Dr Heuschmann, a master rider (Bereiter) in Germany as well as a veterinarian, has become an outspoken opponent of the "Rolkur" or "hyperflexion," marshalling a petition of 41,000 signatures of protest that he presented to the 2010 meeting of the FEI. His earlier book, Tug of War and his DVD If Horses Could Speak, gave him a public platform from which to speak out against training techniques used in horse sports and that caused horses such discomfort and pain.
Now with Balancing Act, he explores what it means to be a "responsible rider," and asks whether, in today's society, it is even possible for riders, in any horse sport, to put the good of the horse first and foremost–even above ambition, money and fame.
With detailed and clear illustrations – both photographs of horses ridden sympathetically and those whose riders constrain their mounts in uncomfortable positions – he argues for a more humane method of training to the scales. Anatomical diagrams of the horse's musculature and skeleton illustrate the biomechanics behind his argument.
