How not to override but still be effective – an experiment in ‘active’ and ‘passive’ riding

 

By Wiola Grabowska

We can probably all relate to the situation in which a horse does more of what we don’t want the more we try the opposite and then “out of the blue” offers a behaviour we wanted when we no longer care about it.

It’s relatively “easy” to over-ride a horse with our aids without noticing as well as not to do enough to guide the horse into desired behaviour and we all do a bit of both now and then.

I’d like to chat with you about an exercise in ‘passive’ and ‘active’ riding.

We often talk about effectiveness when training. I believe true effectiveness starts in ability to “not disturb” the horses in the job we are asking them to do…Whether on the flat, over poles or over the jumps.

When I say passive I don’t mean a slouching rider travelling on a horse but one who shadows horse’s movement while remaining as balanced as possible. This is often a much harder task for a rider than it seems because to follow every movement with every part of your seat without acting upon the horse in any way is much easier said than done. The biggest issue I find is riders’ ability to maintain an absolutely neutral rein connection – most common are two extremes: riders who feel the need to constantly fiddle and those who ride with dropped reins out of belief they interfere too much. Neutral, non-disturbing connection that can become meaningful is hardest to achieve but I believe forms a great starting point from which to start an influence that has biggest chances of acceptance (by the horse).

Conversely, when I say ‘active’ I don’t mean in any way ‘busy’ but simply becoming in charge of direction, speed, shape of the horse’s body, amount of impulsion he or she creates etc.

Here’s what we did at Aspire Equestrian Spring Camp 2018 (full blog post on the Camp coming up later this week)

The WHY

We work on the below skills in order to create a situation in which the horse finds our ideas easy to understand, logical to obey and enjoyable to partake in (assuming horses tend to gravitate towards harmonious movement).

The lesson objectives:

• to increase awareness of degree of influence the rider’s actually have on a horse,
• to increase awareness of “doing too much” or “not enough”,
• to build a feel for moments when the rider needs to allow the horse to listen, understand and act without being “busy” with own posture
• to increase awareness of “own anticipation”

MEET THE RIDERS: Derek on Boo and Sasha on Ferris – the horses decided to travel from one corner of the arena to the other and sometimes just stood in one of them observing 😉

The how

I asked the riders to drop the reins and allow the horse to make choices about directions. The riders were to stay completely passive (as if they wanted to simply shadow the horse’s movement) yet stay in as good a balance as they could. They were to stay in walk and trot but act if horses became in any way unsafe.

Game on

First of all it turned out to be a one funny session although I admit I did not plan it that way 😉 Horse that notoriously avoids corners for various reasons gravitated towards them like a magnet, the one we thought would be worried and stressed (an ex-racehorse) turned out to confidently stroll around, relaxed and happy leading the other horse most of the time. The mare that normally avoids the arena ends, took herself out of the arena and climbed a small mound 😉

I wanted to get the riders to feel how easy it is to anticipate something and how difficult it is to “do nothing at all”. For example approaching a corner most riders will have a set of automatic behaviours they don’t even think about that prepares the horse to turn. This can cause various muscle engagement patterns in the horse that leads to inverting away from corners, running on, avoiding bend/flexion etc etc I wanted the riders to make sure they listen to the feedback from the horse and it was much easier to do once they experienced the passive rider game.

Second part of the session

I asked the riders to slowly include their influence but in a very tactful way i.e. do as little as possible but as much as necessary to ride certain figures and exercises I asked them to do. The difference in the horse’s attitude, relaxation and ease with which they did the exercises was significant. The riders found it very enjoyable and as we know, we do learn best when having fun 🙂

Very good attempt at neutral rein connection in canter

Their handling on reins and frequency with which they used them improved too – the rider who tends to override rode with much more awareness of that and the one who tends to to leave the horse a bit too much without guidance, rode with more attention too.

Maintaining a perfectly neutral rein connection that neither drops or holds unnecessary tension in three basic paces of walk, trot and canter is a skill I consider one of the most important for all my Foundation & Development programme riders. Without that relaxed stability, rein aids rarely can be truly independent yet harmonious with the rest of the seat.

Sasha in a very good attempt at following the contact in trot – she could perhaps show a little more carriage of the hands (as they dropped a bit here) to truly show that rider’s hips, elbows and shoulders are as supple as can be but very good job nevertheless.

Please note: One of the riders has taken up riding a year and half ago as an adult, the other had a 7 months old break from riding due to University commitments, both are very aware of their riding seat issues which we are working on so please try to avoid riding critique from the attached photos 🙂 

All photos in this post are copyright of Becky Bunce Photography and Aspire Equestrian Riding Academy. 

