Trisha wren ~ Connect With Your Horse

In these days of Natural Horsemanship we are all well informed about the best nutrition, shoeing, and saddle fit, and happily have our horses treated by massage, reiki, shiatsu and other practitioners. But have you ever considered how your riding may be affecting your horse’s well being and performance?

Is your horse stiff on one rein? Does he have difficulty with one canter lead, or trouble with lateral movements in one direction? Do you have trouble keeping him straight? If you have ruled out saddle fit, physical issues, teeth, unbalanced feet etc it may be you that is causing the problem!

Ask yourself these questions – looking in a mirror or having a friend watch you ride may help. Are your shoulders at the same level? Are your hands the same height and reins the same length? Are you supporting your upper body, or do you collapse on one side eg in turns? Do you tilt your head to one side (or forward)? These are all common habits it is easy to slip into, especially when our riding is focused on our horse’s performance, or if we never have someone else critique our riding. However, unbalanced riding actually hinders your horse’s performance, so it pays to check ourselves regularly. In addition, if you have physical issues yourself, such as pain (lower back pain is common), old injuries, or a disability, be aware that those can also affect your horse and be reflected in him. (His physical issues will likely also be passed on to you if they continue without attention, so if you ever get body work done on your horse, it pays to get yourself checked out at the same time – and vice versa - so that you both start with a clean slate!)

A simple example of how your position affects and is reflected in your horse is that of the hollow back. If you ride with a hollow back it will be difficult for your horse to round up underneath you (collection / good posture) and he will be more likely to travel hollow, strung out, and with his head high (which may also make him more spooky, because of the way that horses eyesight works).

If you are riding in a balanced position you will feel closer to and more at one with your horse. You should be able to feel the horse’s hind legs coming up underneath you as he walks, essential if you want to be able to easily influence movement in any one leg, for lateral work for instance. Your pelvis will be level and spine neutral, leaving your hips free to move with the motion of the horse. (In the walk your hips will move somewhat like bicycle pedals, with side to side and alternate forward movement, ie as your left hip drops, your right hip is up and will move forward, round and down, in a circular movement. In sitting trot you should feel a side to side movement in your seat bones, and alternate pressure on your stirrups. Pay attention to your own hips when you are walking or jogging off the horse; the movements are the same.)

Your feet should be square and level in the stirrups, with the ball of your foot on the stirrup tread. A common habit for females is to have only the outside edge of the foot in contact with the stirrup, which does not give a secure base of support to your position. (Think about it; when standing on the ground the stability and balance in our feet dictates how balanced our whole body is – the same applies in the saddle.) If you become aware of this, try gently rocking your foot from side to side in the stirrup until you find the midpoint where your foot becomes equally balanced.

The old "stand / sit up straight!" commands instilled in us by parents and teachers unfortunately do not produce good posture. If you pull your shoulders back, push your chest out, and stretch your upper body up, you will invariably hollow your lower back, which makes your upper body unstable – and weakens your back. Good posture is shoulders relaxed but wide, a flatter lower back, and using your abdominals to support yourself. Try the following with a friend. Sit in your normal position in the saddle, and have your friend push gently with the palm of their hand between your shoulder blades. If she is able to push you forward (or you are having to brace or tense yourself in order to stop her), then your position was not balanced. Ever look down when you are riding?(!) Try the same exercise, this time with you looking down at the horse’s head or neck… Ever ride when you’ve had a bad day at work, an argument with someone, or are worried about something? Fill your head with those thoughts and try the exercise again. Your centre of balance rises, pulling your upper body forward and making you less stable. You’ve probably heard the "straight line from the ear, to shoulder, to hip, to heel" principle before (to be balanced our body needs to be like a series of building blocks, neatly stacked on top of each other) - now you’ll better understand why where you’re looking and what you’re thinking are so important when you ride! Keeping a bend in your elbows instead of riding with straight arms will help keep those building blocks balanced too.

So, in future when you ride – especially if your horse seems to be having trouble with a maneuver – take a quick inventory of your body and position. Get in the habit of knowing what the various parts of your body feel like when they are correct, as well as when they are tense or braced, so that you will be more aware and more able to adjust as soon as you feel something amiss. Your joints (especially ankle, knee, hip and lower back) need to be supple in order to act as shock absorbers, absorbing the motion that comes up through the horse rather than blocking it by being braced or tense, which in turn leads to instability. Remember, tension in your body will invariably be reflected in your horse!

Trisha