I was teaching Sylvia Loch's Balance and Bodywork workshop on Saturday. We were focusing on balance and how the most subtlest change in our position affects not just our own balance, but our horse's balance too. It became clear to everyone as the workshop progressed, just how important it is to support our own weight, and to ensure we position ourselves over the horse's centre of balance to ride, as Sylvia says, 'the crest of a wave'. How many riders actually strive to ride in true balance with their horse? Sadly, not enough. How many riders do you see slumped in the saddle, collapsed to one side, bouncing hard on the horse's poor back? Too many.
This is where we need to feel and see the difference for ourselves, only then will we realise that there is a purer way of connecting with our horse.. We need to be making the effort to thank our horse for being so generous and allowing us on his back. Thank him by looking to ourselves to improve our own balance and posture. Our horses will then thank us for it in return!
Later that afternoon, one of my students was having her weekly lesson and asked if I would like to work with her horse, Marco, first. I decided to take this as an opportunity to focus on the rider's position to teach my student the effects of riding over the movement and in balance and then the opposite, being behind the movement. I began by encouraging Marco to stretch forward and down to warm his muscles up to begin working through his back. I do this in walk and trot including lots of changes of direction and turns. This naturally progresses into a contact, Marco rounding up to self carriage when he is ready to offer this. I ride a serpentine in sitting trot, making sure I maintain position on my 3 point seat, as close to the pommel as possible, Marco remains balanced underneath me, listening, bending and turning well. I can still feel his back relaxed under me. Still in sitting trot, slowly, I then allow my core to collapse, my back to round/flatten and my seat to slide to the back of the saddle. Instantly, Marco's ears are begin to flatten back, his head and neck hollow and his back drops away. I immediately return to my previous position and praise Marco for allowing me to demonstrate the effects of a poor position.
Riding momentarily behind the movement reminded me of just how little control we have over our own body when we are not balanced. I found it very difficult to keep my hands quietly as a pair - how would I be able to give any light, clear signals down the rein with unbalanced hands? I felt unable to sit quietly and to absorb any of my own or the horse's movement. I felt very heavy on poor Marco's back, but also, what damage was this doing to my own back? I had no control over my legs, as my student rightly said, they had shot forwards, there was no way I could send clear signals. Marco would have to try and guess what I was asking off him - no wonder so many horses get called a 'problem horse' when really, it's the rider who needs to learn how to communicate with sympathetic, coordinated aids then the horse can begin to understand what is being asked of him.
My student is quickly developing an eye for balanced and an unbalanced positions and can feel when she is riding with the movement or behind the movement. It just takes time, core stability and understanding through feel and watching other riders, this is the first step to becoming a more balanced, feeling rider.
It was only later on, preparing my own horses for the evening, that I began to think about just how generous these beautiful animals truly are. I still have my first pony, Prince, a pony that has had to deal with, in his early education, a totally uncoordinated, unbalanced rider - yes, that was me! As a result, there were a few times when Prince bolted off, which, at the time I considered naughty (lack of knowledge!) now I know it was my inadequacies as a rider that these moments happened. Prince was patient (despite the bolts, which I'm sure were a sign of frustration!) he taught me a great deal, I think he knew I meant well, in time we became a strong, balanced partnership.
Then, there's Amber, who has recently become my faithful horse I use to teach bareback lunge lessons. Amber is so willing to please and will do whatever she thinks you are asking of her, she's also very good at telling me if someone is using too much lower leg or are clenching their buttocks! Another sign of generosity, she is willing to have various riders on her back (after only having myself and my mum occasionally, as her riders for several years) with their various strengths and weaknesses and imbalances and never getting agitated. A quality we humans should take note off!
I could go on , but I think you get my point. We should aspire to become more aware of our horses and their generous natures and reward them for it. The world will have more happy horses if their riders would only take the time to thank them by improving themselves, not forever blaming the horse when it is we who are clearly lacking the skills to speak clearly to our horses.
I will leave you with this thought as Charles De Kunffy has written previously: 'The horse knows how to be a horse' it is down to the rider to learn to ride the horse with balance, co-ordination and feel, then, we can begin to show our gratitude and thank their warm, noble hearts.
