When and how we apply our aids can make a huge difference to the way our horse responds. Our aids should be virtually invisible, soft and subtle but all too frequently they are anything but and are blindingly obvious and harsh. When we first start riding we are pretty much told to “kick ‘em to […]
More and more middle-aged and older people ride now. In fact there are more of us than ever before. And although some of them will have had horses their entire lives, many of them are only just coming back to horses now their children have grown up whilst others are achieving a lifelong dream and
Fitness & the Older Rider Read More »
One of the most common problems I see with riders when I am doing Posture Assessments and Awareness Clinics on PI are tight hips. This can manifest itself as an inability for the rider to turn their upper leg at the hip, toes turned out, problems with adjusting their pelvis to implement weight aids or
When done properly the “Turn on the Haunches” or “Pirouette” is one of the most effective gymnastic exercises for your horse that you can do. A correctly executed pirouette is a thing of beauty, a masterpiece of collection, impulsion, suppleness, strength and balance. In canter, it is one of the most physically demanding movements we
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The stifle is the largest, most complex joint in the horse, and probably one of the weakest. The bones that make up the stifle are the femur (thigh), tibia (shin), and patella (kneecap). A thin capsule surrounds the entire stifle joint that has a specialized fluid to help with shock absorption and lubrication. There are
Whether we are talking about humans or horses a strong and supple core is required to support the spine and reduce wear and tear on the joints. For riders a strong core is essential, as an engaged core holds us in lateral and longitudinal balance and gives our seat stability. Pilates, yoga and Swiss Ball
The Importance of the Core Read More »
The turn on the forehand in motion is one of the first lateral movements that you can teach your horse. The movement is not found in any dressage test, and as such the exercise is generally undervalued and under utilised. The turn on the forehand in motion is invaluable in helping develop your horse gymnastically,
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One of the biggest concerns many students seem to have after attending a lesson or a clinic, is how they can continue schooling by themselves. Of course, I understand it much easier to train if you have your trainer there watching you and offering helpful advice but the goal for every instructor should be to
Troubleshooting – or listening to your horse Read More »
The ability of a horse to bend depends on his suppleness and flexibility. Although we often think about a horse bending from poll to tail, this actually does not happen evenly along the horse’s spine as the neck bends more easily than the thoracic spine, where the apparent bend is actually caused by a slight
We all know that horses and humans are naturally asymmetrical – and our lifestyles and injuries exacerbate that asymmetry. Obviously we can ignore our (and our horse’s) asymmetry as many people do. But if we do so, it is at our peril. We (or our horse)) become progressively stiffer on one side, weight more on
Asymmetry in the Horse Read More »
I have just returned from a brilliant clinic given by Tom Nagel (author of Zen & Horseback Riding). During the clinic he asked us (his students) if we were pullers or pushers and went on to describe how in Zen philosophy one strives for balance in life, so that pullers and pushers both become a
Pull, Push or Pour? The hands. Read More »
Many riders suffer from lower back pain that spreads downward to their legs and sometimes even their feet. This sort of pain is frequently referred to as sciatica but it is sometimes caused by tightness in the periformis muscle. The piriformis is actually a small muscle that is located behind the gluteus maximus, deep in
Have you ever wondered why your horse veers to the left (or right) when you ride up a centre line in a dressage test or thought your horse was being naughty when he doesn’t hold a straight line as you approach a jump? If you find that you constantly have to use one rein more
The Seat (or why does my horse veer to the left?) Read More »
One of the things I talk about at my clinics is how important awareness of our body’s posture is for both us and our horses. Whilst most people accept that their proprioceptive system may need some help, somehow it is much harder to realize that our horse may also need help in improving his awareness
Alignment & Posture (Horse) Read More »
Does your horse fall in on a left circle and fall out on a circle to the right, or vice versa? Does he toss his head or try breaking into a canter when you want to trot? All too frequently we blame our horse for being naughty, but have you thought he may be trying
Balance & the Aids Read More »
Posture is the position in which we hold our body upright against gravity while standing, sitting on a horse, driving a car or sitting in a chair. Good posture requires our spine and pelvic girdle to be in alignment or neutral. When our spine is in correct alignment we place virtually no stress on our
Posture & Alignment Read More »
Our position has an enormous impact on the way our horse moves underneath us, and our spinal alignment influences every aspect of our riding. One of the common problems that I see is the rider inadvertently stacking their weight more over one side of the horse than the other. As a general rule your horse
Spinal Misalignment Read More »
Neutral pelvis and neutral spine – what are they and why should we care? As riders, I suppose the main reason we should care is because we need to find our neutral pelvis and spine to become effective riders. However there is a far more fundamental reason to worry about finding our neutral spine and
Weight aids are fundamental in riding, but are all too frequently misunderstood or misinterpreted. Even if your instructor tells you how to distribute your weight to make a turn, do shoulder-in or travers, or to perform some other movement, you may still struggle to gain mastery over your body to produce the desired results. Let
I recently read an article by Wendy Murdock about the rider’s elbows and was immediately struck by how few articles I have seen written about them recently. And more importantly I realised that I had never written anything about elbows myself. Yet, how we hold our elbows when we ride has a major influence in