Hunter’s
Progress – Part 3
by Trisha Wren
At the beginning of April I started riding Hunter
again, and finally all the pieces started falling into place. (To recap: he’d done nothing at all from Oct
– Dec 06, and Connected Groundwork only from mid Jan 07.) At last he is letting go, mentally and
physically, which results in improved softness, attention, and
self-carriage. His balance and
suppleness through his body is also much better, so he no longer feels quite
like a motorbike when going round corners – very disconcerting for the rider!!
One of the things I did in preparation for riding him
again was ‘body wrap’ him. This is a
TTEAM technique, which uses elastic bandages around the body to increase the
horse’s own body awareness. For Hunter I
felt that this would help him ‘connect’ his hind end to the front. (Note: I’ve also used this technique on my
Kaimanawa’s to great effect. Please take
advice from a professional before trying this yourself at home.)
When I first started riding again Hunter was still
very light in my hands, tending to raise his head away from any suggestion of
contact on the reins. This of course
meant he would also hollow his back and not be able to engage his hind legs; it
was a bit like riding a camel! By riding
him in lots of serpentines he was encouraged to release through his body, step
up underneath himself, and start lengthening his head and neck down into the
contact. Another useful technique was
sliding on the reins (see pic); this enabled me to maintain contact with him
even if he popped his head up, but was also a soothing way of showing him that
contact was okay.
You can see from
these photo’s how his carriage has improved:
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This is the best he could do in |
Now (May 07) he’s releasing down into the contact and stepping further under. |
We’ve also been taking our practicing out on the farm,
and for the first time in the 1.5 years we’ve had him Hunter has been walking
calmly home and not breaking out in a sweat with worry. I know as soon as he’s feeling a little
challenged or concerned though, as his lips start to flap madly! Then it’s time to change things up to bring
his attention back or help him soften himself.
The Connected Groundwork exercises have really helped
Hunter to find a softer, more engaged way of carrying himself, along with
Connected Riding techniques to continue that improvement under saddle. The next instalment will be on trot – watch
this space!
©Trisha Wren May
2007
as printed in: The Organic Equine magazine (June 2007)