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[19] About Site & Photogallery

Howdy Lidia,

I am from Texas and was looking through your gallery of photos. You have done a wonderful job. The pictures of the horses are incredible. You are quite intelligent and a very beautiful woman too. That is a wonderful combination. Good luck in the future. If you ever come to the U.S. soon, please visit Texas and I will be glad to show you around.

Best regards,
Robert Duke

December 02, 2005

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First I would like to tell you that the website and photographs are very well done.
Very impressive. However it has confused many horse people in the USA , maybe they just
are reading the pages incorrectly. I for one enjoyed your site and the knowledge gained.

Robin Cochran

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Hello!

On this site I was impressed by this russian ecuyer doing piaffe without
bridle and havinga horse collected....

I had already seen Madame Henriquet do this but she had a halter, while he
had only the rope around the chest (no influence on the horse?s front end
posture.

My question may seem stupid and too broad but how do we managed to get that
result?

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Dear Lidia,

I was introduced to your website by friends on a horse training mailing list in the USA. I've enjoyed looking at it and have to compliment your on your beautiful photography! You are certainly both talented and practiced. It's difficult, especially, to catch light just right on a black horse, and you've done that as well as capture the highlights on the sorrel, too.

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Hello Lidia,

I have been perusing your website, and wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed the photogallery. Spectacular!

I live on a 13 acre place, located on the flat prairie region of south-central North Dakota. Married, with 3 children, and a job in town 25 miles away, my time is spent caring for my human family, equine family and other critters, and my money paying job so that I can support the above mentioned. J My equines are a lovely Arabian mare, somewhere around 30 years of age, who we rescued from a dire situation 5 years ago. Her name is Gypsy, and she is just lovely, teaching my children much. Gypsy is missing 7 teeth, and requires a great deal of special feeding and care, but is well worth every bit of it. When I brought her home, neighbors said she would never make it. Her eyes told me different, and the help of a knowledgable veterinarian was key in getting Gypsy better. Gyspy was a diamond in the rough, and her inner and outer beauty shine. Age is making it more difficult to keep weight on her now, even with her special feeds. I shall continue to do everything possible for this lovely mare, and her forever home is with us. Sweets is my grade Appaloosa mare. She is 11, and I got her when she was 4. She had come from a bucking sale to a friend of my husband's, and I got her from him. Sweets has the old-style Indian Appaloosa look and build, and is the most honest, hard-working horse I have ever met. She has faithfully carried me many miles, and I adore her. Cascading Windsong, my 3 and a half year old Spanish Mustang---she is as challenging as she is beautiful. Like a teenage child wanting to be all grown up and still be a child at the same time, inner turmoil seems to take hold of this horse. She had a terrible start in life, at the hands of an ignorant, foolish, and abusive girl, and I believe there are emotional scars imprinted in Windsong's head, coupled with her strong mustang instincts. She can be the sweetest horse, LOVES attention from her peoples, yet she can also have a streak of.........almost violence......at times. She has bonded well with me, likes to put her head under my arm and stand at peace. However, she does push and has respect issues at times when her way is not gotten. This is what I am unsure how to deal with. I see a horse that wants to please, yet from her early past, learned to fight. Most of the time, she is well-behaved, but we must attain that all of the time. I must find a way. I do not feel that I have the knowledge to teach her, yet nor do I want her to be mis-handled. I have heard of a trainer an hour from where I live---watched him work with a horse one evening. He uses Parelli techniques, and this coming spring I am hoping to have him come and visit and listen to his ideas.

I would love to share some pictures with you, if you would care to see them. I don't mean to just ramble and take up your time, but your website struck such a chord with me, I felt the need to talk to you.

I am fascinated by how you train-teach-your horses their movements. What wonderful creatures they are.

Michelle

November 30, 2005

[18] Thank you for the nicest lesson!

Dear Gentle Russian Comrades!

Upon visiting your website, I feel oblidge to thank you cordially discovering People so respectful to the Horses!

I'm a Greek, 54 years old, following thw discipline of traditional Horseback Archery, the only in my country exersising this art. When I was starting to ride, six years before, I had in my mind to respect the personality of the Horses I was riding, especially under the bitter conditions of Horse riding in present-day Greece where the Horse is opposing like a bike! I never use spurs, I never used a whip thinking that these two customs of mine are my best Horse-riding achievements.

Often protesting against the mistreating of Horses and changing trainers and clubs, finally (since three years) I'm so happy to join the club of a very horsie Trainer from South-Africa keeping the most happier Horses ever seen in Greece! My Trainer (of German origin) collected his Horses from ...garbages where other ...human-beings decided to abandon them when they thought that these Horses offered all they had! Meanwhile, I have visit many clubs in Hungary, Poland, Germany, Italy and Austria riding there and meeting a lot of nice Trainers with a very human attitude towards the Horses. The main of them, my introducer to the Horseback Archery, Kassai Lajos, the Hungarian Master who offered me the opportunity to ride without brid and iron-hoofs, even without saddle, something very rare in my country.

