In the author's own words: 'In my life working with horses, I eventually came across two key discoveries that have had a major impact on my horsemanship. Firstly, when I experienced and understood 'feel' - I can't begin to imagine being with horses without some knowledge and understanding of this. And secondly, when I experienced and understood the freedom and balance that Francois Baucher studied and taught throughout his life. Working with horses knowing these things has been an absolute revelation for me. To truly understand the importance of feel, freedom and balance to the well-being of the horse is, I believe, as good as horsemanship can get.'

If you are reading this some time in the future, my hope would be that this book will give you a small insight into life in Britain in the last half of the twentieth century. I was born in 1950 and this is the story of my adventures over the following 60 years. This is a nobody in particular's account of a 1950s childhood, the so-called Swinging Sixties, the hippy era, the first and second Glastonbury Festivals, the hippy trail to India, gurus and self-discovery, marriage, being a dad, divorce, marriage again, training horses, organic farming, getting a glimpse of old age, and a few other things along the way. When it comes to how to live your life, I'd say use it for what you enjoy doing, and definitely don't sell it down the river in exchange for a few quid an hour Actually, add in a bit of love and peace and that's a pretty good description of the hippy philosophy that we have there.