Yes it can be a frustrating journey at times, but I promise your horse will reward any effort your put forth! Happy riding!

The key is learning how to isolate movement to specific parts of the body. i.e. one part is moving but the rest of the body is remains unaffected.  The unaffected or still body parts are not slack and inactive, nor are they rigid and tense, but instead holding steadily and balanced.  This allows the moving limb to move freely for as long as needed.  The part of the body many riders have the greatest trouble with isolating is the leg.  Typically, when riders move their leg back (as in for the cue to lope/canter) their upper body tips forward.  Or, when they squeeze in with their lower leg to ask for more impulsion or speed, their upper leg, thigh, hips, and stomach can all get involved in the squeeze by tensing up tremendously. Soon they aren’t moving at all with the horse, and may not even be breathing! To learn how to isolate movement to certain parts of your body try some……

Leg swings!

The principle is simple-   swing your legs, one at a time with the rhythm of the horse’s walk.  It is easiest to do this without stirrups, but you can start with stirrups if it makes you more comfortable.

Most riders will initially swing their left front leg forward when the horse steps with its right front leg, and vice versa. This is ok- start with whatever rhythm feels natural. Focus on releasing all the muscles around your hip joint, as you want to swing from the hip, not just from the knee. Your leg may not move far, but it needs to be moving from the hip joint all the way down. 

As you are more comfortable with this, start moving your left leg when your horse’s front left leg steps forward. See if you can find this rhythm without looking at your horse. Look ahead, breathe, and feel for your horse stepping forward. It may take a while, but we could all practice FEELING our horses a little more instead of looking at them.  As you are more comfortable with this rhythm, ask your horse to walk faster, and continue swinging.  If your leg muscles are truly relaxed and fluid (not gripping), and the rest of your body is holding you steady, your pelvis and upper body will not be moving in response to your leg at all. This takes relaxation of your hip muscles, and a stabilizing action in your core and back muscles. Soon you will be able to move your leg any direction at any speed without affecting your upper body and balance. You will be able to give one clear cue at a time- not multiple conflicting and unintentional cues at once.  Your horse will feel the difference!

And remember to first review the previous exercise- leg lifts- before trying anything new.  It is crucial that you are sitting in a relaxed fashion in the saddle not gripping or hovering in the stirrups. If you are gripping with any part of your body, you won’t be able to move another part, let alone remain balanced while doing so. As you feel more comfortable with this exercise you should be getting more familiar with what it really feels like to sit heavy or deeply in the saddle.  Sitting deep is the first step in feeling our horse’s movement and thereby learning to move with them.

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As silly as this sounds, the most important way to communicate is to sit on your horse! Many times I tell my students over and over “Sit down ON your horse” And I get a  lot of funny looks as if to say “What else would I be sitting on?”  What I mean is – sit on and ride your horse , don’t just sit in the saddle.  Tension or tight muscles prevent us from sitting fully on our horse, and therefore we are unable to use our whole body to communicate with them. Tension can be caused by fear, or by lack of flexibility in the muscles and tendons. Either way, we must learn how to relax our muscles so we can fully move with our horse. If not, our body movement (or lack of ) will confuse or contradict any additional cues we give, with our legs, seat, reins, etc. Moving with our horse is more important than anything we can do when on top of them, because if we aren’t moving with them, we are moving against them… and against whatever behavior we had hoped for.

The best way to know if you are truly sitting ON your horse 100% is to take away your stirrups in some form. Bareback riding helps a TON for balance, however, most riders will continue to “hover” above the saddle when they get their saddle (and stirrups) back.  So, if you can practice these exercises in the first few minutes of your ride, with or without a saddle, you will feel your muscles loosen and relax, and you should be able to better move with your horse. It is also recommended to try these exercises on a lunge line first, with an experienced horse handler helping to guide your horse.

Exercise 1- left lifts

The basic idea is just as it sounds- lift one leg or both off the saddle at walk, and eventually at a trot. Don’t lift it very far, just an inch or so, to take the pressure off the stirrup. This will allow gravity to force your weight (in your seat bones) down in to the saddle. No more bracing on the saddle or stirrups! And don’t cheat by gripping your upper thigh to the saddle. Just lift your knee straight up. 

 To start, lift one leg at a time, then lower it, and lift the opposite leg. The motion should be slow and relaxed, not jerky. Start by moving it in time with the horse’s walk, if possible. You can even start this standing still, and begin walking once you get the feel. Increase the amount of time you can hold each leg up.

It is also important to make sure you are still sitting up straight and looking ahead while doing this. Tipping sideways, leaning forward, rounding the back, etc, only create worse problems. Ideally the only thing that should be changing is the height of your knees. Finally, can you still move your seat bones with the rhythm of the horse? Again, take it as slow as you need to. Forcing the movement will only create more problems.

Leg swings are next- stay tuned!