“Objectivity” – coaching App by Centaur Biomechanics

By Wiola Grabowska

Visual aids seem to be one of the most effective coaching tools. From video feedback to freeze frames to slow motion footage – all these offer a great information on why things are working or not working. I use all of these for lessons every day so the new App by Centaur Biomechanics caught my attention straight away. It’s very easy to use and as I take most lessons’ footage on my phone, it saves me plenty of time (I used to use Paint for applying lines and making other visuals but it’s very time consuming and doesn’t let me show the rider the effect right there and then in the lesson within minutes).

Jasmine and Amber. Bottom video: before watching slow motion footage and seeing screenshots. Top video: after…

The photo above is a screenshot of the App from my phone. The App let’s you upload two videos at the time and play them simultaneously at varying speeds of your choice. I find 1/2x the usual speed is good for on-the-spot coaching.

10 years old Jasmine above tended to turn her shoulders at a different speed and position to the pony’s shoulders so I thought using this App with her would be more fun than going through my usual corrections.

The image with lines applied to help the rider understand vertical balance in oneself and the horse. 

Jasmine corrected herself beautifully within several minutes of watching the slow motion footage and the screenshots.

The best of all, I could then just remind her to “keep her lines” as she practiced her dressage test and she was able to very quickly reposition in the saddle. As a result of her corrections, the pony’s balance improved on circles and turns. Win, win 😉

I have since tested the App in several other lessons and I know it will be a great, quick tool to help my riders with various asymmetry and body awareness issues both on the flat and over jumps. Can’t wait to play with it some more and can’t recommend enough if you teach and are looking for a “field” tool 🙂

The App is available on Apple Store here: OBJECTIVITY 

Note: I have no affiliation with Centaur Biomechanics and this is not an advertorial. 

 

 

***TAKEN!*** Rare Opportunity! Amber – Fabulous pony available for Training Share with the Academy

TAKEN! WELCOME TO THE TEAM JASMINE O’BRIEN! 🙂 

AMBER – 13.2HH WELSH SEC C SCHOOLMISTRESS 

Available for training share with the Aspire Equestrian Riding Academy, Amber is a fabulous all-round schoolmistress who is safe and fun, well travelled, well schooled and turns her hoof at anything from dressage, through show-jumping to cross-country.

Ideally, we are looking for someone who: 

• is looking for all-round coaching 1-3 x a week (lessons at the yard in Northolt UB5)
• would like to attend Academy’s training outings, events and Camps with this special pony
• 10 years or older (weight limit: 8.5st)
• would like to become part of the team with Amber and develop their riding and horsemanship skills

We are offering: 

• Academy livery (full-livery) at Northolt with Kelly looking after her
• Weekly lessons with Wiola at Northolt (up to 3 lessons a week possible)
• Opportunity to take part in variety of training options outside the yard

Please contact Wiola for further details on aspire@outlook.com 

Rider’s Question: What length of reins should I ride with and how to develop the right feel for it

By Wiola Grabowska

Rider Question: “[…]thanks for my videos. Can we have a chat about rein length at some point […] They just always look so much longer than they feel on Gilly and look awful to me! I feel like it’s something I have the wrong feel for and need to fix.[…]”

A frame from the lesson the rider is referring to

Video feedback forms an important part of all the lessons I do and I try to send some footage to every rider at least a couple of times a month. Those videos are then open for discussion and I encourage the riders to send me their observations and thoughts on what they see on videos vs what they felt when the rode. I think it helps with being self-critical in a constructive way, reflect on what happened and how it happened. The “reins length” question is very common and in fact is asked often in the search function for this blog so I asked Mairi if I could use her session and her question to discuss this at more length (no pun intended here 😉 ).

She agreed so here we go. Remember that these thoughts might not apply to all riders and all horses. Just take out what you feel might be useful.

First, have a look at the frames below. They are taken at random out a 1min footage and rider’s reins do not change length significantly at any time…:

Notice variety of postures Gilly is offering on the same length of reins depending on his balance….

The interesting aspect of this session was that it was what you might call, a breakthrough session. There are some elements which we are training for and Mairi got a “real life” feel for them rather than only understanding them in theory.

