Beudant's talent was noted by other equestrians, both contemporaries and non-contemporaries, including his pupil René Bacharach, Patrice Franchet d'Espèrey, and General Donnio.

[2][3] He joined the 23rd Dragoon Regiment as a volunteer in 1883, where he met General Faverot de Kerbrech [fr] and watched him workhorses (including the famous Bouton d'Or) until the summer of 1885.

[12] In his fictionalized biography, writer Jérôme Garcin describes him as a secretive, non-careerist man, a "little captain, with no ambition other than the derisory one of making his horses prouder".

[16] In 1927, having become too old to ride, Beudant entrusted his mare to his friend Captain Bernard, with an 81-page letter that constitutes a "veritable instruction manual for horses"[17][18] and a "remarkable effort at transmission",[16] which Patrice Franchet d'Espèrey sees as "initiatory in nature".

[19] At the end of his life, he was in constant pain from his injuries but, according to Bacharach, who met him at the time, maintained a noble attitude and "lit up at the mention of his horses".

He is particularly renowned for training difficult animals,[21] including:[8] His talent and skill on horseback were praised by some of his contemporaries,[11] but Beudant generally remained in the shadows, although he is now considered "one of the most gifted horsemen of his time".

[30] In 1920, he sent him a letter in which he spoke of Étienne Beudant as a true equerry, a virtuoso of the equestrian art, comparing himself to a simple riding teacher.

[31] Three former head squires at the Saumur Cavalry School said of him, respectively, that he "showed real talent in equitation" (De Contades),[33] that it would be "a joy to be criticized by a Master like him" (Danloux)[33] and that he "knew admirably how to emphasize the great principles that General Faverot applied so well" (Lesage).

[33] René Bacharach met Étienne Beudant at the end of his life to become his pupil, and speaks of him as a man imbued with "kindness, wisdom and self-control", praising his complete practice of equitation,[9] both in difficult terrain and in riding schools.

In his book Extérieur et haute école, he asserts that "everywhere, therefore, in outdoor riding as in high school, success belongs to he who best applies to the horse the maxim of Baucher, the inimitable artist who amazed his contemporaries (General L'Hotte): 'Let him believe he is his master, and then he is our slave'.

[41][42] One aspect of Beudant's equestrian teaching lies in his principles of respect for the horse, the search for natural attitudes and the simplification of aids,[43] in line with ethological riding at the beginning of the 21st century.

[49] His advice also includes "Observe the free horse and reflect",[51][47] and "Ask often; be content with little; reward much", a famous precept he takes from Faverot de Kerbrech.

[52] According to René Bacharach's testimony, Beudant has acquired a very controlled position in the saddle, demonstrating great ease, with a very deep seat that allows him to avoid using his legs at all.

In the book, he presents the horseman as a man who loved horses at a time when they were utilitarian animals, understood them better than anyone else, and refused to break or subdue his mounts, achieving lightness in riding without the use of force or aids.

[56] Le Nouvel Observateur sees Jérôme Garcin as a novelist who depicts the destiny of the squire "with the graces of an orientalist painter, perfectly paced prose, and the admiration of a disciple anxious to make a master known".

[58] In 2011, the novel was awarded the Prix Pégase Cadre Noir with the distinction "Art et littérature", in recognition of Beudant's emotional reading and image of sensitivity and modesty.