Secret Language of Sweat Marks

Who has never had a saddle fit issue is a one lucky person! When I was buying my first ever saddle in 1995 I had to trek many miles to a saddler and all I had to give him was the hight and type of the horse. He was a 16.2hh high wither Trakehnner and got his jumping saddle on that information alone No fittings, not even a photo of a horse for the saddler.

Thankfully, it’s a different story nowadays. We have some great saddle designs that can be fitted to both the horse and the rider well and come with some very good advice too.

As a horse owner or even as an occasional rider you want to know (don’t you?) how is your saddle doing on your horse’s back. There is a science to the saddle fitting and saddle check process and I will get back to it very soon but in this post I would like t odraw your attention to the secret language of the sweat marks that your saddle leaves on your horse’s back after you’ve ridden.

This horse’s saddle slides to the left matching his general motion pattern which you might happily classify as Right Banana… His dominant right foreleg and shoulder and crooked way of going also pushes the back of the saddle into right side of his spine every time he turns or circles. Small yellow circle on the side of the wither shows area of discomfort on palpation. A good saddle fitter can address all these issues but horse’s and rider’s training are both very important here.  

Feel For Stability and Shape of Horse’s Back

How much do you think a horse’s back moves?

If you have never done it before, grab hold of a small-ish horse (one you can walk next to with your hands placed on his/her back on each side of the spine). Get someone to lead the horse whilst you walk next to it with your hands placed on muscles exactly where the rider would sit (not far behind the wither). How much movement is there? Is it a forward movement? Is it a side – to – side movement? Up – and – down?

If you had a go please let me know 🙂

Next put your hand nearest to the horse flat on his/her spine as you both walk. How much are the vertebraes moving? would you say the movements could be described in mm or cm/inch?

Now it’s time to move towards the hips of the horse (only do this with a suitable horse that is used to being touched all over). Put your hand just on top of your horse’s point of hip (above the protruding part of the hip bone) – is horse’s pelvis moving more or less than his/her back?

You might conclude, that there is very little motion in actual back of the horse and much more in his/her pelvis. Your job as a rider is to replicate this in your own body.

The more athletic the horse is the more stable he is able to make his spine (through the use of deep abdominal muscles) and more controlled movements he is able to execute (through superior balance). As a rider, you work on eliminating the wobble through your upper body, on stabilising your own spine whilst allowing for great elasticity through your hip joints.

How can you start learning the feel for stability? 

Hey Riders – Glance at This Plate :)

http://www.equestrianhealthcoach.com/

Something interesting right from the world wide web 🙂 I love healthy food and always see a huge difference in my energy levels and overall passionate hyper-ness about what I do if my nutrition is good.

I came across this short video and thought I would share for a quick Friday “apple a day” kind of thought 🙂 Have a great weekend everybody!

WIN 2 WEEKS of Virtual Coaching With Aspire Equestrian E-Academy

Aspire Equestrian has teamed up with Hay Net Social Blogging platform  to offer a fantastic prize for two (+1!) lucky Hay Net members. If you haven’t joined the site yet head over for a quick and free sign up.

“Aspire E-Academy is a long distance training based on video footage and online communication. Developed to bring quality affordable coaching with personable 1-1 attention and help aspiring riders regardless of their location, resources or type of horse they ride. All levels welcome from basics, flatwork, jumping to dressage.

So, who’s stopping you?

“Don’t worry, you don’t need to do it perfectly, it’s not like we are aiming at Olympics”

When I hear such statements being said to riders I feel both sad and incredibly motivated to carry on with my work. We are creatures of beliefs even more so than creatures of habits. When we believe in something (the deep down kind of belief, not the verbal “yes, I sure can do this” kind of belief), we adjust our habits, actions, tactics and goals to those beliefs. And they are funny things you know, they develop in us from an early age and are shaped by everything and everyone around us. Smallest daily occurrences, big events and everything in between wires our brains into an intricate pattern of unique being. Before we know it, we believe we do, can, make it happen or not…

“SITTING PRETTY” – is that really the point? Pondering on body position vs body use

A few days ago I received an email enquiry from a rider interested in my lessons. I read with interest about issues the rider has with her horse and then I arrived at the sentence concluding the enquiry. The person writing had heard I work a lot on the rider, their position and way of riding and wanted to make sure this wouldn’t be the case with her as she wanted to work mainly on the horse.

Photo taken during Aspire Coaching weekend at Cullinghood EC

This email made me think of other riders who perhaps think the same so I would like to clarify a few things. Although I do put a lot of emphasis on rider’s seat it is not at all to achieve a pretty picture. In fact, my increasing interest in posture and seat of the rider has very little to do with visual outcome. My greatest fascination with rider’s biomechanics is due to an incredible effect a correct body use can (and does) have on communication with any horse.

Photo Report from Aspire Equestrian Coaching at Cullinghood, Berkshire

Fresh off the camera as I have just returned from sunny Berkshire!

Venue: www.cullinghood.co.uk

The riders really enjoyed the mechanical horse sessions and the value of those has surprised me. We were able to pinpoint several interesting points to work on in all riders and then work on those in real life situation on horses these riders never sat on before. Superb tool as far as seat work is concerned as it allows the instructor to observe the rider in a way they would not be able to do otherwise.

JUNE & JULY ASPIRE Training Availability. Please Feel Free To Share :)

Photo credit: Emma Zadravetz

Aspire training availability for the next couple of months Please feel free to share and spread the word about Aspire intensive training opportunities for both non-horse owners and owners out there.
General outline of Aspire coaching weekends can be found on here: http://issuu.com/aspireeq/docs/aspirecoachingweekends2013/1 but individual & weekday training requirements welcome.
Available: Nationwide & Europe.

FREE EQUESTRIAN Advice by Hay-Net Equestrian Advice Team

Hay Net Equestrian Advice Team: http://www.hay-net.co.uk/haynet-equestrian-advice-team

A few weeks ago I was asked if I wanted to join in a new initiative being set up by Hay Net – a leading UK Blogging network.  The idea was to provide advice and support to Hay-Net members and as I love to be of help to those who want to be helped and I love blogging I couldn’t say no, could I? 🙂

Hay Net Equestrian Advice Team was launched yesterday and I hope it will be a great platform for relaxed, friendly discussion on all things equestrian.

INCREASING PARTICIPATION IN EQUESTRIAN SPORTS/RECREATION. How? Perhaps the answer is Integrity

in·teg·ri·ty

noun

1.adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.

2.the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the integrity of the empire.

3.a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition: the integrity of a ship’s hull.

This post is not for faint hearted. Feel pre-warned.

The aim is for riding school clients to open their eyes, seek quality education and become aware of the fact there are places out there they should avoid and places which can turn their weekly lessons into a life changing experience.

It is no secret to those who know me that my goal in coaching life is to improve the grassroots teaching system for non-horse owners and those new to horse ownership as much as I can. I might be fighting a lost battle but I hope I am not.