I personally was not at all concerned  about her rein length during this session and at the stage we are at so her question made me think…

• why the length of reins was the element she most noticed while watching the video?
• why it looks “awful” to her and why?
• what “feel” do we need to build up for her to make further progress

Some considerations when deciding on the “right” length of reins: 

• do they create a neutral, supple, steady connection (not yet “contact” as that’s what the horse gives the rider not vice-versa) i.e. the rein is neither slack nor taut/pulling nor changes in between one option to the other from step to step.
• do they allow the horse to carry his neck in a posture that matches his current level of training and conformation. In terms of Dressage training, Mairi and Gilly are working towards a quality Preliminary level (British Dressage). This level asks for minimal of engagement, forward basic paces (medium walk, working trot, working canter), progressive transitions between gaits and basic body balance and alignement that makes the Preliminary “test shapes” easy to perform.
• do they allow the rider to act with passive resistance or encourage the rider to pull back
• is the rider able to help the horse with balance through the connection (ask for poll flexion or a half-halt) without unnecessarily busy hands

Mairi & Gilly’s case: 

• the rider’s reins are a little too long at times but this is more due to her allowing them to slip between her fingers
• her feel changes from “all good” to “my reins are too long” when Gilly lifts his head above the bit. As these moments are very short in real life but can be unsightly when watched on the video, her attention is drawn to those “washing lines reins” rather than other issues (like loses of rhythm, half – halt that came too late and cost them balance, her own upper body posture that is changing and affecting balance, the seat that can be a little behind the movement or in front of the movement which again affects balance and encourages Gilly to catch it by lifting his neck)
• rider’s adjustments are done “in front” rather than “behind” – this means that the slack or heaviness of the rein is not a “rein issue”, it’s a balance and engine issue. If the energy produced by the hind legs is misdirected or insufficient, this will show in the quality of connection the rider has between their hands and the bit.

I like to tell the riders to try to feel the horse’s hind legs in their hands and by that I mean that they ask the horse to travel forward and then catch the energy from the hind legs with the bit. Carry the hands and let the horse’s neck relax into most natural and functional (allowing athletic movement) position for the particular horse. That’s the starting point.

To answer Mairi’s question: the way to learn to feel for the right rein length is to learn to feel balance in the whole horse. Once the rider truly feels how to balance the horse with seat aids, how to energise or calm the paces in order to help with that balance, how to truly ride forward without chasing/running and how to maintain own steadiness, then there is rarely any doubt as to what rein length to have. Simply shortening the reins might help in some cases, but not this one.

Sometimes what feels good, is good for that particular moment, even if visually it’s not yet ideal 🙂 Once Gilly’s balance improves and rider’s feel for that good balance improves, he will raise his shoulders/withers and will be able to work with shorter neck and shorter rein. At the moment, short rein causes him to react defensively, block the hind legs energy at the wither and become disconnected through his body.

In summary: the reins are a little too long but perfect for this stage of learning the feel and experimenting what’s right and what’s dysfunctional for this particular horse. 

ATTENTION ACADEMY RIDERS: I WILL ADD A SHORT VIDEO FROM THE SESSION IN OUR CLOSED FB GROUP TO ILLUSTRATE THE ABOVE POINTS FURTHER SO HEAD OVER THERE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE MAIRI IN ACTION 😉

The dreaded rising trot without stirrups – why do it and how it can help you with your riding skills

By Wiola Grabowska
Rider: Mairi M.
Horse: Boo

Most riders I know and teach wouldn’t describe rising trot without stirrups as their favourite seat development exercise but I do rate it and use it as often as possible.

Here’s why:

• It’s one of a very few exercises that relatively quickly change a “busy” rider into a much more organised and “quiet” one.
• It is very difficult to do rising trot with no stirrups if the rising mechanism is wrong, it will simply be a torture on many levels!
• Almost by default, this exercise, when done well, only rewards the rider when they organise their body in optimal position and join the horse’s movement well. This in turn is a great ingredient in developing better feel for nuances in a stride, for timings of half-halts etc
• It strengthens the muscles in rider’s legs and core. When done well, it will help the rider achieve optimal, positive muscle tension. It works well for riders who ride with “too much muscle” and the riders who ride floppy. The ones who put too much muscular effort in, will get tired very fast. The floppy ones will need to dig in and discover deep skeletal muscles to stabilise themselves.
• It doesn’t require fancy equipment, all you need is a relatively calm horse that is used to lunge work. I wouldn’t do it on young horses unless you are an experienced rider looking to refine some aspects of your seat. I would under no circumstances do it on nervous horses, horses with history of back pain or those that seem to over-react to rider’s corrections. Stay safe and keep the horse happy 😉
• Each phase of the trot will be distinctly “feelable” – the rider can catch the moment she/he is being lifted and how much tension she/he needs in her inner and outer thigh.
• There is nothing to brace against (stirrups) so as long as the rider is well guided by the trainer. she/he can really work on the right feel of the thigh and the hip initiating the rise rather than push from the stirrups (more on rising trot mechanics HERE)

