Quiet Riding

"We can exert no direct action on the shoulders, as we can on the mouth and hind quarters. The impulsion to put them in movement is given by the hind quarters, which are put in action by our legs; and the direction is given by the mouth, which receives the indication of the reins."

"You don't have to pull or try to dominate. You can put pressure on without being domineeringly physical. Once you've created the energy, you can then draw it in the direction you want to go. Subtle actions can have great effects..."

"As a rider, you must slowly and methodically show your horse what is appropriate. You also have to discourage what's inappropriate, not by making the inappropriate impossible, but by making it difficult so that the horse himself chooses appropriate behavior. You can't choose it for him; you can only make it difficult for him to make the wrong choices. If, however, you make it impossible for him to make the wrong choices, you're making war."