By now we have all heard that Pilates is really good for us. When done regularly the benefits of Pilates are numerous, including strengthening our core muscles, which in turn helps our back to become stronger. In addition Pilates teaches us body awareness, makes us more supple and can help reduce postural related pain. What […]
Pilates Exercises for Your Horse Read More »
For more information about the lessons and classes available please click on one of the photos below. Horse Biomechanics Lessons Human Biomechanics Lessons Rider Biomechanics Lessons
Rider Biomechanics Rider Biomechanics can be divided into 3 distinct components, the biomechanics of the human, the biomechanics of the horse and finally the biomechanics of the horse and human combination – rider biomechanics. Biomechanics of the Horse All horses are asymmetrical. They are born left or right footed and are naturally crooked and front
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A correctly placed and aligned knee prevents knee injury, whether we are on or off our horse. While in the saddle, a correctly placed knee can be used for subtle aids. However, very few people actually spend any time thinking about the positioning of their knees ,until they start to experience knee pain. But what
Many riders avoid doing any lateral movements with their horse. This can be because of fear of doing them wrong and “hurting” their horse, lack of knowledge and not knowing where to begin, or even not knowing why doing such movements are so beneficial for the horse. I often hear riders say they “just enjoy
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When I first started teaching Rider Biomechanics it was perfectly clear to me, standing and watching, whether a rider was sitting straight in their saddle, or collapsing to one side, leaning forwards or leaning backwards. However, it soon became abundantly obvious, that what I was seeing and what the students thought they were doing, were
The half halt is something that virtually every one of us has been told to do, at one time or another, during a riding lesson. But from running my Posture Awareness Clinics I now realise just how few riders understand how they are supposed to do a half halt or even why they should should
Explaining the Half Halt Read More »
As a Rider Biomechanics Coach, I know that the way a rider sits on her horse influences the way the horse moves. Obviously, there are lots of other reasons why a horse may not be moving properly, such as the horse’s own asymmetry or a poorly fitting saddle, but one of the most common reasons
Posture, Position and PI Read More »
Biomechanics seems to have become the buzz word in the equine industry in the last 10 or so years. Everyone these days is a biomechanics coach, but what does biomechanics really mean and is biomechanics really important to you or your horse? Lets us look at the meaning first. If we look at Wikipedia, biomechanics
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“The application of one aid alone will never produce an accurate and correct movement. Only the correct application and co-ordination of all the aids can bring about perfection” Charles Harris – Workbooks from the Spanish Riding School. An aid can only be effective if it is timed correctly so that the horse can comply to
Isolating the Aids Read More »
A good seat is an essential if we want to be a good rider. Every book and every trainer seems to agree on this. How a good seat can be achieved or what constitutes a good seat, is perhaps a little less clear. Perhaps the first question we need to ask ourselves is why our
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Contact is the third building block in the classic German Scales of Training pyramid following after Rhythm and Suppleness (sometimes shown as Relaxation). However, the question of what contact is, or more to the point, just how much contact is needed and how soft or how firm the contact should be, seems to be something
Contact & Rein Pressure Read More »
It has been a couple of months since I last wrote my last article, as apart from being on holiday and spending spent some quality time with my own horses, I have been thinking long and hard about what this article should be about. Then I had one of those light bulb moments – both
I originally wrote this post in 2018 but it is as relevant now as it was then. As anyone who has followed my articles for any length of time or attended one of my clinics or classes will know, I am pretty obsessed by asymmetry (both our own and our horses) and how being crooked
Correcting Crookedness Read More »
So far in this series we have looked at “the importance of straightness” and “the importance of the hips”. But just as you can’t build a house without a good foundation, we can’t correct the posture of either our horse or ourselves without looking at our feet. Both horses and humans will find a way
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Our hips have a huge influence on our ability to ride well and the way our horse goes. Tight hips are a major cause of all sorts of problems, such as; bouncing in the saddle at a sitting trot, not being able to follow the movement of the horse, restricting the movement of the horse,
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All horses and all humans are asymmetrical to a greater or lesser extent. The muscles on one side of the body are stronger than the other, one side may be more flexible than the other and we (and our horses) are more coordinated with one hand or hoof than the other. So if we are
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Being able to feel the footfall of your horse and knowing at any given time where each of your horses legs are, is or should be, the foundation of good riding. Unfortunately, for most of us, it isn’t something we are taught when we start learning to ride. Indeed for a lot of people, feeling
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Rider Biomechanics is not just about sitting in a pretty position It is about understanding the forces put on your body by your horse’s movement and how to match those forces in the proper directions at the proper times. Sitting well on your horse is much more difficult than one imagines. The most important thing
Rider Position & Biomechanics Read More »
The question of what contact is, how soft or firm the contact should be and whether one should always ride with contact or only use it sparingly is something that gets asked the whole time. Every person seems to have a different view point as to actually what is meant by contact. When I ask