How: 

• I like to warm up the rider off the lunge in walk, trot and canter both to make sure the rider is ready and the horse too
• We start with a slow sitting trot to feel for frequency of the stride before starting short periods of rising trot with individual corrections
• We build it up from 5- 6 rises to 5-6 minutes of rising trot 😉
• We then practice smooth changes between sitting and rising trot back to sitting
• Depending on my goals for the rider I might have them holding the reins (as Mairi is on photos in this post) but more often than not I prefer to do this with no rein connection so the rider can fully focus on their seat.

If you do try it, build it up slowly. Make sure you have good guidance to correct you in an effective and long-lasting way. Simply suffering in rising trot with no stirrups won’t make  you into more sensitive, more aware rider.

Happy training!

To watch a short video from Mairi’s training rising trot without stirrups, head over to our Instagram, just click image below to watch it:

Progressive jumping exercise to train correct canter lead landing

By Wiola Grabowska

Rider: Sasha Eastabrook

Horse: Boo

Videos available on our Instagram, details at the bottom of the post

BENEFITS: An ability to land on the lead of choice after the jump helps the rider to navigate courses of jumps with accuracy and balance. Coming to the jump from a turn on the wrong lead often causes unpredictable, unbalanced take offs and poles down. It is also unsettling for many horses, affects impulsion in the canter and line of travel. Maintaining balance is the key to calmer rounds, helps the horse to think and do its best. 

• Set up a jump on centre line of your arena and start with poles on the ground. I prefer to keep all jumps small, cavaletti style so if the rider makes mistakes, the exercise can be repeated several times without overstraining the horse. Same goes for the horse – if you are working with a young or green horse, small jumps set him up to win rather than catch him up. Trot over the poles in a figure of eight on two 10m circles (or bigger if your horse struggles with balance on smaller circles) paying attention to change of direction over the poles: remember to keep your shoulders parallel to the horse’s shoulders and look to the side you are planning to turn to, turn with your outside rein close to the neck and inside rein acting as an opening rein (slightly away from the neck or further away if needed). Repeat until you feel a nice flow to the exercise with the horse understanding that change of your weight aids over the poles mean change of direction. Allow your weight to drop slightly onto the inside stirrup as you prepare the turn. This aid you will carry with you over to the next stages of the exercise.

•  Set up a small X-pole and proceed to canter. We are going to repeat the pattern again by riding a figure of eight. Approach on the left canter lead, land on the right and vice versa. Start on the rein on which your horse’s canter is a little weaker. This way, you are giving him an incentive to land on his preferred lead after the jump and since that is what we are after, we are creating the best situation for a successful outcome. Over the jump repeat exact same aids for change over that you used in trot: look precisely to your side, open the inside rein towards the new turn, shift slightly more weight into inside stirrup. Turn in the air, not upon landing as aiding on landing is too late. Prepare on take off, aid in the air. At first you might find yourself too late with your timings – keep practicing 🙂

• Once the above flows well, you have a feeling of the horse always staying in front of your leg without rushing or slowing down and you are able to calmly navigate on a figure of eight, you can add more jumps that complement your choice of direction. Example of our set up below:

X-pole on the left lead, land right, continue right over a small upright, land right and continue on the right lead to the X-pole again, land left, continue left to a small upright/cavaletti on the left rein. I chose to have a smaller jump on the left as that is Boo’s weaker canter so again, the set up always is in horse’s favour so the rider can relax and learn.

Super ridden Sasha! Videos from this session available on Aspire Equestrian’s Instagram www.instagram.com/aspireequestrian under today’s date (16/04/2017). 

