At a young age Peggy Cummings noticed that many horses she rode and worked with were sadly inhibited--unable to express their innate curiosity, trust, and freedom of motion--and went about their work in a mechanical, stiff way. This inspired a lifelong search for real-world ways to achieve the "lightness" and "ease" promoted by top instructors and classical texts. Now, in this long-awaited book, Cummings describes the essentials of her specialized groundwork--the first half of her acclaimed Connected Riding program--along with over two dozen highly illustrated exercises to help horses and their handlers find a reciprocal "connection" on the ground before attempting to establish it from the more difficult position in the saddle. These exercises--done both standing still and in motion--drastically change the way you see and feel your horse, and radically improve how your horse moves, responds, and goes about his work.