores this one simple truth. Softness, he explains, is having the sensitivity we need in order to understand when and if the horse tries to “give.” It is about developing the kind of awareness it takes to know when we are working against our horses, rather than with them. And it is intrinsically linked to the feel and connection we seek on the ground and in the saddle.
Through a beautifully written collection of forthright stories—whether remarkable events, quiet moments, or humbling stumbling blocks—readers get a glimpse of a life that has produced a man known for his ability to solve difficult problems with communication rather than force, as well as methods and techniques gleaned from decades of work with horses, horse people, and martial artists. JOURNEY TO SOFTNESS is 184 pages, $16.95, and available now from the TSB online bookstore (www.horseandriderbooks.com), where shipping in the US is free.
Mark Rashid met an “old man” when he was 10 who taught him to work with horses, not against them, and to listen to what horses are trying to say. Rashid eventually decided to study the martial art of aikido as a way to improve his horsemanship, and now teaches the “way of harmony” in his local dojo. It is his combination of martial arts with horsemanship that has enabled him to communicate new ways of connecting with horses, methods spread throughout the world via his many bestselling books and DVDs (markrashid.com).
For more information about this book or Mark Rashid, contact julie@trafalgarbooks.com.
Trafalgar Square Books is the leading publisher of equestrian books and DVDs.
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