What is different about my clients when they work their horses while I am watching? They have the same physical body, with its strengths and weaknesses. And the horse couldn’t have changed much since the last ride.  Our state of mind is the biggest variable, and it plays a large part in how we work with our horses.   Many times my students say they are much more confident when I am around.  They feel as though I can help them through difficulties so there is no reason to get scared, worked up, mad, or irritated at their horse.  With increased confidence comes a relaxed state of mind, and therefore a loose, relaxed body.  They can breathe better, move with fluidity, and let their brains focus on working with the horse- not preventing the next  mistake before it occurs. 

Another difference in my clients may be that when I am there, it is due to a scheduled lesson.  I am part of the list of things already on the schedule, not one of the extras that we all try to cram in (Like riding our horse during our free time).  So, while their schedules are full all week long, when it is time for their lesson they are present and prepared and ready.  They have probably thought of what went wrong the last time they rode, so they can ask me how to improve.  They have tried to shut other things out of their mind, at least partially, so they can focus on their lesson. They are, after all, paying for this.  And showing up unprepared, late, or completely unfocused would be a waste of money.

Speaking of state of mind- our horses also have good and bad days, and we can’t forget that. However, while on any given day they can be intently focused, or distracted by everything that walks by, our horse’s state of mind is hugely affected by our attitude and mindset.  So unfortunately you usually can’t blame most of the problem on the horse.

So how can you accomplish the same preparation and confidence on your own time? First you have to address what your state of mind (and body) is before you even open the stall door.  Are we anxious? Rushed? Irritated? Focused? Do we even have a goal in mind of what we want to accomplish with our horse?  Most of my clients do not show or compete, and they enjoy their horses strictly as a hobby.  And I am not going to force anyone to spend hours documenting their goals each time they ride, or practice grueling exercises and stretches 5 days a week.  That would take all the fun out of having a “fun hobby”.  That being said, what can be gained by just a few minutes of preparation, or thinking about our horse goals, struggles, problem areas when we are away from the barn? 

The first recommendation for any rider is to let your mind picture what you want with your horse.  With a picture, we immediately (and sometimes unconsciously) start making a plan, and with a plan we gain confidence and the mental awareness to achieve our goals. (See now you are planning but you don’t even know it!)

Do you envision loping through a grass field, performing a collected trot, walking on a loose rein with friends, or sliding into a stop?  Let your mind wander- don’t force it, just as you wouldn’t force your horse. When you find that picture, try to see/feel what might be the biggest hurdle to accomplishing it.  What just doesn’t seem to work? Are your hands flying around?  Do you quit breathing?  

 A great example:  most beginner riders or those with confidence and stability issues have trouble moving with their horse in a lope or canter- most tense up and block the horse’s movement.  A lot of bouncing and really sore inner thighs are soon to follow.  For those riders I suggest they picture their horse loping- how is the horse’s back moving, and how do your hips need to adjust so you aren’t just bouncing around?  Where is your upper body in all of this?    You can also watch other riders performing the same maneuvers. Between watching others at your barn, and the vast number of clips on YouTube, you should have plenty of mental pictures to mull over.  After thinking this through, you are probably not ready to jump on your horse, give them a big kick and expect the lope to be beautiful, but you need that picture in your mind to relax and let your body follow what your brain already knows. 

Along the same lines, picture what you want your entire ride to encompass.  If we strive for a relaxed horse that meanders around casually, but we are only focused on how fast we can get in and out of the barn and on to the next thing, do we stand a chance of having a relaxed ride?   By picturing the specific maneuvers, along with the overall feeling we want from our time with horses, we allow our minds to prepare our body for just that.  Our minds will help our shoulders relax, our breathing slow, and our hips to loosen for a nice calming ride. In the same way, by picturing energetic rollbacks or lead changes, our mind helps prepare us, and our horse, for some difficult and precise maneuvers. 

The next step is to prepare your body physically for what it will need to do. Again I am not advocating a new 5 day a week exercise program. But a few stretches and daily exercises can help get your muscles to have the muscle memory you want, instead of what you wish they would forget.

More on the physical exercises next time!

What does that mean for you? How can we best practice or prepare for our horses? This is especially difficult for those riders whose horses are their fun hobby, not a source of income. Most of my work with riders and horse owners involves improving riding position, finesse of aids, timing, and other very technical components. However, I have begun to understand the importance of the not-so-technical component as well. I would like to focus the next few blog posts on ways we can improve our physical and mental state so we can better enjoy and work with our horses. This is for riders who want to work on that deep relationship and being “one” with their horses- but this is also for the rider who just wants to enjoy their weekend rides a little more.

Do you live in a remote area of the world?  Or are you getting tired of trying to copy what you see on a video into results with your own horse?   We can help with real-time LIVE instruction! With a few simple supplies you can gain the benefits of  Practical Equine Solutions help no matter where you are.  Contact Us  for information.

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Happy Trails!

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