Do try it at home: catching game on the ball

By Wiola Grabowska

Photo help: Christine Dunnington Photography

This exercise is a fun one for any rider who tends to balance with their hands, whether they end up pulling on the reins or not. Horses sense tension in the arms and shoulders so even if you don’t pull on the reins for balance but feel like your arms and shoulders try to help you way too much in achieving a good position in the saddle, grab a gym ball and have a go at this 🙂

You will need: 

• gym ball
• a few objects easy to throw
• a helper
• a Springer Spaniel is optional

Mairi in action with Jazz helping to make things more challenging 😉 

How to: 

• Your first mission is to kneel on the ball. This alone might take you some time to master well enough to take both hands off the ball and have them free to catch any objects thrown at you!
• Once you can comfortably kneel on the ball with your hands free, arms and shoulders relaxed, your centre of gravity low (feel like your upper body’s weight drops into your pelvis and settles there, then drops into your legs – the feeling of supple and “relaxed” upper body is important) you are ready to start
• Ask your helper to throw something to you, catch it, then throw it back
• Start with simple, slow throws and if you are good at catching those, ask your helper to challenge you with aiming for each side of you instead of only doing centred throws
• To up the game: ask your helper to throw the objects faster, multiply the objects and throw back and forth, catch above your head, to your right, to your left, low below the knees.
• Make up your own challenges and share them with us! 🙂

 

 

 

Turning & circles problems: collapsing vs rotating

By Wiola Grabowska

Spot the difference….

‘Creative’ use of upper body is one of the most common issues I see in riders during turns and circles. Collapsing through the waist or hips is the option many riders go for so today’s blog post is a chat about this poorly biomechanics.

If you observe the rider above you can see that on the photo on the left she has lost the horse’s shoulders to the outside of the circle and the horse is crossing her inside hind leg in order to cope with the turn. The mare is mildly jack-knifed and “falling out” with no boundaries  that she could otherwise be given via rider’s outside aids. Both the horse and rider have lost their balance to some extent: they are gently motorbiking too.

The rider’s spine is more of a ‘C’ shape creating a hollow on her inside side, her shoulders lost symmetry and her ribcage is now misaligned with her hips. This posture is very common in riders riding many crooked, stiff horses that are difficult to correct.

The photo on the right shows the same horse and rider later in the lesson. They are now aligned spine to spine, shoulders to shoulders. If the horse was to lose balance, the rider is much more likely to make effective adjustments to help the mare. She has control of the outside and inside of the horse.

If you too have a similar problem, here are something anyone can try: 

• sit on a gym ball (or a stool) in front of a large mirror so you can see your whole body. Mark your mirror (with a cream or something easy to remove) with 3 dots: one directly in front of your belly button, one a couple of inches to the left of that dot and one a couple of inches to the right of that dot.
• spread your arms so they form extension of your shoulders – check if they are level
• take a deep breath out and drop the weight of your upper body comfortably down into your seat (i.e. don’t lift your shoulders or try to stretch upwards). Sit in neutral spine position.

Collapsing to turn = unbalanced turn

• Slowly rotate your arms, your sternum and your belly button towards the dot on the left, hold it for the count of 10, come back to the middle, slowly rotate to the dot to your right (now please take a moment and leave a comment which way was easier for you if you did try this exercise 😉 )
• you’ll now have a bit of a picture of your own “crookedness” – if you find it equally easy on both sides, lucky you! However, most riders will be a bit like horses in this respect, they will find easier to turn one way than the other.
• repeat this exercise until you collect certain feel for holding rotation both ways. Collapse in your waist a few times too to feel the difference.

Rotating to turn = balanced turn

Back in the saddle: 

• ride arena corners trying to replicate the same feel through your torso as you had in front of the mirror
• you can also: visualise both sides of your upper body from armpit to the hip bone holding the same length as you turn
• observe how “fast” your horse turns their shoulders and “wait” for them – many riders try to turn the head and rotates/collapses with it as the shoulders of the horse are not really turning

Correcting your upper body mechanics can transform your use and understanding of outside rein as turning well teaches you to ride “from outside – in” rather than pull on inside rein to turn.

If you found this helpful do give us a shout 🙂

Photo help from my super assistant Christine Dunnington

Do try it at home – improving stickability & balance in the saddle

By Wiola Grabowska

The first time you try to stand on the gym ball you might conclude it a mission impossible. Your joints might go all stiff, muscles all rigid and you might try to grasp for anything and anyone to grab hold of for balance.

If this sounds a bit like you when your horse is playful and fresh or when he takes off awkwardly over  a jump or when you feel nervous in the saddle for whatever reason, you might want to try this exercise at home.

VIDEO:

The ability to relax during an intense effort is something that is possible to learn. That “active relaxation” allows for a positive tension to keep muscles in a state of readiness without the negative tension creeping in and making you rigid and and stilted in your movements.

