It has been a pretty good week.

 

Wednesday, for my lesson on Mick, I faced a super-saturated ring since we had 2 inches of rain earlier in the week.  I could not practice extending Mick's trot, if I had tried I would have torn up the ring and everybody would have been splattered with wet sand.  So it was mostly the walk with some sitting trot, nothing exciting at all.  During one of my rest periods I told Debbie of something I had read in Max Gahwyler's "The Competitive Edge III".  Gahwyler writes on page 41 "According to Newton's Laws (of motion), the center of mass acts in opposition to any force of acceleration or deceleration", page 42 "the center of mass becomes a dominant influence opposing any change ...in an up or down transition or in a turn", and on page 45 "just riding forward with an unchanging velocity does little or nothing to strengthen the horse's haunches or develop the proper response to correct aids.  On the other hand, riding transitions up and down within a gait, or from gait to gait, leads to a complete control of the center of mass from behind." 

 

In the years since I got back to riding I had been wondering why the horses I rode muscled up even though I only rode them once a week for just 30 minutes.  This muscling up happened even with horses that were ridden by no one else (these horses did have turn out.)  But because of my lack of energy and my boredom with just going around the ring, I am doing frequent changes of speed within and between the gaits, and frequent changes of direction.  By doing this I give the horses a harder and more effective workout than if I just trotted around the ring for 5-10 minutes at a time.  Just by changing the direction and speed of the horse's and my mass frequently I am giving the horses I ride better physical conditioning than I did when I rode the horses earlier in my life, long trots, canters, and decently long gallops.  What I am doing now does nothing to build up the horse's wind and endurance, but it does build up their muscles.  It takes the horse more energy to change the speed and direction of its mass than it does just to go on a straight line at a constant speed.  In many ways I am giving the horses a harder workout riding like I do now than I did when I was happily galloping across the countryside!  Fortunately Debbie agreed with me and she told me in her regular lessons she has been doing less straight line movements at a steady speed and encouraging different speeds withing the gait and more turns because of the results she's seen with the horses I ride.

 

On Friday I asked Debbie to give me a lesson on Mia since I wanted to know if it was a good idea for me to start sending Mia on in a stronger trot.  I have been working for many, many months in getting Mia strong enough to give a good ride.  Using plenty of the three speeds at a walk, some of two speeds at the trot, and frequent turning both moving forward and in place, I have finally gotten Mia to where she has been giving me indications that she can stand some faster work, but since Mia is Debbie's horse I wanted her guidance.  The ring had dried out some so I could safely ask for faster work.  So I warmed up Mia, and when she seemed ready I asked her to extend her trot.  I must have applied my aids incorrectly, and  Mia gave me a rather pleasant canter.  I enjoyed the canter for several strides since it was the best canter Mia had ever given me.  Notice, I did not correct Mia for giving me the canter instead of a stronger trot.  Most horses find the faster version of a gait more tiring than doing the next faster gait at the same speed, plus with my physical problems there is always the chance that I did not do my aids right for the extended trot so Mia gave me a canter.  Mia always tries to please!  So after 6 strides of the canter I gently asked her to come down to the trot, then I worked on warming her up more, and the next time I asked Mia started extending her stride at the trot.  After two strides of this longer and faster trot Mia started slinging her head around.  The next time I asked for the extended trot I was up in two-point and I kept the reins pretty loose and Mia still slung her head around, even when I had no contact.  So it was not specifically my hands she was protesting about, it was extending the trot that she was not sure about.  Debbie told me I could work Mia at the faster trot but to build up gradually, starting with just a few strides, and that when Mia started slinging her head to make her WORK a while at the trot (though not necessarily the extended trot) so she would not feel rewarded for slinging her head. 

 

Today I rode Cider.  Last week I had noticed when Cider tried to respond to my aids for a more extended trot that the top of Cider's shoulder was running into the saddle.  So this week I went back to my Corrector pad.  I had tried this pad earlier with this saddle and Cider had not liked it, so I figured that maybe it changed the balance of my Wintec Wide saddle too much, so I added shims in the front.  I also got the mounting block next to Cider and stood on it as we saddled her and I made sure that the saddle and pad were clear of the top of her scapula.  This effectively moved the saddle further back on her back, and the saddle stayed back when we girthed her, I had tried to move the saddle back with just a regular fleece pad but we could not keep the saddle off the top of her shoulders.  With the Corrector pad the saddle stayed back, so after warming her up I started asking for some extension.  The first time she just moved her legs faster so I brought her back down to the walk and did a lot of turns and work at the walk.  Near the end of my ride I asked again for an extended trot and Cider's head and neck lowered and lengthened, and then Cider started extending her trot.  Triumph!  Cider's stride did not feel totally regular to me though Shannon did not notice anything.  I will have to take the time to work Cider up to this new way of moving at the trot like I will have to with Mia, until both mares get strong enough to give me what I want.  Shannon said that Cider seemed to think that having the saddle further back was comfortable, I'm glad because I really do not know what I would have done if she was uncomfortable.  Of course with the saddle further back my thighs were spread even further apart so I had some trouble when I tried the two-point position.  You would think that the people designing this saddle would have thought about the poor rider's thighs being spread further apart and reduced the padding in the knee rolls to almost nothing, but no, I think they made the padding thicker.  I really appreciate that the saddle fits Cider better but I am not  enjoying riding in it yet.

 

It is important if you decide to use the technique of frequent changes of speed and direction to strengthen your horse that you make sure you DO NOT IRRITATE YOUR HORSE.  If your horse feels pain from your aids or if you do not keep your seat stable your horse will not be happy with you and you will strengthen the horse's muscles for RESISTANCE instead of proper movement.  Reward the horse's extra efforts with frequent rests, either standing or walking on a loose rein.  If the horse raises its head when you use the rein aids work on making your hands independent, and this starts with keeping your lower leg stable.  Doing these changes of speed and direction in two-point will help fix most of the rider's problems so long as the rider does not continually pull on the horse's mouth and it will help the rider learn how to keep her/his mass in balance with the horse's movements.  Lots of two-point with loose reins, speeding up, slowing down and turning, it works every time.  At least this is how I did it and I have a simply terrible sense of balance.

 

All in all a good week on horseback.  It makes everything in life better.

 

Have a great ride!

Jackie Cochran

 

 

 

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Comment by Charline Brand on December 5, 2011 at 9:06pm

I will definitely let you know how it goes--that is great advice.  She has a super bumpy trot. Some might call it suspension, but to be kind I will just call it animated! haha  I will have to be very elastic in my knees, and rest a lot too.

I am going to print your directions and tuck them in the little pocket in my breeches!

Thanks  : )

Comment by Jackie Cochran on December 5, 2011 at 8:52pm

You may have to hold on to the mane at first, just don't lean on the neck. 

I find my stability when I have my knees and heels down, toes slightly out, weight on the inside of the stirrup with the stirrup leather "wrapped" around my shin, keeping my face vertical, pushing out with my solar plexus to get my shoulders back and straighten my back, and looking UP around 15 degrees.  Don't grip with your knees, they have to be sort of loose to take up the shocks at the trot and canter.

I've got around 8 (?) blogs dealing with position.  I'd like your feedback if you have the time, I'm just curious about how another self-taught MSer thinks equestrian wise!

Comment by Charline Brand on December 5, 2011 at 8:34pm

I will try two-point tomorrow!

Comment by Jackie Cochran on December 4, 2011 at 3:07pm

I hit a wrong key and this blog ended up with two different titles, my apologies if there is confusion with the change in titles.

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