Referred to in his time as the "father of the art of equitation",[1] he wrote the first book on this subject to be published in early modern Europe.

He was influenced by the famous general Xenophon, especially in the positioning of the rider's seat and aids, but he appears to have given up the part where Greek master advocates the gentle training and riding of the horse.

[1] Other examples of his cruel methods include placing live hedgehogs under the animal's tail, punishing a horse by placing a cat strapped to a pole under its belly,[2] and forcing the horse's head under water to the point of near-drowning if it showed any fear of crossing water.

Grisone was not an advocate of the now "classical" position that was first suggested by Xenophon, and instead preferred the rider to sit with his feet pushed well forward.

However, later masters such as Antoine de Pluvinel, restored the ideas of gentle training of the horse.