For the above exercise you’ll need: 

• a gym ball (65cm should work well unless you are very tall or very short! – go for 75cm if the former or 55cm if the latter)
• a helper, someone to catch you 😉
• safe area around you
• we used a couple of poles to stabilise the ball a little and this worked well for Caitlin’s first go. You can slowly build up towards no outside help.
• a Pilates band (black one we used gives a good amount of stretch without feeling too much like pulling on a chewing gum!)
• somewhere to attach the band to (or you can have a second helper holding the band)

Benefits (if you persevere with this exercise) : 

• huge dose of balance effort – it’s like learning to walk again 😉 You’ll feel like an earthquake and white water rafting happened to you at the same time!
• you’ll find muscles you never thought you had
• you’ll make discoveries about your balance that you won’t make walking on an even pavement
• you’ll learn to breathe through a state of mild panic 😉
• you’ll learn that your arms can move quietly even if your body is fighting a crazy battle to remain on top of the ball (not to unlike a calm balance required during playful bucking episodes, jumping efforts, XC etc)
• you’ll learn a different dimension of relaxation, one that perhaps you have not experienced before: relation inside an immense effort…It’s when you are able to let go of negative tension in your muscles but remain engaged and positively toned. The skill that takes riding to higher level.

How to: 

• stand on the ball (simple but not easy 😉 )
• the position you are aiming for is a correct squat with your knees in line with your toes, your centre of gravity low (not up in your shoulders – feel like you drop your weight into your hips and like your shoulder blades relax down your ribs)
• you want to feel supple and loose in your shoulder joint, elbow and wrists
• your back needs to stay as neutral as possible (avoid hollowing your back or rounding your back). A nice little video about neutral spine below:

Quick Tip: How to reduce rider’s crookedness on a crooked horse

If you ever heard that you are leaning into your turns, collapsing in your waist or a hip, leaning forward in transitions to name just a few symptoms of balance issues, you might find this quick tip helpful.

This is not a quick fix mind you 😉 Just a quick tip on how to start working on yourself as a rider when in the saddle and when there is no one on the ground to provide you with an immediate feedback.

Nothing replaces posture re-education off-horse if your individual posture is poor and nothing replaces regular body awareness focused practice (like Pilates, Yoga or even regular video feedback from lessons) but here are some ideas to help you.

You are probably familiar with the concept of “being ahead of the movement”. This might be especially so if you jump over any height as that when being ahead of the movement is most obvious. Same goes for “getting left behind” – again, anyone who have ever jumped even a little bit will know how this feels.

For every single movement you ride on the flat, you can be ahead, behind or exactly with the movement. Both in terms of front to back/back to front motion and side to side  (lateral) motion…It is just perhaps not as obvious as when you hang on for dear life after the horse took off unexpectedly over a wide oxer leaving you to catch up.

You could call it being always aligned with horse’s centre of gravity (which changes all the time from stride to stride) and applies as much to a walk to canter transition, riding a corner of the arena in walk or doing a trot leg-yield across the long diagonal.

Most riders with crookedness issues are aware of them but struggle to correct themselves “in the moment”. I have noticed during my work with riders with those issues that if you focus the training on developing more feel for where the horse (or their centre of gravity) “is” at any one time and how it changes from stride to stride, the rider remains much straighter, more symmetrical and distributes their body weight more effectively.

What does this mean in practical terms? 

If you tend to lean into the corners when your horse “falls through the inside shoulder” or “falls out through the outside shoulder”, you are in front of the movement (side-to-side). You are bracing yourself to help the horse turn better or to make him turn better (depending on your training methods). Either way, you are fighting a losing battle as your position is already making it impossible/or much harder, for the horse to correct themselves.

Try to feel 7-8 steps before the corner where your horse’s centre of gravity is. In most cases, you will find yourself having to “slow down” the turn, not rush with your upper body/shoulders in order to make the turn but “stay back” and wait for the turn to come to you.

Once you are step by step truly with the horse, your corrections will be more effective, you will find yourself being less changed by your horse’s crookedness and the feeling might be of “having more time” to make the corrections.

If you tend to lean forward in upwards transitions, think of it in the same terms as disturbing the jumping horse by going in front of their movement. Practice remaining in the saddle with your seat bones feeling the movements of the hind legs and patiently “wait” with your own centre of gravity until the horse moves up.

To sum up – instead of worrying that you are leaning in or leaning on or collapsing, start switching your senses to detect your horse’s balance and centre of gravity. It’s a much more pleasant and engaging way of creating straightneess in both horse and rider than constantly nagging oneself to sit “straight”.

Hope this can help some of you 🙂

Wiola