All Blog Posts Tagged 'equitation' (14)

The Smile Muscles of the Seat

As someone who specializes in movement…

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Added by Sit_the_Trot on February 23, 2010 at 10:00pm — 1 Comment

How can I keep my hands quiet? The Secret Lies Below your Navel!

Question: When I ride my hands bounce up and down at all the gaits. Not a lot but enough so I am not riding horses to the best of my ability and knowledge. I can keep the horse on the bit but in the posting trot every time I go up my hands come up too.Holding a strap doesn't help. Trying to make my hands go down as I go up doesn't help. What can I do?

Basically if you are stiff in mid-back or in the upper chest and shoulders and the shoulder blades don't slide well over the rib cage… Continue

Added by Sit_the_Trot on February 9, 2010 at 10:00am — No Comments

Jumping

We all strive for the perfect distance.

We practise perfect equitation/body alignment.

We use grids...we use trotting poles...we practise our two point position for hours.

I hear coaches tell student to move on the horse/slow down the horse,...curve your broken line....hold for three allow for three....all in the name of the perfect spot.

I will hear a coach comment..."you had a long spot....you need to add move leg to move him…

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Added by Kairen Jamieson on February 8, 2010 at 3:00pm — 1 Comment

Breathing: A Lesson on the 1st Step to Effective Movement

As riders we get all sorts of information about how to have correct posture, how to breathe, and how to use our abdominal muscles. All of these things affect the way we stand, sit, move, and breathe. They even affect the way we think and our emotions. As babies we knew how to breathe naturally and use our breath for power. We filled our lungs, letting our belly expand, and screamed! When we breathe naturally our lungs fill as our diaphragm lowers and flattens out, and, because our stomach,… Continue

Added by Sit_the_Trot on January 30, 2010 at 9:30am — 1 Comment

From Chair to Saddle: Take it slowly

Unlike four-legged mammals that generally move with a horizontal spine, the human spine is uniquely shaped to allow us to move in multitudes of activities while standing or sitting upright. With the muscles and tendons providing structure, the spine can bend and twist and oscillate. It can also relax and allow us to sit for long periods. Unfortunately, our spine also has a good short-term memory about what it has been doing.

The tissues hold on to what we have been doing. What does… Continue

Added by Sit_the_Trot on January 25, 2010 at 3:48pm — No Comments

Tummy Out! Find Your Strong and Supple Core and Release Tension

“Tummy out, tummy out,” I heard in lesson after lesson when I rode in Germany at Etoile International Equestrian Academy under the direction of Stephan Kiesewetter, chief trainer. Tummy out? I’d never heard such a direction from a dressage instructor, yet when I did it, I felt my lower back fill out and hip joints relax, the mobility of my lumbar spine increased while my upper torso stabilized, and I sat deeper. I found it easier to follow each big, bouncy stride—in fact, my horse gave bigger,… Continue

Added by Sit_the_Trot on January 20, 2010 at 4:30pm — 7 Comments

Lazy Horse? Behind the Leg? or Tense Rider?

Often people who come to my clinics complain that their horse is lazy. They say things like: "He doesn't want to go," or "Even my trainer has problems getting my horse to go."

I say, really? your healthy, vibrant 5 year old is lazy? Your prime-of-life, athletic 10 year old is lazy? Really? Does he just stand around out in the pasture?

"Well, no..."

Hmmm, Let's see what's going on, I'll say.

I watch as they ride and yes, the horse seems sluggish, making little effort to… Continue

Added by Sit_the_Trot on January 10, 2010 at 7:00am — 3 Comments

Ride in Harmony: Half-Halt--Biomechanics of Your Seat, Legs, and Hand

For many riders the half-halt is elusive even though they understand that if done correctly it will rebalance the horse, increasing engagement of his hind end and readying him for the next move. Your seat during the half-halt must be ready to receive the engagement of the hindquarters and increase of energy created by your legs, otherwise you'll lose your balance and be tempted to hold onto the reins or grab with your legs because the change in balance and energy has left you behind the motion… Continue

Added by Sit_the_Trot on January 4, 2010 at 12:43pm — 5 Comments

Enjoy the Ride: Confidence at the Faster Gaits

I get questions about going faster without bouncing--trotting, cantering, loping, galloping--and realize that novice riders are often intimidated by faster gaits, not realizing that riding the trot or canter on a calm, well-trained horse is fun and relaxing, even exhilarating.

Part of learning to ride comes from spending time in the saddle but plenty of riders spend hours in the saddle without really learning the one simple thing that will make it enjoyable to ride: moving with the… Continue

Added by Sit_the_Trot on October 1, 2009 at 4:56pm — No Comments

Can't get your heels down when you ride?

I have been asked a lot recently about why riders have such a hard time keeping their heels down. A heel that is not "down" may not have anything to do with the heel its self, but rather the knee and the calf muscle.

Many times the heel is not down because the calf needs to be stretched. A soft calf allows for the heel to drop below the toe when the foot is resting on the stirrup bar. When the heel is "down" in a rider, it drops just below the stirrup bar. The more important thing,… Continue

Added by Ruth Hogan Poulsen on August 25, 2009 at 6:54pm — 2 Comments

Equitation Science

Recently one of my students handed me an article written by McLean & McGreevy on Training Horses I found it to be of great interest. This article covered some problems with contemporary training, conflict behaviors-the manifestation of problems and some solutions.

As a horse trainer I have the gratifiying opportunity of working with horses and their owners to improve the communication between the two to help form appropriate relationships .

I agree that "problems arise when… Continue

Added by Ruth Heney on July 30, 2009 at 1:30pm — 1 Comment

Ride Without Fear: Build Confidence & Control in Mind & Body

"Even among experienced riders, fear or anxiety can seem like an insurmountable obstacle in riding or just being around horses. Your horse spooks and you get hurt, you experience pain and lose the ability to be relaxed and supple, you see someone else get thrown. All of these events can cause anxiety and excessive fearful responses. Because horses tune in to our emotional states, our anxiety can cause unwanted behavior like shying or what seems like disobedience. When we are calm and confident… Continue

Added by Sit_the_Trot on July 26, 2009 at 3:22pm — 2 Comments

Competition Riding vs. Riding for "Fun"

There I go again...putting "fun" in quotations. Hey, for those of you that ride, you KNOW why that is! LOL For those of you that don't, riding is fun in the same way that a serious visit to the local gym is fun. It is hard work. Even when you aren't riding, horses are work; you clean the stall and paddock, you maintain the barn area, you groom the horse, you carry feed and hay and tack, etc.--it is physical (well, except for those of us that pay to have all that done for them). But even those… Continue

Added by Mary McGuire Smith on July 23, 2009 at 8:00pm — 3 Comments

Ride Fit 1-2-3: Fitness for Riders- Getting Better Arm Position and Softer Hands

Hi,

This week's topic comes from a rider (Erika) who posted the following question:

Though recently I've done very much to my core and leg positions, my arms have been neglected! Though I do not try, I know I keep my arms tense and not as relaxed as the rest of my body.

So my question(s) are, where exactly should I keep my hands (I show Training/First Level), and how should it feel? How can I relax my arms, and keep the contact that I need?

I have posted her picture in… Continue

Added by Heather Sansom at Equifitt.com on June 3, 2009 at 9:30am — 3 Comments