I'm against races, fighting especially the Hippodrome-barbarism, and always I'm asking my Horse to accept me and cooperate with me without violating his own will. Over all I reject any form of "competition" where the cup counts and not the respect to the Horse.

Studying very carefully your excellent website and watching the pictures you have I understood so many things concerning the real humanistic treatment of a Horse during his/her training. So, please accept my gratefulness for the lesson you offered me surfing your web-pages!

With my kindest regards!

Aristotle Hercules Kalentzis

Athens - Greece

[17] From Rae Ott

Please permit me to introduce myself, I am Rae Ott, a friend of Dr. Cook's. I received your permission last evening (by way of Dr. Cook) to correspond with you. Please allow me to say first, that I am very pleased to meet you both (even if it is through the internet). I am an ardent admirer of your work as well as your husband's. Your photography is outstanding! And you did a fabulous job with the web site. You are obviously a very talented woman in your own right. I will happily entertain the idea that perhaps I may be able to meet you and your husband some day.

Alexander's work is extraordinarily impressive... but even more than his precision understanding and fluency in the language of horses, is his courage. It takes great courage to assess your past, make no excuses, change your thinking and subsequently your behavior - then challenge others to do the same. It takes great courage and passion because you will be ridiculed, laughed at, discredited and shunned - by people too cowardly to get into the arena themselves and fight. It's far easier to sit safely in the bleachers and point out where you've made all your mistakes. Yet, you both stand strong against this storm. I bow to your courage and cheer you on. I know about this... I spent the last 15 years rescuing and hand-raising orphaned North American Gray wolf pups and campaigning against captive wolves and wolfdog breeding. You cannot imagine the enemies I made in those 15 years among the breeders and those who buy from them. But I will always care more about the welfare of the wolf than my fear of being ridiculed or harmed. And, the truth is the truth - you cannot change it by denying it or trying to mold it into something more to your liking.
There are (and always have been) two animals I feel passionate about; wolves and horses. I love (and do) champion all animals as I believe they have an inherent right to be here and they were not created to serve humans - they exist for their own sakes and we have no right to their lives. But horses and wolves have always been in my blood and I believe they are the reason I came back to this place.

I know you are busy so I won't take up much of your time. I just wanted to say "hello", introduce myself and tell you that I think your film is one of the most important films of the century. I have known many horses in my life... and I loved them all - but when I saw the film, I suddenly became aware of how ignorant I was and shame washed over me like a wave. I cried openly and wanted to go back through my life to every horse I ever knew, owned, loved, rode or had a relationship with. I wanted to fall to my knees and beg forgiveness for my ignorance and tell them how deeply sorry I was for all the pain I had caused with what I -thought- was a harmless piece of metal. I felt stupid and angry with myself for NOT thinking about it and for NOT realizing it years ago. I cannot thank you enough for lifting my consciousness. Sincerely, you have given me the gift of awareness and it will last throughout the rest of my life and on into eternity.

I am gravely disappointed that the United States networks have not purchased the rights to air the film. In addition to the responsibilities I had with the wolves, I am also a wildlife photographer (mostly wolves) and I enjoy film work. After learning as much as I have through Dr. Cook's books and articles - then watching your film (Dr. Cook was very gracious in sharing it with me), I have made a decision to do a documentary about his bitless bridle. While I personally would prefer to focus on Alexander's disciplines, I am aware there are not many people who will be able to digest it all in a single sitting. I must make baby steps here... my goal is to present this information in a way that does not cause the viewer to become defensive. If that happens, all will be lost and I can do nothing to ease the suffering of horses. I am not a wealthy woman (you don't get rich rescuing wolf pups for a living) - but I have passion, endless energy and focus (everything I learned from the wolves :). I also have a few friends in the film industry. With the use of the Internet and some other effective venues, I would like to speak with you about what we might do collectively to get Alexander's film shown here.

Warmly,
Rae Ott

[16] Alexander, is the world ready for you?

Alexander, is the world ready for you?

I have enough trouble explaining to people that the rider's hands should NEVER move backwards and that a light touch from the spur is for collection and not to frighten the horse into a faster pace or to frighten him more than the obstacle before him. Congratulations to you both for a massive contribution to the art of horsemanship.

I recomend your site to as many as will listen. Brutality usually comes from fear of something and although fear is impossible to conquer completely, it is possible to understand it more and in this you excel.

Very best wishes and thanks once again for proof that understanding and compassion is always more fruitful that ignorance and force.

David Bowler

Monday, July 10, 2006

[15] You two are going to change the world!

Dear Lidia and Alexander, I have been reading your website with open mouth for the last two hours and am truly stunned! You two are going to change the world! I had bought the Amazone magazine by coincidence, but I am so gratefull that I did; and I have also bought the film. It made me very angry, and also determined to tell the message on. I am never going to ride with a bit again. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and from that of my three horses!

Mieke Berry, The Netherlands

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