Comment

Comment by Cyndi on October 13, 2009 at 8:55am

Sing loud and proud, Lexi!!

I'm slowly getting used to the idea that winter is on its way...sigh.

I keep my horse at a friend's place (long story, but one that really shines with the goodness of God!), and she says that she has enough hay to last until Jesus returns! LOL

Comment by Lexi on October 12, 2009 at 12:06am

Hey you guys!! I think we have more people joining our group. Thats Great!!! Invte your friends and maybe we can lead them to know our Awsome God!!

I would sing when I ride because I LOVE singing, and I do take voice lessons, so I could but my barn is right on a major road with Loads of cars and people on it constantly....... Maybe I will sing though..... I declaire that I do believe in Jesus.

So....Is every one ready for winter? Got your hay, feed, warm clothes, gloves, ear warmers, etc, ......... I got to go watch home imporvement with my family now. You all have a wonderful Thanksgiving (for those of us in Canada!!) :P See you all!

And as for me and my horse, I will serve the Lord!!!! ~._=/>

Comment by Cyndi on October 8, 2009 at 8:53pm

I can't sing while I'm doing anything faster than a walk either, but my problem is mostly not being able to multitask at those moments :o) I'm not as balanced as I used to be, so trotting and cantering are still a little 'scary' to me sometimes, so doing anything except concentrating on keeping my balance is out. Mind you, it's those times when I SHOULD be singing, to make me breathe and not get too tense by concentrating too hard. It's all a vicious cycle with me.

Hmmm....do you suppose it was your singing that calmed her down, or the fact that your singing made you breathe and made you more relaxed, thus relaxing her more?? Either way, I'm happy it worked :o)

Comment by Zoi Smutz-Gee on October 7, 2009 at 9:46pm

Hey! I just got back from the barn, and I tried singing while I ride...It was rather difficult at the trot and canter, but i sang soft songs at the walk during cooling out and I think it helped calm her down :D I was all alone so I didn't see a problem with singing today ; )

Comment by Cyndi on October 7, 2009 at 7:21pm

Sure, Zoi.

The deep breathing is mainly to keep you relaxed - if you're relaxed, your horse is more relaxed (especially important when something spooks your horse). Short, shallow breaths, especially if you are nervous or worried, make the horse tense up.

I just started "Centered Riding" lessons last week, and we spent almost an hour doing the theory part. This riding method was developed by a lady named Sally Swift. She had scoliosis (not sure of the spelling), so she came up with this method as a way to enable her to continue riding, because the positioning for traditional riding was too painful for her.

The three main things that are stressed with this method is "soft eyes", breathing, and being "centered". Soft eyes means that you don't just stare at something, but you are aware of all of your surroundings (most people who trail ride do this all the time) at all times. "Breathing" is breathing deep and steady through your diaphragm (stomach), not your chest. Hard for most adults to do because we are so used to breathing through our chests. When you breathe through your chest, your upper body moves and is less stable. When you breathe through your diaphragm, your upper body barely moves, keeping you more stable. "Centering" is finding that spot that is located between your navel and your spine, and matching it up with the center of the horse. Actually, it's below the navel...somewhere between your navel and your pubic bone.

We practiced these three things on horseback, being led around the arena, and it's amazing how the horse's walk changed when we held our breath. Their gait became choppy and unsure. When we breathed deep and steady, they walked nice and smoothly. Breathing deep and steady also helps you have soft eyes. When we held our breath, we tended to focus on one thing ahead of us and weren't as aware of our surroundings. It was really cool to do.

Sorry to ramble. It's just a lot of fun and very interesting.

Comment by Zoi Smutz-Gee on October 7, 2009 at 6:49pm

Cyndi, you mentioned something about breathing deeply while you are riding, and i hadn't heard before that that was important...does it help your ride if you breathe deeply? Could you please explain? I'd love to know more about that.

Comment by Cyndi on October 7, 2009 at 12:19pm

LOL Zoi!! Just make sure you sing when there are no hoofpicks around! I've been told that singing helps you to keep breathing deeply while you're riding, but I still have a hard time doing both. It sounds weird to be singing when all is quiet around me - my horse looks at me like I'm weird. So I try to sing quietly.

Cindy, congrats on making it through the show!! Sounds like you were very busy! I hope you are able to take that trail ride soon. Why is it always the things that we enjoy that we put on the back burner because other things have come up?

Comment by Cindy Jeffery on October 6, 2009 at 6:00pm

Well ladies the show is over and done, as of August 30 and I still haven't gone on that trail ride yet. Now I'm busy with preparing for winter, horse training, teaching lessons and fixing those fences that seem to fall down all by themselves. Pray for me to take the time, build it into my daily activities, I miss it so bad.

Comment by Zoi Smutz-Gee on October 6, 2009 at 2:15pm

Amen Cindy and Cyndi! I love singing too, but I don't sing around horses...my instructor would think Im insane and her daughter might stab me with a hoofpick...

Comment by Lexi on August 13, 2009 at 7:34pm

Amen, Cindy!!!!!!!

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