"Riding is both a dance and a conversation between rider and horse and it cannot proceed productively without feel; feel for the horse, feel of the horse and then let him feel back to you.  To me, it's like music. A lot of people play music by ear, so they don't see every note.  And a lot of people ride a horse that way. So the horse fills in those spots that aren't so good. But if you're trying to train a horse, that can get real confusing for him. But if you know every note - every whole note, every half, quarter and eighth note - then the horse doesn't have to fill in.  He knows what's there... I don't make the same mistake twice because I'm too busy making new ones.  That's how I learn. __Ray Hunt

"You ride the horse you lead" __John Lyons

“No equestrian excellence, no thing of beauty astride, can be achieved in any discipline without the Centaur-like merging of human and horse. What this involves goes beyond the individual attributes of athleticism. It’s the neuro-muscular merging of the two so that the lines between the nervous systems -- the shared reflexes and unified centers of gravity -- are all but indistinguishable.” __Bobbie Lieberman